UK Fiance Visa

The UK fiance visa service allows a person to bring their fiance to join them in the United Kingdom as long as they themselves have settled status as a permanent resident or British citizen.

Settled status means that they are living here lawfully with no time limit on their stay. If you are returning to the United Kingdom to settle, your partner can also apply for a UK fiance visa to join you at the same time.

Benefits

Fiance immigration to the UK through this type of visa for Great Britain grants your partner leave to enter the UK in order to marry. Unlike other spouse immigration routes such as marriage visas, De facto visas and the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, or HSMP, fiance visas do not require applicants to provide evidence that a relationship has already been in existence for a given number of years.

Duration

Fiancee visas are issued for a period of six months and are awarded solely for the purpose of travelling to Britain in order to get married. Only after marriage may the applicant apply to stay in the country beyond the six-month period, at which time a two-year UK visa extension may be issued in the shape of a marriage visa. After this time, a person can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), often known as permanent residency in the UK, as long as the marriage continues to stand.

Eligibility Criteria

Age

People who wish to apply for this class of immigration service must be 16 years of age or over, and the partner with the settled status, or who is returning to Britain to live permanently, must be 18 years of age or over.

Relationships

To qualify for a UK fiancee visa partners must fulfil the following requirements.

• Plan to marry within a reasonable time (usually six months).

• Plan to live together permanently after they are married.

• Have met each other.

• Have a place to reside for the applicant and any dependants to live until they are married without help from public funds.

• Be able to support any dependants without working or receiving help from public funds.

Additional Information

Only after an applicant's fiance-prospective marriage visa is changed over to a two-year marriage visa are they able to start working and hold the same rights as their spouse who is present and settled in the United Kingdom. However, once a two-year grant of leave has been obtained, applicants will be able to work without the need for a UK work permit and without restrictions upon the type of work undertaken. Applicants for a visa for Fiancee immigration should marry within the six months from the date of issue.