Marriage?????

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:10 pm

Hi,

Me and my girlfriend are planning to get married in the near future however we have hit a few problems.

I am a UK citizen and my girlfriend is South African. Although South Africa is part of the Commonwealth we are not to sure about what the rules are. I have looked on the Internet for some information and this forum popped up.

I have read a few threads and it seems that there are a lot of people that do know how to answer these particular questions.

For the moderators. If this post is in the wrong part of the forum then feel free to put this in the right area.

Thank you in advance

Andy

rooi_ding · Post by **rooi_ding** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:32 pm

The basics of it is, if your partner has entry clearance for more then six months and has more then three months left on that clerance then she would have to apply for a Home Office certificate of approval to get married or even beter if she has ILR then you dont have to do a thing. If she has less then 6 months clerance then I am affraid she would have to return to SA to get a fiance visa.

The IND website has more information just follow the link

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en ... tting.html

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:02 pm

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I have checked it out and it seems that it does help me out.

However I do have one question. What is this ILR?

Thanks

Andy

rooi_ding · Post by **rooi_ding** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:08 pm

Dont worry it caught me out to

ILR = Indefinite leave to remain or Residency
Your partner would know if she had it, it’s a bit of a holy grail around here

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:31 pm

Ok thanks for your help rooi_ding. It is much appreciated. I hope that I can get married soon. Just need to get that Holy Grail

Thanks

Andy

Post by **JAJ** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 2:52 am

Andyjt wrote:I am a UK citizen and my girlfriend is South African and this is where the problem starts. Although South Africa is part of the Commonwealth we are not to sure about what the rules are. I have looked on the Internet for some information and this forum popped up.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk is the place to start if she's outside the UK.

Aleksas · Post by **Aleksas** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 3:01 pm

The only thing being in the commonwealth really helps with, is that your GF may visit you even if her visa expired, for up to 6 months without needing to get a new one...

But, for everything else, commonwealth citizens need visas, just like everybody else.

Lex.

Post by **John** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 3:11 pm

Sorry, the mention of Commonwealth in this context is misleading. It is absolutely not as simple as Commonwealth and Non-Commonwealth.

It really is a question of looking at the list of Visa Nationals and those not on that list, Non-Visa Nationals.

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 5:06 pm

Well we knew that this wasn't going to be easy. We have noticed some really strange things for people that want to get married in England.

But we are ready to fight and we are both extremely determined to be together.

Post by **John** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 7:27 pm

Andyjt, can we establish some facts? Where is your fiancée now? In the UK? If so what sort of visa does she have? When was that visa issued? And when will it expire?

If she is not in the UK can we assume that she is in SA?

And the marriage, where do the two of you intend that to happen? In which country?

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 11:41 pm

Hi John,

My girlfriend is currently in Denmark on a study visa. This runs out in June but she can get an extension on that one for a few more months. We intend to get married in the UK.

Thanks

Andy

Post by **John** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:38 am

Andy, that is useful information. That Danish study visa, the length of that visa? I am just trying to work out if the British Embassy in Copenhagen will entertain an application for the fiancée visa she will need. Have you got a planned marriage date in mind?

Anyway, the plan should be something like :-

get fiancée visa, hopefully in Denmark, but if not in SA
get married in the UK during the six-month validity of that fiancée visa
after the marriage in the UK, apply for two-year spouse visa in the UK
in the last 28 days of that two-year visa, apply for ILR in the UK
after she has been in the UK for three years, apply for Naturalisation as British

Aleksas · Post by **Aleksas** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:49 am

One thing to add to Johns checklist:

If she wants to keep her SA citizenship she has to apply for exemption from the loss of SA citizenship, from the consulate in London, or she will lose her SA citizenship the moment she aqquires British citizenship.

P.S If she then travels to SA she needs to use her SA passport and NOT her British one... the government is starting to clamp down on that very strictly..

Lex.

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:37 am

Thanks for all the help. We do not have a firm date yet but at least we now have a firm plan to follow. Hopefully we can get the British Embassy to help us out.

I'm sure that my girlfriend will want to keep her SA citizenship. So it seems that we have all the bases covered.

Thanks again for all your help.

Andy

Post by **John** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:26 pm

Andy, detail of the current Danish visa?

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:51 am

All I know about my girlfriends current Danish visa is that it is a study visa. My girlfriend has said that she will be able to get an extension for (I think) 6 months. It runs out in June but that is also when her course ends. I think applying for the financee visa in Denmark will be the better option.

But for the financee visa what kind of details will they need? This question just came into my mind and it is important that we are prepared.

Thanks

Andy

Post by **John** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:47 am

Andy, it is important to establish whether the current Danish study visa is long-term or short-term .... in order to work out whether the British Embassy in Copenhagen will accept her application for a UK fiancée visa.

Simply, how long has she been studying in Denmark?

If her current visa ends in June, and indeed the course ends then, presumably the idea is to apply for the fiancée visa say a month before the expiry of the visa and the end of the course?

Have you and your fiancée looked at the VAF2 application form? Have you read the INF4 guidance notes, about getting a fiancée visa? If not you certainly need to download the form and study the guidance notes.

And if not already started, start building the "evidence folder" that will be submitted in support of the application.

Andyjt · Post by **Andyjt** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:32 pm

My girlfriend has applied for a financee visa and she got all the information that we will need to present.

In answer to your question she has been studying in Denmark for 3 years now.

We got the VAF2 application form from the British Embassy. I will also check out the other link and see what is in there.

Thanks for all your help John. You have been a real life saver.

Andy

Post by **John** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:45 pm

she has been studying in Denmark for 3 years now

That's fine. There will not be a problem the British Embassy in Copenhagen accepting the application. She should make the application while she is still "legal" there ..... before her student visa expires.

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Marriage?????

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