marriage visitor visa

[robinlovesfatman]

Know its not really Aibu but posting here for traffic. Friend in bit of a pickle and wants to marry guy from overseas. She's British. He is not.

Would they be able to marry with this visa? Once they are married can he apply for different visa to live here? Surely it can't be so simple.

[Nolim]

Have you tried finding this information on the visa pages at gov.uk?

[TanteRose]

is the guy non-EU?

if so, then unless your friend is rich, he will not be able to enter the UK at all.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/uk-australia-spouse-visa

[Nolim]

Taken from www.gov.uk/marriage-visa/overview

"
What you can and can’t do
You can use this visa to marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK:

within 6 months of your arrival
in any location licensed for this purpose
You can’t:

get public funds
bring in family members (‘dependants’) - they must apply separately
live in the UK for extended periods through frequent visits
extend your visa or switch to another visa
work - except for permitted activities related to your work or business overseas, eg attending meetings
do a course of study - except for 30 days of incidental study
"

[2plus1plus1]

Can they get married and live in his country? Could be easier than going through British spouse visa route, if living there is an option.

[kally195]

The marriage visitor visa is for people who are coming to the UK to get married, then leave again. So if your friend was living in Australia with her partner and they wanted to come here to marry, then both return to Australia, that would be fine.

If your friend is living in the UK and her partner wants to as well, then they need to apply for a settlement visa. Much more expensive and with more complex eligibility requirements.

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Depends what country he is from OP.

A friend is marrying her partner at the end of the year and he is from an African country. They have a relationship that is five years old and have had to prove extensively the amount of contact they have had (calls, emails, tickets from flights). In addition, Friend has had to secure a job on a specific wage, her parents have had to act as "guarantors" for want of a better expression.

The marriage comes at the end of a long, challenging road for the pair of them.

[Stopandlook]

Surely your 'friend' has done her own research.

[TitusAndromedon]

The marriage visa is designed for people from other countries who want to come and get married here and then leave.

Your friend's situation is, I assume, a bit different. Her partner would, I think, need a fiancé visa. It would allow him to stay for up to six months, with no right to work and evidence that she could support him financially. They may have to have a particular amount of money in a bank account for several months, but I'm not positive.

Once they're married, he could then switch his visa to one for people who have married British citizens. Again, they would have to provide evidence of earnings as well as proof of the history of the relationship. That visa costs over £1,000.

If they have been living together for two years continuously and can prove it, they could get an unmarried partnership visa, with all the same requirements regarding evidence of funds.

As you say, it really isn't very simple at all. It's costly and time consuming.

[ILiveOnABuildsite]

I married dh with a spouse visa, he is british I am not. It really isn't that hard at all. All you have to do is get married within 6 months, be able to show that the relation is genuine (having lived together or mutiple trips to either country to show they have spend considerable amount of time together etc) and that either one of them or both have the means to support both of them without recourse to public fund. A good salary and a fair amount of saving is usually enough. After getting married the non-British partner will have to apply of a temporary leave to remain in the uk which is only valid for 2 years, during that time he will be entitled to work and study (although will have to pay international fees) but not entitled to public funds. After 2 years he can then apply to per enfant leave to remain in the uk but will need to pass Life in the Uk test, and be able to show that he and dw have been living together in the uk since their wedding. This visa is good for 5 years and can either be renewed after or they can apply for citizenship at the appropriate time . After either 3 or 5 years of living per entangle in uk (so after the temporary 2 years period) depending on which categories he fulfils and they can be read on uk immigration website, as a spouse it will most likely be 3 years) he can apply to be naturalised as a British citizen. To do this he may need to relinquish his original citizenship, this will depend on wether his country of origins allows dual citizenship (mine does). If he doesn't want to become a British citizen he can renew his unlimited leave to remain visa, but again this will only be for 5 years and if he chooses this route he will need to renew every five years thereafter. Having british children doesn't affect any of the above and he will still need to go through the steps mentioned to stay permenantly in the uk. Both my children are british but I'm only recently a British citizen because I had to go through these steps regardless of the nationality of my children.

Each of these visas are very expensive, nearly £1000 for the temporary and permenantly leave to remain, and as much for the naturalisation to become citizen, in my experience the prices go up every year too. But other than being expensive and a pain to fill in the forms in theory, providing that the relation is genuine it isn't that complicated and I have never had any problems being granted my visas.

Hth

[Chipshopninja]

Assuming he's from a non EU country...

