Fiance Visa
Fiance Visa
A Fiance Visa is designed to allow individuals from outside the UK, to enter the
UK so that they can marry or begin a civil partnership with their British partner
who is settled in the UK.
In order to be accepted for a Fiance Visa, you must meet the minimum age
requirements, be involved in a genuine relationship and you must have met up
with the person prior to making the application. Here is a breakdown of the UK
Fiance Visa requirements:
Financial requirements:
When living in the UK on a Fiance Visa you are not allowed to work for the
duration of this time. In order to remain in the UK, your fiance must either have
enough savings for you both to live off, or must be earning a certain amount.
The minimum salary requirement is £29.000 a year before tax. However, if you
are bringing children to the UK, your partner must earn an additional £3,800 for
the first child and an additional £2,400 for each child after this.
The income can be a combination of:
- Wagefromeither employment or self-employment (this is only applicable if
working in the UK) - AUKpension
- Savings that meet the wage threshold
- Sick pay, maternity, paternity or adoption pay
- Other income i.e rent payments, investment or shares money
Relationship Requirements
In order to be accepted for a Fiance Visa, you must be able to demonstrate that
you are involved in a genuine relationship and intend to marry in the UK within
the 6 months validity period. Both individuals must have met face to face prior
to the application being made and it’s important to add that Skype does not
suffice for this. In addition to this, suitable accommodation must also be
arranged for the fiance and any dependents upon arrival in the UK.
Both partners must intend to permanently live together in the UK for an application
to be accepted. If during this 6 months period you fail to marry, then you may be subject to
deportation.
Howsoon doyou have to marry after entering the UK?
A fiance visa grants you entry to the UK for a period of 6 months and during.
At which time, you must marry your fiance in the UK. You cannot work in the UK
during this 6 months period, however once married, you can then apply to switch
from a Fiance Visa to a Spouse Visa.
Switching from Fiance Visa to Spouse Visa
Once you have married your partner, you can then apply to switch from a Fiance
Visa’ to a ‘Spouse Visa’, which will allow you the right to both live and work within
the UK.
You can apply from within the UK and this usually takes around 2-12
weeks to process. You are allowed to remain in the UK for a total of 30 months
with a Spouse Visa and once this time is up, you will have been living in the UK
for a total of 5 years.
Once you have been living in the UK for over 5 years, you can choose to apply
for Indefinite Leave to Remain, which grants permanent residence in the UK. The
Requirements that must be met are as follows:
You are still married to your spouse after 5 years.
You continue to meet the maintenance requirement.
After you have been granted ILR, you may be eligible to apply for British
Naturalization, which means that you will be recognised as a British Citizen by the
government.