Spouse visa advice needed.

Hi.

Me and my partner have decided to register as a civil partnership (same sex). Currently he is working in Glasgow but he is from England. I have 1.5 months left on my visa.

Can anyone advise me on what I should do to get ILR or Citizenship? What's the procedure? Also do we need to be living in the same house?

I don't have any money for solicitors.

What's your current visa status?

On reading your post in another thread it appears that you have a Tier 4 general student visa. You're a long way off being able to apply for ILR and British Citizenship. If you switch to civil partner on form FLR(M) you will be on a 5 year route to permanent residence- ILR. If your partner is British you would be able to apply for British Citizenship immediately after being granted ILR, assuming you meet the standard requirements.
As far as switching to a FLR(M) visa, you will need to submit evidence of a genuine relationship. Spouse, unmarried and civil partnership applications come under a great deal of scrutiny when one in the couple has a visa close to expiry. In this thread you talk about your desperation to remain in the UK and make no mention of a partner.

Before applying you must also ensure that you meet the financial condition of minimum annual earnings of £18,600. You say that you are living in separate locations at present. You will need to show that you intend to live together and provide proof of adequate accommodation. Unless you are from an exempt country, or have a degree taught in English you will have to pass the A1 level English test.

Tier 4 student visa. 1.5 months left...

skulltraill wrote:Tier 4 student visa. 1.5 months left...

Do you and your partner pass the financial tests?

Casa wrote:On reading your post in another thread it appears that you have a Tier 4 general student visa. You're a long way off being able to apply for ILR and British Citizenship. If you switch to civil partner on form FLR(M) you will be on a 5 year route to permanent residence- ILR. If your partner is British you would be able to apply for British Citizenship immediately after being granted ILR, assuming you meet the standard requirements.
As far as switching to a FLR(M) visa, you will need to submit evidence of a genuine relationship. Spouse, unmarried and civil partnership applications come under a great deal of scrutiny when one in the couple has a visa close to expiry. Before applying you must also ensure that you meet the financial condition of minimum annual earnings of £18,600. You say that you are living in separate locations at present. You will need to show that you intend to live together and provide proof of adequate accommodation. Unless you are from an exempt country, or have a degree taught in English you will have to pass the A1 level English test.

On the gov.uk website, it says I can apply for citizenship if my spouse is british and I have lived in the UK for at least 3 years, both of which are true. Also, I have a degree from the UK which was obviously taught in English so I'm assuming that'll be fine.
The other guy works and makes 22k a year but he'll be going back to university for 1 year... in 2016.

skulltraill wrote: On the gov.uk website, it says I can apply for citizenship if my spouse is british and I have lived in the UK for at least 3 years, both of which are true.

Lived in UK for three years on a settlement visa, which you haven't. Tier 4 is not a path to settlement.

Also the rules have changed, if you switched to spouse route now you'd need to wait five years to qualify for PR/BC and pass the finance test at (nearly) every stage.

Actually Wanderer not quiet correct. The 3 years doesn't have to be on a settlement visa, any legal stay would count. However, the post July 2012 rules require 5 years to ILR and British Citizenship can't be applied for until ILR has been granted. Therefore the 3 years is irrelevant. You will have to apply for an extension after 2.5 years, again on form FLR(M) and pay the visa fee again. Proof that the relationship is subsisting will have to be submitted and again at the 5 year point when ILR is applied for. You will also have to submit the same financial evidence of minimum earnings of £18,600 when applying for the 2.5 year extension and for ILR. Joint earnings will be considered in the calculation. Also you'll need documented proof that the relationship is subsisting when you apply for all visas. This will require evidence of joint address throughout. Hopefully you will be able to submit strong evidence of a genuine relationship when you apply to switch from student to civil partner to avoid the risk of the case worker taking the view that this is a ploy to avoid having to leave the UK.

Wanderer wrote:

skulltraill wrote: On the gov.uk website, it says I can apply for citizenship if my spouse is british and I have lived in the UK for at least 3 years, both of which are true.

Lived in UK for three years on a settlement visa, which you haven't. Tier 4 is not a path to settlement.

Also the rules have changed, if you switched to spouse route now you'd need to wait five years to qualify for PR/BC and pass the finance test at (nearly) every stage.

Ah damn. Right, so if my partner is working atm making 22k a year. Then the 1 year when he's back in Uni if I'm making over 19k a year, that'll work right?

Yes

skulltraill wrote:

Wanderer wrote:

skulltraill wrote: On the gov.uk website, it says I can apply for citizenship if my spouse is british and I have lived in the UK for at least 3 years, both of which are true.

Lived in UK for three years on a settlement visa, which you haven't. Tier 4 is not a path to settlement.

Also the rules have changed, if you switched to spouse route now you'd need to wait five years to qualify for PR/BC and pass the finance test at (nearly) every stage.

Ah damn. Right, so if my partner is working atm making 22k a year. Then the 1 year when he's back in Uni if I'm making over 19k a year, that'll work right?

Not quite, it's 2.5 years when you apply for FLR extension not 1 year. Also the financial requirements may well have been increased by then.

EDIT: Oh I get what u mean, agree with Casa!

I'm relieved someone does

Can someone link me to the gov.uk site where it explains about FLR/how to apply for FLR/spouse visa.

The joint address is a real problem as we have to live separately due to work atm.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

You don't have to be living together before the civil partnership but you do when you submit the application. Without evidence of co-habitation after the ceremony there's a strong chance the application will be refused due to doubting the relationship is genuine.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -form-flrm

You may find this link helpful;
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... -FM2.1.pdf

Oh and by the way, you won't be able to work without restricted hours until your FLR(M) visa has been granted. This could take 3 months or more unless you pay the premium fee and apply in person.

Casa wrote:You don't have to be living together before the civil partnership but you do when you submit the application. Without evidence of co-habitation after the ceremony there's a strong chance the application will be refused due to doubting the relationship is genuine.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -form-flrm

You may find this link helpful;
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... -FM2.1.pdf

Oh and by the way, you won't be able to work without restricted hours until your FLR(M) visa has been granted. This could take 3 months or more unless you pay the premium fee and apply in person.

Damn. We'll work something out.
Well on my visa it says I can work unlimited hours non-term time.

If you are interviewed, I would avoid using terms such as 'the other guy' which you've written in your post. Case Workers will expect to hear phrases such as 'my partner' at the very least. 'The other guy' doesn't sound very endearing for a relationship you say you have.

Also be aware that working outside of your permitted hours on a student visa is a common reason for refusal.

Casa wrote:If you are interviewed, I would avoid using terms such as 'the other guy' which you've written in your post. Case Workers will expect to hear phrases such as 'my partner' at the very least. 'The other guy' doesn't sound very endearing for a relationship you say you have.

Also be aware that working outside of your permitted hours on a student visa is a common reason for refusal.

I know haha, the only reason I said 'the other guy' is because we're both guys and I rarely use official terms like "my partner" a lot. I usually call him by his nickname