This article is intended as a guide to help inform those who are applying for a Fiancé Settlement Visa to the UK from within a different country only.
You may have realized that if you want to apply for a Fiancé Visa, finding the information on what to do and what information to include is by no means forthcoming. I do not profess in this article to be able to provide you with all the information you will need for sure, as every application must accommodate for its own specific needs and circumstances, but below is a guide as to what I included and some information on the process itself. I wish to stress however that you will need to include all the information that is relevant to YOUR OWN application, and unless your circumstances are exactly the same as ours, the following will not be solely sufficient. Please bear in mind that this is intended as a guide only.
- If you wish to have your girlfriend/boyfriend travel to the UK to live with you permanently then you must apply for a Fiancé Visa. The Fiancé Visa is a type of Settlement Visa. The person who wishes to travel on a Fiancé Visa is 'The Applicant'.
The basic conditions of a Fiancé Visa are;
1. The Applicant must be traveling to the UK with the intention of Marrying their partner.
2. The Applicant must be Sponsored by their partner as part of the application.
(The Sponsor must be the real partner of the Applicant and must also be settled legally in the UK/or be a genuine UK National at the time of the application)
3. The Fiancé Visa is normally valid for 6 months only. Within this time the couple must marry within the UK in order for the Applicant to then request permission to remain within the country for a further two years. After this period a request to remain permanently can be made.
4. The Sponsor must be able to show that he/she can support the Applicant financially for a full 6 months. The Applicant will not be able to work or claim any financial help from the British Government within this time, so it is essential that proof be given that the Sponsor has access to enough money to support himself and his Fiancé for this time at least.
5. The Sponsor must be able to prove that he is living in a place he rents or owns. It IS acceptable for the Sponsor to live with his family, but then he must show that he has permission to do so and that the person who owns the house also gives consent for his Fiancé to join him the same house for at least 6 months. The house the couple are to live in must not be overcrowded, i.e. they must show that they have at least one whole room for themselves to live in within the house and that the house is large enough to accommodate everyone.
6. If the Sponsor will live in a house with his Fiancé that is owned by his family members, then it is the Sponsors responsibility to prove this fact adequately. Proof must also be supplied that AFTER 6 months the couple will be able to live in a property occupied OR owned exclusively by them ONLY. This is to say that, after 6 months it is no longer acceptable for the couple to remain in the family members house. They must find their own accommodation after marriage.
7. A similar condition exists on Financial Support. It IS acceptable for the Sponsor to be supported financially by his close family and to extend this support to his Fiancé initially, but after marriage there must be adequate evidence to show that the Sponsor or Applicant or preferably both will be able to provide their own income.
At this point I would like to take the opportunity to state that 'third party support, known as family finance or maintainance is very much allowed and acceptable but only in the short term, or the first 6 months or so. If the couple will be supported by the Sponsors family, they must give reasonable proof that this will only be the case for a short time and that after marriage the couple will be able to find work and support themselves. Reasonable proof may include an assessment of the employability of the Sponsor/and or Applicant. E.g. are they qualified for work? What does their CV suggest about their likelihood of being able to find work after a marriage? etc The best proof for this is to already have a job offer, or to show that a job is available, although this is not totally necessary.
PLEASE NOTE - The most secure way of the Sponsor proving his own financial stability is to be already working full time at the time of the application.
8. You must provide proof that you know your Fiancé and show that you have been in a serious long term relationship.
9. If the couple are not married within the UK before the Visa has expired, then the Applicant becomes illegal in the UK and must leave immediately. If the Applicant does out-stay the Visa expiration date, then the chances of re-entering the UK under any Visa are seriously diminished. For this reason you must show in your application that you do intend to marry before the Visa has expired.
10. If the Sponsor is unemployed at the time the application is made, then he must get a Co-Sponsor to provide information in the Application. This is the person (usually his close relative) who will be providing the financial support/and/or the accommodation for the couple in the time before the marriage. A Co-Sponsor is acceptable but you must be thorough in your evidence in all cases.
What follows is a list of all the documents we included in our application. These documents were relevant to our particular circumstances and may not be totally sufficient for your application. I needed a Co-Sponsor because I was unemployed and living with my parents at the time I Sponsored my Fiancé’s Application. Our application was successful.
Documents Regarding Applicant and Sponsors Relationship
1. Letter from Sponsor detailing how we met each other, how we have maintained the relationship, the plans we have made for marriage, where we intend to stay and how we intend to support ourselves and also why we have chosen the UK as the country in which we wish to live together.
