Engaged and worried

[ruby_rainbow]

I am a British Citizen and my boyfriend is Mauritian and currently on a tourist visa. He applied for a student visa as a way to stay in UK, but since submitting his application we got engaged. Still no news on his student visa application which was sent in Nov 05 - but now I'm worried cuz we plan to get married and settle in UK.

If he is granted student visa and we apply for a certificate of approval to get married soon after, will it cause problems as they might say he was fraudulent in his intentions for the student visa?

Also, if his student visa gets refused, if he applies for a fiance visa straight after will they look at the fact that he was just refused student visa? I'm also worried becuase I'm a full-time mature student and so don't have any regular income anymore in order to prove I could support him.

I was fine about it all, but I've heard so many stories recently that now I'm panicking about the whole thing. I just need some reassurance that which ever way it goes we know how best to go forward. Any help please!

[John]

I'm also worried because I'm a full-time mature student and so don't have any regular income anymore in order to prove I could support him.

It does not necessarily need to be the case that you can prove that you can support him. It merely needs to be the case that it is clear he will not need to claim certain Public Funds, which is a slightly different matter.

But with you as a full-time student, how is he being supported at the moment on his visitor visa? And if the student visa is granted, how long duration is that visa likely to be? And how will he afford the tuition fees?

[ruby_rainbow]

Thanks for your comments. He has a sponsor who has said he will help him (although this is more for his application rather than a reality) and he has a friend who will give him a job if he gets his visa. At the moment he's been staying with a family member and living off savings. I think it should be a one year visa if he gets it. We want to get married this year but now i'm scared that they will say he never intented to leave after his studies and it will create problems. Am I being paranoid?

[Kayalami]

1. What type and level of course did he apply for e.g. engineering undergraduate 4 year degree?

2. Which insitution?

3. Does he have any qualifications and/or work experience?

4. When did he enter the UK?

5. Do you own your property?

6. What type and level is your course?

7. When (month/yr) does it finish?

[ruby_rainbow]

he has applied for a foundation degree (3 years) in applied computing at One Tech in N22. He has the equivalent of A-levels and about 5 yr work experiance. he came to Uk in June 05. I'm in rented accomodation and studying a full-time undergraduate degree in internaitonal relations and development studies.

[Kayalami]

Looking at your details my 0.02 p worth is:

Pros
His intended institution is on the Department of Education list of registered providers

Cons
Funding is going to be a major issue. My contacts in the immigration field tell me the Home Office nowadays not really buying the funding situation in the scenario you describe. That he is based in London one of the most expensive cities in the world doesn't help. Expect the HO to scrutinise details of the sponsor to probably include their visa status. In any case there may be issues over course start dates given we are in 2006 - when is the course commencing?

Funding even more of an issue for eventual spouse visa even if he gets the student visa. Add in the costs of a COA, marriage, Spouse FLR and its starting to be pricey. I presume the short nature of your relationship impacts on skipping the student part and straight on to spouse which would at least get one party working full time. Do you have funds stashed away or generous relatives ideally in the nuclear family that would offer short term support for spousal case. If you've just started your course chances of any spousal visa (IMHO) next to nil. I enquired about his eduational/ work exeprience to gauge the viability of an emplyment visa e.g. WP/ HSMP - with respect this appear to be moot.

Sorry this may not be the news you wanted to hear.

[pinkyperky]

Hi,

I'm in a similar situation but not exactly the same.

Please can you advise me on my situation.

I'm a UK born and bred citizen in full-time employment. I've been in a relationship with a Mauritian man for a few years. He wanted to continue with his studies in Mauritius and thus I've visited him for a few months each year. However, he is coming to the end of his studies (University BSc in Management 3-year degree course). I want to settle in UK or France but not sure what is the best way to go about it.

I want him to visit me next year for 2-3 months and we plan to get married next December (2008) in Mauritius.

Many have told me there is no chance he will be allowed to visit and if he does he won't be able to get any work experience whilst here paid or unpaid.

They also do not think he will ever be allowed to become a UK citizen or stay for any length of time.

I'm really worried about all this. Do you know anything about the procedure, rights, costs, what he can and cannot do, what will be expected.

I'm fairly annoyed about this at present as I feel it's unfair if people who are not UK citizens can come here and bring their wives/husbands to the country and I as a UK citizen and who would not have chosen this way at all (as to be honest it knocks a lot of the romance out when having to go through forms and proceedings just to be together). However, I really need to know what our options are. We are not rushing things either but still want to plan ahead to see what is possible.

I'm really grateful to anyone out there who knows more about these things.

[John]

Many have told me there is no chance he will be allowed to visit and if he does he won't be able to get any work experience whilst here paid or unpaid.

They also do not think he will ever be allowed to become a UK citizen or stay for any length of time.

Who are these people telling you this? I well recollect that before my (now) wife applied for her spouse visa in Bangkok, Thailand, that many of her work collegues at a Government college where she worked told her, very firmly, that there was no chance of getting a UK visa! Anyway, after the marriage and after the issue of the spouse visa, there were many shocked faces when she went back to work and said about the visa and handed in her notice!

Anyway, visitor visa ..... necessary to show "reason to return", So, yes a blunt question, what evidence could be provided to show that he will return to his country before the end of the visitor visa, if issued?

Settlement visa ..... either fiancé or spouse variety .... no reason to be so negative. As long as all the required evidence is supplied the application should succeed. And then, 3 years after arriving in the UK, he can apply for Naturalisation as British.