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Moving to UK while on EVW

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Mkj2727
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Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by Mkj2727 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:21 pm

Hi all,

My partner is United Arab Emirates national and I am an EU citizen. I’m currently on the move to UK (Scotland) and I will be applying for the pre-settled status as soon as I find an accommodation to rent long term.

My partner also wants to move to the UK, in order to finish her studies here and also live here after her studies conclude, she’s currently here under an EVW (electronic visa waiver) and she is in the process of being accepted by one of the universities here in Scotland as a Year 3 student, so far they seem very interested, so it’s almost guaranteed she will get in.

But there’s one caveat, she is currently pregnant with my child (9 weeks) and we intend to have the baby.

Therefore I have the following questions and couldn’t find clear answers on the government pages:

1. Seeing as she entered the country on the premises of the EVW 6 month visa, border control told her that she needs to exit UK in order to have her student visa issued. Is it possible to have the student visa issued from a country that’s not her home country? I.e. could she travel to France and have her student application processed there, as a national of the UAE?

2. Do we have any chance to claim unmarried durable partner status? We have only lived together in UK for a month, but she is pregnant with my child, does that provide any opportunity for us to claim the unmarried durable status?

3. In case she fails to get accepted by the university, or fails to get into the semester this year, perhaps if there’s a delay in getting the student visa, is there any possibility of us getting married? Seeing as she’s here under the EVW 6 month visa, from my understanding she’s not allowed to marry? Does that somehow change considering the pregnancy? What are our options with that? I know about the marriage visitor visa, but once again she could not travel back to home country to apply for it from there, would only work if she could apply for the marriage visitor visa while in France or someplace close.

Sorry this is a complicated case perhaps, it would be amazing if someone would be able to offer some assistance or guidance.

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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by CR001 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:44 pm

1. Seeing as she entered the country on the premises of the EVW 6 month visa, border control told her that she needs to exit UK in order to have her student visa issued. Is it possible to have the student visa issued from a country that’s not her home country? I.e. could she travel to France and have her student application processed there, as a national of the UAE?
No. She needs to apply from a country where she has legal residence, i.e. not as a visitor.
2. Do we have any chance to claim unmarried durable partner status? We have only lived together in UK for a month, but she is pregnant with my child, does that provide any opportunity for us to claim the unmarried durable status?

Being pregnant does not give any advantage unfortunately. Unmarried partner requires 2 year residence with documented proof of living together in a relationship akin to marriage.
3. In case she fails to get accepted by the university, or fails to get into the semester this year, perhaps if there’s a delay in getting the student visa, is there any possibility of us getting married? Seeing as she’s here under the EVW 6 month visa, from my understanding she’s not allowed to marry? Does that somehow change considering the pregnancy? What are our options with that? I know about the marriage visitor visa, but once again she could not travel back to home country to apply for it from there, would only work if she could apply for the marriage visitor visa while in France or someplace close.
Unlikely while in the UK as a visitor. You are both required to attend an HO approved registry office to give 28 days notice. They then inform HO who could extend the notice period to 70 days while they investigate and/or interview both of you separately. You can only marry in the UK once HO gives approval.

Any visa for the UK she applies for has to be from a country she has legal residence in and not where she is in not as a visitor.
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Mkj2727
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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by Mkj2727 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:51 pm

CR001 wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:44 pm
Any visa for the UK she applies for has to be from a country she has legal residence in and not where she is in not as a visitor.
First of all, thank you so, so much for your thorough response, it really cleared things up for us, admittedly it is bad news, unfortunately.

I would just like to clarify on your quoted response. It’s our first baby and we want to minimise the amount of time she’s alone on her own. It is clear now that she has to take a trip back to her home country, but let’s say she got in on the university course this January, which means she needs to apply for the student visa this October (3 months prior), which will then take 3~ weeks to get processed, can she do the application on October while visiting in the UK? I.e. can she send the biometrics from the UK but apply as a UAE resident and once the visa is ready to be issued, travel back to the UAE and re-enter on the student visa? Or does the application have to be sent from the UAE and she has to reside in the UAE while waiting for the response on the application?

