Advice for UK national with long term Indian partner

[sofalofa]

Hi All,

I'm looking for advice regarding potential VISA options for my long term partner who is Indian. We met here in the UK and were unfortunate enough to be separated due to her VISA sponsorship falling through. She is currently living and working back in India, and I am due to start a new university course this September (retraining) in the hope that I can earn enough to see her more often.

We have been together over 4 years but aside from some visits have spent the past two years apart. Our aim is to of course live together but from my last research it is difficult to do so without earning a lot of money (here in the UK) - which is part of why I am doing further training. I live with parents and earn less than £10k a year.

Currently we are unmarried but would consider marriage or a civil partnership if that would make it any easier to live together.

Can somebody who has a good grasp of the current laws please comment on our situation, and what (if any) options we have?

Many thanks in advance

[Casa]

At present the unmarried partner or spouse route isn't open to you. Both visas would require a minimum annual income of £18,600. In an event you don't qualify as unmarried partners as you haven't lived together in a relationship 'akin to marriage' for at least 2 years.
Does your girlfriend qualify for sponsorship under the points based work categories, or as a student?

You may want to check out the Surinder Singh route, although this may become tougher after Brexit or Bremain
https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/surinder-singh
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/surinde ... ion-route/

[CR001]

To sponsor your partner under the UK immigration rules (fiance, spouse or unmarried partner), you have to earn a minimum of £18,600pa with documentary evidence for 6 months (payslips and bank statements) or you have to show that you have savings of at least £62,500 also held for at least 6 months (cannot be a loan). There is no way around this financial requirement.

For an unmarried partner visa, you have to prove with documentary evidence that you have lived together 'in a relationship akin to marriage' for at least two years and it must be the most recent two years.

For a fiance visa, valid for 6 months to enable you to get married in the UK, you also need to show preparation and intent of planned marriage. With this visa, once married, your spouse can switch within the UK to a spouse visa. For both, you need the financial requirement to be met.

Edit : beaten by casa (this time)

[sofalofa]

Thank you for your quick responses.

After earning £18,600pa, what are the options at this point?

[CR001]

If you get a job earning at this level, once you are in employment for 6 months and have 6 months payslips and corresponding bank statements, it is up to you whether you apply for the fiance visa (£1195 visa cost and valid for 6 months - partner cannot work on this visa), get married in the UK within the 6 months and then extend visa to a spouse visa within the UK (again £1195 plus £500 immigration health surcharge)

Or get married in India and then apply for the spouse visa from India (1195 visa cost plus £600 immigration health surcharge) and partner can enter the UK and start working once NI number is done etc.

[sofalofa]

Does she need to be making any money on this visa?

Also are Civil Partnerships considered the same?

[Wanderer]

Does she need to be making any money on this visa?

Also are Civil Partnerships considered the same?

No.

Civil Partnerships are for same-sex couples only.

[Petaltop]

it is up to you whether you apply for the fiance visa (£1195 visa cost and valid for 6 months - partner cannot work on this visa)

On a 6 month fiance visa she would also need ot buy health insurance. Those on a 6 fiance visa are no longer allowed to use the NHS for free. The NHS add 50% to the bill if the person doesn't have insurance to pay.



Visitor visas and short-term visas

You don’t have to pay the healthcare surcharge if you’re applying from outside the UK for a visitor visa or any visa that lasts 6 months or less.

You don’t need to use the healthcare surcharge service or get an IHS reference number for your visa application. Instead, you’ll have to pay for any healthcare you get through the NHS at the point you use it.

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigrati ... n/overview

[secret.simon]

Does she need to be making any money on this visa?

Also are Civil Partnerships considered the same?

No.

Civil Partnerships are for same-sex couples only.

Civil Partnerships are considered as being on par with marriage for the purposes of UK immigration law.

Their mileage under EU law varies, as some countries only consider them the equivalent of a durable relationship, not a marriage.

Given that the thread mentioned civil partnerships from the start, I had assumed that it is a same-sex partnership. My bad if that is not the case.