Please may I get some advise with my fiancé visa application.

Hello,

My name is Brandon, I am a British citizen who has met a woman in the US and we are attempting to get her immigrated into the UK on a fiance visa.

From reading the previous posts in this forum, I understand they cannot be in the country and apply from "inside the UK" as she would be on a visitor visa.

It is my understanding that we must apply online using the gov.uk website and she classes as an FM partner. She will be required to complete her biometrics in the USA at her nearest branch which can cost between $297 for the priority and $1290 for the super-priority. Is this cost separate to the gov.uk payment of £1,523? We currently do not have an exact deadline but as soon as possible is our end goal, so with that being said, does anyone know the differences between the types of bronze, silver, and gold packages available?

She will not need to pay the health surcharge as the fiance visa is only for 6 months, am I correct?

I am able to prove my British citizenship through my Birth Certificate and UK passport. I am earning over £18600 as a Paramedic at a base income of £24907, my only issue is that I have just finished my BSc in paramedic science and I will not start my job until the 9th of November. Because of this, I will not have 12 months of payslips. After reading Appendix FM section 1.7 I may be eligible for Category B. Could someone please clarify this?

During my university course, the West Midlands ambulance service employed all 3rd-year students to assist with COVID-19. During this time I was paid over the threshold between the months of April to August. Would this help as it was only a temporary contract of employment? Due to the rush of COVID-19, there was not a complete contract organized.

In terms of "relationship status," she and I would be classed as "single" as we have not been married before and have not lived together for two years. This would also be impossible as she could only enter the country for a span of six months in a one year term. Is this correct?

This is probably a silly question, but during a trial run of the application, there is a question, "why are you not living with Brandon?". Would a suitable answer be that the is a US national and I am a British national? It also asks why I am not coming to the UK with her, and that's because I am already in the UK as a British citizen.

Would our application be frown upon if we have only met once? Our relationship started in April this year and without the soppy details have spoken nonstop since this time. We have met and lived together for 6 weeks between August and October of this year.

We would like to be able to set a date for our wedding in the UK, we are planning on doing this at the registry office. Would it be best to set a date a few months after the application? For example, if we submit this in January then we can have the confirmation of the wedding ceremony for March. This is because the application states they want prove to intend to marry within six months of arriving.

At this current stage, we have no banks or bills in both names as she currently does not live here. Should I attempt to get her added to certain things? that would accept her name on the bills or is this something that needs to be done once her fiance visa has been approved?

At the end of the application is states three different options of payment, we can pay $2056 for a decision that takes 12 weeks, or $2829 for a 6-week decision (which we would prefer) or we could use the VFS service and pay $2056 and pay for a package later in the process. Could someone please explain these packages and advise what the best one would be?

Lastly, I would like to ask if using a lawyer is worth it during this application. I have spoken to ISA and they are charging £150 for advice and £1200 (estimated) for the full package. I have read on this forum and other places that people who used this service felt they could do 95% of the application themselves and we would both prefer to place the money into priority services over lawyers if this is something that can be done ourselves.

Also, I would like to ask, the initial cost of the fiance visa is $2829 for the express decision. Following this being approved, are we then required to pay £1,033 + £800 (for the express decision) when applying for the spouse visa? Overall we are looking at $4000-$5000?

Thank you in advance for all the help and support this forum offers, I apologize for the lengthy post.

- Brandon

Welcome!

Hello,

My name is Brandon, I am a British citizen who has met a woman in the US and we are attempting to get her immigrated into the UK on a fiance visa.

From reading the previous posts in this forum, I understand they cannot be in the country and apply from "inside the UK" as she would be on a visitor visa.

It is my understanding that we must apply online using the gov.uk website and she classes as an FM partner. She will be required to complete her biometrics in the USA at her nearest branch which can cost between $297 for the priority and $1290 for the super-priority. Is this cost separate to the gov.uk payment of £1,523? We currently do not have an exact deadline but as soon as possible is our end goal, so with that being said, does anyone know the differences between the types of bronze, silver, and gold packages available?   There are three options for a settlement visa, you are looking at the options for non-settlement visas.  Non-priority - 12 weeks would be during normal times, covid.... it'll be awhile.  Priority - extra 800ish - would normally be 6 weeks in non-covid times.  Will be longer right now.  Gold - extra 2000, tends to take longer than priority so don't do this option.  I'd pay priority if you can swing it.

