Advice on a partner moving to UK from Taiwan

RAS

Hi

It is illegal for anyone not registered with the HOme Office to give immigration advice.

Info here

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/general-info/advice/

sghughes42

RAS wrote: »

It is illegal for anyone not registered with the HOme Office to give immigration advice.

I'd query this as your link doesn't say that. It recommends using an OISC regulated adviser to ensure the advice is up to the correct standards, nothing about it being illegal for Tom, !!!!!! or Harry to offer their experiences of similar situations...

We will get proper help when it comes to making the applications, at the moment I am trying to judge if this is the right route to go down and if there are any major things that will rule it out straight away.

Kalama

sghughes42 wrote: »

Presumably there is nothing stopping us getting married if she does get a tier 1 visa?

Nope - nothing at all. In fact, with the introduction of the new settlement rules regarding minimum incomes etc, UKBA are advising people such as your partner to look at the PBS routes (T1 & T2) as an alternative.

Also nothing to stop her coming on a visit visa, but if she rocks up at port and says she is coming to visit her boyfriend for six months they are going to take a very long hard look at her. If she does get granted entry and stays for six months, hops on a plane then turns round and comes back within the next few months it is very likely she will be refused. Anyone who is spending more than 6 out of a 12 month period in the UK as a visitor rings alarm bells. If she has quit her job in Taiwan then it will be even harder to gain entry as a visitor.

If you do go down the fiance route, then you have to show that you earn £18600 per year (can come from employment, self employment, investments, rental income) or if you are under that, that you have at least £16k in savings plus 2.5 times the shortfall. So if you earned £17k pa, you would need savings of £16k plus £4000 (2.5 x £1600).

In terms of the genuine relationship stuff, don't worry too much about what is on the website. It's normally quite obvious what is and isn't a genuine relationship .

PoorCharleyBear

Have a look at British expats website > Moving back to the UK forum, as lots of people are moving back from overseas with foreign spouses.

As I see it your main advantage is already being here and having a provable wage, but the rules did change in July and are a lot tougher than they were!

FatVonD

My understanding is that you need to be up front about the purpose of the visit from the start as they do not look favourably on people moving the goalposts once they're in.

sghughes42

Kalama wrote: »

Nope - nothing at all. In fact, with the introduction of the new settlement rules regarding minimum incomes etc, UKBA are advising people such as your partner to look at the PBS routes (T1 & T2) as an alternative.

...

In terms of the genuine relationship stuff, don't worry too much about what is on the website. It's normally quite obvious what is and isn't a genuine relationship .

Sounds like the visitor route is definitely out. I'm fine on the earnings front without having to rely on my self employment income.

Regarding the PBS system, how can we find more information on the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent system? Is it possible to 'sound out' one of the bodies as to whether you would meet their endorsement criteria, or do you just have to apply and hope? She is concerned that they would be looking for people who have published lots of papers or are regular keynote speakers at conferences...

Tier 2 is looking unlikely at this stage. She would probably need more experience to get a job in the UK, especially one where they can prove there is no suitable alternative applicant from within the EU which seems to be one criteria.

Unless there is a realistic chance of her being accepted under the Tier 1 system I think the fiancee visa is the best bet. We should be able to prove relationship I hope, regular emails and Whatsapp chats over the last year and visits should do that I would hope. What sort of thing do they look for to deny applications?

The main concern we have is that Tier 1 applications cost £816 and fiancee applications cost £826 so we really can't afford to just take the scattergun approach to applying, we could do with a good chance of being accepted first time.

InsideInsurance

sghughes42 wrote: »

The more I look at this page the more I think someone has transcribed the wrong information as it would appear to rule out pretty much everyone who wants to apply for a fiancee visa. The parts like living together and having joint finances just can't apply when one person is living in a different country. The same information is repeated on the Partners visa page and it seems far more appropriate there. If we do have to meet these criteria then I just don't see how we can do it.

The link is not to bring her in on a fianc!(e) visa but as a partner visa. The requirement for fianc!(e)s is different and slightly lighter in nature.

The legal requirement is generally very wooly/ high level in definition and at the end of the day these things come down to human judgement as to if you've hit it or not and the more that you can throw at it to "prove" the relationship etc the more chances you have of it sticking.