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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by CR001 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:53 pm

Her application and biometrics must be done from home country.
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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by Mkj2727 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:59 pm

Thanks, you helped us out a lot!

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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by ALKB » Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:13 am

Mkj2727 wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:21 pm

3. In case she fails to get accepted by the university, or fails to get into the semester this year, perhaps if there’s a delay in getting the student visa, is there any possibility of us getting married? Seeing as she’s here under the EVW 6 month visa, from my understanding she’s not allowed to marry? Does that somehow change considering the pregnancy? What are our options with that? I know about the marriage visitor visa, but once again she could not travel back to home country to apply for it from there, would only work if she could apply for the marriage visitor visa while in France or someplace close.

Sorry this is a complicated case perhaps, it would be amazing if someone would be able to offer some assistance or guidance.
If you have all required documents or can get them quickly, you could marry in Denmark, no specific visa required for her to marry there.

Personally, I'd try to do this before Brexit occurs.

On a student visa, she'd actually have to study - how long will she be able to do this? As far as I know, deferment due to pregnancy usually leads to cancellation of the student visa? Maybe somebody else who has deeper knowledge of Tier 4 can confirm.
I am not a regulated immigration advisor. I am offering an opinion and not advice.

Mkj2727
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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by Mkj2727 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:39 am

ALKB wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:13 am
Mkj2727 wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:21 pm

3. In case she fails to get accepted by the university, or fails to get into the semester this year, perhaps if there’s a delay in getting the student visa, is there any possibility of us getting married? Seeing as she’s here under the EVW 6 month visa, from my understanding she’s not allowed to marry? Does that somehow change considering the pregnancy? What are our options with that? I know about the marriage visitor visa, but once again she could not travel back to home country to apply for it from there, would only work if she could apply for the marriage visitor visa while in France or someplace close.

Sorry this is a complicated case perhaps, it would be amazing if someone would be able to offer some assistance or guidance.
If you have all required documents or can get them quickly, you could marry in Denmark, no specific visa required for her to marry there.

Personally, I'd try to do this before Brexit occurs.

On a student visa, she'd actually have to study - how long will she be able to do this? As far as I know, deferment due to pregnancy usually leads to cancellation of the student visa? Maybe somebody else who has deeper knowledge of Tier 4 can confirm.
Yeah, that’s a good point. We’re hoping that she would be able to maintain a good attendance level. The university offers a lot of support to pregnant women abd she does intend to finish the course, it’s important for her career/future and isn’t intended to be a cover-up or a way to achieve legal stay in the UK.

But I get where you’re coming from, it can be unpredictable whether she’ll be able to keep up with her studies and therefore we need to get married ASAP.

Denmark seems like a good idea, we’ve also looked into Ireland since they seem lenient about that too. The only thing I’m not sure about still, is, if she can get married in the Uk while she’s on the Tier 4 visa? I couldn’t find a clear answer about that.

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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by CR001 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:45 am

She can marry in the UK on a tier 4, there is no restriction. It can just be a bit drawn out as the Registry office where you give 28 notice have to inform HO and this notice period could be extended to 70 days for HO to investigate and/or interview each of you separately. You can only marry once HO gives approval.
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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by ALKB » Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:19 am

Mkj2727 wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:39 am

Yeah, that’s a good point. We’re hoping that she would be able to maintain a good attendance level. The university offers a lot of support to pregnant women abd she does intend to finish the course, it’s important for her career/future and isn’t intended to be a cover-up or a way to achieve legal stay in the UK.

But I get where you’re coming from, it can be unpredictable whether she’ll be able to keep up with her studies and therefore we need to get married ASAP.