2. Photos of Applicant and Sponsor together.
3. Copies of the Sponsors past Air tickets to Miami International Airport. (The nearest Airport to the Applicants residence as proof that we visit each other)
4. Copies of the Sponsors Passport port-admittance stamps into Miami Airport. (Located on back of Air Ticket Copies)
5. Copies of the currently valid Air tickets for both Sponsor and Applicant showing their intentions to return on the same flight together, and the Sponsors locality in Florida during the application process.
(We understand that the Embassy is not responsible for any financial loss as a result of this.)
6. Excerpts of e-mail correspondence between Applicant and Sponsor covering the past three years. (In order to avoid an excessive amount of documentation these excerpts are in three month intervals approximately.)
7. Documents showing the couples intention and provisional arrangements to marry in the UK.
Documents Regarding Sponsor & Co-Sponsor
1. Photocopy of the Sponsors bio-data page in Passport showing that he is a UK Citizen.
3. Sponsors original Degree Certificate and one copy, illustrating his qualifications for work.
4. Sponsors original Bank Statements showing that he has no debts or loans to repay from his University study or at all.
5. Letter from Co-Sponsor – I. Inviting Applicant to live in her house; II. Giving consent and confirmation that she is able to and will continue to cover the living costs of the Sponsor and will also extend this support to the Applicant until such time as Sponsor and Applicant are able to cover themselves. III. Stating intention to hand over a property to the Sponsor next year for the use of rental income and accommodation.
6. Official copy of Land Registry Documents proving Co-Sponsors ownership of the house the couple will initially live in as referred to above.
7. Copy of House Plan and Layout of the house the couple will initially live in, showing the size and property details. (This was taken from the original Estate agents correspondence when buying the property.)
8. Color-copy and a black and white copy of Co-Sponsors Bio-Data page in Passport, proving her identity, nationality and signature.
9. Co-Sponsors original Bank Statements.
10. Co-Sponsors original Wage Slips and copies of them.
11. Co-Sponsors most recent P.60.
12. Copy of Co-Sponsors Certificate of Marriage.
13. Signed letter from Sponsors Mother (Co-Sponsor) and Father declaring their intention to hand-over a property to Sponsor at the end of its current rental contract in 2009.
14. Official copy of Land Registry Documents proving current ownership of the house the Sponsor will inherit in 2009.
15. The Original Rental Agreement Contract for the house the Sponsor will inherit in 2009 and one copy, showing the total monthly income that the house is generating and also the date for the end of the current contract.
Please Note – The current contract is due to terminate by 12th July 2009. The couple has set a provisional date for marriage for 20th July 2009, ensuring that the property is available for them after marriage. The marriage date can be confirmed by the Register office whose contact details have been provided.
Documents Regarding Applicant
1. Applicant’s online Application form with attached photo, also including proof of online payment.
2. Applicant’s stamped Bio-metric appointment confirmation letter.
3. Copy of Applicants Birth Certificate.
4. Applicant’s original U.S. Residency card and one photocopy of it.
5. Applicant’s original Bank statements detailing her monthly income and employment.
6. Applicant’s original wage slips.
7. One passport standard photo of Applicant.
8. Applicants Passport and one photocopy of its Bio-Data page.
We wish you all the best of luck with your application, but please remember that simply following exactly what I have included in this article may not be enough depending on your situation. I say this because it is important that you include all information you feel is relevant and appropriate, and it is down the judgment of the Entry Clearance Officer who reviews your application as to whether what you have provided is sufficient or not.
I will close by saying that generally, Entry Clearance Officers (ECO's) do not wish to decline your application unless it is obviously fraudulent or missing vital pieces of information. So they will be looking for reasons to give you the Visa, but you must make sure that you make it easy for them to review. Make it well organized, be reasonable and honest and above all provide them with reasonable evidence for every statement you make if you can. Sign any documents that require validation, and wherever possible seek evidence from the highest authority you can attain. For example if you need to prove that you own your own house, don't just provide letters sent to you with your address on it, this is not enough, obtain a mortgage agreement, or get an official copy of the deeds to your house from the Land Registry. You can do this online. Be logical, specific and detailed in your application. This will increase your chances of Approval.
If you have any questions regarding this article please feel free to send me a question, but bear in my mind that I can only give you advice from my own personal experience and am by no means and expert in the field of Immigration.
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