If he comes here on a visitor visa, they get married, and then apply from the Uk to switch into spouse category the application WILL be refused

They could marry here, then he can return to home country and apply for entry clearance to come in as a spouse. There are strict financial requirements though

[SquinkiesRule]

She has to prove she can support him and have a job earning over £18,000 a year for the last 6 months the rules changed in 2013 and became much more difficult for spouses coming from outside the EU.
bringing a non eu spouse to uk discussion

[Nolim]

ILive may i as how long ago did you apply for your spousal visa? I know that things have changed a lot in the last few years. For settlement did you take the life in the uk test? Was it hard? Thanks.

[FryOneFatManic]

A colleague of mine has been in the UK for at least 5 years, good job, pays taxes, follows all the rules, and is working on the paperwork for her permanent leave to remain. I've seen the sheer amount of paperwork that she and her husband are putting in, it's not simply a case that they married here and that's it.

[ILiveOnABuildsite]

Titus had it right when they mentioned a fiancée visa, that's what it was called when I first applied. That was 8 years ago now, so quite a long time ago. The important thing to remember is you must apply from your home country for this visa and it will stipulate that you have 6 month to marry, having thus entered the uk with the legal right to marry a British citizen and we the intention to reside in the uk you can then make your subsequent visa applications from inside the uk. If you get married in the uk without the fiancé visa you will have to return to your home country to apply for the right to enter the uk as the spouse of a British citizen. Much more complicated.

I did have to pass the life in the uk test to apply for permenent leave to remain, it's not easy, you have to study for it anf have to pay a fee every time to sit the exam, I passed first time but I studied hard and some of the questions you really just have to memorise because it's not the quite of info 'normal' British people actually know. That was three years ago now.

Another thing to bear in mind is that for each of the leave to remain visa and naturalisation you will need referees that have personally known your for 2-3 years (depending on which application) and these referees must fall within certain legal capacities (teachers, doctors, vicars ...) to show that you are making permenent genuine links with the uk.

There is a lot of paperwork, it's a lot of form filling but like most official documents if you follow the quite lines well and fulfill all requirement it's not so much complicated as massively time consuming.

Hth

[StHildas4Life]

I've just been through he tail end of this process and it does seem to have changed quite a bit from pp.

From what I gleaned - yes you should marry under a fiancé visa if you're not already under certain types (ie you can get married if you're here as a student or under a working visa). You can't just do it under a visitors visa.

Once you're married you can apply for the first spousal visa (flr-m) - these are good for a few years ( dependant on when you first entered the country - def check the gov.uk site). There are financial requirements that the British spouse must meet (in other words, it doesn't matter how much money the non-eu spouse makes, they only take into account the British person's income) and you must provide evidence of relationship.

Once this visa had expired you have to renew it and go through same process again. Once this second one expires you can apply for indefinite leave to remain. Again, financial requirements, proof of relationship required.

But once you have indefinite leave to remain you can stay here permanently. You don't need to reapply for anything and can then go on to citizenship.

I didn't need to have any referees or anything - so that seems to have changed as well.

[StHildas4Life]

Sorry and just to add - to settle (and I believe for the initial spousal visa) if the non- eu spouse is from a non- English language majority country they need to meet a language requirement. This can be bypassed if they have a degree from a British university.

[WhatHappensNextNow]

I applied for a spouse visa, then did the life in the uk test and got indefinite leave to remain that doesn't (as far as I know) run out but I am now eligible to apply for citizenship, but don't have to. This was around six year ago though.

[LauraMipsum]

The marriage visit visa will enable him to come here for the marriage but you can't "switch" in country from a marriage visit, he would need to return to his country of origin and apply for entry clearance under Appendix FM as a partner.

[robinlovesfatman]

stopandlook I really don't know what you mean by this veiled comment. My friend is in this situation. Why would I need to lie on an anonymous forum.

I too am getting married, both of us brits, and she asked me as I she wondered if I could speak to registrar

Thanks to others who've provided helpful advice.

[Nolim]

Op i think that asking random ppl on the internet is not as effective as going to the source and look for factual information. Starting with the gov.uk website and an immigration solicitor if necessary. Immigration laws change constantly.

[MarchLikeAnAnt]

You need to be earning about £18,500 for at least 6 months or have £65,000 in the bank if you plan on bringing a non EU spouse to the UK to live.

[robinlovesfatman]

nolim she did this but was confused. Musket is also a great source of information. No harm in asking.

[Newbrummie]

It's so confusing ..., I was told I needed to have £65,000 in the bank to bring my half Aussie daughter home by one government official

[Stopandlook]

Didn't mean to offend. This site is open to anti immigration abusive views and therefore I was cautious about your query. I am married to a non away foreigner and therefore we knew quite a bit about the process although it was different as he had his own work permit due to skilled worker. He had to apply for temporary leave to remain for two years before indefinite leave to remain even though he had his work visa though. Also had to pass life in the UK test even though he didn't want British citizenship.

[Stopandlook]

Non EU not non away! Autocorrect...