Denmark seems like a good idea, we’ve also looked into Ireland since they seem lenient about that too. The only thing I’m not sure about still, is, if she can get married in the Uk while she’s on the Tier 4 visa? I couldn’t find a clear answer about that.
She can get married in the UK on a Tier 4 visa - at a HO designated register office, HO can extend the notice period from 28 to 70 days, you may be interviewed, etc. But she won't be able to apply for a Tier 4 visa within the UK.

So, the plan would be: she gets sponsorship for Tier 4, she goes home just in time to apply for the visa, comes back to start her course early next year and as soon as she touches down in the UK, you give notice at he register office, hoping the notice period won't be extended to get married before the child gets born and she potentially has to take maternity leave, so she can then apply for pre settled status before any potential issues with her Tier 4 visa? Yikes.

Would it actually be safe for her to go back home? I mean, even cohabitation is illegal in the UAE and it will be noticeable that she's pregnant and unmarried at some point soon.

I wasn't thinking so much about the pregnancy itself, as long as it's fairly normal (although, both times I could hardly do a thing in the later stages and pregnancy brain is a reality for many women, too) but you also have to take into account the sheer exhaustion and strain of child birth and then living with a tiny infant with no immediate family around to help out. If she is 9 weeks along now, she'll be around 7 months or so for the January/February intake. That does not leave a lot of time until the due date and arrival of a very precious, needy, helpless person who will require 24/7 care and is not interested in sleeping through the night or possibly at all at night. In the first few months of having my first child, it was a good day if I managed to get out of my bathrobe and into real clothes before late afternoon. I assume you will be working?

Who will take care of the baby during lecture days? Does the university have a creche available for newborns? If so, are places readily available and affordable?

Nursery places for newborns are few and far between and come at a price tag of around £ 1000 per month for five days a week (at least in Edinburgh but I hear that elsewhere in Scotland it's not so different).

Apart from support for pregnant students, the university is required to report any absences of students under Tier 4 and if you search the forum you will find several stories about curtailed visas due to this.
I am not a regulated immigration advisor. I am offering an opinion and not advice.

Mkj2727
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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by Mkj2727 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:53 pm

ALKB wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:19 am
Mkj2727 wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:39 am

Yeah, that’s a good point. We’re hoping that she would be able to maintain a good attendance level. The university offers a lot of support to pregnant women abd she does intend to finish the course, it’s important for her career/future and isn’t intended to be a cover-up or a way to achieve legal stay in the UK.

But I get where you’re coming from, it can be unpredictable whether she’ll be able to keep up with her studies and therefore we need to get married ASAP.

Denmark seems like a good idea, we’ve also looked into Ireland since they seem lenient about that too. The only thing I’m not sure about still, is, if she can get married in the Uk while she’s on the Tier 4 visa? I couldn’t find a clear answer about that.
She can get married in the UK on a Tier 4 visa - at a HO designated register office, HO can extend the notice period from 28 to 70 days, you may be interviewed, etc. But she won't be able to apply for a Tier 4 visa within the UK.

So, the plan would be: she gets sponsorship for Tier 4, she goes home just in time to apply for the visa, comes back to start her course early next year and as soon as she touches down in the UK, you give notice at he register office, hoping the notice period won't be extended to get married before the child gets born and she potentially has to take maternity leave, so she can then apply for pre settled status before any potential issues with her Tier 4 visa? Yikes.

Would it actually be safe for her to go back home? I mean, even cohabitation is illegal in the UAE and it will be noticeable that she's pregnant and unmarried at some point soon.

I wasn't thinking so much about the pregnancy itself, as long as it's fairly normal (although, both times I could hardly do a thing in the later stages and pregnancy brain is a reality for many women, too) but you also have to take into account the sheer exhaustion and strain of child birth and then living with a tiny infant with no immediate family around to help out. If she is 9 weeks along now, she'll be around 7 months or so for the January/February intake. That does not leave a lot of time until the due date and arrival of a very precious, needy, helpless person who will require 24/7 care and is not interested in sleeping through the night or possibly at all at night. In the first few months of having my first child, it was a good day if I managed to get out of my bathrobe and into real clothes before late afternoon. I assume you will be working?

