Fiance vs Spouse Visa - Which one and how do you survive?

[hdenniso]

My boyfriend and I have recently begun looking into the fiance and spouse visas. I was supposed to be applying for a Tier 2 Visa, but as I am a Scottish-trained primary teacher, my salary was far under the threshold cutoff for December. My employer's plan to resubmit, but they and I have lost confidence in the application moving forward.

As a result, my boyfriend and I have turned to the fiance and spouse visas. We are both positive that we want to marry, and would have done so anyways, but the issues with the Tier 2 have simply brought that visa to the forefront rather than eventually switching to the visa from a Tier 2.

I'm trying to wrap my head around everything is needed, but everything seems to just be a long process. My boyfriend is currently job hunting as he is a PhD student in his final year, so does not currently have a job. I know 6 months of bank statements once he does secure a position above the £18,600 threshold will be required, so no matter what, our application is six+ months in the future, which is frustrating beyond belief for the both of us.

We are trying to figure out if we should go for a fiance application, or to marry in another country (We have chosen Iceland), and to apply for a spouse visa in six months. I had originally thought the spouse visa would be best as it would have us from having to spend £993 on a second application to switch my fiance visa to a spouse visa and would allow me to work once the visa is granted, but the more I've been looking into this, flights alone for us to meet in Iceland to marry would probably be roughly the same as doing the fiance to spouse visa application.

I'm just looking for people that have done this process, what they chose to do (fiance visa or spouse visa) and why, and most importantly, how long the entire process took for them.

It is breaking my heart to see that these applications are taking 3 months to process. If my boyfriend were to get a job tomorrow, the earliest we'd have an answer is 9+ months down the road, which is truly a hopeful estimate and could easily be a year or more.

I'm working as much as I can to save money for this, but I cannot teach in schools in the US with my certification, as the certification was gained in Scotland. So I've been working low-paying jobs as an English Literature Degree with Scottish teaching certification does not get you far in the United States..

I'm hoping someone can advise us on what visa to go with, and to reassure me that this will all work out. My boyfriend and I are each other's support systems, so it's been difficult to have to be apart from one another, and downright terrifying when I realise how long this process might go on for!

[FXR_1340]

Hi,

My US partner (now my wife) and I chose to go down the Fiance Visa route. From application submissuon in USA to the issue of the visa took about 4-5 months. We are now looking at FLR(M) visa to permit my wife to stay in UK. Due to personal circumstances the visa was not used for a further 3 months. During this period apart was costly due to trips across the Atlantic as well as the frustrations which came with being apart.

From a time point of view, this approach seemed quickest. However from a financial point of view, the costs are greater (I think). That is, it was around 1500GBP for the Fiance visa and a further 2100GBP for Further Leave to Remain on the grounds of Marriage.

The best route for anyone is a personal choice. Do your homework, consider your situation and your options.

Good luck with what ever option you decide on.