UK Spouse Visa - Complicated

[Dionne94]

This may be a long post with many questions, so apologies for that.

I am a British woman wanting to marry my Egyptian boyfriend and live in the UK. We met when he came to study for a masters degree. He lived here for 9 months after we met, but had to go back to Egypt when his student visa ran out. He has been living and working in Egypt for 18 months and we are both desperate to get him back.

We have both spent many hours researching the requirements for a UK spouse visa but we still have a lot of questions we cannot find the answers to.

First of all, which route do we need to take? We are not yet married. Do we have to apply for the fiance visa before the spouse visa? If so, once we do marry, will he have to leave the country to apply for the spouse visa or will he be able to do it from the UK?

I receive Carers Allowance of £92.50 per week for looking after my disabled parents.

I have read that this exempts me from meeting the £18,500 requirement, but there is an 'adequate maintenance' requirement, which I have researched also. This (according to the government website) means that the actual financial requirement for me is £114.85 per week (the income support rate for a couple over 18). If this is correct, I am £22.35 short. I dont pay any housing costs as I live with my parents.

Do we meet the visa requirements? If not, is there anything we can do? Ive looked for part time work to make up for the financial shortfall but anything over 16 hours or £110 per week disqualifies me from Carers Allowance. Im also studying for a degree part time, so finding suitable work is proving very difficult.

Ive read that savings can be taken into account, but have to be held for 6 months. My boyfriend is hoping to save around £5000 before applying. Can this be under his name or does it need to be me who shows the money? Is there any way to get around the 6 month rule? It could take a few months to save this amount and waiting 6 months extra is going to put so much emotional strain on us both.

Ive read that you can make a case for compassionate circumstances if you dont meet all the requirements. Being apart is drastically affecting both our lives. It is not possible for me to move to Egypt due to my caring responsibilities at home. Would a letter outlining the impact of the visa help at all? Will including photographs, valentines cards and text messages help our case?

Final queston - is there anyone you can recommend who can help us? We have spoken to solicitors and gotten nowhere, they are asking for upwards of £200 for just a consultation. We cant afford to risk that amount of money on someone we arent sure we can trust to bring us together.

Any help would be fantastic, I cant face another 18 months of this nightmare. Thank you in advance.

[Dionne94]

Please guys I really need some help

[noajthan]

Fiance visa then spouse visa; no need to leave UK if/once married within 6 months.

Or marry abroad; shoot direct for spouse visa.

Try CAB or a community law centre.

Or keep posting here; plenty of good knowledgeable folk happy to help if/when they can.

[manci]

You have correctly identified that your carer's allowance of £92.50 p.w. is insufficient to meet the adequate maintenance requirement for a spouse visa which would be a carer's allowance of at least £114.85 p.w. in your case.

Has your boyfriend considered trying to get a job in the UK as a sponsored skilled worker under Tier 2? This may be a solution.