marrying a foreign partner

Lisa_Cornwall_2

Has anyone got any advice on how to go about bringing a partner from abroad.

We have been in a relationship for 3 1/2 years he lives/studies in HK but originally from Egypt. I am in England, we maintain our relationship through skype. He has been refused his visa 3 times, I travel back and fourth to see him, when I can, we are accepted by both families as a couple, It would be nice for him to be able to visit here before we decide to marry, we now feel we will have to marry to get him through immigration (not what we wanted) We are happy not being married but want the freedom for him to visit the same as I can visit him, Its not fair I am always expected to travel. Immigration seem hell bent that he wont leave the country on a visit visa despite paying for his university in HK so in affect they are dictating us into marriage.

Anyone got any helpful advice please on how to go about sorting this without having to marry him first or is that the only option?

balletshoes

what reasons were given for his refusal on the visit visas?
Its not easy, and its getting more and more difficult, to get a visit visa for a non-EEA citizen partner to the UK.

I take it you have followed all the instructions and guidance to the letter on the visa application forms so far? Paperwork has to be spot on, all the I's dotted and the t's crossed.

There are various forums around which can advise you specifically, give you support etc.

Lisa_Cornwall_2

Yes we followed what was asked for on the application and took advise from our border agency in the UK before submitting. On the second attempt we answered the bits missing that were not asked for on the form. On the third application they decided they didnt believe we had ever met and then wanted pictures and copies of travel documents times.

I want to get off the merry go round, money making scheme of charging us £100 on every attempt money isn't flush, I am not on benefits and work so not entitled to any free legal help

For him to come here and live I would have to show I can afford to keep him for Two years without him working, so currently have my home on the market.

balletshoes

I really think you should join a forum specifically for this (like the pm I sent you). I sent loads more information than what was requested on the visa form, including copies of my passport visa entries, dates, times, places we stayed together in whichever country, and lots of folk send photos in the applications as standard, so that the IND can't come back and ask for more proof to delay/refuse the application.

balletshoes

Lisa_Cornwall wrote: »

Has anyone got any advice on how to go about bringing a partner from abroad.

We have been in a relationship for 3 1/2 years he lives/studies in HK but originally from Egypt. I am in England, we maintain our relationship through skype. He has been refused his visa 3 times, I travel back and fourth to see him, when I can, we are accepted by both families as a couple, It would be nice for him to be able to visit here before we decide to marry, we now feel we will have to marry to get him through immigration (not what we wanted) We are happy not being married
but want the freedom for him to visit the same as I can visit him,

Its not fair I am always expected to travel. Immigration seem hell bent that he wont leave the country on a visit visa despite paying for his university in HK so in affect they are dictating us into marriage.

Anyone got any helpful advice please on how to go about sorting this without having to marry him first or is that the only option?

I know what you mean about this bit Lisa, but realistically, thats never going to happen as long as he doesn't have British/EEA citizenship.

Lisa_Cornwall_2

sorry it wont let me private message again as apparently I am new user, was your husband allowed to work when he got here? My chap doesn't like the idea of me keeping him and even if married wont stay here if he cant work.

balletshoes

Lisa_Cornwall wrote: »

sorry it wont let me private message again as apparently I am new user, was your husband allowed to work when he got here? My chap doesn't like the idea of me keeping him and even if married wont stay here if he cant work.

yes he was allowed to work straightaway, because it was a spouse settlement visa he got.

Lisa_Cornwall_2

omg that goes against what I have been previously told. I had been advised I must prove I can afford to keep him for 2 years without he making any claim on the state. This is great news indeed My sister in laws friend married and lived in turkey for 20 years, when she decided to return for IVF treatment, her husband wasn't allowed to work, I wonder why? He took an accountancy course at college (studied) and they lived with her father as they didn't own a home in Turkey, they basically returned home pennyless starting over again.

We have both produced passports, bank statements, my proof of home ownership, work payslips, but it didnt work for a visit visa. They didn't even believe he attended the college he pays to attend doing his degree, the student visa stamp on his passport is obviously fiction????. he has just had to leave the country (HK) to renew his student visa application, It would have proved so helpful to us if they had allowed him to come here instead of travelling out of HK and staying in a hotel in China for 10 days. I am concerned the next pitfall will be money related either him not having enough, me or both, when I already have a home unlike my sister in laws friend.

balletshoes

you do have to show that either he has enough funds to support himself for 2 years, or you have that amount, because your partner has no recourse to public funds (ie can't claim benefits). Theres obviously no guarantee he'll be able to find work once he gets to the UK, thats why the savings/your income have to be enough to support him for an extended period of time.

Settlement visa is completely different to visit visa - perhaps your friend, because she'd lived in Turkey for so long before coming back for medical treatment, couldn't get a settlement visa for her partner to join her? That would be a visit visa, and you definitely cannot work on a visit visa.

My knowledge is somewhat out of date now, so I really would urge you to use support forums specifically for your visa questions/applications.

marisco_2

16 years ago my fiance lived in Moscow and I was based in London. We had been in a long distance relationship for 3 years. He had applied to come over here as a student, during the last year of his degree in Russia, but was turned down by the British Council for funded study.

We had been engaged 2 years and saw each other very regularly and felt ready for marriage. He could have come over here on a work visa but would then have had to return home when that finished. We didn't want to be together and then have to part so we decided to apply for a marriage visa. It wasn't as complicated as we had invisaged it being. If you do decide to go that route then feel free to PM me and I can go through how it works with you.

Amaretti_2

Lisa_Cornwall wrote: »

Has anyone got any advice on how to go about bringing a partner from abroad.

We have been in a relationship for 3 1/2 years he lives/studies in HK but originally from Egypt. I am in England, we maintain our relationship through skype. He has been refused his visa 3 times, I travel back and fourth to see him, when I can, we are accepted by both families as a couple, It would be nice for him to be able to visit here before we decide to marry, we now feel we will have to marry to get him through immigration (not what we wanted) We are happy not being married but want the freedom for him to visit the same as I can visit him, Its not fair I am always expected to travel. Immigration seem hell bent that he wont leave the country on a visit visa despite paying for his university in HK so in affect they are dictating us into marriage.

Anyone got any helpful advice please on how to go about sorting this without having to marry him first or is that the only option?

Or you could move to Egypt to be with him.