Getting married to a UK national

Hi there and sorry if this has been discussed before.

My cousin (who applied for extension of his student visa and it's on going pending a court appeal) is planning on marrying his gf finally.
His girlfriend is a UK national and they have been in relationship for about 3 years but not living together. Can anyone please advise where to start this whole process from and what kind of visa he'll be applying after getting married?
Also, if I remember correctly there were 2 year and 5 year routes which some financial requirements as to his gf must be earning more than a certain amount in order to him applying to extend his stay as a spouse.
BTW he's already in the UK and been here for about 5 years.
Any quick pointers would do.

Thanks a bunch and again, my apologies for not being the best when it comes to searching in a forum.

They have to give notice of intention to marry at one of the designated Registry offices (28 days notice). This is likely to be increased to 70 days as the Registry office is obliged to inform HO when a non-EU national wishes to marry, even more so when the non-EU national does not have a valid visa. HO is likely to interview both of them separately, a lot of questions and answers will be cross checked and matched from each of them. He will have to wait for HO to say yes for them to get married before they can actually do it.

He would then have to apply for a spouse visa (FLR M), which is likely to be difficult given he is currently sitting in the appeal system.

His wife needs to earn £18,600pa. He needs to meet the English requirement too. He also has to pay the immigration health surcharge of £500 for the first 2.5 year visa.

There is ONLY a 5 year route (2 X 2.5 year visas). The 2 year route was stopped 4 years ago.

[iD] wrote:Hi there and sorry if this has been discussed before.

My cousin (who applied for extension of his student visa and it's on going pending a court appeal) is planning on marrying his gf finally.
His girlfriend is a UK national and they have been in relationship for about 3 years but not living together. Can anyone please advise where to start this whole process from and what kind of visa he'll be applying after getting married?
Also, if I remember correctly there were 2 year and 5 year routes which some financial requirements as to his gf must be earning more than a certain amount in order to him applying to extend his stay as a spouse.
BTW he's already in the UK and been here for about 5 years.
Any quick pointers would do.

Thanks a bunch and again, my apologies for not being the best when it comes to searching in a forum.

1. As a foreign national without settled status, the intention to marry will have to be notified at a Home Office designated Registry Office. The Registrar is legally required to advise the HO, who can then extend the registration period from 28 to 70 days in order to interview the couple (if they choose to do so) before the wedding can take place.
2. If they are permitted to marry, your cousin would then apply for a spouse visa on form FLR(M).
3. His wife (as the sponsor) must be earning at least £18,600 p.a or have substantial savings to make up any shortfall.
4. There is only a 5 year route to permanent settlement (ILR). Divided into two separate applications of 2.5 + 2.5 years
5. Unless exempt, A1 level English required.
6. Visa fee of £811 (postal) or £1311 if applied for in person. + NHS surcharge of £500

Edit: Beaten by Miss Speedy Fingers, CR001

Brilliant! thanks a for the replies, I'll relay that to him.

If I remember correctly he had to sit in a HO recognised English language test just before he applied for the extension of his student visa in May 2014(which is still ongoing) so I'm guessing that'll do.

Just a quick question about earning requirement, if the requirement is of £18,600 pa for his gf does that mean they have to send out 12 months documents to the HO?

[iD] wrote:Brilliant! thanks a for the replies, I'll relay that to him.

If I remember correctly he had to sit in a HO recognised English language test just before he applied for the extension of his student visa in May 2014(which is still ongoing) so I'm guessing that'll do.

Just a quick question about earning requirement, if the requirement is of £18,600 pa for his gf does that mean they have to send out 12 months documents to the HO?

He must ensure that this English test is on the UKVI approved list of tests/test centres.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ebsite.pdf

6 months of pay slips and bank statements, the most recent dated no later than 28 days before the application is submitted. Letter from his wife's employer on Company letterhead, confirming the terms of employment.
Joint income will be considered, as long as he isn't working in excess of his permitted hours.

Casa wrote: He must ensure that this English test is on the UKVI approved list of tests/test centres.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ebsite.pdf

6 months of pay slips and bank statements, the most recent dated no later than 28 days before the application is submitted. Letter from his wife's employer on Company letterhead, confirming the terms of employment.
Joint income will be considered, as long as he isn't working in excess of his permitted hours.

I think it was UKVI approved test, if not he'll have to sit in another exam which isn't an issue.
Joint income thing will definitely help his cause as they both work part time.

Again, thank you for taking your time out to reply. I will get back if I have any more questions.