Marriage on an unmarried partner visa and ILR
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 10:56 pm
Hello,
The latest revision of the Immigration Directorate Instructions regarding unmarried partners (section 5.6) states that
"Unmarried <...> partners who have married <...> during
the probationary period can apply for settlement as the spouse.
The requirements <...> are that:
• the applicant must have been <...> given an extension of stay for a period of 2 years <...> and
• during that period, he or she must have married <...> and
• the applicant must have completed a total of 2 years as <...> the unmarried partner
and spouse <...> of that person"
Right now I'm on Tier 1 having been living with my British girlfriend for over 2 years. We plan to apply for the unmarried partner visa soon. As far as I understand the Instructions quoted above, if we marry while I will be on the unmarried partner visa, I will be immediately eligible to apply for ILR since I will satisfy all three conditions, in particular the last one, since we already have been living in the UK in a relationship akin to marriage since mid-2008.
So, the question is: is it correct that I'll be able to apply for ILR as soon as we get married while on the unmarried partner visa or I will have to wait until 2013 regardless of whether we marry in the meantime?
Thank you for your advice!
The latest revision of the Immigration Directorate Instructions regarding unmarried partners (section 5.6) states that
"Unmarried <...> partners who have married <...> during
the probationary period can apply for settlement as the spouse.
The requirements <...> are that:
• the applicant must have been <...> given an extension of stay for a period of 2 years <...> and
• during that period, he or she must have married <...> and
• the applicant must have completed a total of 2 years as <...> the unmarried partner
and spouse <...> of that person"
Right now I'm on Tier 1 having been living with my British girlfriend for over 2 years. We plan to apply for the unmarried partner visa soon. As far as I understand the Instructions quoted above, if we marry while I will be on the unmarried partner visa, I will be immediately eligible to apply for ILR since I will satisfy all three conditions, in particular the last one, since we already have been living in the UK in a relationship akin to marriage since mid-2008.
So, the question is: is it correct that I'll be able to apply for ILR as soon as we get married while on the unmarried partner visa or I will have to wait until 2013 regardless of whether we marry in the meantime?
Thank you for your advice!