Marriage visa

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:56 pm

Hello, i have few questions related to marriage visa (going to the UK to get married).
Our situation: I am Serbian citizen living in Serbia, 25 years old and unemployed. My girlfriend is British citizen, 23 years old and unemployed, she has been living with me in Serbia for a year, she is pregnant now and wants to get married, give birth and live in the UK.

My plan is to apply for marriage visa and when in the UK after we get married apply for settlement visa (2 years working permit). How should i point this out in my application, and can it affect them refusing it?

Should we schedule the marriage in the UK before applying for visa?

How much money am i supposed to have in my account so i dont get refused based on that? (i have been refused for tourist visa before because of insufficient funds) My girlfriends father also offered to be my sponsor, so do i need additional money to take from Serbia?

What time period of stay should i put in my application? Visa is 6 months but should i put less and does that affect amount of money i have to take to the UK?

STLewis · Post by **STLewis** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:27 am

Your best option is for your girlfriend to come to UK alone, she will need to show she has adequate accommodation for you to join her, has a job, and can support you since on a fiancee visa you are unable to work at all, until you have changed visa status to spouse after the marriage.

Third party support can be considered if she has parents who are willing to do this, which may help if she is unable to work since she is pregnant, but to be honest, you won't both be able to apply and simply both come to the UK with no accommodation, employment etc.

It will help you alot more if she comes first and trys to sort that out beforehand. Why don't you get married in Serbia and apply from there for a spouse visa instead of fiancee one. You will save money on visa fees, and this will enable you work immediately once arriving in the Uk.

Scheduling your marriage in before applying for the Visa will make no difference at all.

sweetmissy · Post by **sweetmissy** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:53 am

I agree with STlewis, it would be a better option for you and your wife to Marry in Serbia.

Plenty of people apply for Spouse Visas using third party sponsor. As long as they are happy to do this for you, I believe they would have to submit the last 3 - 6 months bank statements and employment details, like payslips etc, to show they can support you and your wife. Do remember that as you have a child there will be slightly more.

If you read some of the 'stickys' you will find this info.

Good Luck!!

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:57 am

Thanks STLewis and sweetmissy i guess you are right we might as well save some money and get married in Serbia.
I've read the settlement(spouse) application form VAF4A it makes things a bit clearer but still money related questions remain.

Question for me:

Do you receive income from any other sources, including friends or family?
Should i put in that i do cash-in-hand jobs occasionally or would that work against me getting the visa?

Questions for my sponsor(says in the form that my wife is my sponsor):

Does your sponsor receive income from any other sources, including friends or family?
She is unemployed so i guess we need to include her fathers wage slips and put in the amount he is giving her weekly, do u know what would be ok amount to put in?

Does your sponsor receive any money from public funds and/or benefits?
She doesnt as she is not in the UK at time of application but we intend to claim child benefits and child tax credits after it is born, also working tax credits. Will this be possible and would it affect them refusing my application? Or should i just put no as the answer?

How much of your sponsorâ€™s total monthly income is given to their family members and other dependants?
Does this relate to me as her family member or other family? She isnt giving anything to her family so i guess 0?

sweetmissy · Post by **sweetmissy** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:14 am

milos85 wrote:Thanks STLewis and sweetmissy i guess you are right we might as well save some money and get married in Serbia.
I've read the settlement(spouse) application form VAF4A it makes things a bit clearer but still money related questions remain.

Question for me:

Do you receive income from any other sources, including friends or family?
Should i put in that i do cash-in-hand jobs occasionally or would that work against me getting the visa?

Questions for my sponsor(says in the form that my wife is my sponsor):

Does your sponsor receive income from any other sources, including friends or family?
She is unemployed so i guess we need to include her fathers wage slips and put in the amount he is giving her weekly, do u know what would be ok amount to put in?

Does your sponsor receive any money from public funds and/or benefits?
She doesnt as she is not in the UK at time of application but we intend to claim child benefits and child tax credits after it is born, also working tax credits. Will this be possible and would it affect them refusing my application? Or should i just put no as the answer?

How much of your sponsorâ€™s total monthly income is given to their family members and other dependants?
Does this relate to me as her family member or other family? She isnt giving anything to her family so i guess 0?

Do you pay taxes in Serbia? if so, cash in hand jobs can be a bit of a greay area, unless you can prove the money you get has been taxed. UKBA want to see that you will not avoid paying tax when you come to the UK.

If she does recieve any money, if it is paid into her account, then she can supply proof of this with a statement.
If she is not claiming benefit at the time of application, it is pointless to state that you may apply for other benefits later on.. as your situation could change. IE you getting a job in the UK and be able to support her??

As her parents will be your sponsor, they will have to supply what i stated above, it will also be a good idea for them to supply a spreadsheet outlining their monthly outgoings spent on family

They way i collated mine and my husbands visa application, i literally left no stone unturned. I have full time employment and my salary is fine to support my hubby. But it is a good job to talk the ECO through your finances.