She will not need to pay the health surcharge as the fiance visa is only for 6 months, am I correct?   Correct.  She *will* need private insurance as she CANNOT use the NHS without paying for her treatment.  An unpaid NHS bill can lead to refusal of subsequent visas.

I am able to prove my British citizenship through my Birth Certificate and UK passport. I am earning over £18600 as a Paramedic at a base income of £24907, my only issue is that I have just finished my BSc in paramedic science and I will not start my job until the 9th of November. Because of this, I will not have 12 months of payslips. After reading Appendix FM section 1.7 I may be eligible for Category B. Could someone please clarify this?   Take your payslips from the last 12 months and add up the gross earnings.  If over 18,600, you are good to go.

During my university course, the West Midlands ambulance service employed all 3rd-year students to assist with COVID-19. During this time I was paid over the threshold between the months of April to August. Would this help as it was only a temporary contract of employment? Due to the rush of COVID-19, there was not a complete contract organized.

In terms of "relationship status," she and I would be classed as "single" as we have not been married before and have not lived together for two years. This would also be impossible as she could only enter the country for a span of six months in a one year term. Is this correct?  Yup

This is probably a silly question, but during a trial run of the application, there is a question, "why are you not living with Brandon?". Would a suitable answer be that the is a US national and I am a British national? It also asks why I am not coming to the UK with her, and that's because I am already in the UK as a British citizen.   Yup

Would our application be frown upon if we have only met once? Our relationship started in April this year and without the soppy details have spoken nonstop since this time. We have met and lived together for 6 weeks between August and October of this year.   Nope, you are fine.  Just need a photo showing you've met.  You also haven't lived together, you visited.  Important distinction in the world of visas.

We would like to be able to set a date for our wedding in the UK, we are planning on doing this at the registry office. Would it be best to set a date a few months after the application? For example, if we submit this in January then we can have the confirmation of the wedding ceremony for March. This is because the application states they want prove to intend to marry within six months of arriving.  Do not set a date, as you don't know when things will start moving again.  Just share some emails with your registry office asking about possible dates, and what the process is.

At this current stage, we have no banks or bills in both names as she currently does not live here. Should I attempt to get her added to certain things? that would accept her name on the bills or is this something that needs to be done once her fiance visa has been approved?  Non-issue.  She won't be able to be added to things without a visa anyways.

At the end of the application is states three different options of payment, we can pay $2056 for a decision that takes 12 weeks, or $2829 for a 6-week decision (which we would prefer) or we could use the VFS service and pay $2056 and pay for a package later in the process. Could someone please explain these packages and advise what the best one would be?   $2829 is priority, the lower is non-priorty.  The choice is yours.

Lastly, I would like to ask if using a lawyer is worth it during this application. I have spoken to ISA and they are charging £150 for advice and £1200 (estimated) for the full package. I have read on this forum and other places that people who used this service felt they could do 95% of the application themselves and we would both prefer to place the money into priority services over lawyers if this is something that can be done ourselves.  You only need a lawyer if one of you has a visa overstay or a serious criminal conviction.

Also, I would like to ask, the initial cost of the fiance visa is $2829 for the express decision. Following this being approved, are we then required to pay £1,033 + £800 (for the express decision) when applying for the spouse visa? Overall we are looking at $4000-$5000?

First - fiance visa
Second - FLR(M) £1,033 + £800 priority + NHS surcharge
Third - Another FLR(M)
Fourth - Indefinite Leave to Remain

Budget about £12,000 for visas for the next 5 years.

Thank you in advance for all the help and support this forum offers, I apologize for the lengthy post.

- Brandon

Welcome! - answers hiding in your post below.

Thank you very much for your advice! That has really helped.

