Visiting fiance in UK...questions!

[SofiaRand48]

I have been in a long distance relationship with my fiance for over a year, we are planning to apply for a fiance visa to Britain in February or March 2015. I have visited him in Britain before on a visiting visa with an invitation. Due to him being a student at the time, and also on advice from friends who had travelled to Britain, we had his mother write me the invitation instead of him, stating me as a family friend. Since the time until my planned move to Britain is still very long, I would like to visit my fiance one time before I apply for the fiance visa. However, since I will be staying at his flat in London this time and not his family's home, we thought it might not be a good idea to have his mother write the invitation, but my friends say that most uk general visitor invitations from a young man to a young Russian woman get refused straight away. We are considering getting a hotel invitation as well,but since everything we do will be considered in our fiance visa application in February, we are also wary of that option. I would be very happy for some advice! My fiance is a British Citizen with UCL bachelors degree, and has a tenancy agreement on his flat in London. At the time of my proposed "general visit" he will have worked at a well-paid job for approximately 2-3 months. I will have worked at a job in Saint Petersburg about the same time, less well paid, but I can state my father as a sponser. What are the chances of us getting a visa with an invitation from my fiance, and what proof do we need to provide to get one? If an invitation from him is not a good option, what other options do we have? Thank you very much for your help.

[Casa]

You need to submit strong evidence of reasons to return to your home country without overstaying your visa. If you fail to disclose your relationship in the visitor visa application it will go against you when you apply for fiance visa and have to give details of how and when you met etc. Bear in mind that everything is held on record.

[SofiaRand48]

Thank you so much for such a quick reply! I applied for a visiting visa before when I visited my fiance last summer, and his mother stated me as a family friend in her invitation, and I wrote my fiance down in the "friends" section of the application. I did stay in my fiance's mothers house and am very close with his family so technically I did not lie, as she was indeed my sponsor during the visit at the time and not my fiance, who was a student. However, is it likely that the fact that I did not mention my relationship with my fiance in that particular application likely to cause problems?

[Casa]

Well you won't be able to state that the relationship of 'boyfriend/girlfriend' was in existence at the time his mother sponsored your visitor visa. Your saving may be that you declared him as a friend instead of leaving him out altogether.

[SofiaRand48]

Will this problem be able to be absolved if I produce a vast amount of photos of us together during this visit?

[Casa]

Do you intend to state that the relationship began during your visit?

[SofiaRand48]

No, our relationship began 7 months before the visit. Is this a very serious problem?

[SofiaRand48]

We can also provide letters from family and friends confirming this

[Casa]

If you declare that the relationship started 7 months before your visit which his mother sponsored (where you said he was a friend), the Entry Officer will see this either as a false statement in your visitor visa application or a false statement in this application or subsequent ones. Either way you could face a considerable ban.

[SofiaRand48]

Ok... so I have to say that our relationship began whilst I was in England that summer? Here is another question, the next two times that I visited England in the Autumn and in the Winter, I always said at passport control that I was visiting friends. Do they somehow document that? It sounds like I made a terrible mistake, its just that my acquaintances told me that I shouldn't say that I was visiting a boyfriend because they do not like that for some reason

[Rayking]

It makes sense if your friendship grew to relationship after you got here.though your friendship is part of your relationship and providing pictures showing that wouldn't be a problem

[SofiaRand48]

Yes well they only asked for "friends" in the application...they didn't have a seperate question for boyfriends or fiances, so I assumed by "friends" they meant everyone they knew!!! And yes indeed our friendship is part of our relationship!