where to go from here?

[overfaced]

ok so i fell in love in china.

We have been talking ever since and we want to be together, which i didn't think would be so difficult.

Im living in the uk, I was only in china for 3 months and i wasn't working, just bumming about.

I lost my job before christmas which makes this a lot harder, looking for work now just need to know the easiest way of going about it, I don't mind living in china for a while but neither of us want to raise a child in china for obvious reasons, so would want to live in england eventually.

I did read the literature on UKBA website but that has to be the most confusing thing iv read in my life, I still don't know the best course to take, I dont fully understand the requirements, I think it says i need £18k in savings for 6 months? is there a way around this as I am flat broke, I travelled all my money away.

I dont understand fully what i need for a fiance visa or a spouse visa exactly, We are both willing to do anything to be together but I don't know where to start.

is there any literature that breaks it down a little more?

Thanks in advance for any help and i appologise for the ignorance.

also any information you need to give a better answer please ask away i will answer asap.

[Wanderer]

You need £62500 in savings, £18600 is the minimum salary you need to earn. Either/Or, not both.

Get a job, foreign brides cost money mate, believe me!! The first (of many) visa(s) alone is £851. Get two jobs, three, do what ever is needed to achieve your goal. One thing is for certain, there's no cheapo-shortcut or UKBA favours to be had.

[MPH80]

Exactly as wanderer says - you're embarking on an expensive process.

You'll need to have been earning £18,600 a year for at least 6 months before you can apply for your girlfriend to join you in the UK.

For a fiancee visa you're going to need to show:
a) earnings
b) that she can read/write/speak english - either through an english test or a degree taught in english
c) that you intend to get married within 6 months
d) that you have met
e) that you have somewhere to live that won't be overcrowded
f) evidence of your relationship (photos/letters/skype logs)

For a spouse visa - it's all the same - except that you need to show your marriage certificate

You should know that a fiancee visa does NOT permit your girlfriend to work in the UK until you are married and she converts the visa to a spouse visa.

So your costs are going to be either:

fiancee visa + flight for her to UK + conversion to spouse visa + extension of spouse visa (after 2.5 years) + indefinite leave to remain (after a further 2.5 years) + (if she wants) citizenship

OR

flight for you to China (and return) + spouse visa + flight for her to UK + extension of spouse visa (as above) + indefinite leave to remain (as above) + citizenship (as above)

There isn't a 'girlfriend' visa for the UK - so there's no option there.

The other alternative is for her to qualify for a visa in her own right - which means a student visa or finding a company to sponsor her into a job.

She could just visit you to start with - but be aware that with a boyfriend in the UK her application will be looked at carefully to make sure she will return to China - so you'll need to show strong ties to China (job/studies/family/property/money).

You should also understand that a lot of foreign spouses have severe culture shock in the UK. My south american wife was decidedly taken aback by gay couples openly holding hands/kissing and muslim women wearing the burka, not to mention the weather and the food. She worked through all of that and is happy - but there are a good number who struggle and spend large amounts of time (and money!) returning home.

I would recommend a visit before she commits to settlement if she hasn't already visited before.

What you're embarking on is not an easy process, but it can be a very rewarding one.

[Amber]

Are any of your family members disabled? Do you have grandparents in the UK?

[357mag]

An alternative is the EEA/Surinder Singh route.
You go and marry her in China then go to another EU country to live and work for 6 months plus.

[SAMISPOUSAL]

spouse visa is a very dear process to go through.
and the fiance visa is even more very very dear very (because it involves an extra hurdle)
since you are flat broke fiance visa is way out of the question.

plus she will have to travel to so many places in China to get her passport and study English to pass the Test at an approved centre and apply for visa somewhere in china and go to some far away place for her TB certificate and go to anther place to collect her visa ....so all that takes a long time .. and keep records of a lot of contact between you two ...phone, email letters etc...

you may also need a lawyer .. and they are rude and not cheap.

oh and when she does come over here she will have to pass two more exams .....
good luck.

[Wanderer]

you may also need a lawyer .. and they are rude and not cheap.

And that's all of them is it?

[Amber]

The Singh route is much more difficult, it's not simply a case of working for 6 months in another EEA Country.