Applying for an Unmarried Visa in the UK

[Aussie87]

Hi there!

I am an Australian citizen, and I am in a permanent relationship with a British citizen. I am looking at applying for an Unmarried Visa, but would like some advice please. I am 24, and my partner is 22 years old. We both work full-time, and always have. I will give you some background infomation first...

Our relationship started in Australia back in December, 2008. In March 2009, my partner had to make the decision to come back to the UK for a job opportunity, so we spent a few months in a long-distance relationship. In June 2009, I travelled to the UK where I visited him for one month. We then had a short term long-distance relationship again until he moved back to Australia in September 2009. From here on, we have lived together.

When we first started living together in September 2009, we lived in my mum's house, so therefore, we had no rental agreement, or bills in our names etc.

In March 2010, I was granted a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Working visa for the UK and we re-located over here to England. Once we arrived here in England, we started renting our own place in April 2010 and we have been living here together ever since. Our rental agreement is in both names, and so are all of our bills. This has been the case since April 2010.

My Tier 5 Youth Mobility Working visa expires in March 2012. I was hoping to stay for another 6-12 months after this date. I have done some research and know that for an Unmarried Partner visa, you need to prove that as a couple, you have been living together for 2 years.

I don't think that any of the 6 months that we spent living together in Australia would count towards this 2 year requirement, as we didn't have a rental agreement and we didn't have any bills in our names. Therefore, only the time that we have lived together in the UK would be counted. At the time that I would have to lodge my application (2 months prior to the end of my Tier 5 Working visa), we would only be able to prove 21 months of co-habitation.

Would this be acceptable? Or is this not a flexible rule? Any help or advice on what we should do would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[ukspousevisa]

Hi there!

I am an Australian citizen, and I am in a permanent relationship with a British citizen. I am looking at applying for an Unmarried Visa, but would like some advice please. I am 24, and my partner is 22 years old. We both work full-time, and always have. I will give you some background infomation first...

Our relationship started in Australia back in December, 2008. In March 2009, my partner had to make the decision to come back to the UK for a job opportunity, so we spent a few months in a long-distance relationship. In June 2009, I travelled to the UK where I visited him for one month. We then had a short term long-distance relationship again until he moved back to Australia in September 2009. From here on, we have lived together.

When we first started living together in September 2009, we lived in my mum's house, so therefore, we had no rental agreement, or bills in our names etc.

In March 2010, I was granted a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Working visa for the UK and we re-located over here to England. Once we arrived here in England, we started renting our own place in April 2010 and we have been living here together ever since. Our rental agreement is in both names, and so are all of our bills. This has been the case since April 2010.

My Tier 5 Youth Mobility Working visa expires in March 2012. I was hoping to stay for another 6-12 months after this date. I have done some research and know that for an Unmarried Partner visa, you need to prove that as a couple, you have been living together for 2 years.

I don't think that any of the 6 months that we spent living together in Australia would count towards this 2 year requirement, as we didn't have a rental agreement and we didn't have any bills in our names. Therefore, only the time that we have lived together in the UK would be counted. At the time that I would have to lodge my application (2 months prior to the end of my Tier 5 Working visa), we would only be able to prove 21 months of co-habitation.

Would this be acceptable? Or is this not a flexible rule? Any help or advice on what we should do would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

if you lived together, you lived together, whether in england, or on mars. if you got pictures of yourself and other evidence while you were wherever you were when it started, it should be ok, i would think so.

[Aussie87]

Thanks for your reply. So what evidence are you suggesting that we use to prove our co-habitation in Australia? We have photos, but they don't have a date on them. I have documents that arrived to our Australian address that are in my name, however, my partner did not, as he was visiting on a 6-month tourist visa.

[skyepark]

Usually if you get digital photos printed they have the date on the back of them, you can also get a letter from family and friends to state that you lived together and they spent time with you.

[Aussie87]

Excellent, thank you! My family would be more than happy to provide a letter to state that we lived with them whilst in Australia. Would I also need to prove that my mother owns the house that we lived in? I would be able to get these documents if required.

Secondly, do you know when I would need to apply for the Unmarried Visa? Or does anyone else reading this post know the answer to this? My Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa expires in March 2012. I am unsure how long it will take for the UK Border Agency to process my application.