UK Fiancé Visa

If you are planning to marry in the UK, applying for a Fiance Visa may be on your wedding preparation list.

In this article, our UK Immigration Solicitors outline the requirements for a Fiance Visa. If you need help with a Family Visa application, our specialist Immigration Lawyers in London can help.

Contact OTS Solicitors today.

What is a Fiance Visa?

A Fiance Visa gives you entry clearance to visit the UK for up to six months so you can get married or enter a civil partnership with a British citizen or a person with settled status. Once you are married, you can apply for a Spouse Visa from within the UK.

Alternatives to a Fiance Visa

There are alternatives to the Fiance Visa:

1. If you are an unmarried partner of a British citizen or person with settled status, you may qualify for an Unmarried Partner Visa.
2. If you marry your partner in your own country, you may meet the eligibility criteria for a Spouse Visa.
3. If your skills mean you meet the eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker Visa, and you can find sponsored employment, you may be able to enter the UK on a Work Visa.
4. A marriage Visitor Visa may be suitable if you are coming to the UK to get married and do not intend to stay in the UK.

The country you get married in should not affect the success of any future Spouse Visa application, as the Home Office looks at the genuineness of your relationship rather than your place of marriage.

Many visa applicants will qualify for more than one type of visa. Some visa options are preferable to others because of their eligibility criteria, visa flexibility, or because they allow time spent in the UK to count toward meeting the residence requirement for your Indefinite Leave to Remain application.

UK Immigration Lawyers can outline all your visa options and determine which one best meets your circumstances and goals.

Applying for a Fiance Visa or an Unmarried Partner Visa

You may question why you should apply for a Fiance Visa to enter the UK, so you can then apply for a Spouse Visa, when marriage is not a requirement for all types of UK Family Visa.

The Unmarried Partner Visa allows you to enter the UK, and after you meet the five-year residence requirement for an Indefinite Leave to Remain application, you can apply to settle in the UK. Eventually, you can apply for British citizenship.

To qualify for an Unmarried Partner Visa, you must have been in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years. The relationship must be genuine and ongoing. If you have been in a relationship for less than two years, a Fiance Visa followed by a Spouse Visa application will be more appropriate.

For either the fiancé or Unmarried Partner Visa application, you will need strong evidence of the genuineness of your relationship.

Restrictions on the Fiance Visa

The main restriction of a Fiance Visa is that it lasts only six months. Other restrictions are:

1. You cannot work in the UK.
2. You cannot set up your own business or be self-employed.
3. You cannot claim state benefits.

If working is a priority, the Skilled Worker Visa may be more appropriate. If you are an entrepreneur, you may meet the eligibility criteria for an Innovator Founder Visa or Global Talent Visa.

Once you qualify for a Spouse Visa, you are allowed to work in the UK, and you do not need to be employed by an employer with a sponsor licence.

The criteria for a Fiance Visa

There are eight Fiance Visa criteria:

1. Age.
2. Partner’s immigration status.
3. Relationship and wedding plans.
4. Financial requirement.
5. Accommodation requirement.
6. English language requirement.
7. Meeting the general immigration rule requirements.
8. TB certificate if you are from a country where the UK requires evidence that you don’t have TB.

Age and partner’s status in the UK

You and your partner must both be at least 18 years old on the date of your application. Your partner must either have:

1. British citizenship.
2. Irish citizenship.
3. Indefinite Leave to Remain.
4. Settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
5. Refugee status.
6. Humanitarian protection in the UK.

If your partner does not meet any of these criteria, an Immigration Lawyer may be able to help them secure the necessary immigration status, such as applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Relationship and wedding plans for a Fiance Visa

To obtain a Fiance Visa, you need to show that:

1. You intend to marry your partner while in the UK on your six-month visa.
2. You are in a genuine relationship with your partner.
3. You and your partner are not married or in a civil partnership with anyone else, and you are both free to marry or enter a civil partnership.
4. Any previous relationships, including unmarried relationships, have broken down permanently.
5. You and your partner intend to live in the UK after your marriage.

The Fiance Visa financial requirement

Your partner will need to meet minimum financial requirements to sponsor you for a Fiancé Visa. The financial requirements for the Spouse Visa are the same as the ones for the Fiance Visa.

Financial responsibility rests with the sponsoring partner, as a Fiance Visa holder is not permitted to work during the six-month visa.

