Financial requirement, wedding "location" and paper forms

[ggc]

Sorry, three separate questions regarding bringing my non-EU fiancée to the UK.

1. Is the financial requirement of £18,600 applied (i.e. a requirement) at each stage of the fiancée-to-spouse visa and subsequent renewals/extension? I.e. assuming she is granted a 6 month fiancée visa, is the £18k earning mark required again after 6 months for the spouse visa, and again for the renewal after 2.5 years?

2. is there any downside of getting married outside of the UK (say US), or does getting married in the UK make the application smoother? Wouldn't it be slightly less costly (visa wise) to get married in the US first, then apply straight for a spouse visa from the US (rather than applying for a fiancée visa, get married in the UK, then apply to transfer to spouse visa)

3. I know the application is all online, but are paper forms still available "for reference" online? So much easier preparing with a paper form! There used to be a paper form for North Korea, not sure if this still exists and if it still is the same as the online application.

Thank you!

[CR001]

1. Yes, you are required to demonstrate the financial requirement is met at every step, initial visa, extensions x 2 and ILR.

2. No difference other than cost saving on a fiance visa which also has a no work or NHS restriction.

3. You need to apply online. The online forms differ to the paper applications anyway.