Relationship with US girlfriend?

rcolliee · Post by **rcolliee** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:42 pm

I am a 21 year old UK citizen and have been with my 19 year old US girlfriend for a year. She lives in the UK under a visa with her aunt and uncle who are both in the US air force. She is currently taking University courses online. She desperately wants to get a career here in the UK and be able to live with me. Unfortunatley both her aunt and uncle are moving back to the US in July 2013. What do we have to do so that she will be able to stay in the UK?

Post by **Lucapooka** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:08 pm

You need to clarify her immigration status. If she has leave under 276AG (child of armed forces posted to the UK) then she may only switch into settlement as your married or unmarried partner, and any other category of leave (student, work) would have to be applied for in the USA.

st pauli · Post by **st pauli** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 7:59 am

Your age group tends to be the most adversely affected (along with people at the other extreme) for the draconian new £18,600 income limit unfortunately. You will need to earn that, and have earned that for at least six months, before you can sponsor her for a partner visa of any kind.

You could always considering getting married, moving to Dublin to do a bit of work for six months, and then returning to the UK hassle-free. Drastic move but also has drastic (in the good sense) consequences as you'll basically be left alone for five years after that and then she'll get permanent residence.

rcolliee · Post by **rcolliee** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:13 pm

Unfortunately I do not earn as much as that. Does that mean the only option is to get married? Will that guarantee that she can stay in the country straight away, or is there more to it? Is engagement enough?

Post by **MPH80** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:23 pm

The threshold applies IF you get married - so if you (jointly) don't earn that much getting married won't help.

rcolliee · Post by **rcolliee** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:58 am

So basically there is nothing we can do?

Post by **Lucapooka** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:01 pm

If you define getting married, or applying for a work or study visa as nothing, yes.

rcolliee · Post by **rcolliee** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:37 pm

She is studying in Europe, which means she wont be able to get an education visa. This also means she is currently unqualified so she would only be able to get a small part time job which would not be enough for a work visa. As for marriage, we still wouldn't meet the £18,600 criteria, so I'm guessing that wouldn't help either. Being young makes it so much more difficult

st pauli · Post by **st pauli** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 12:05 am

rcolliee wrote:She is studying in Europe, which means she wont be able to get an education visa. This also means she is currently unqualified so she would only be able to get a small part time job which would not be enough for a work visa. As for marriage, we still wouldn't meet the £18,600 criteria, so I'm guessing that wouldn't help either. Being young makes it so much more difficult

What do you mean she's studying in Europe? You know if you get married you can live in another EU country visa-free right?

Post by **MPH80** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:35 am

I think (assumptions here given the original post) that she's living in the UK - but taking online courses from a european university.

I suspect the family permit route is the only one really open here. You'll need to get married, then move to a 3rd party country (like Ireland) to work - you can then get her an EEA family permit to join you. Given she's doing an online course - she can carry on studying from where-ever.

After a suitable period of time - 6 months or so - you can return to the UK together.

It might not involve visa fees - but it's an expensive option though - you'll have to get yourself setup in Ireland and have accommodation etc together for that period - and you have to worry about what to do with your things in the UK etc.

M.

rcolliee · Post by **rcolliee** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:25 pm

That is correct, she is living in the UK and is taking online courses from a European university. It may be an expensive option, but it looks like it is the only option. What about if I was to move to the US with her? Is it any easier? Are there more options? I have heard just marriage is enough? Thank you all for your help.

Post by **Greenie** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:54 am

No just getting married is not enough for her to be able to stay here.

Post by **MPH80** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:48 am

Greenie - I think he was asking if getting married was 'just' enough to go to the USA with her ...

(I don't have an answer to that - better off asking in the US forums).

st pauli · Post by **st pauli** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:46 pm

rcolliee wrote:That is correct, she is living in the UK and is taking online courses from a European university. It may be an expensive option, but it looks like it is the only option. What about if I was to move to the US with her? Is it any easier? Are there more options? I have heard just marriage is enough? Thank you all for your help.

The US certainly has less strict regulations on income, though I've heard they are more strict on investigating the genuineness and validity of the relationship. Somewhere like uk yankee forum would be a good place to ask these sorts of questions, google it.

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Relationship with US girlfriend?

Relationship with US girlfriend?