How To Apply For A UK Fiance(e) Visa

Hello and Good Day!

I know that it's to early for me to be planning my application for Visa, but I think it'd be best to plan this out since I know this will be a difficult ang lengthy process. To be honest I don't know which is the best choice for me and my boyfriend, we're planning to get married and plan to settle in UK, but the problem is, I want to know which is a better route to take, should I apply for a fiancee visa and get married in UK, or should we get married here in the Philippines and apply for spousal visa? I badly need help on this.

Hello young lady, we discussed this very point on the forum the other day, click on the link below;

http://www.british-filipino.com/ind...tlement-visa-vs-spouse-visa.11459/#post-94885

And

Where would you prefer to be married @Ellaine?

Ellaine only joined today!

Yes I know, hence the "hello young lady"

So, I was confused how you discssed it the other day?

Ahhh, I understand you, I will edit the post so it is clear

Thank you! I will look into it, but as a knowledgeable person on this topic, Id like to ask for your opinion regarding which route I should take.

Hi!

Either way is actually fine with me, Im just thinking which better route I should take.

There is no better route as such. I think the spouse visa is marginally cheaper but as Howerd says, the choice is yours. If you want your family to attend the wedding then its the Philippines for sure.

Say if I choose spouse visa, what are the pros and cons of applying for it? If you dont mind me asking.>///<

Spouse route = Spouse visa then FLR then ILR then citizenship

Fiancee route = Fiancee visa then FLR then FLR then ILR then citizenship.

So an extra step (FLR) is required on fiancee route. That's is in essence the difference. Anything after those facts is really down to personal choice.

I wanted my wedding in PI on the beach and so that's what we did. My wife was surrounded with family again something that mattered to me. I went back a few months later and we celebrated with our honeymoon on Bohol as time was limited on the wedding. That was the only negative of getting married in PI, 2 weeks was tight to fit everything in.

Thank you for the information, this really helps me a lot, since we are carefully planning how we will get through our first stages. I still have a lot of questions, and I must probably read first all the reference.

There is plenty of advice to be had from members here and you can also use the search facilities. Oh and

quick question, can your spouse work on a spouse visa?

Hello Ellaine. Welcome to Br

Hello Ellaine. Welcome to British Filipino.

Both Settlement visas are generally the same when it comes to costs and the number of years to wait until the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) application. Both are under the 5-year route.

For spouse visa, you have to be married in the Philippines. Your partner have to consider all the time, money, effort whilst he is in our hometown. Once you get your spouse visa, you are allowed to live, study and work in the UK for 2.5 years. After that, you may proceed with the Further Leave to Remain (FLR) Set M application for another 2.5 years followed by ILR.

For Settlement for Marriage or otherwise known as Fiancé/Fiancée visa, you have 6 months to get married in the UK. After which, you have to apply for FLR (M) that would grant you 2.5 years. By the end of 30 months, you are bound to apply for another FLR (M) to stay for additional 2.5 years and reach the ILR stage.

Hence HaloHalo's post:
Spouse Visa-->FLR--> ILR
Fiancee Visa-->1st FLR--> 2nd FLR-->ILR

Take note that you don't need to wait for 6 months to get married upon arrival to the UK to apply for FLR. The sooner you get married, the sooner you can apply for your extension.

In addition, work and study is not permitted until you get the 1st FLR (M) granted on a Fiancée visa.

It can be bit confusing at first but you will get the gist of it.

All the information needed can be found in the UKVI website.

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

All the best with your application.

yes

Thank you for the warm welcome you guys, I feel very much enlightened compared to just going through this alone, Ive been to UKVI website, and since its going to be my first time getting visa and going out of country this proves to be such a difficult task for me and my boyfriend since its also the same for him, We both don't have the slightest idea where to start, I have been reading some info's and experiences from other applicants and I was afraid that since its going to be our first we are bound to be refused especially on the financial department. Since they will be requiring 18600. Can anyone enlighten me on this one? If we decided to have a joint account will my annual salary be included?

You are not alone. My then fiancé and I did it for the first time too. That's probably why it took us 2 long years to finally submit our application last year.

The financial requirement is for your partner/sponsor to meet. There are a number of categories which you have to choose that best suits your circumstances.

Here are the guidelines for the financial requirements are as follows:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa..._FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_August_2015.pdf

I expect that in your heart of hearts, you want to get married in The Philippines. If so, that is the way to go as you could them come to the UK and have free access to our Health Service as soon as you arrive and you could start work straighaway too. Of course, it does mean you will be away from your beloved a few months longer but it giives time for your family to prepare for you leaving.

The downside to getting married in The Philippines is that your fiancee would need to find time away from work and that could impact earnings to the extent that you may have to delay the spouse visa application until he has a full six months of earnings to show he meets the income requirements.