Marriage and Settlement

[chadwickkcc]

I am writing to make an enquiry concerning marriage and settlement in the UK.

I am a British National and I am planning to marry a woman who is a Chinese National and currently residing in the PR China. Eventually, we will move back and settle in the UK permanently. The timing of this is yet to be decided. And below are my questions.

1) If she were to apply for a spouse visa, would it make the process easier (overcoming less obstacles), if she were already in the UK (which means that she would have to apply for a marriage visa and get married in the UK first), as opposed to getting married overseas and applying for the spouse visa from overseas?

2) How does the above compare to the case in which we get married and spend 4 years overseas, before making an application for permanent residence in the UK?

Simply put, I want to know which route makes her settlement in the UK the easiest. I have heard from a solicitor that applications to whatever visa is easier if you were already in the UK.

Your help is very much appreciated.

[Kitty]

1) If she were to apply for a spouse visa, would it make the process easier (overcoming less obstacles), if she were already in the UK (which means that she would have to apply for a marriage visa and get married in the UK first), as opposed to getting married overseas and applying for the spouse visa from overseas?

It really depends on your circumstances. The fiancée route involves applying for the marriage visa (£645), getting married and applying for leave to remain as a spouse (£475), then ILR (£840). Getting married overseas cuts out the need for an application for leave to remain, so you save the £475, and whatever time elapses between her arrival in the UK and the further leave application. Set that off against the cost of travel to wherever else you might marry, and the time it would take to do that, I suppose.

If you can show you are married and that you can support yourselves in the UK without needing public funds, then I don't see any real difference in the two routes. Your partner can't work on a fiancée visa, whereas if she comes to the UK as your spouse, you can factor in her earning potential (if any!) or any job offer from the start.

2) How does the above compare to the case in which we get married and spend 4 years overseas, before making an application for permanent residence in the UK?

The system of leave to remain is changing over the next couple of years, so I wouldn't rely on this route still existing then (although the spouse visa route itself is highly unlikely to disappear!).

If you want to live abroad together, make a decision about that based on your own desires and needs, and not by placing bets on what UK immigraiton law will look like in 4 years time!

[mochyn]

Since you are both outside the UK at the moment it would be better to marry where you are and base your entry to the UK to your circumstances.Spousal visa then enter to UK or to wait until marriage has lasted 4 years is choice and is likely to be much the same.
Half a dozen of one and 6 of the other

[ali awan]

Hi

Half a dozen of one and 6 of the other

Excuse me what that mean? May be I have little understanding of technical terms.

Thanks

Awan

[mochyn]

the same as a leopard cannot change his spots

even though names are different the actions are the same

six of one half a dozen of the other means they are both the same

[Kitty]

To add to what mochyn said, alw awan, "a dozen" is an English-language idiom for "12".

Hence, half-a-dozen is, you guessed it, 6.

[ali awan]

the same as a leopard cannot change his spots

even though names are different the actions are the same

six of one half a dozen of the other means they are both the same

@Mochyn thanks for clarification.

I am happy man now.

Ali

[ali awan]

To add to what mochyn said, alw awan, "a dozen" is an English-language idiom for "12".

Hence, half-a-dozen is, you guessed it, 6.

Ali

[mochyn]

I am writing to make an enquiry concerning marriage and settlement in the UK.

I am a British National and I am planning to marry a woman who is a Chinese National and currently residing in the PR China. Eventually, we will move back and settle in the UK permanently. The timing of this is yet to be decided. And below are my questions.

1) If she were to apply for a spouse visa, would it make the process easier (overcoming less obstacles), if she were already in the UK (which means that she would have to apply for a marriage visa and get married in the UK first), as opposed to getting married overseas and applying for the spouse visa from overseas?

2) How does the above compare to the case in which we get married and spend 4 years overseas, before making an application for permanent residence in the UK?

Simply put, I want to know which route makes her settlement in the UK the easiest. I have heard from a solicitor that applications to whatever visa is easier if you were already in the UK.

Your help is very much appreciated.

one other thought I presume you are living near a British embassy/consulate office such as Shanghai or Beijing otherwise distance could be a factor if you both live in Urumqi

[chadwickkcc]

1) If she were to apply for a spouse visa, would it make the process easier (overcoming less obstacles), if she were already in the UK (which means that she would have to apply for a marriage visa and get married in the UK first), as opposed to getting married overseas and applying for the spouse visa from overseas?

It really depends on your circumstances. The fiancée route involves applying for the marriage visa (£645), getting married and applying for leave to remain as a spouse (£475), then ILR (£840). Getting married overseas cuts out the need for an application for leave to remain, so you save the £475, and whatever time elapses between her arrival in the UK and the further leave application. Set that off against the cost of travel to wherever else you might marry, and the time it would take to do that, I suppose.

If you can show you are married and that you can support yourselves in the UK without needing public funds, then I don't see any real difference in the two routes. Your partner can't work on a fiancée visa, whereas if she comes to the UK as your spouse, you can factor in her earning potential (if any!) or any job offer from the start.

2) How does the above compare to the case in which we get married and spend 4 years overseas, before making an application for permanent residence in the UK?

The system of leave to remain is changing over the next couple of years, so I wouldn't rely on this route still existing then (although the spouse visa route itself is highly unlikely to disappear!).

If you want to live abroad together, make a decision about that based on your own desires and needs, and not by placing bets on what UK immigraiton law will look like in 4 years time!

thanks for your opinion! i'm still waiting for an offical response from the home office and i hope they'll clarify.

[chadwickkcc]

Since you are both outside the UK at the moment it would be better to marry where you are and base your entry to the UK to your circumstances.Spousal visa then enter to UK or to wait until marriage has lasted 4 years is choice and is likely to be much the same.
Half a dozen of one and 6 of the other

this is what i'm thinking as well. but, i've heard that you might be better off applying in the UK since it's not easy to kick you out once you've got married to a british national? and on the other hand it's easier to stop you coming into the uk (even if you're married)? i don't know......

[mochyn]

The emphasis on her right to stay in the UK is ringing alarm bells in my head

[stmellon]

Same here, mochyn...

chadwickkcc, you can only be kicked out of the UK if there is a legitimate reason for it, i.e. overstaying visa, breaching visa conditions etc.

What is it that you are really worried about - what kind of illegal activities is your fiancee planning to undertake