Aperture

I have spoken to the UK Border Agency, WorldBridge Toronto, and the British Consulate in New York, all of whom have given me different answers to what I thought was a straight-forward immigration question.

As such, I am turning to you: the experts in immigration not because you want to be, but because you have to be. (I suspect such motivation means you're more likely to have the right answer.) Here goes:

I am Canadian. My fiance is British. We currently live together in Canada (we have cohabited for 19 months). We are planning to fly back to the UK at the end of this month (February) and get married in the UK next month (March).

Which visa do I apply for to be allowed to enter the UK with my British partner, get married soon thereafter, and then settle in the UK?

I was originally advised (by both the British Consulate and WorldBridge)--and recently applied for--a "Settlement - Marriage" visa. When applying at WorldBridge, they were now not entirely sure and accepted my application, but suggested I check again with the UKBA and British Consulate. This time, the British Consulate agent was unsure and suggested I might instead need a "Settlement - Unmarried Partner" visa. The UKBA agent was unsure and suggested I might need a "Fiance[e]" visa.

So there we have it: three agencies, three recommendations, and not a single one said they were sure of what I should do. I am beside myself with anxiety. Does anyone know if I did the right thing by applying for "Settlement - Marriage" as originally advised?

Please let the answer be "yes".

paulpur

i believe its a fiance(e) visa you need, that then grants you the right to enter and marry your other half within 6months at which point after you are married you apply for the settlement visa
i think the "settlement - marriage" visa is the spouse visa whereas you are already married

Aperture

Oh, God, really? So the British Consulate and WorldBridge were both incorrect in their advice? (When I first spoke with the Consulate, the agent was very, very firm in stating that I must apply for Settlement - Marriage and not select anything else in the drop-down menu.)

Did you apply via this route? I'd be comforted to hear from someone who applied via this route?

paulpur

sorry i havent applied for a UK visa, im a UKC who did it the other way and went through the US fiance visa process but have looked at the UK spouse visa process for my wife as we will be moving back to the UK in a few years , turns out by some luck that we wont need to go the spouse visa route as my wife can claim Irish citizenship through her grandfather so we wont have to deal with UKBA and Worldbridge for visas

Aperture

Hmm, perhaps it would help if I showed what the options are on the visa application website. In order, here are the options after selecting both "Current location" and "Country of nationality" as "Canada".

Type of Visa:

• Visit
• Study
• Work
• Settlement
• Transit
• Other
• Exempt

After selecting "Settlement" (no other options make sense)...

Purpose of Application:

• Returning Resident
• Settlement

After selecting "Settlement" again...

Type of Application:

• Husband
• Wife
• Unmarried Partner
• Marriage
• Proposed Civil Partnership
• Civil Partnership
• Child or Other Dependent of Settled Person
• Parent, Grandparent or Other Dependent Relative
• Former UK Armed Forces
• Post Flight - Non-Settled Person
• Family reunion - under Part 11 Asylum, Immigration Rules
• Family reunion - other dependent relative

So "Marriage" is the only option that makes sense, right? We're not legally unmarried partners because we haven't cohabited for at least 24 months and we're neither civil partners or proposed civil partners because that's only for same-sex couples. And we're not yet husband and wife.

Thoughts, oh wise expats?

paulpur

yeah looking at the list as you have put it there, it seems that marriage is the correct one, it just muddied the waters of understanding a little as usually the spouse visa is referred to as the marriage visa lol, but i see on that list that husband/wife already have there own heading

SanDiegogirl

To me, from reading that list, it looks like 'marriage' means applying for a visa IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MARRY, whereas 'husband' and 'wife' implies you are already either a husband or wife and are now applying to join your spouse

Aperture

Does seem like it, doesn't it?

Good news: Just got an e-mail from the British Embassy saying the visa has been issued! (I can't believe how fast that was. Granted, we paid to have priority service, but still. It was issued 24 hours after it was received!!!)

SanDiegogirl

Yeah ..... congratulations - so we were right after all

Have a great wedding in March

Aperture

Thanks. :-)

goncalves

@Aperture
I am in the very same situation and I was wondering which kind of documentation you have submitted to get that approval. I am under pressure here, any help would be really appreciated.... Did you have to show that you were already settled in the UK somehow? employment contract, let agreement...?

thanks and best wishes

Aperture

The Settlement - Marriage visa is specifically for a person who is not yet in the UK, but is intending to get married in the UK to a British citizen. As such, there is no requirement to show that you, the non-UK citizen, already have employment arranged (it is understood that you cannot have employment arranged as it is not legal to work on a Settlement - Marriage visa unless you already have another visa that allows it; you must wait until after you get the Settlement - Spouse visa to take on paid work).

Other than that, I'm afraid I cannot be much help as the rules have changed quite drastically since I made my application earlier this year. I recommend calling UKBA directly to get advice.

I wish you the very best of luck in making your application and hope it isn't too stressful!

WEBlue

I believe that to get an Unmarried Partner settlement visa, a previous relationship "akin to marriage" for two years must be proved with documentation. ("Akin to marriage" seems to mean living together for most if not all of the two years, mingling finances, etc.)

BUT . . .if you've only lived with your British citizen partner for 19 months in Canada, you wouldn't meet the guideline at this time anyway. So the Consular agent's guess was not correct. IMO, you did the right thing.

Aperture

Agreed! Whilst I appreciate the response, it worth pointing out that my original post was from back in February (a new poster revived this thread). I've since received my fiance[e] visa, moved to the UK, got married, received my spouse visa, and passed my Life in the UK test! Now just waiting until March 2014 to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain...

WEBlue

To Aperture: Oops, good, so glad it all worked out as expected for you!!


If you need to apply for the Fiancee visa, here's the UKBA page for guidelines:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...can-you-apply/

You will fall under the new (post 9 July 2012) guidelines.