Most sponsoring partners will need to meet a minimum income requirement of £29,000 gross per year unless:

1. They are in receipt of a specified state benefit, or
2. They can meet the financial requirement through evidence of savings or through a combination of income and savings.

There are complicated rules on what sources of income can be combined to demonstrate that a sponsor has an income of £29,000 gross per year. There are also stringent rules on the accessibility of cash savings and on how long the cash must have been held.  Specialist Fiance Visa Lawyers in London can guide you on which income and savings can be used to demonstrate that the financial requirement is met.

The Fiance Visa accommodation requirement

The Fiance Visa accommodation requirement does not require a visa applicant or their sponsor to own property in the UK or even to rent accommodation. Staying with extended family in suitable accommodation is sufficient to meet the accommodation requirement, provided that:

1. The property is large enough that it is not considered overcrowded under the relevant regulations.
2. Accommodation can be provided without reliance on public funds.

Evidence is necessary to show that you have suitable accommodation, even if your sponsor has a healthy income or significant cash savings.

The English language requirement for the UK Fiance Visa

Unless you are exempt, you must pass an English language test to qualify for a Fiance Visa. You may be exempt from taking the test if:

1. You are over 65.
2. You have a disability that prevents you from taking the test, and you have medical evidence.
3. You are from a majority English language-speaking country on a list produced by the Home Office.
4. You have a qualification that the Home Office says exempts you from sitting the test.

If you need to sit the English language test, it must be conducted by an approved test provider to meet the Home Office's stringent requirements.

If you have previously sat an English language test, you may be able to rely on the earlier test. An Immigration Solicitor can advise on whether you will need to take another English language test.

General immigration rules and the Fiance Visa eligibility criteria

Any visa applicant must meet both general and visa-specific eligibility criteria. In the general criteria, Home Office officials will consider whether previous criminal convictions or other factors, such as the applicant’s prior immigration record, make the applicant unsuitable for UK entry clearance.

Six-month Fiance Visas

The Fiance Visa lasts for six months, and before the expiry of your visa, you either need to make a visa application to switch to a new route or leave the UK. If you do not leave the UK, you are classed as an overstayer. This will be recorded on your immigration record and affect future visa and settlement applications.

You are not considered an overstayer if you submit a visa application before the end date of your Fiance Visa. The rules permit you to stay while the Home Office processes your new visa application, such as a Spouse Visa application.

Extending a six-month Fiance Visa

The Home Office expects you to get married within the six-month Fiance Visa. Although the immigration rules allow you to make a Fiance Visa extension application, you will need to show that there is a good reason why the visa should be extended for a further six months.

Delays in sorting out wedding bookings are not normally considered a good reason to grant a Family Visa extension application.  A good reason for not getting married within the initial Fiance Visa period includes accidents or illness that result in the arranged wedding being cancelled, or family bereavement. As well as needing a good reason for the Fiance Visa extension application, you also need to provide evidence that the wedding will go ahead within the next six months. This could be evidence that the wedding or civil partnership ceremony has been booked.

A UK Fiance Visa Solicitor can advise on whether it is best, in your circumstances, to apply to extend your Fiance Visa or to leave the UK before the end of your Fiance Visa and to apply from overseas for a second Fiance Visa.

 What happens after 6 months on a UK fiancé visa?

Before the expiry of your Fiance Visa, you need to apply online for your first Spouse Visa. When assessing the Spouse Visa application, the Home Office will undertake an equally detailed investigation into your relationship and financial eligibility.

If you are granted a Spouse Visa, you will need to apply for an extension of the visa, as the visa does not last five years, and you need to meet a five-year residence requirement to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Time spent in the UK on a Fiance Visa does not count towards the five-year residence requirement.

Indefinite Leave to Remain status allows you to live in the UK permanently. However, some people prefer to take the next and final step of applying to become a British citizen.

Spouse Visa Solicitors say it is best to forward plan as even though you may be interested in sorting out a Fiance Visa the reality is that if you your goal is to stay long term in the UK it is wise to check out the eligibility criteria for the Spouse Visa and settlement so you know if you are likely to be able to achieve your goal to settle in the UK.

The Immigration Lawyers at OTS Solicitors specialise in Family Visa applications, including Fiance Visa and Spouse Visa applications. We can advise you on the eligibility criteria and the evidence required to support your application and guide you through the application process.

Contact OTS Solicitors.

Contact us by phone or complete our online form to schedule an appointment at our London offices or arrange a phone or online consultation.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog/Ilonggo, and Urdu/Punjabi.

 

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