We're going to get the process started as soon as possible.

Welcome. 

Hiya,

Thank you for the warm welcome

I had one other question, once the visa is approved from the US how long do we have until we need to be married, I believe that it is six months. So my understanding is she needs to be packed and ready to ensure adequate time to get married in the UK before the fiance visa expires.

Thank you!

Hiya,

Thank you for the warm welcome

I had one other question, once the visa is approved from the US how long do we have until we need to be married, I believe that it is six months. So my understanding is she needs to be packed and ready to ensure adequate time to get married in the UK before the fiance visa expires.

Thank you!

The visa is valid for 6 months but you are able to nominate the date you want it to start. You have to marry and apply for further leave to remain before it expires but it doesn't matter if a decision has not yet been made because she will be protected under section 3c as long as she made a valid application on time.

The visa is valid for 6 months but you are able to nominate the date you want it to start. You have to marry and apply for further leave to remain before it expires but it doesn't matter if a decision has not yet been made because she will be protected under section 3c as long as she made a valid application on time.

Oh, that's wonderful. If we nominate a date four weeks in advance we could book the plane ticket for the same day it starts and I could give the registry office notice.

I'll need to give an overview of section 3c as I have not yet read that.

Thank you so much for your advice.

Found it, a wonderful source of information. Thanks again!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/771652/3C-3D-Leave-v9.0ext.pdf

Oh, that's wonderful. If we nominate a date four weeks in advance we could book the plane ticket for the same day it starts and I could give the registry office notice.

I'll need to give an overview of section 3c as I have not yet read that.

Thank you so much for your advice.

Found it, a wonderful source of information. Thanks again!

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/771652/3C-3D-Leave-v9.0ext.pdf

Be aware that there is no guarantee that your fiancee visa will be processed in 4 weeks, that would have been unlikely pre-covid. If your nominated date has passed before the decision has been made, the visa is usually valid from around a week before you receive it.
Don't book anything that you can't easily and cheaply change.

Be aware that there is no guarantee that your fiancee visa will be processed in 4 weeks, that would have been unlikely pre-covid. If your nominated date has passed before the decision has been made, the visa is usually valid from around a week before you receive it.
Don't book anything that you can't easily and cheaply change.

Sorry, I may have gotten confused, do we need to nominate the date on the application or can we wait for the visa to be approved and then ask them to make it valid from a set date for six months?

Thank you.

Sorry, I may have gotten confused, do we need to nominate the date on the application or can we wait for the visa to be approved and then ask them to make it valid from a set date for six months?

Thank you.

You nominate a date on the application.

You nominate a date on the application.

Thank you for the clarification, sorry for the silly questions.

Thank you for the clarification, sorry for the silly questions.

There are no silly questions. 

An example timeline:

- you submit the online visa application on November 1st and on the form you put an Intended Travel Date of December 1st
- the visa takes 2 months to be processed and is approved on January 1st with a start date of January 8th (7 days after the approval) and an expiry date of July 8th.
- she can then travel to the U.K. on or after January 8th (but not before)
- she travels to the U.K. on Jan 8th and lands on Jan 9th
- once she is in the U.K., if you will be marrying in England or Wales, she must be resident for 7 days before you can give notice to marry (for Scotland weddings there’s no 7-day residency requirement)
- so if she arrives on Jan 9th the earliest you can give notice will be Jan 16th (in England or Wales)
- you then have to wait 28 days from the day you give notice before you can marry. However, this may be extended to 70 days if your case is referred to U.K. immigration (because she has a visa)... this shouldn’t happen if she has a fiancé visa as she will already have permission to marry in the U.K... but it could happen
- therefore the earliest possible date you could marry would be 13th February... but if the case is referred you could have to wait until 27th March before you can get married

All of the above are the reasons you should not book any flights or anything for the wedding until the visa has been approved and mailed back to her... because you won’t know in advance what date the visa will actually start from, what date she will arrive in the U.K., what date you will be able to give notice, or what date you will be eligible to marry after giving notice.
- once you are married, you have until her fiancé visa expiry date to submit the online application for the next visa: FLR(M).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello,

My name is Brandon, I am a British citizen who has met a woman in the US and we are attempting to get her immigrated into the UK on a fiance visa.

