Getting married, in Canada, to a british

[canuck1975]

Hi there, I have a question about spousal visas. My fiancee and I are getting married on the 8th of December here in Canada, he is British I am Canadian. We were waiting on a work permit that didn't get approved and rather than going throught agony of appealling and more waiting we've decided to get married. We've been together for a year and were planning on gettting married next year but under the circumstances we want to get it done so we can get on with our lives. I met him while on a Working Holiday Visa which expired back in June. My question is, once we're married, can I come back with him as a visitor and send my passport back to Canada and wait for the visa to be processed and still be with him over the holidays?

Any advice as to how we should do this? Neither of us has a lot of money, but he's got a steady job he's been at for 3 years (27,000), I have a job offer for when I get back. None of the bills in his flat are in his name all in his housemates but all of his own personal bills (credit cards etc.) are. I'm not sure how difficult this is going to be. Bottom line is that we are to be married and we obivously want to live together.

My sister married a British guy a few years back and they got married in Canada as well. She just went back with the week after and applied for her spouse visa from within the country and had no problem. I think the rules have changed since then, but I i just wnat to know what other people have experienced recently.

Thanks in advance.

[antontony]

Hello,

No, you cannot arrive into the UK as a visitor and have your passport sent to Canada.

The spousal application is a Settlement application and the Entry Clearance Officer may wish to see you and all the docs in person.

Regards,

Anton

[Lazulia]

Hi there!

This is my first post and you have no idea how pleased I am to have found this discussion board.

I'm in the same situation. I am canadian, I met my boyfriend in Peru while doing volunteer work and after finishing my courses a year later, I applied for a working holiday maker visa which (after the rules changed 4 times while over) expired and I had to return home. I had a job where my superiors really appreciated my work and were sad to see me go. They applied for a work permit in April 2005 (which failed). So I decided to go back to university in Canada for autumn 2005 ended up staying in the UK on "holiday" from may 2005 until september when my post grad courses started.

We have decided to get married this coming summer to facilitate immigration. Therefore, I've done quite a bit of (obsessive) research on the matter. In regards to your particular situation, I recommend that you get married in Canada and apply from there. It seem you need to apply from the country you are resident. Beside that point, there is the matter of processing times for the application and costs.

Applying from within the UK for a change to your current status (visitor to spouse) seems to take ages according to the Home Office website in comparison to the High Commission in Ottawa (15 working days although some on this board seem to claim that it takes much less, comments?)

Also, I had looked into getting entry clearance as a "fiancé" but, you end up paying more than double since you have to apply initially for the fiancé visa then again for change to your current status from within the UK. Considering plane tickets already cost a fortune, I opted for the less costly option and do the application from Canada.

I don't think you can "send" your passport the High Comission in Ottawa because you need to get in the UK with that visa (so you need your entry stamp on it which I suspect needs to be relatively close to the date you mentionned in your initial application.) And the High Comission state on their website that they treat applications only for people who are in Canada and mention that if you are in the UK, you need to contact the Home Office instead.

Let me know how it goes! I'm doing the same thing next summer. So much timing involved...

Right, for a first post, I think it was too long

Cheers!
Gen

[Wanderer]

Applying from within the UK for a change to your current status (visitor to spouse) seems to take ages according to the Home Office website in comparison to the High Commission in Ottawa (15 working days although some on this board seem to claim that it takes much less, comments?)

I don't think u can change from visitor visa to anything - you have to go home and apply for the appropriate visa.

[Lazulia]

Yeah, I don't think so either since as a visitor you have to "have the firm intention of leaving the UK..." But I think you can still apply for further leave to remain under form FLR(M).
I can't find anything saying it is possible, although I can't find anything saying it isn't. I wouldn't want to try it out anyway.

Gen

[ppron747]

The "no-switching" rule was introduced on 1 April 2003.

[Lazulia]

Indeed
http://www.archive2.official-documents. ... cm5387.pdf
par. 7.11
However, this document (which is more the proposal for the legislation) says that there are some cases where it would be allowed, although I doubt the exceptions are numerous. It's a shame it penalises those who do not have "bogus" marriages.

Thanks ppron747! That cleared that up.

Gen