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Original poster

Wedding in USA

53 replies

Cinders2221 · 15/02/2018 18:36

I wondered if anyone has any knowledge of a UK citizen marrying a US citizen.

My auntie, aged 74, is holidaying in the US and we have found out she is planning to marry a US citizen next Monday. She thinks that by marrying, this man will be able to move back to the UK with her and live with her - claim disabled allowance etc. She has no income, just her home which she needs to live in.

Her family are wondering if he would be able to move to the UK and even if not, by being married will he have a claim on her money/home if anything happens to her - even though he may never have lived here?

We have all looked on google and don't think he will be allowed to move here so easily (I think she has to have a set income of @£16000, which obviously her pension isn't) but would be greatly reassured by some expert/experienced advice.

Thank you in advance for any help.

OP posts:
Original poster
Cinders2221 · 15/02/2018 18:47

Sorry just realised I have contradicted myself - her only income is her pension.

OP posts:
DoneDisappeared · 15/02/2018 18:59

Simply, no.

Unless... Is he independently wealthy and willing to transfer ££££££ into her bank account?

Original poster
Cinders2221 · 15/02/2018 20:29

DoneDisappeared No he has no money at all, she thinks she is doing him a favour. I don't think we are going to talk her out of marrying him but do you know if he will inherit her home when she dies (she is considerably older than him).

Thank you for the link.

OP posts:
Biggreygoose · 15/02/2018 20:39

In short no.

He won't be entitled to any benefits at all.

She will have to demonstrate over £18,000 pa income. Or significant savings. (Think it's £50k)

Unless there is a risk to his life the visa will have to be applied for while he is out of the country. Passports are surrendered while you apply.

Visa will be this : www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse

Visa is circa £1500 plus £500 NHS contribution. Lasts two and a half years, then you need another one.

He may get a claim on her home, he will still be legally her spouse despite the above.

It's not straight forward.

(Married an American...)

Biggreygoose · 15/02/2018 20:46

For an idea of what you have to fill in see here:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-as-a-partner-or-dependent-child-form-flrm

That's for the second extension visa, but is basically the same as the first spousal visa.

prh47bridge · 15/02/2018 20:51

If she has already made a will the marriage will invalidate it. If she dies intestate he will inherit at least some of her estate. The details depend on whether or not she has any children.

If they divorce he will have a claim against her assets.

prh47bridge · 15/02/2018 20:51

If she has already made a will the marriage will invalidate it. If she dies intestate he will inherit at least some of her estate. The details depend on whether or not she has any children.

If they divorce he will have a claim against her assets.

Original poster
Cinders2221 · 15/02/2018 21:09

Thank you rph47bridge biggreygoose

She does have adult children. She has no savings, just her home which needs quite a lot of renovation and probably only worth about £60,000. She has made a will but I have no idea when that was made or what it includes. Her children are mostly concerned about the situation she has got herself in to and how she is going to deal with the fall out when she realises they cannot be together - my aunt is insistent he will be allowed into the UK.

OP posts:
Biggreygoose · 15/02/2018 21:22

He will be allowed in to start off with (unless he or your auntie says something stupid at the border). But that will be the standard visitor's visa which lasts 3 months.

He won't exactly be top priority for deportation, but when/if he applies for a job or benefits it will quickly unravel. Unsurprisingly staying beyond a visa or not in accordance with a visa is dimly viewed for any future applications.

The fall out here could be massive.

Familylawsolicitor · 15/02/2018 21:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

expatinscotland · 15/02/2018 21:28

'He will be allowed in to start off with (unless he or your auntie says something stupid at the border). But that will be the standard visitor's visa which lasts 3 months. '

That is not a given even if they say nothing. He can't just move here because he's married to her and he definitely cannot claim benefits even on the correct visa, which he'll need to apply for from the US. She needs to prove income and assets, length of relationship, etc. Oh, it costs money to apply, too. A lot. And if the application fails, you don't get the money back. You have to re-apply.