From reading the previous posts in this forum, I understand they cannot be in the country and apply from "inside the UK" as she would be on a visitor visa.

It is my understanding that we must apply online using the gov.uk website and she classes as an FM partner. She will be required to complete her biometrics in the USA at her nearest branch which can cost between $297 for the priority and $1290 for the super-priority. Is this cost separate to the gov.uk payment of £1,523? We currently do not have an exact deadline but as soon as possible is our end goal, so with that being said, does anyone know the differences between the types of bronze, silver, and gold packages available?

She will not need to pay the health surcharge as the fiance visa is only for 6 months, am I correct?

I am able to prove my British citizenship through my Birth Certificate and UK passport. I am earning over £18600 as a Paramedic at a base income of £24907, my only issue is that I have just finished my BSc in paramedic science and I will not start my job until the 9th of November. Because of this, I will not have 12 months of payslips. After reading Appendix FM section 1.7 I may be eligible for Category B. Could someone please clarify this?

During my university course, the West Midlands ambulance service employed all 3rd-year students to assist with COVID-19. During this time I was paid over the threshold between the months of April to August. Would this help as it was only a temporary contract of employment? Due to the rush of COVID-19, there was not a complete contract organized.

In terms of "relationship status," she and I would be classed as "single" as we have not been married before and have not lived together for two years. This would also be impossible as she could only enter the country for a span of six months in a one year term. Is this correct?

This is probably a silly question, but during a trial run of the application, there is a question, "why are you not living with Brandon?". Would a suitable answer be that the is a US national and I am a British national? It also asks why I am not coming to the UK with her, and that's because I am already in the UK as a British citizen.

Would our application be frown upon if we have only met once? Our relationship started in April this year and without the soppy details have spoken nonstop since this time. We have met and lived together for 6 weeks between August and October of this year.

We would like to be able to set a date for our wedding in the UK, we are planning on doing this at the registry office. Would it be best to set a date a few months after the application? For example, if we submit this in January then we can have the confirmation of the wedding ceremony for March. This is because the application states they want prove to intend to marry within six months of arriving.

At this current stage, we have no banks or bills in both names as she currently does not live here. Should I attempt to get her added to certain things? that would accept her name on the bills or is this something that needs to be done once her fiance visa has been approved?

At the end of the application is states three different options of payment, we can pay $2056 for a decision that takes 12 weeks, or $2829 for a 6-week decision (which we would prefer) or we could use the VFS service and pay $2056 and pay for a package later in the process. Could someone please explain these packages and advise what the best one would be?

Lastly, I would like to ask if using a lawyer is worth it during this application. I have spoken to ISA and they are charging £150 for advice and £1200 (estimated) for the full package. I have read on this forum and other places that people who used this service felt they could do 95% of the application themselves and we would both prefer to place the money into priority services over lawyers if this is something that can be done ourselves.

Also, I would like to ask, the initial cost of the fiance visa is $2829 for the express decision. Following this being approved, are we then required to pay £1,033 + £800 (for the express decision) when applying for the spouse visa? Overall we are looking at $4000-$5000?

Thank you in advance for all the help and support this forum offers, I apologize for the lengthy post.

- Brandon

Hi Brandon! Some of the experts here will be very helpful but wanted to give you my 2 cents as an American who did the same now 3 years happily married. No, you do not need an immigration lawyer as some apps have been denied using one as not so it can be done without. I did it without one. Others can advise you on fees but I will share some advise. Do not attempt to fill out the application until you are fully ready. The first visa out of four which you are applying for, the main focus is relationship proof and financial. You need to gather it all before applying. One is corispindance for the length of your relationship. ( photos, text, messenger ect) It must equally span the time of you knowing each other. Happy photos of you both together. If you have photos where you have met family and friends together the better. Others can advise on fees but yes the processing is separate from the visa fee. Best of luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk