Spouse visa - can my wife visit UK whilst waiting for outcome?

[sam_y9]

Hi Everyone,

After a little bit of help/tips.

I'm a UK citizen and wish to get married to my Mexican girlfriend (fiancee).
We are looking at the quickest/cost effective way to do this.

1. The first idea we had was to get a Fiancee visa (which will take 2/3 months) and then when she is here get married immediately and apply for a Spouse visa so she can find a job and work as soon as possible. Obviously this means she won't be able to come here within the next 2/3 months and will cost a lot (Visa fees x 2 and Lawyer fees).

2. Then I thought, could she not just come here (visa free) for 6 months and get married within that time frame and then apply for a spouse visa. Is this possible?

3. Get married in Mexico in the next month or 2 and then both come back to the UK and apply for a spouse visa that way?

Any help greatly appreciated Also open to other suggestions?

Thanks

[seagul]

1. Yes but you can save the cost by marrying in Mexico and apply spouse visa straightaway.

2&3) spouse visa cannot be applied from within UK while on visitor visa/permission

[sam_y9]

Thanks for your reply

So if we went ahead with marrying in Mexico. Would she be able to come back to the UK with me afterwards and apply for a Spouse visa from here?

[seagul]

Thanks for your reply

So if we went ahead with marrying in Mexico. Would she be able to come back to the UK with me afterwards and apply for a Spouse visa from here?

No.

[sam_y9]

Ok - can I ask what the process would be from that point after getting married in Mexico?

Thanks in advance

[iwolga]

Ok - can I ask what the process would be from that point after getting married in Mexico?

Thanks in advance

She will need to apply for spouse visa provided you qualify financially. The application is not possible in UK

[seagul]

Ok - can I ask what the process would be from that point after getting married in Mexico?

Thanks in advance

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/mx/es/how-to-apply

[secret.simon]

Essentially, whichever way you dice it (as either a fiancee visa or as a spouse visa), you will have to factor in
a) an application from overseas, and
b) a period of separation while that application is in progress.

As she is Mexican, there may be routes whereby she can acquire Spanish citizenship with reduced residency in Spain. So she could accompany you to Spain as the non-EEA family member of an EEA citizen before Brexit. You may want to look at that option.

[sam_y9]

Hi guys!

After some much needed help please.
Myself and Fiancee are just in the process of applying for a Marriage Visa.

I currently live in a 3 bedroom property that I rent off my mother (no tenancy agreement in place obviously).
I pay rent which is on my bank statements every month and I am the only person living at the property.

What do I need to provide here?
I'm aware I need to get the property surveyed, but will a letter from my mother be adequate or is there anything else I need to supply?

Thanks in advance!

[AmazonianX]

Hi guys!

After some much needed help please.
Myself and Fiancee are just in the process of applying for a Marriage Visa.

I currently live in a 3 bedroom property that I rent off my mother (no tenancy agreement in place obviously).
I pay rent which is on my bank statements every month and I am the only person living at the property.

What do I need to provide here?
I'm aware I need to get the property surveyed, but will a letter from my mother be adequate or is there anything else I need to supply?

Thanks in advance!

You pay rent so still need that tenancy agreement.
Or what arrangement have you got in place with your mother to cover this noting that rent payments reflects on your bank statements monthly.

[sam_y9]

Hi AmazonianX

Thanks for your quick reply.

My mother can provide a signed letter that states the amount I pay her monthy (taken with a direct debit out of my bank) if that's enough?

Thanks

Sam

[seagul]

Hi AmazonianX

Thanks for your quick reply.

My mother can provide a signed letter that states the amount I pay her monthy (taken with a direct debit out of my bank) if that's enough?

Thanks

Sam

You will need the permission from the landlord/estate agent.

[sam_y9]

Hi Seagul

Thanks for your reply.

When you say permission, is a signed letter from my mother adequate?

Thanks

[sam_y9]

Hi Guys

Sorry another question...
Myself and my fiancee (who is Mexican) will be getting married in Mexico City next month.

We nearly have the application ready, so that as soon as we have the marriage certificate translated after the wedding we can submit the application. My question is, as we will be submitting from over there do we do it online? If so, does this mean uploading all the documents on the gov website? Or do we have to go somewhere in Mexico City to hand them in?

Alternatively, would it make more sense for me to apply when I get back to the UK (a few weeks after the wedding?). I'm mainly thinking about speed, although we will be paying for the priority service.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

[iwolga]

Hi Guys

Sorry another question...
Myself and my fiancee (who is Mexican) will be getting married in Mexico City next month.