Who will take care of the baby during lecture days? Does the university have a creche available for newborns? If so, are places readily available and affordable?

Nursery places for newborns are few and far between and come at a price tag of around £ 1000 per month for five days a week (at least in Edinburgh but I hear that elsewhere in Scotland it's not so different).

Apart from support for pregnant students, the university is required to report any absences of students under Tier 4 and if you search the forum you will find several stories about curtailed visas due to this.
First of all thank you for your heartfelt response. It’s really touching seeing someone care about our specific case so much, it’s really overwhelming trying to deal with all of this and make the right choices along the way.

It is the September course that she’s trying to get into and not the January one. So far the communication with the university seems very promising and we’re pretty confident she will be accepted for the course in September.

The course starts end of September so we still have time to get the visa processed. She also has the option to pay 500/800£ to speed up the visa process if the university suggests it.

Fortunately enough her parents are supporting her studies financially, they’re happy she’s completing her education in the UK.

Right now we’re just waiting for the final approval from the university (we need the CAS), as soon as she has that she will fly back to the UAE and apply for the visa right away then come back here. So everything should be said and done by the end of September in the latest, which is still manageable pregnancy wise.

Luckily enough, I have my mother and sister living here in Scotland (they’ve been residents here for 3 years now), so we will have some support in terms of the upbringing.

Of course none of it is ideal and we’re fully aware of how much of a hectic situation it is, but the other alternative (abortion) is something we both disagree with.

Ahh... hopefully it will all work out in our favour, this is a really tough situation to deal with, especially cause we’re not overly familiar with the UK immigration laws.. mix in Brexit and I just feel like my head will explode. Thank you so much!

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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by seagul » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:20 pm

The idea of tier 4 might work but only temporarily because later she will have to take maternity leave which will result in termination of university sponsorship. And visa will be curtailed to 60 days after which of course the visa can be applied again from abroad after maternity leave but you will end up at same point where you are now. As an EU national who has excercised his treaty rights for 5 years gets PR and then a none-eu partner can simply be married in her country to apply UK spouse visa or fiancee visa for marrying in UK.
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Re: Moving to UK while on EVW

Post by ALKB » Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:17 am

Mkj2727 wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:53 pm

First of all thank you for your heartfelt response. It’s really touching seeing someone care about our specific case so much, it’s really overwhelming trying to deal with all of this and make the right choices along the way.

It is the September course that she’s trying to get into and not the January one. So far the communication with the university seems very promising and we’re pretty confident she will be accepted for the course in September.

The course starts end of September so we still have time to get the visa processed. She also has the option to pay 500/800£ to speed up the visa process if the university suggests it.

Fortunately enough her parents are supporting her studies financially, they’re happy she’s completing her education in the UK.

Right now we’re just waiting for the final approval from the university (we need the CAS), as soon as she has that she will fly back to the UAE and apply for the visa right away then come back here. So everything should be said and done by the end of September in the latest, which is still manageable pregnancy wise.

Luckily enough, I have my mother and sister living here in Scotland (they’ve been residents here for 3 years now), so we will have some support in terms of the upbringing.

Of course none of it is ideal and we’re fully aware of how much of a hectic situation it is, but the other alternative (abortion) is something we both disagree with.

Ahh... hopefully it will all work out in our favour, this is a really tough situation to deal with, especially cause we’re not overly familiar with the UK immigration laws.. mix in Brexit and I just feel like my head will explode. Thank you so much!
Well, that sounds like a much better situation, although it seems expensive to travel back, pay visa fees and IHS, wait for the Tier 4 visa to be issued (always also a risk of refusal) only to probably not be able to use the student visa for very long.

She has the advantage of not needing to apply for a visa in advance to enter Denmark and married to you she could apply for pre settled status, which is free, no need to pay IHS and she can also study.

But you'll have to decide what you are most comfortable with and which way is most suitable for your family.

Good luck!
I am not a regulated immigration advisor. I am offering an opinion and not advice.

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