And if it is successful, then again, NO benefits for him and she cannot apply for increased benefits on the basis of having him there, either.

expatinscotland · 15/02/2018 21:31

Holy hell, Bigg. I'm an American married to a Brit. I'm long naturalised, but when I first moved here you could come in on a tourist visa, get married and switch to FLR without leaving the country. Oh, and it was free! And it was for only 1 year and then you switched to IRL.

Biggreygoose · 15/02/2018 21:37

@expat I wish it was like that now!

We have done a fiancé visa @£870, one spousal visa @£1200 and one @£1400, have idefinate leave to remain @£2500 on January. Citizenship is £1800 after that. Prices go up every year in April.

Oh, plus £50 life in the UK test and 3x£20 biometric pass fee per application.

You can't get married on a visitor visa any more. And you have to go to a central registrar's office for questioning to post bans.

expatinscotland · 15/02/2018 21:50
Shock

I got ILR the first year they started charging. It was £150. Again, it took about maybe a fortnight. To naturalise it was £268, then you just applied for the passport.

When we went to register to marry I just showed them my passport, birth certificate and my divorce decree. We got a date on DH's day off and got married. Form for FLR was about 3 pages long.

arousingcheer · 15/02/2018 21:53

expatinscotland exactly what I did. When was that if you don't mind me being shamelessly nosy asking? I failed to apply for UK citizenship until shortly after the fee increased from £120 (but before the testing started).

Sorry OP, utterly irrelevant.

arousingcheer · 15/02/2018 21:57

Oops, cross post. My ILR was free, unsurprising as I am ancient and back then was all fields round here.

Absolutely gobsmacked at the crazy fees you had to pay Biggreygoose.

Original poster
Cinders2221 · 15/02/2018 21:57

Thank you also to expatinscotland familylawsolicitor*

I am sure they have no idea about any of this and certainly not the costs involved. You have all been very helpful.

OP posts:
Biggreygoose · 15/02/2018 21:58

That makes me weep. Sad

Fiancé visa took 8 months (not helped by the visa office in New York getting flooded and shutting for a month). Submitted enough paper to completely fill a boxfile.

Had to move wedding date twice as it should only take 3 months. Hmm

FLR now 70 pages long, and takes 3 to 4 months. ILR is 3-6 months.

Every time I hear someone say how easy immigrants have it coming over here have it I piss myself laughing.

Several times I thought it would be cheaper and easier to just hide DW in a shipping crate and bribe a few people to look the other way!

Klobuchar · 15/02/2018 22:03

I married a USC. You’re not allowed to enter the US on a visa waiver (as UK citizens are allowed to do for up to 90 days) if you intend to get married when you’re there. If you get found out, and at some point you will have to register the marriage legally, how and where depends on the state you’re in, you could deported from the US and the chances of you ever getting back in are slim-to-none. The rules have really tightened up on this in recent years, so whilst we’ve all heard stories about people doing it and getting away with it, I really wouldn’t attempt it now.

I’d say your Auntie needs to sort how she’s going to deal with this before making plans to bring her husband back to the UK.

expatinscotland · 15/02/2018 22:05

OMG! I got married in 2002. Can't really remember when they started making it super hard but I naturalised a while back (am on my second UK passport now). It's definitely not as easy as the Daily Fail makes out and the OP's aunty won't be able to just saunter right in with him and set him up on benefits.

Klobuchar · 16/02/2018 00:01

It doesn’t sound like she has the minimum income to even make the application, to be honest

Klobuchar · 16/02/2018 00:15

It’s £18.5k now, there were plans by the current government to raise it to something like £23k at some point.

Has she looked into getting married in the UK?

HeadDreamer · 16/02/2018 00:28

You can’t just get married in the U.K. with a foreign national. You need to have arrived on a finace type of visa. I was married in 2005 and even back then you need a permit from the home office to get married. I was on a work visa here. And you definitely can’t convert a visitor one to a spousal one.

HeadDreamer · 16/02/2018 00:32

Looks like it’s the same settlement visa if they were to get married in the U.K.
www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/foreign-national
www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa