Tier 4 Visa and Registering for Marriage

[nollmm]

Hello
I'm a US Citizen, my boyfriend is UK Citizen (Scottish).

I have been on a Tier 4 visa for the past 2 years for undergrad, and am now applying for a new tier 4 visa for my Masters Program in London that starts in October.(I aim to apply for the new pilot one)

My boyfriend and I, want to get married around December of this year. I know I can do this on my tier 4 visa, but I am absolutely terrified of the HO thinking its a 'sham marriage' and don't know how to prove that it is not? I realize it probably looks fishy on a Tier 4 visa, but if we get married in December 2018 my visa will still be valid till October 2019 (+ 6 months if i obtain the Pilot Tier 4). This is also plenty of time if an investigation is launched at 70 days right?

The reason I am so worried about being refused the right to marry or something like that is because:
A. Even though we are postgrads we are still young (we are both 22yrs.).
and
B. we don't want a wedding. This is just a personal thing. We just want the license and want to take maybe a weekend away together because we are very introverted, and would rather spend our money on our careers and our bills than a massive ceremony, this doesn't mean we don't love each other, we just don't want a wedding ceremony.

I am worried the age, visa, and lack of wedding will get us wrongly implicated and I honestly don't know if I'm just being paranoid...

[equitydealer]

Getting married on a Tier 4 visa isn’t uncommon. There’s nothing to be concerned about as regards to age or a lack of a wedding ceremony. If the UKVI want to investigate further you’ll have plenty of time to get this cleared

If this will ultimately be building up for a Tier 4 to FLR(M) visa, to prove it’s a genuine relationship just build up evidence such as booking receipts for short trips/holidays, pictures of both of you together etc. If you get a place together (if not already), keep official documents such as council tax, NHS, bank letters etc to prove you’re living together.

You/your partner will also need to be earning £18,600 for a minimum of 6 months to meet the financial requirement for FLR. Always plan far ahead when it comes to getting your next visa.

[swatson90]

Hello
I'm a US Citizen, my boyfriend is UK Citizen (Scottish).

I have been on a Tier 4 visa for the past 2 years for undergrad, and am now applying for a new tier 4 visa for my Masters Program in London that starts in October.(I aim to apply for the new pilot one)

My boyfriend and I, want to get married around December of this year. I know I can do this on my tier 4 visa, but I am absolutely terrified of the HO thinking its a 'sham marriage' and don't know how to prove that it is not? I realize it probably looks fishy on a Tier 4 visa, but if we get married in December 2018 my visa will still be valid till October 2019 (+ 6 months if i obtain the Pilot Tier 4). This is also plenty of time if an investigation is launched at 70 days right?

The reason I am so worried about being refused the right to marry or something like that is because:
A. Even though we are postgrads we are still young (we are both 22yrs.).
and
B. we don't want a wedding. This is just a personal thing. We just want the license and want to take maybe a weekend away together because we are very introverted, and would rather spend our money on our careers and our bills than a massive ceremony, this doesn't mean we don't love each other, we just don't want a wedding ceremony.

I am worried the age, visa, and lack of wedding will get us wrongly implicated and I honestly don't know if I'm just being paranoid...

Hello Nollmm,

What was the outcome of your situation? I feel that I am in pretty similar position, and googling this only really returns vague stories which make me worry even more. The paranoia really takes some of the specialness away.. I am so excited, but I really cant stand the thought of home office stepping in and putting a stop to our plans and calling a legitimate relationship a sham (theres loads of nightmare stories out there).

[hortuspyrex]

I got married with my EEA partner on my Tier 4 visa too in October 2018. I was also worried that this would sound fishy because my visa ends in January 2019. In the end it did not take 70 days, but 28 days only. I have another friend who did the same thing at around the same time (just that her partner is British) and the result is the same.

[swatson90]

Hortuspyrex, thanks for sharing, its good to hear some success come out of these situations. Ill have my fingers crossed!

[bnicolas]

Hi all!

Just read this thread and honestly gave me some clarity and relief as my boyfriend and I are planning to get married whilst I'm on Tier 4 visa. However, could you guys tell me the process you've made so that what I've read is clear and I know the steps I need to take, please? Also if an admin could correct any errors or misunderstandings I have with the process.

I am American on a Tier 4 student visa doing my post-graduate. My boyfriend is a settled EU citizen (similar as permanent residency) working in UK for the past 2 years. We have been living together for almost a year so we can "prove" our relationship if need to. My visa expires in Oct 2019, so we are thinking of registering to get married because we know we will get married anyway in the future and we want to minimize the risk of me having to go back to the US if I do not find an employer that could sponsor me before my visa expires.

Anyway, from what I've read this is what I've understood and hopefully, other readers could get clarity from this:
1) Give notice to your local council that you want to get married and the council will notify the Home Office
---> Notice can take to 28 to 70 days if HO decides to investigate
2) Once a decision has been made by the HO, then we can go ahead and register when we want to get married (we want to do a civil ceremony for now and then a wedding later on when we are more settled)
3) Now this is my main question - Once we have finalized our marriage documents, which visa do I need to apply for to stay and work in the UK and when can I apply for this visa as I do have a time limit since my Tier 4 student visa is ending in October? I would just like to make sure all is in order before my visa expires in October!

Thank you all! All response would be greatly appreciated as I am still not super clear on the process.

[CR001]

Hi all!

Just read this thread and honestly gave me some clarity and relief as my boyfriend and I are planning to get married whilst I'm on Tier 4 visa. However, could you guys tell me the process you've made so that what I've read is clear and I know the steps I need to take, please? Also if an admin could correct any errors or misunderstandings I have with the process.

I am American on a Tier 4 student visa doing my post-graduate. My boyfriend is a settled EU citizen (similar as permanent residency) working in UK for the past 2 years. We have been living together for almost a year so we can "prove" our relationship if need to. My visa expires in Oct 2019, so we are thinking of registering to get married because we know we will get married anyway in the future and we want to minimize the risk of me having to go back to the US if I do not find an employer that could sponsor me before my visa expires.

Anyway, from what I've read this is what I've understood and hopefully, other readers could get clarity from this:
1) Give notice to your local council that you want to get married and the council will notify the Home Office
---> Notice can take to 28 to 70 days if HO decides to investigate
2) Once a decision has been made by the HO, then we can go ahead and register when we want to get married (we want to do a civil ceremony for now and then a wedding later on when we are more settled)
3) Now this is my main question - Once we have finalized our marriage documents, which visa do I need to apply for to stay and work in the UK and when can I apply for this visa as I do have a time limit since my Tier 4 student visa is ending in October? I would just like to make sure all is in order before my visa expires in October!

Thank you all! All response would be greatly appreciated as I am still not super clear on the process.

Apply on form FLR(M) and you must meet all the requirements if your partner is British.

If your partner is an EU citizen (non British), unlikely they have 'Settled status' or PR after only 2 years UK residence, which both require 5 years residence. If EU (non British), you apply for a residence card or 'pre-settled status'.

You can apply once you are married and definitely before your current visa expires.

You should also start your own topic with your questions in the Family Immigration Sub Forum (click) if your partner is British or in the EEA Route Application Sub Forum (click) if your partner is an EU Citizen (non British).