Marriage

[nipper88]

I'm British, I have a Turkish partner who's currently here on a tier 4 student visa that was valid from September 2011 and expires in January 2013.

We are thinking of getting married, but after a bit of research into it I am worried we may have 'missed' the cut off date with regards to her current visa.

It says on the UKBA website that: You cannot apply to extend your leave to remain if you are in the UK with permission to stay for a period of less than 6 months (unless that leave was as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner);

Does this mean 6 months from date of application or the overall length of the visa that was first given? If the former then I suppose it is utterly out of the window!?

If the latter however, are there any benefits to getting married in a C of E church?


I also read this:

If you are living in the UK and are subject to immigration control, you will not be able to give a notice of marriage unless one of the following is true:

-You have an entry clearance or visa granted expressly for the purpose of marriage in the UK
-You have a certificate of approval from the UK Border Agency department of the Home Office
You are getting married in the Anglican church in England and Wales
-You have settled status in the UK

If you have less than six months leave to remain in the UK, have overstayed your leave to remain or are in the UK illegally, you can still apply for a certificate of approval, but the Home Office will write you a letter requesting further detailed information. This information will be required to prove that your marriage is genuine and not one of convenience.

http://www.login2law.co.uk/thorntons/in ... 6051D76350

Thanks in advance.

[Greenie]

The latter.

The information you have posted is out of date. Certificates of approval were scrapped some time ago.

[nipper88]

The latter.

The information you have posted is out of date. Certificates of approval were scrapped some time ago.

Relief! Thanks for that. So we could get married a couple of months before her current visa expires? As long as it is within the UKBA recommended 28 days before I guess.

A question re her ability to work on a marriage visa. When (if) we got married, would she then immediately be able to work full time? That is what we want so she can get into the workforce immediately. Also would the marriage visa need to be renewed every so often or is it in place for as long as our marriage is?

[nipper88]

Any advice on the last query??

[MPH80]

She ability to work freely will only be in place once she gets her spouse visa. Until then - her tier 4 conditions would continue.

On the latter point - the visa will require renewing after 2.5 years and then she'd be eligible to apply for ILR after a further 2.5 years.

M.

[nipper88]

She ability to work freely will only be in place once she gets her spouse visa. Until then - her tier 4 conditions would continue.

On the latter point - the visa will require renewing after 2.5 years and then she'd be eligible to apply for ILR after a further 2.5 years.

M.

After her studies finish though (end of August) her tier 4 visa allows her to work full time for the final 4 months. So that full time entitlement would continue with a marriage spouse visa? There would be no limitations on her at all to work with a spouse visa? No extra paperwork for employers to fill out that would put them off?

[MPH80]

Nope. Nothing. It's no different to being on any other visa without working restrictions.

[nipper88]

Right, well i have looked into the forms my partner will need to fill in etc. i am concerned about the financial requirements - even after she is my wife, she needs to proove £18600 of income??? I understand some of that can be my wages, and some her savings, but it does not meet 18600! Her family could send her more but the guidlines say this only counts if it has been held for 6 months prior to application. Does this mean they WILL refuse application for a partner visa?

What if she was a 'housewife' and i was earning under 18600 a year, they would refuse her leave to remain as the spouse of a UK citizen??? Unbelievably unfair. Can she include her turkish bank account savings??

Im worried now that even if we get married, they wont give her a visa

[st pauli]

It's you that needs to earn £18,600 not her, in the first instance. You will probably need to take a second job to meet that unfortunately, as savings and earnings are not treated equivalently - to the point where it's almost pointless talking about savings in terms of the partner visas, for most ordinary people.

However on the bright side, as I understand it, you won't have to keep up this second job to earn £18,600 after you GET the spouse visa - just ensure that your combined income as a couple does not fall below that, i.e. you can share the burden from then on. That's the answer I just got when asking that exact question anyway, hopefully someone else can back it up...

[MPH80]

Just to correct on a minor point - the income can be from the applicant and/or the spouse IF the applicant is in the UK legally with a right to work and the income is uk derived.

If the income is from abroad, then it can't be considered unless it's from the spouse and the spouse is returning to the UK with the applicant.

Very confusing I know.

[nipper88]

Well either together or alone we wont have enough. But can her savings in turkey be counted?

[MPH80]

Savings can be counted when they are above £16,000, in cash, and have been in the account of either the spouse or the applicant for more than 6 months prior to the application.

The formula for the amount you need is 16000 + (shortfall in income x 2.5).

So - let's say you've got £14k in income - you'd need 16000 + ((18600-14000) x 2.5) = £27,500

M.

[nipper88]

Ok. So she cannot count her turkish savings of about 5000 pounds equivalent?

I am getting about £5000 a year. If i can increase that to £10000 either with a full time contract or another job AND she gets a part time job of bout £5000, then we have 15000 in ncome between us. We CANNOT add the £7000 of savings or so we have in the UK on to that to go over 18600? How stupid!!!!

[MPH80]

Short answer - no you can't.

I think I've read here that the £16k threshold is something to do with a threshold of savings for benefits.

Note: found this elsewhere double checking:
http://www.financebanter.co.uk/uk-finan ... iming.html

So - if that's right - then they are simply ensuring that if you do use savings to cover the income then there's no risk of you applying for benefits because you have savings above the threshold.

The 2.5 multiplier is to ensure you have that income covered for the 2.5 year initial visa period.

Don't forget that you'll have to cover this income AGAIN at that point - so if you rely on *just enough* savings, you can't then burn through them.

The income problem you have is that her visa expires in Jan 2013. If you haven't been employed for more than 6 months - you have to prove your income over the last 12 months, which I don't think you can do.

So I think you're going to become stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she returns, then you can't count her income, but I don't think you've got sufficient time to prove your income over the last 12 months.

Can I ask if you've a) considered moving to Turkey and b) considered using the EU route by moving to Ireland (to work - that's important) for a period of time to then bring her there as your wife under an EU family permit?

M.

[nipper88]

Hmm i see. In answer, yes, i have considered moving to turkey. My concern is that i will not be able to find a good job there without my degree. But I can continue to finish my degree from Turkey and live back with my parents who are there for a while at least, so it isnt all bad. Its just that we will have to sell and leave behind the little world of autonomy we established for ourselves in the UK!

Well it truly seems like there's little point in parting with an application fee for a fairly likely negatice outcome. Thanks for all your help though!

I will most definately be writing to MP's and maybe the press too about the arse over tit system they have in place which is utterly unrealistic and ends up barring educated, skilled amd decent people who would be net contributors to the country whilst handing out amnesties to all manner of useless people. Bah!!