Getting my NZ citizen fiancee a UK visa
Aug 31st 2019, 6:06 am
#1
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Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 1
Getting my NZ citizen fiancee a UK visa
Hi all,
G (my partner, F, NZ citizen, no criminal record) and myself (M, UK citizen) are looking at getting her a UK Partnership visa. We met in the UK whilst she was on her Work Britain visa and have been together for 3 years this November. We can prove that we have lived together for 24 months. We have been in NZ together since November 2017. We have both been in work during our time here that has paid over the equivalent of £18,600 per year and have payslips etc to prove.
The bit we’re getting stuck on (and it seems a few other people have from our research) is the employment in the UK bit. I’ve spoken to a couple of lawyers and we’re getting told some different things. One lawyer tells me that I just need an offer of employment for within 3 months of my return to the UK and we’re good to go. Another lawyer tells me that I have to work in the UK for 6 months before G can make her application for the visa. We both work in television and film production, which tends to be short term contracts (usually 3 to 4 months) and hire people for roles approximately a month away from the start date of the contract. Sadly we do not own property or have £63,000 in the bank going spare otherwise it seems like this would be a lot easier.
The only other thing that may complicate things is that we are engaged. We were planning to save up to marry in a nice ceremony at some point mid-2021. We’re not sure if we’ll be asked to instead marry within 6 months before G can work on her arrival?
To sum up:
Thank you all,
M
G (my partner, F, NZ citizen, no criminal record) and myself (M, UK citizen) are looking at getting her a UK Partnership visa. We met in the UK whilst she was on her Work Britain visa and have been together for 3 years this November. We can prove that we have lived together for 24 months. We have been in NZ together since November 2017. We have both been in work during our time here that has paid over the equivalent of £18,600 per year and have payslips etc to prove.
The bit we’re getting stuck on (and it seems a few other people have from our research) is the employment in the UK bit. I’ve spoken to a couple of lawyers and we’re getting told some different things. One lawyer tells me that I just need an offer of employment for within 3 months of my return to the UK and we’re good to go. Another lawyer tells me that I have to work in the UK for 6 months before G can make her application for the visa. We both work in television and film production, which tends to be short term contracts (usually 3 to 4 months) and hire people for roles approximately a month away from the start date of the contract. Sadly we do not own property or have £63,000 in the bank going spare otherwise it seems like this would be a lot easier.
The only other thing that may complicate things is that we are engaged. We were planning to save up to marry in a nice ceremony at some point mid-2021. We’re not sure if we’ll be asked to instead marry within 6 months before G can work on her arrival?
To sum up:
- Would a confirmed job offer be enough to support G’s application or do I need to work for 6 months beforehand?
- Does the job offer need to be accepted and worked fully? Could I take a different job?
- Will G be able to work before we’re married?
- Has anyone been in a similar scenario and come through it without spending 9 months apart from their partner?
Thank you all,
M
Aug 31st 2019, 3:50 pm
#2
Concierge
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 21,139
Re: Getting my NZ citizen fiancee a UK visa
Hi all,
G (my partner, F, NZ citizen, no criminal record) and myself (M, UK citizen) are looking at getting her a UK Partnership visa. We met in the UK whilst she was on her Work Britain visa and have been together for 3 years this November. We can prove that we have lived together for 24 months. We have been in NZ together since November 2017. We have both been in work during our time here that has paid over the equivalent of £18,600 per year and have payslips etc to prove.
The bit we’re getting stuck on (and it seems a few other people have from our research) is the employment in the UK bit. I’ve spoken to a couple of lawyers and we’re getting told some different things. One lawyer tells me that I just need an offer of employment for within 3 months of my return to the UK and we’re good to go. Another lawyer tells me that I have to work in the UK for 6 months before G can make her application for the visa. We both work in television and film production, which tends to be short term contracts (usually 3 to 4 months) and hire people for roles approximately a month away from the start date of the contract. Sadly we do not own property or have £63,000 in the bank going spare otherwise it seems like this would be a lot easier.
The only other thing that may complicate things is that we are engaged. We were planning to save up to marry in a nice ceremony at some point mid-2021. We’re not sure if we’ll be asked to instead marry within 6 months before G can work on her arrival?
To sum up:
M
G (my partner, F, NZ citizen, no criminal record) and myself (M, UK citizen) are looking at getting her a UK Partnership visa. We met in the UK whilst she was on her Work Britain visa and have been together for 3 years this November. We can prove that we have lived together for 24 months. We have been in NZ together since November 2017. We have both been in work during our time here that has paid over the equivalent of £18,600 per year and have payslips etc to prove.
The bit we’re getting stuck on (and it seems a few other people have from our research) is the employment in the UK bit. I’ve spoken to a couple of lawyers and we’re getting told some different things. One lawyer tells me that I just need an offer of employment for within 3 months of my return to the UK and we’re good to go. Another lawyer tells me that I have to work in the UK for 6 months before G can make her application for the visa. We both work in television and film production, which tends to be short term contracts (usually 3 to 4 months) and hire people for roles approximately a month away from the start date of the contract. Sadly we do not own property or have £63,000 in the bank going spare otherwise it seems like this would be a lot easier.
The only other thing that may complicate things is that we are engaged. We were planning to save up to marry in a nice ceremony at some point mid-2021. We’re not sure if we’ll be asked to instead marry within 6 months before G can work on her arrival?
To sum up:
- Would a confirmed job offer be enough to support G’s application or do I need to work for 6 months beforehand?
- Does the job offer need to be accepted and worked fully? Could I take a different job?
- Will G be able to work before we’re married?
- Has anyone been in a similar scenario and come through it without spending 9 months apart from their partner?
M
https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa
If she can't/doesn't want to go the Ancestry visa route it would be easier, and less expensive, if you were to marry in NZ and she applies for the spouse visa from there. If she applied for a fiance visa then you'd need to marry within 6 months in the UK, apply for a spouse visa and meet all the same requirements again as for the fiance visa, plus pay another application fee (ie another £1,500). People on a 6 month fiance visa can't work, those on a spouse visa can work immediately on arrival in the UK. A fiance visa is a visa to marry in the UK.
Re your lawyers advice, they were both half right and half wrong. To meet the financial requirement for a fiance or spouse visa, only your earnings are taken into account. You, as your fiance's/wife's sponsor, would either need to have earned a minimum of £18,600 in NZ in the year prior to the application, plus have a job offer commencing within 3 months of your return to the UK paying the same amount. Or, if you can't meet both these requirements, then you would need to return to the UK, get a job earning at least £18,600 per year, and hold that job for a minimum of 6 months before she could apply. Have a good read of this (ridiculously long!) document for the ways to meet the financial requirement
https://assets.publishing.service.go...ment-ext_1.pdf
Information regarding applying for a spouse or fiance visa here https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse
Happy reading, and do come back with any questions. There are BE members who know more than I do! So someone will be able to assist.
Last edited by spouse of scouse; Aug 31st 2019 at 4:42 pm.