If you read some of the threads, you will find other people who have used third party sponsorship, they might be able to enlighten you on what documents to supply..

Hope that helps

sweetmissy · Post by **sweetmissy** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:19 am

Have you started collecting evidence to send off?

Do not forget is is very important to write a Letter with your application, outlining all that you have submitted and why.

Your future wife will write a letter of confirmation on your relationship, but also adding a cover letter, always is a help.

Post by **Casa** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:47 am

STLewis has given incorrect in the advice given in this passage:

Third party support can be considered if she has parents who are willing to do this, which may help if she is unable to work since she is pregnant, but to be honest, you won't both be able to apply and simply both come to the UK with no accommodation, employment etc.

You are perfectly entitled to submit an application using 3rd party financial support, whether your partner is pregnant or not. This has no time restriction. Accommodation can also be provided by family.

Also this:
Scheduling your marriage in before applying for the Visa will make no difference at all.

If you are applying for a fiance visa to marry in the UK you will be expected to show evidence of planning for the wedding. Applications are often refused due this not being submitted.

STLewis · Post by **STLewis** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:32 pm

Casa,
I don't see how my post is incorrect - I was advising Milo85 that third party support is an option for them as they both are unemployed. I doubt it very much that without that third party support, that he would be granted a visa to come and marry when both have no jobs and no third party support and no accommodation!

You seem to have read my post as though third party support is unavailable if she was pregnant - I don't see where I wrote that!! . I was suggesting third party support to them since as she is pregnant, she may find it difficult to find work!

As regards the "scheduling in a marriage" , I was advised and told by the VAC and my Solicitor when my husband applied not to book any wedding, make any plans, book any flights since none of this will make any difference to them or the amount of time they will take to make their decision. Additionally, you then run the risk of wasting money on flights, and wedding arrangements etc. I was told to simply state "As soon as my husband has permission to enter the UK we intend to start making wedding arrangements".

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:40 pm

STLewis, the point of making enquiries (not necessarily bookings, and of course you can't book a Register Office wedding until the overseas partner arrives anyway) is to show the ECO some evidence that a wedding is actually planned.

I have seen cases where the applicant simply saying "and we plan to get married" was not accepted as evidence that the couple did plan to wed. I would usually say at least include an email exchange with the Register Office ("please can you let me know what availability is like in [month]" for example), printouts of legal residence requirements, some kind of evidence that you have investigated things.

STLewis · Post by **STLewis** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:06 pm

Im simply passing on information I was given by the relevant people, when my husband applied for his visa .

Furthermore, my cousin married her fiance here after he applied for a fiance visa and she was advised the same. She never made any bookings/arrangements, nor did she supply copies of emails making enquiries, and he was granting his fiance visa within 5 weeks.

Milo85 was asking about scheduling an appointment - to me that means making a booking to get wed.

Post by **Casa** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:46 pm

This is the passage which I felt was misleading :
but to be honest, you won't both be able to apply and simply both come to the UK with no accommodation, employment etc.
If they have 3rd party financial help the lack of employment won't be an issue.

Also the suggestion for the girlfriend to come back to the UK alone probably wouldn't achieve much as she's unlikely to take employment while she's pregnant and time is presumably of the essence. 3rd party financial support appears to be the best option in the circumstances.

Scheduling an appointment can be to discuss the options with the registrar...not necessarily to actually book the wedding date, as Kitty has already advised.

Didn't your husband apply for a Spouse visa? Not a fiance visa?

STLewis · Post by **STLewis** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:27 pm

Milo 85 refers to scheduling the wedding, not an appointment Casa. Thats why my reply is what it is.

If you read my reply you will see that I was stating that without the third party support, it is unlikely they will succeed in getting a fiancee visa for him if they both apply from Serbia with no accommodation. money, jobs etc. If anyone has been successful in applying for fiance visa when both parties have no money, jobs, accommodation or third party support and are expecting a baby I'd be interested to know. My post says third party support would be something he should consider if he can, to help their application.

Yes your quite correct Casa, my husband successfully got a spouse visa first time. However, prior to applying I made many extensive enquiries about which visa would be most suited to our circumstances, and we decided spouse visa.

My post states my cousin successfully got a fiance visa, without booking or enquirying about weddings, not my husband.

What visa did you or your partner obtain?

Post by **Casa** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:34 pm

Spouse.

Post by **Casa** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:38 pm

Milos85, make sure that if you decide to marry in the UK you apply for a fiance visa...not the 'marriage visa' which is for those who don't intend to settle in the UK after the wedding.
If you do submit an application which relies on 3rd party support, your financial sponsors will need to provide documented evidence of their ability to offer this.
Will you be living with family in the UK when your first arrive?

