UK fiance visa vs Marriage visa

[ukraine_expat1]

Hello,

i am wondering which is the most advisable route towards achieving a successful application.

i am a british citizen living in Lviv, Ukraine, my fiancee is a Belarusian citizen also living in ukraine. i have researched online and many people talk about the UK Fiance visa, yet the GOV.UK website only mentions the 'apply to join family living permanently in the UK' visa.

please could anyone advise me on the pro's & con's of this route compared to a standard 6 month marriage visa

i have a few concerns over the 'fiance visa'.......

1. between the both of us we meet the £18,600 threshold. upon our return to the UK i will be starting a new job where i will be able to cover the £18,600 myself. but this job does have a 3 month probationary period.

2. i have sponsored 3 general visitor visas previously for my fiancee, registered to an address i share with my brother in Manchester. i have my own room in a 4 bedroom house but my brother is married with two small children.

3. my new job will be in liverpool so it will take me at least 3 weeks to arrange accommodation there where we can both live. my employer will provide temp accommodation during the week. will this give the UKBA grounds to refuse for reasons of not living together?

4. i am not sure about the differences between the 2 year and 5 year route.

does anyone think it would be safer to apply for a standard 6 month marriage visa? then by the end of the 6 months we will have got married, i would be in definite permant employment earning over £18,600, we would have a home in which we would both be living. the idea would then be that at the end of the 6 month period my fiancee (or wife as then) would return to Belarus and from there make an application for the 'apply to join family living permanently in the UK' visa.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you

[Casa]

4. You only have the only have the option of a 5 year route to settlement. An initial 2.5 year period followed by a final 2.5 year visa before qualifying for ILR. If you apply for a fiance visa (not a marriage visit visa) your wife won't have to return to her home country to apply for settlement visa. She would submit a FLR(M) application after the wedding from within the UK.

[ukraine_expat1]

Thank you for your reply......but just to clarify do you mean the fiance visa being the 'apply to join family member in the UK visa' as i dont see any options for 'fiance visa' on the website. probably a dumb question but just want to make sure we make the correct application

[Casa]

Correct.

[ukraine_expat1]

fantastic, appreciate you taking your time to help

[Casa]

You're welcome. Just ensure you don't choose the marriage visit visa. Much cheaper but you won't be able to switch to 'spouse' from within the UK, so far more costly in the long run.

[marty]

So the route on the application form online is : Settlement, Settlement, and then marriage.? Because i didnt see either the FIANCE on the list of choices when i applying online. Can someone tell me if that is right ? because i had submitted my application and i also paid the visa fee and the health surcharge and it cost me health care surcharge equivalent of a 33 months visa. i Wonder if it is all right. thanks all

[vinny]

No. A Fiancé visa is only valid for six months.

If you married her in the Ukraine, then she may apply for a spouse visa, which should be valid for 33 months.

[marty]

I was looking for fiance visa on application online but it was not written so I called up visa and he told me if I wanna go marry my fiance in UK and move there settle there i need write settlement. Settlement. And then marriage. It's confusing.. coz there is no choice for fiance. I wonder if it wud be accepted as a fiance visa even if I paid all and specified in documents that we intend to marry and finally live together.