Getting married to my fiance - what is required?

[wyll]

I have been living in the UK for about 9 years now, 7 as a student and 2 on the PSW which expiries in Dec 2011. My fiancée and I are hoping to get married but we have concerns that:

- we do not have a common address at the moment and this could affect our registration of the marriage or lead to many questions being asked by the home office. My fiancée is living with her sister and she is a student and I am the only one working full time at the moment. Our plan is to move in together soon but we are worried that our separate addresses might affect our applications.

- would it be acceptable for the two of us to move in into a double room and still meet accommodation requirements regarding overcrowding? We have found a privately rented place and the landlord wants to give us a letter to state that we live there, however there are other tenants in the property and the concern is if this will infringe accommodation requirements? This property has 3 bedrooms with 3 tenants already and we will be taking up one other room thereby making it 5 people. Are the rules different for private and council properties?

I shall be very appreciative of any help and also a discussion of the steps involved in getting married as well as the things to pay attention to.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

Will

[Lucapooka]

If you will be living in a HMO (House of multiple occupancy) where there are other adults that are not part of your extended family, it's advisable to get a property inspection report to show how the accommodations are suitable and not overcrowded.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/mainte ... ommodation

[John]

The person you are marrying? Their nationality, or UK immigration status?

we do not have a common address at the moment and this could affect our registration of the marriage or lead to many questions being asked by the home office.

Wait a minute, there is absolutely nothing in UK law that requires an engaged couple to live together prior to marriage! So the fact that you currently have different addresses really is no problem at all.

[Lucapooka]

If she will be applying as a PBS dependant the accommodation is not relevant; all you need to show is the required maintenance held for the requisite period. My post was perhaps confusing as I was assuming you would soon be switching to ILR (after 10 years) and applying for a fiancee settlement visa. There is no fiancee visa for PBS dependants so you will have to marry (inside or outside the UK) and then apply for a PBS dependant visa from outside the UK.

[wyll]

The person you are marrying? Their nationality, or UK immigration status?

we do not have a common address at the moment and this could affect our registration of the marriage or lead to many questions being asked by the home office.

Wait a minute, there is absolutely nothing in UK law that requires an engaged couple to live together prior to marriage! So the fact that you currently have different addresses really is no problem at all.

Thank you John. My fiancée is a UK national.

Another question: are there special tenancy forms or agreements to be signed for HMO (Housing for Multiple Occupants) or a Landlord's letter, expressing the terms of the tenancy, suffices?

[John]

My fiancée is a UK national.

OK, so that being the case, as soon as the marriage has happened, apply for a 2-year spouse visa, using form FLR(M).

As regards the accommodation issue, the document already linked to in this topic provides guidance.

I note that you have already been in the UK for 9 years. Whilst the holder of a spouse visa would ordinarily apply for ILR near the end of their 2-year spouse visa, there is nothing to stop you making a 10-year Long Residence application for ILR, in about a year's time.