Process for marriage to US girlfriend?

[veb100]

Hi everyone, i was wondering if somebody could help me, i am a British citizen who lives in London and have an American girlfriend, we have both decided that we would like to get married in the UK and subsuquently live in the UK together.

I have been doing alot of reading over the last few days about the immigration process etc but i am finding it quite confusing, i was wondering if somebody would be so kind as to point out the process in which we will be needing to take to achieve this.

From what i have gathered, she will need to apply for a UK marriage visa in her country (USA) and once that is granted she can come to the UK and we can get married, then she is granted indefinate leave to remain for 2 years, then permanent residence after that? I've probably got all wrong! One thing i am confused about is where does this "Entry clearance" come into play? and what are the requirements for a UK marriage visa?

Thanks for any help!

[sakura]

You're kind of right. Maybe you should visit UKVisas or look through this website (work permit) for details on how to get married etc etc etc. They both have good and straightforward info.

First, you need to get a marriage visa (not sure if that's what it is called), which is valid for 6 months. During this time you need to get married- they do allow extensions but only in the most extreme and special circumstances, so don't assume you can easily get an extension if you don't think you can do it in 6 months.

NOTE: during this time your girlfriend (or fiancee) cannot work at all!! So it is better to get the wedding sorted asap!

Before this visa expires, and after you're married, you need to submit a form for a spouse visa...this is valid for 2 years...she can work full-time, change jobs, not work, etc, without informing HO. She can study but will be an international student (just so you know).

She is not granted indefinate leave to remain until she has been here for two years as your (a British Citizen) spouse...she needs to apply for this before the visa expires...she'll also need to take and pass the citizenship test.

Entrance Clearance (EC) means you have been given permission to enter the UK legally...i.e. with visas...

Not sure when she can apply for British citizenship, though.

Hope this helps.

[veb100]

thanks alot mate, that really helps me out!

[marooned]

You will also need a certificate of approval from the home office to get married. you might want to jump on this soon, as the prices are going to triple come april 1. there's nothing you can do about the flr/ilr/citizenship prices, but if you get all your paperwork done you might be able to get the coa and/or the fiancee visa at the lower rate.

[JAJ]

From what i have gathered, she will need to apply for a UK marriage visa in her country (USA) and once that is granted she can come to the UK and we can get married, then she is granted indefinate leave to remain for 2 years, then permanent residence after that?

No. She gets a fiancee visa first. After marriage in the UK, she then gets a 2 year temporary spouse visa. Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) which equates to permanent residence comes at that point.

Once she has 3 years in the UK (and holding ILR by then) she can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation. Dual US/British citizenship is ok.

One thing i am confused about is where does this "Entry clearance" come into play? and what are the requirements for a UK marriage visa?

Entry clearance is the permit in her passport allowing her to enter the UK for this reason. She can't just arrive as a tourist.

For information on the fiancee visa: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

[veb100]

Thanks alot for the further info, it's really helping me get my head around it.

After having looked at process in more depth, i noticed that the supporting documents, which are required to be submitted with the initial fiance visa are pretty much if not exactly the same as what will be submitted when we apply for her spousal visa after the marriage, is that right? If that is true, would it be easier to get married in America for example and then apply for a spousal visa instead? Also when and where is entry clearance granted?

Thanks again, you've been a great help!

[yankeegirl]

It depends on where you want to get married, but generally, it is easier (and usually cheaper) to marry in the US. If you were to marry in the US, she would submit the application to the UK consulate that covers where she lives (the 3 are LA, NY and Chicago) with the supporting documentation. Once she gets the spousal visa, it is good for two years and she is eligible to work in the UK as soon as she arrives. Another advantage of marrying in the US is only having to pay 1 visa fee instead of 2.

If you want to marry in the UK, the process is as follows. Your fiancee applies for the fiancee visa from within the US. It is good for 6 months and you must be married within that 6 month time-frame. She would not be allowed to work while in the UK on a fiancee visa. Someone in an earlier post mentioned needing a certificate of approval; this isn't needed if she is in the UK on a fiancee visa. Once you are married, she applies from within the UK for the spousal visa and after receiving that, she will be able to work, etc. I hope this helps and good luck with the wedding plans!

[veb100]

Thanks yankeegirl for the info! I was also thinking about possibly getting married in Ireland, as i was born in Northern Ireland i hold an Irish and British passport, but that looks almost as difficult as Britain's marriage process aswell after reading a few websites.

[yankeegirl]

Aye, its a bit of a pain. My husband and I were to be married in Donegal but they wanted me to provide my ex husband's birth cert to recognize my foreign (American) divorce. I was unable to do so , so off to the US we went. US marriage requirements do vary from state to state, so check that out. We got married in NYC. To apply for the license, all we needed were our passports. There was a 24 hour waiting period before they would perform the ceremony, but we got the marriage certificate immediately afterward

Also, just wanted to mention that since you are a holder of an Irish passport, you do have the option of applying under EU law. No visa fees involved but does take longer to get permanent residence.

http://www.lawcentreni.org/Publications ... tation.htm

That link does a good compare/contrast between the EU and UK systems.

[veb100]

Hey Yankeegirl, thanks again for that info, i seem to be learning more everytime somebody posts! that webpage link is very helpful.

So because i am also an Irish citizen, applying under EU law will be much easier than if i was to apply using the UK's way. So we could get married in America and then apply for an EEA Family Permit for my wife, which would entitle her to work in Ireland for up to 6 months, then apply for 5 year residence using EEA 2 form, once she has been in Ireland for 5 years we can then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, then citizenship comes after that. Does that sound right?

If we did take this route and we eventually got her EEA Family Permit, what would the rules be in regards to her working in England, would the permit only be valid in Ireland? meaning we would have to live in Ireland. Or would she be allowed to work in England becuase i am also a British citizen? thats the only part confusing me at the moment, what her rights would be in regards to living in England on an EEA Family Permit issued in Ireland.

Which route did you and your husband decide to take after you were married in America, if you don't mind me asking!

Sorry to be a pest with all the questions and thanks again!

[yankeegirl]

The EEA family permit is for the family members of EEA nationals exercising treaty rights in a country other than their own. So, you meet this criteria as an Irish citizen exercising treaty rights (living and working) in the UK. She would apply to the UK consulate and that would give her entry into the UK, not Ireland (Republic). Its a whole different process if you wanted to live in Ireland. I'll give you my situation to see if that helps.

I came to the UK (Northern Ireland)via Dublin in 2004. I overstayed. Was advised that easiest route was to marry my partner and then apply for UK visa. Was apprehensive as I could be refused based on past immigration history; also the financial requirements were hard for us as we had a baby and were surviving solely on my partners income. Also was difficult to try to come up with the visa fees on top of having to return to the US. Then I found out because my partner was Irish, we could go EEA route. We did that and it all got sorted last week.

Feb 27- We flew from Belfast to Newark
Feb 28- Applied for marriage license
Mar 1- Got married
Mar 2- Appt at consulate

I had with me the VAF1 application (in the app I provided a brief explanation of overstay), my passport, husbands Irish passport, both of our birth certificates and our daughters birth cert, 6 months bank statements, 6 months payslips, letter from husbands employer, lease agreement, marriage certificate, and misc bills in my husband's name. She briefly looked at the passports, letter from employer, lease agreement and bank statements. The whole process took under 5 min and I got the permit. Overstay was never even mentioned.

I returned to Belfast Mar 7. I'm aple to start looking for employment now. I will send off for 5 year residence permit in August. And I'm planning to apply for Irish citizenship in 3 years, though I know it will take forever lol.