A friend, going via the EEA route, split from her husband but legally has retained rights as long as she could prove that the ex had been exercising treaty rights until the date of their split and she had been doing the same since the split. According to the UKBA website this requires sending both passports, all bank statements, payslips, P45/60s for the last 5 years etc and it then takes them 6 months to decide during which they retain the documents. Needless to say an ex generally isnt willing to surrender their passport etc for 6 months. But gathering bits, old employers letters, the occasional payslip she had accidently kept of his, obtaining a letter from a previous employer etc was considered sufficient despite not being the full list asked for.

Not only is it costly to do the scatter gun approach but at the same time if you get rejected once your chances of being accepted via a different route are significantly reduced/ will be investigated much more thoroughly.

These things do take planning, and ideally evidence over time. A friend of my wife (they have a mutual friend back home but only became friendly with each other after meeting here in the UK) is currently going down this route as she has been dating a British guy for 2 years and now has applied for (and I believe gotten a fiancee visa for her).

She came here twice on a 6 month visitor visa (dont know what she declared her purpose of being here was) but he also went there for a couple of weeks for a couple of times and met her family. Likewise they have met in neutral countries a few times and have the evidence of that too.

All these sorts of things help - though it obviously helps that he has a high 6 figure income and a job that means he travels a lot anyway.

sghughes42

InsideInsurance wrote: »

The link is not to bring her in on a fianc!(e) visa but as a partner visa. The requirement for fianc!(e)s is different and slightly lighter in nature.

I did think it didn't look right, but that is what you get when you click through from http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/partners-families/citizens-settled/fiancee-proposed-cp/can-you-apply/

Any idea where I can find info on the actual requirements? What is involved, will she just have to supply information, or will one or both of us be interviewed?

It is looking more promising now based on what you and others have told me. I think the only thing that might trip us up is that we are pretty much being forced in to marriage more quickly than we would normally choose as that may be the only option for us to be together. Don't take that to mean it isn't what I want, just that it would be nice to live together for a year or two before taking that step. I guess maybe I need to just go with my instincts this time rather than holding back as I have done in the past...

InsideInsurance

The fianc!(e) one is lighter but still on paper onerous. I do think they over egg these things to discourage people from applying:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/partners-families/citizens-settled/fiancee-proposed-cp/can-you-apply/genuine/

What you need to provide overall is:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/partners-families/citizens-settled/fiancee-proposed-cp/documents/

So the wedding needs to be booked etc before applying for the visa (basically).

I wouldnt rush into it (either the marriage or the visa application). It is worth taking a bit of time. She can come here for a while as a visitor (good photo ops, joint name tickets, meet your family with photos etc). You can go there for a while (again collecting evidence, meeting the family etc)

PS. you will need to learn to navigate the UKBA website as it does have most the information on it (if poor navigation) and then use http://www.immigrationboards.com as a good source as to real life examples of what UKBA are accepting -v- what they state they want. http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewforum.php?f=6 covers all family issues including fianc!es

sghughes42

InsideInsurance wrote: »

So the wedding needs to be booked etc before applying for the visa (basically).

I wouldnt rush into it (either the marriage or the visa application). It is worth taking a bit of time. She can come here for a while as a visitor (good photo ops, joint name tickets, meet your family with photos etc). You can go there for a while (again collecting evidence, meeting the family etc)

I think I need to review the bit about booking the wedding as I'm confused. My understanding (never having been married or even engaged before...) is that we have to apply for permission to marry and only once that has been granted can we book the wedding. I thought we can't apply for permission until she has her visa? We could provide proof of having researched this and even looked at venues for the wedding I guess.

Advice I've had elsewhere suggests that her coming here may affect a future application as a fiancee? Or would that just be if she came for an extended period as a visitor, if she has a holiday here for a few weeks that would be OK? Of course, the costs of a visit would have to be considered but I'll suggest it as a way to increase the amount of proof. The main trouble is that it is a long and expensive flight...

I am planning to go over there early next year to meet her family. She was thinking we could get engaged then, does that sound a viable plan?

I guess something else we can point out is that it isn't really in her best interests to give up a good job and move all the way here unless things are serious between us, especially as she won't be able to work initially.