I need some advice

[jpx]

Hi

I am a british citizen and a US green card holder living in the US
I am currently planning on moving back to the U.K permanently
in a few months time. And I would like to sponsor my girlfriend and her daughter who are US citizens .But we have been togeather for about six months so it possible for them to get long term visas until we have been togeather for the limited amount of years to be able to apply for IRL ?

And she has custody or her daughter so I do not think that would cause any types or problems .

Sorry if I may sound confusing this is all new to me and a bit hard to understand how it works.

Cheers.

[Wanderer]

Hi

I am a british citizen and a US green card holder living in the US
I am currently planning on moving back to the U.K permanently
in a few months time. And I would like to sponsor my girlfriend and her daughter who are US citizens .But we have been togeather for about six months so it possible for them to get long term visas until we have been togeather for the limited amount of years to be able to apply for IRL ?

And she has custody or her daughter so I do not think that would cause any types or problems .

Sorry if I may sound confusing this is all new to me and a bit hard to understand how it works.Cheers.

No, not unless u marry her. You need to have been living as man and wife for two years for unmarried partner visa.

Also the custody issue needs to clear, I'm not sure about US law but I would imagine it would have to be a legal or court document, not a letter from the dad or owt like that to allow the child to leave the US.

Finance is important too, you need to show u can support the three of you and that you have suitable accommodation. WRT finances too be aware too of the visa costs, especially with the kid too.

[John]

...... it possible for them to get long term visas until we have been togeather for the limited amount of years to be able to apply for IRL ?

Unless she qualifies for HSMP, or might be able to get an employer to sponsor her for a Work Permit, sorry the answer is no!

You do not mention possible marriage but I suspect that the best you can achieve is getting her a fiancée visa, but do be aware that the idea of such a visa is to get married in the UK within the 6-months period of validity of that visa.

Also be aware that each application, one for the girlfriend and one for her child, would cost £500, or rather the locally defined equivalent of that, payable in local currency.

I suspect, probably not what you wanted to hear.

[jpx]

So if we decide we want to get a fiancée visa that lasts six months until we get married and after that they would become citizens or would be able to apply for IRL ?

[Jon_H]

After you get married with a fiance visa you then get the 2 year spouse visa. Than after the 2 years you pay another £750 for ILR.

It would be cheaper and easier to get married before you come.

[John]

So if we decide we want to get a fiancée visa that lasts six months until we get married and after that they would become citizens or would be able to apply for IRL ?

As already pointed out by Jon_H, if the two of you are going to get married, it will be cheaper and quicker to do that in the States, and then she would apply for a spouse visa in the States.

However if fiancée visa is still the plan :-

1. get that visa and move to the UK
2. get married in the UK
3. apply for and get a 2-year spouse visa ... cost currently £395 by post or £595 in person
4. pass the UK's Citizenship Test
5. in the last 28 days of the 2-year spouse visa, apply for ILR ... cost currently £750 by post or £950 in person
6. after the 3rd anniversary of arriving in the UK on the fiancée visa, apply for Naturalisation as British ... cost currently about £655, plus a further £400 to register the child as British

Getting married abroad, and then apply for the 2-year spouse visa abroad, cuts out the need to convert the fiancée visa into a spouse visa in the UK, and thus saves the hassle/cost of that application.

[yankeegirl]

Just wanted to chime in regarding the child. If she does not have sole custody of the child, the father will need to give written permission to let the child move to the UK. In fact, your girlfriend will need to have the father sign for the child to get the passport if she does not have sole custody.

Just a suggestion; have your partner get a consultation from a family law attorney. Most of them usually offer a free initial consultation for free.