JulieM71 · Post by **JulieM71** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:15 pm

Hi

We have applied for the finace visa for my partner (still awaiting the response) and our lawyer directed the ECO in his covering letter to the section in the UKBA guidelines that says a wedding does not have to be booked (can't remember the exact wording) in the case of a fiance visa application. And, as someone else has said already, you can't make a booking unless both of you go in person to make the necessary declarations in advance re being free to marry etc.

But he advised us to include some info in the application re our wedding plans. So I printed off details of our local registry office and called them to ask if they had Saturday appointments and made handwritten notes about this. I also described our wedding plans in my letter about what we would do for the ceremony and how we would celebrate after and printed some local restaurant details that host wedding parties to evidence some research and confirm what we were planning.

We were advised that a fiance visa is not seen as less certain than a spouse visa, both have equal merit, so it depends what suits you and your partner.

Not sure if this info is of use, but thought it might help to describe what we have done to meet the UKBA requirement to show evidence of wedding plans, albeit we have no answer yet.

I wish you luck with your plans.

J

Post by **Casa** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:33 pm

Good advice Julie.

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:47 pm

Hey, thanks everyone for informative replies learned alot from this thread

.

We are definitely going to go for spouse visa (getting married in Serbia) to save some money and time.

We will be staying with her mother so accommodation wont be problem i guess. Do you know how many bedrooms does the house need to have? People living there will be her mother, two of us and baby.

Sponsor will be her father he has decent salary and will provide wage slips. I guess he needs to write a sponsorship letter as well? Does anyone here have a template what it should look like?

Im sure more questions will pop out more we plan it so ill keep bugging you now n then lol

Btw i did think about booking the appointment but i didnt know that you cant actually book was just thinking of what could help us as evidence that we are getting married.

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:14 pm

I have found a list of things needed in another thread here, have few questions specific to our situation.

Spouse Visa Application

1) Visa application form (VAF4A)
2) Sponsorship undertaking form (SU 07)
3) Settlement - English Language Requirement VAF 4A Annex (ELT) Nov 2010
4) IELTS General & International ESOL Diploma certificate

Supported Documents :

PASSPORT & IDENTIFICATION
- Sponsorship Letter
- Sponsorship Declaration
- Passport Copy Certified
- Original Birth Certificate

MARRIAGE
- Wedding Ceremony Certificate
- Marriage Certificate
- Wedding Invitation
- Wedding Ceremony & Party
Picture

ACCOMMODATION
- Accommodation Letter (Certified)
- House Deeds
- Council Tax Statement
- House Bills (Gas,Electric,Water)

EMPLOYMENT
- Employment Letter
- Employment Contract
- 6 Months Payslip
- P60 end of year tax form

flINANCE
- 6 month Bank Statements
- ISA Saving Statement
- Monthly Savings Account

COMMUNICATION
- Telephone Call Records

Sponsorship undertaking form(SU 07) , does her father need to fill this form out?

What is sponsorship declaration?

Where to get passport copy and accommodation letter certified?

Do we have to live with our sponsor(her father) for this application or can we live with her mother(they are divorced)? Her mother's house has 3 bedrooms i guess that is enough?

Does it matter that her mother is receiving benefits and will it affect my application?

Will mother's benefits be canceled if i come to live in her house?

Also does it matter how much income mother has? (she only works part time so low income)

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:35 pm

Please i need some help with these questions as my girlfriend went to the UK to collect the papers but doesnt have much time.. Its too expensive for us to get a lawyer thats why im asking here if anyone was in similar situation and knows relevant papers..

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 7:30 pm

Update: we figured out how to get papers certified etc, now in process of getting them.

Question still remains of form for the letters? Would be nice if someone had a template for letters, or just explain in short what is most important to be covered.

Sponsorship letter, accommodation letter i guess those have to be written in somewhat legal jargon.. For personal letters i think we can manage or they need to have certain form as well?

JulieM71 · Post by **JulieM71** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:11 pm

Hi

Not sure about the s'ship or accom letters as we did not have to include these, but for the personal ones both me and my partner wrote one each.

You're right, there's no set format, everyone's will be different. Mine was quite long, my partner's shorter, but we both described how we met, our feelings for each other then and now and why we were making the application at this time. My partner has a history so it's not straightforward for us and I used it as the only opportunity to really speak as directly as is possible in all of this to the ECO.

I talked about the options we had available to us to be able to be together permanently and argued the reasons as to why the only one choice was for him to come here to live with me. Again, these will be different for each case depending on the circumstances.

Hope that helps a little.

J

milos85 · Post by **milos85** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:46 am

Hi Julie of course every little helps thanks. Still working out how to write sponsorship and accommodation letter tho

How did your application go by the way?

JulieM71 · Post by **JulieM71** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:26 pm

Hi

We're still waiting. Application went in at the end of June so not expecting to hear for another couple of months or so based on the UKBA time guidelines for Cairo.....it's tough and a bit of a stress, but out of our hands now. Everything is crossed!

Good luck with finding the rest of the info you need to complete yours.

Best wishes

Julie

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