work permit & visa for Mexican citizen

[dangermouse]

It looks like I will need to return to the UK early next year for family reasons. I myself am a Uk passport holder so for that there isn't any problem. However, my fiance, who is Mexican, will be travelling with me and as I will probably have to stay there for 1-2years he will need to get a work permit and visa.

I've already contacted the consulate in Mexico city but they never tell me anything other than when he gets a job offer his future employer will to apply for the work permit.

I would love to hear from someone who has already been through the whole process.

How difficult is it to find a job and get the papers before we go??

Is it recommendable for him to travel there as a tourist and then find a job and process the paper work when already in the UK??

I've already contacted the recruitment agencies in Northern Ireland, but i'm getting a mixed bag of responses. Some have told me to forward the curriculum and they will see if they can help, others have told me the chances are slim and it's better to come here first. I'm also keeping an eye out in local papers but are there any good websites with uk job postings for overseas citizens?? or perhaps employment agencies that you know of who would help us find a job before going there??

While my family are in the north, it is also possible for us to live in the south and travel back and forth. Would it be easier for him to find a job and get his papers in Ireland??

I know this is long and with a lot of questions. I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions you guys could give me.

[John]

Hi, you describe him as your fiancé but what you don't say is when the two of you plan to get married? And it could be very relevant to the visa situation. Also some other questions.

So before answering your questions :-

• When do the two of you plan to marry?
• Where do the two of you plan to marry? Mexico? The UK?
• How long have the two of you lived together (if indeed you live together now)?
• Your fiancé .. what sort of work does he do?
• Does the UK have a shortage of people to do that sort of work?

[Chess]

Is it recommendable for him to travel there as a tourist and then find a job and process the paper work when already in the UK??

visit www.workingintheuk.gov.uk


Good luck

[dangermouse]

Thank you both for you responses.

John regarding the questions you asked:

When do the two of you plan to marry? Where do the two of you plan to marry? Mexico? The UK?
We are planning to get married the summer of 2006 although a specific date or where has not yet been decided. It is something we are currently deciding on.

How long have the two of you lived together (if indeed you live together now)?
We are not actually living together at this time.

Your fiancé .. what sort of work does he do?
He holds a degree in International commerce from a private university in Mexico and has some though limited experience in the import/export area. He also has alot of experience in the administration side and is currently the administrator of a construction company here.

Does the UK have a shortage of people to do that sort of work?
I know from checking out websites and agencies that in the Republic of Ireland there are currently a lot of jobs available in importation/exportation, but whether the are willing to sponsor an international citizen I don't know. However with regards to Northern Ireland, which is were we will probably be, it's something I'm in the process of finding out though at this time I really don't know.

Would we be better to apply for his visa this way rather that just applying for the normal work permit??

[John]

Never ever should anyone get married just to ease the visa situation but that fact is that if the two of you were already married then your husband (as he would be) would be able to apply for a spouse visa and having got that, move to the UK and work .... without needing a Work Permit! That is he would have full permission to work for anyone without the need for the employer to obtain a Work Permit. Needless to say that would make searching for a job very much easier.

But the two of you plan to marry next summer, and say August is still 10 months away. So unless the marriage is brought forward there is a problem going down that route. That is because to get a spouse visa the marriage must have already happened, and if he applies for a fiancé visa, well those only last six months, during which the marriage needs to occur in the UK. Another factor of a fiancé visa is that the holder is not allowed to work, until after the marriage has happened and a spouse visa obtained in the UK.

As the two of you are not currently living together, and presumably will not live together until after the marriage, if you personally need to return to the UK, could your fiancé follow you after a few months? Possibilities include you flying back for a marriage in Mexico, then he would apply for a spouse visa in Mexico, or alternatively he gets a fiancé visa and then flies to the UK for a UK wedding.

Ignoring the implications of the forthcoming marriage, I shall leave others to comment upon whether the education/work experience might qualify under the HSMP scheme. Apart from that, as you rightly realise, in order to get a Work Permit your fiancé needs to find an employer willing to apply for that. Personally I am unable to comment upon whether such an employer could fill a vacancy from within the UK or indeed the rest of the EEA, because if they can, then they should do that rather than applying for a Work Permit in order to bring someone in.

[dangermouse]

I totally agree with you in that nobody should ever get married just to ease the visa situation. When I asked if we would be better to apply that way to get his papers I should have phrased it better. I had actually been thinking along the same lines as you suggest in your message-my going ahead and then returning here for the wedding, or bringing forward the date at least for the civil wedding and then having the religious wedding as we had originally planned.

[John]

Given that the two of you appear to be thinking along those lines the choices appear to be :-

1. have a small civil marriage in Mexico, followed by your husband (as he would then be) applying for a spouse visa in Mexico City, then moving to the UK with you. Full permission to work as soon as he arrives
2. obtaining a fiancé visa in Mexico City then he would move to the UK. there would then be a small Register Office marriage soon after he arrives, followed by application to convert the fiancé visa into a spouse visa in the UK. Permission to work in the UK only after that conversion

In both cases a full wedding blessing would take place say next August.

From the simple financial point of view no. 1 above is cheaper if only because it cuts out the need to convert the fiancé visa into a spouse visa in the UK. The application cost for that would be £335 by post or £500 in person at a PEO. And you might be tempted to pay the £500 so that he could work in the UK earlier than if a postal application is made.

In any case, both fiancé and spouse visas are types of settlement visa. You need to provide evidence that he will not need to claim certain Public Funds and also the the accommodation to be occupied is OK, and certainly not overcrowded. So you might start giving some thought as to the evidence to be provided in order to pass those tests. You also need to supply "evidence of contact".