We nearly have the application ready, so that as soon as we have the marriage certificate translated after the wedding we can submit the application. My question is, as we will be submitting from over there do we do it online? If so, does this mean uploading all the documents on the gov website? Or do we have to go somewhere in Mexico City to hand them in?

Alternatively, would it make more sense for me to apply when I get back to the UK (a few weeks after the wedding?). I'm mainly thinking about speed, although we will be paying for the priority service.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

You can only apply (fill in application) online. You will then need to pay fees (visa and IHS) and then make bio appointment. This shall be done by applicant and the appointment shall be done in Mexico.

Now, there are ways to upload the supporting papers:
1) do it yourself
2) use VFS in Mexico
3) use another service provider in London

The quickest and most cost efficient way is to do it yourself. Note that everything shall be uploaded before the bio appointment date (if done yourself or in London) or on the day of appointment (if you use VFS services). I assume there's no sense waiting for you to come back to UK. This is not an easier or more straight forward way. All applications for spouse visas go the same route.

Note that some of the papers are only valid for 28 days (eg your paylsip\bank statements) counting to the date you finalise your application online, so factor this into your planning.

[sam_y9]

Thanks for your reply Iwolga

Another question (sorry!)...

Once we have the marriage certificate we'll get it translated by an authorised translator in Mexico city. Once this is done, we can upload it to the application and submit?

We don't need to get it apostilled do we before submitting the application?

Also I believe we have to send the marriage certificate to the General Register Office. We can submit the application for the spouse visa before doing this?

Thanks

Sam

[CR001]

1. Yea, provided it is submitted with all the other documents.

2. No


3. There is NO requirement to register a foreign marriage in the UK with any one.

[sam_y9]

Thanks CR001 for your reply.

With regards to my bank statements (I am a director of a company so need to supply Business bank statements too):

1. My business bank statements I requested over the phone. So they are original but are not stamped or signed. I take it that this is ok?

2. My personal bank statements, part (6 months) was printed at the bank along with stamp and signature on each page. The previous (earlier 6 months) were requested over the phone so are original but not stamped or signed (and they look slightly different.

Is all the above ok?

Thanks

[seagul]

1. My business bank statements I requested over the phone. So they are original but are not stamped or signed. I take it that this is ok?

2. My personal bank statements, part (6 months) was printed at the bank along with stamp and signature on each page. The previous (earlier 6 months) were requested over the phone so are original but not stamped or signed (and they look slightly different.

Is all the above ok?

Thanks

1) & 2). These will be acceptable.

[sam_y9]

Hi Guys

With regards to the application, we can upload all the documents ourselves rather than go to the VFS in Mexico city can't we? Is there anything important I need to know regarding this or would you advise going to the VFS and getting them to scan all the documents?

If we did go ahead with getting VFS to do this - can we only book an appointment once we have submitted the application online? It's quite confusing as when I click on the book an appointment on the link below it takes me to the Uk Gov application visa:

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/mx/en/vacs/mexico-city

Thanks

[sam_y9]

Hi everyone,

Myself (British citizen) and my Mexican Fiancee are marrying in Mexico City in 3 weeks time.
The application is nearly ready and we have all the documents needed (marriage certificate aside of course) so that as soon as we marry and have the translated certificate we can submit the application.

I have a question, is it advisable to upload all the documents online? We'd rather not book an appointment at the VFS centre in Mexico city if possible. Is there anything we need to know if we upload them ourselves?

Thanks

Sam

[Korekt]

I have a question, is it advisable to upload all the documents online?

Your choice. Many have done this.

We'd rather not book an appointment at the VFS centre in Mexico city if possible.

An appointment to give biometrics is mandatory for most applications.

[geoeng]

We'd rather not book an appointment at the VFS centre in Mexico city if possible.

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/visa/static
It would appear there are other centres than Mexico City if it is that specific location you were trying to avoid. You have to confirm you are able to travel to one of the centres in the country you are applying from (or the appropriate country it redirects you to if there are no centres in that country) when you start the online application form.

[sam_y9]

Thanks! Last question here...

For the land registry will an online copy from gov.uk be ok?

Thanks

[sam_y9]

Hi Guys

Question:

Myself and my wife got married in Mexico at the end of March. We then submitted the application online and following that went online to book an appointment for scanning etc at the VFS centre in Mexico City...only to find out it had now closed due to Covid-19.

We're hoping it will re-open in the next few weeks (if anyone knows anymore about this, please let us know ) . In any case, once she had gone to scan all the documents, fingerprints etc can she come and visit myself in the UK whilst waiting for the outcome of the visa? We have already paid extra so she can keep her passport.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks