Fiance Visa conundrums

[AK83]

Hi Everyone
Hope you're all doing well...
I've been living and working in the UK for over 5 years. I recently received my ILR in the UK (Feb 2016). I'm due to be getting married in India in August this year and myself and my fiance are currently pondering over the different ways of applying for her visa to join me in the UK as soon as possible.

The most obvious one is the Spouse Visa which we could only apply after the marriage has taken place and we register the same in the court of law in India. This also happens to be a much cheaper option. However with this, she wouldn't be able to come to UK for about 2-3 months which is a pretty long period.

The 2nd option we're banging our heads against the wall for is applying for a fiance visa right away. However, we're a little confused with this option and have a handful of questions:
1. Would I need to apply for this visa on her behalf in the UK or could she apply for this in India?
2. If hypothetically, the visa was applied for and granted before August, we would be getting married with Indian customs and traditions in August. Since this happens before she enters the UK, does this then cause a problem for us? Or could we still have a civil marriage ceremony in the UK and then switch to spouse Visa. I understand this could end up being fairly expensive, but this could allow her to join me sooner.

Would really appreciate if someone could take sometime to assist with these.

Regards,
Abhishek

[CR001]

1. She applies in India.

2. Can't see it being an issue, but wait for others to comment. She will only have 6 months to enter the UK and marry and she cannot work in this time.

[AK83]

Thank you CR001.

Anyone else who's been through similar experiences, I'd really appreciate your views and responses on this as well.

[Casa]

If the marriage is considered to be legal under national law of India it will also be recognised as legal in the UK. You are unable to marry twice (to the same person). Or are you saying that the ceremony in India will be celebratory and not registered with the court authorities?

[AK83]

Hi Casa, we were going to get it regsitered in the Indian Courts as well, but I see what you mean. I don't know what the legality in this matter would be, but would surely check this before making any move.

Also, if we were to get married in the UK for the switch, is it sufficient to go to the registrar office (after giving them the approp notice), and register the marriage with 2 witnesses? Or do we need to book a hall, get invites and other marriage pre-requisites before it is considered an official wedding in eyes of law?

[Casa]

If by 'switch' you mean applying for a fiance visa followed by a spouse visa application, the legality is in the registration of the marriage by the Registrar in the Registry Office. It's personal choice whether this is followed by a reception etc. However, in order for the ECO to be convinced when assessing a fiance visa application that a marriage will take place within 6 months, they will expect to see evidence of a wedding being planned, which generally involves a post-wedding celebration with invited guests.

[AK83]

I understand. Thanks so much for your inputs. I really appreciate it.

[CR001]

Just a point to note, don't rush this, plan properly otherwise you will end up losing a lot of money. If it means your 'new wife' has to wait in India for 2-3 months, then so be it. UKVI don't work according to migrant schedules or wants.

[AK83]

That's fair CR001. Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I'll look into this further before proceeding with this.

[Onkarsingh1991]

Why dont you just apply for the settlement visa as a married spouse straight after your wedding and pay for the priority settlement visa fee which ias an additional £450, they will put you application at the front of the list. sould not take more that 3 weeks for an answer

[AK83]

Hello Onkar, appologies for the late response. I didn't know one could do a priority application for spouse visa in New Delhi, India. My understanding is that priority application is only for tourist visas in India.

Do you have any experience in applying with priority visa with VFS India? If so, can you please provide me with any details?

Regards,
Abhishek