Fiance visa - What if we dont get married within 6 months?..

[littlebush]

.....can anyone help with this potential scenario:

-My gf (russian) gets a fiance visa for uk
-After the 6 months, we have not got married and she goes
-Some time after we get married abroad
-She then applies for a spouse visa for uk

can anyone see a problem at any step in this? my concern is that we dont get married within 6months that they may refuse the spouse visa as they may think we 'abused' the fiance visa?

thanks

[Casa]

They may take the view that you paid for an expensive 'visitor' visa with no intention to marry during the 6 months, especially if your girlfriend has been refused a visitor visa in the past.
Why would you pay £750 for a fiance visa and then not go ahead with the wedding? You'd then have to pay another £750 for a spouse visa.

[Obie]

I agree with Casa. On the one hand the ECO might take a view that you stated you intend on getting married within six months, that is why you applied for that visa and was issued with it, for that purpose. However, there are circumstance wherein people are unable to get married within that time frame, for example decree absolute took longer than expected to get finalised, or financial or familial reasons. However this Fiance Visa can be extended in country for a futher 6 months, in the first possible scenerio i mentioned, i am unsure of the rest.

There is nothing in the Immigration rules that provided for your Spouse to be refused because you did not get married within the period you were expected to. So long as you can give them a valid reason, why the marriage did not take place, so that they don't think you sought to deliberatly deceive them.

Then again, they will have to assess why someone would want to obtain a very expensive visa, which confers no other benefit other than the right to get married in the UK, and allow for a Spouse visa application to be lodged in country, simply to deceive an ECO.

It is certainly not something that is worth loosing sleep over, except of course you think they could read something else into it, like previous refusal under Paragraph 320(7A) of the immigration rules, and you used this route simply to get the protection provided in 7C against 7B.

What it will do is, give them more reason to scrutinise your application more closely. But if the marriage is indeed genuine, they cannot refuse you a visa, simply on a previous abuse of that nature.

But with British Immigration, you just cannot tell. You never know what they can come up with from their wonder bag.

[ElenaW]

littlebush, why not just have your gf apply for a 6 month visitor visa. If she shows strong ties and enough funds, I'm sure it will be granted. It's much cheaper that way.

[Casa]

His girlfriend has already been refused a 6 month visitor visa. (Previous post)

[ElenaW]

His girlfriend has already been refused a 6 month visitor visa. (Previous post)

oops didn't read it.

Littlebush, have you thought of visiting your gf in Russia? Does she qualify for a different visa? Tier 1,2, 4?

[Obie]

It is important for one to stay focus on the question of whether a Spouse Visa can be refused in the circumstances the OP mentioned above.

In my opinion, i believe it cannot. However just to clarify things, i believe there is a strong possibility she could face a refusal and possibly a ban 320(7B) if she applies for a visitors visa, if she cannot come up with a good valid reason for the shelving of the nuptial arrangement, for which she obtained the previous visa. Also, the is a possibility that the previous refusal might play a part, depending on the circumstance/s surrounding it.

[Casa]

I suspect that the route the OP hopes to take (reading through past history) is to apply for a fiancee visa with little or no intention to actually marry within the 6 months, in order to buy themselves a 6 month period together in the UK as the visitor visa has already been refused. I'm also assuming their concern is that when the marriage doesn't take place and the girlfriend returns to her home country, if they decide to marry at some time in the future, will a spouse visa be refused. If I (as a layperson) can see through the planning behind this, it wouldn't take much for an ECO to have suspicions of a false application having been made for a fiancee visa purely as a ruse to obtain a six month stay in the UK.

[ElenaW]

It is important for one to stay focus on the question of whether a Spouse Visa can be refused in the circumstances the OP mentioned above.

Yes but I suspect the OP just wants more time with his gf before marriage and I'm just giving some ideas of how to go about that.

[Obie]

Sorry, i must have been asleep when i read the original message, and misunderstood it to mean the OP applied and successfully obtained a Fiance visa for his partner in the past, but the marriage never took place, and now he is in the process of applying for a Spousal visa, and wondered if it could be rejected.

This is simply an abuse of the system and a form of deception, which could be detected, and give an ECO a perfect reason to refuse on any grounds in future, such as credibility or Marriage of convenience.

[Casa]

Elena I can appreciate your suggestion of alternative applications. I was responding to Obie (who had dozed off)
Obie, the OP is intending to apply for a fiancee visa now, but may then possibly apply for a spouse visa 'sometime in the future'. I'm assuming they may apply for a spouse visa if they later commit to marrying and that at the present time they choose to remain as 'boyfriend and girlfriend' with the benefit of being able to spend 6 months together in the UK.
Complicated? You bet!

[littlebush]

Thanks for your help. Sorry maybe i shouldve given more background:

-been together 3 years flying back and forth to russia
-lived together with my gf on a 6month student visa in london
-gf applied for another 6month tourist visa which was rejected, so now looking at the next step!

abusing the fiancee visa was a consideration!

one final question:

-is the fiancee visa multy entry, so she could come in for a week then leave for 5 months then come back to marry just before the 6months is up?

i know this all sounds dodgy, its not, im just trying to put as much time on the board living with someone to make 100% sure its right without being forced to marry!

cheers