Unsure about where to begin

[RestingGooner]

Hi,
My fiancée is planning to move to England to live with me early in 2017, so I'm posting here hoping to get some advice on how to make the move as painless as possible. Here are the facts:

I am a UK citizen, she is an Austrian (EU) citizen.
We met while I was living in Austria, I lived there from May 2012 until June 2015.
We have been a couple for just over a year (engaged for six months), but we haven't lived together. I visit her when I can, as a long-distance relationship. I've been back to Austria six times since June 2015.
I moved back to England because there are better job prospects for me in UK than I had in Austria.
Her English language is very good (not perfect, but no problems being understood, she can carry off a conversation in English perfectly well).
We want to live together in England. It's my native country & she has a real affinity to the country.
We will have a place to live. I plan on buying a place shortly before she moves to England.
She will have a job to come to in the UK (my boss has guaranteed her a job when she moves to UK and she plans on looking for a job in her preferred field as soon as possible). I don't think she would qualify for entry under any of the tiers, as far as I understand them.
We plan to marry soon after she moves to England.
She plans on taking UK citizenship when she has lived in UK long enough to qualify.

My main question is, what is the easiest course of action / How can I most easily arrange for her to move to the UK in February 2017?

In addition, would it be best for us to get married once she is living in England? Will the fact that we are married be enough for her to remain in the UK until she can apply for citizenship?

I'm sure there are a million & one other questions I could ask... But Britain's decision to leave the EU has forced our hand, brought our schedule forward somewhat and I would welcome any advice on what would be best for our situation. If any more information is necessary I would of course be happy to offer it.

[Casa]

As an Austrian citizen she can enter and work in the UK in her own right. What makes you believe she can't? .

[noajthan]

To come under EU rules you can ofcourse just both fly over.

Remind wife to bring Austrian EHIC.

After 3 months grace period fiancee needs to be exercising treaty rights eg by working.
Apply for optional RC to confirm her status especially with all this wild talk of Brexit.

Marry when you feel like it.
Just marrying doesn't help too much with citizenship at this early stage as it takes 5 years to get settled staus by EU or UK route.

The privilege of citizenship and holy grail of passport then follow on from being settled (by separate applications).

Of course wife won't have time to acquire PR in normal way.

That's where a RC may prove handy to, possibly, invoke any transitional arrangements for the Union citizens still 'in flight'.

[RestingGooner]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Casa - you have been... less than helpful. I come here asking for advice about settling my fiancée in the UK. If you read my OP again you will see that I have stated that I have lived in Austria for three years. I managed to move myself, purely for work, to another country. Moving my fiancée to the UK, in order that she may take UK citizenship one day, without missing any legal requirements, in the current post-Brexit climate, is a different, more complicated situation, which is why I am here.

At no point in my OP did I state that I do not believe that my fiancée cannot move to the UK. Your reply to my OP offers no advice and comes across as dismissive. If you cannot offer advice, please refrain from posting here. I hope that the other users of this forum are not as supercilious as you appear to be. I would also expect better conduct from a forum moderator.


Noajthan - thanks for the detailed response. My fiancée has an up-to-date EHIC & will be bringing it with her. Do you know if an S1 form will be required as well?

I am also unsure what the abbreviations that you use in your reply, specifically "RC" & "PR", mean. Can you explain what they refer to, or is there a thread on the forum explaining what the abbreviations mean? I have looked, but so far found nothing.

Again, thanks for the help. Things are beginning to look a lot clearer for us.

[vinny]

My main question is, what is the easiest course of action / How can I most easily arrange for her to move to the UK in February 2017?

Casa's answer was succinct and correct.

RC = registration certificate
PR = permanent residence

See also Prove your right to live in the UK as an EU citizen and Guidance.

It may be interesting if you married before moving back to the UK. Would SS be then applicable too?