It is important to note that you are not allowed to work or study in the UK under the Fiancé Visas route unless you switch to the Spouse Visa route. Once you switch to a Spouse visa, you will be exempt from the employment or study restrictions when married and settled in the UK.

The validity period under the Fiancé Visas UK only lasts for up to 6 months. Before applying for a Fiancé Visas UK, It is always recommended to seek legal guidance.

If your fiance (fiancé/ unmarried civil partner) has a permanent residency in the UK, they can sponsor you under Fiance Visa UK. However, your partner (sponsor) is required to meet the following eligibility requirements to be able to apply:

• Must be a British national or hold an Indefinite Leave to Remain(ILR).
• Is either ‘entering’ or is already residing within the UK at the time of your Fiance Visa application.
• You and your partner must have physically met each other at least once before applying to satisfy the ‘genuine relationship criteria’.
• Be able to satisfy the financial requirements, i.e. £18,600 per year, to be able to apply for you, without relying on public funds.
• Must have ‘adequate’ accommodation & maintenance arrangements to be able to support you and your dependents if any.
• Must be planning to get married within the validity period of UK Fiance Visa, i.e. 6-months.
• Must be intending to marry and live together permanently after you and your spouse enter the UK under the Fiance Visa route.

The financial requirements per Home Office preferences should be satisfied by proving:

• Combined Gross income of £18,600 (applicant and the sponsor’s financial income).
• With the first child, it will be increased by £3,800.
• With the additional dependant, it will be increased by £2,400.

As per Home office requirements, the sponsors (applicant’s partners with settled status) must demonstrate a solid financial background to support their unsettled (Fiancé/ unmarried partner) and dependents, if any, at the time of application.

So, how to satisfy the Financial requirements for UK Fiancé Visa?

Typically, the applicant’s sponsor can satisfy the requirements in the following manner:

• Employment salary, wages
• Pensions
• Stocks and Shares
• Savings
• Tenancy—rented payments/owned mortgages
• Any other sources such as sick, adoption, maternity/paternity payments

Get immediate legal assistance from our highly experienced UK Immigration experts. Call our Sky Solicitors team on 0044 (0) 208 555 8288or feel free to drop an email : (info@skysolicitors.co.uk). Our premium service package (advice, support, and application guidance) can help you prepare a proper application and representation letter covering financial requirements, so you don’t lack any reasonable evidence that could lead to UK Fiancé Visa refusals.

Before applying, it is always a mandatory step to thoroughly have a keen eye while gathering and compiling your evidence. It is, therefore, crucial that you (applicant) and your British or settled partner (Sponsor) should be able to provide solid and reliable documentary proof, including additional information per dependant (if any).

In general, you are required to provide the following supporting documents with the UK Fiancé Visa application:

• Proof of ID for applicant, sponsor, and dependent, if any. Travelling history.
• Document to satisfy the genuine relationship criteria- including the duration of the relationship and how frequently you meet each other in person.
• Previous marriage history, if any, i.e. Divorce certificates.
• Details of any current/previous criminal record—character suitability certificate.
• Information on any other country of residency besides the UK.
• Date of birth and citizenship details of parents if applying from outside the UK.
• Information about the previous partner and children if applicable.

UK Fiancé Visa English Language Requirements

For a successful grant to Fiancé Visa UK, you (applicants) must meet the minimum English language requirements, i.e. at least A1 CEFR level in speaking and listening per Home Office Immigration policy. Failing to do so, your chances for Fiancé Visa UK acceptance will be low and might put you at the risk of getting rejected. Keeping this in mind, If you belong to a non-English speaking country, you must pass and provide the approved English proficiency test certificate endorsed by the accredited SELT UK.

UK Fiance Visa English Language Exemption:

Under the following conditions, the Home Office has ruled out/exempted the English language requirements if the applicants:

• Hold a certified degree (Bachelors/Masters/Ph.D) which satisfies the English language requirements per Ecctis UK, formerly known as UK NARIC, in which case you may provide a certificate of English proficiency issued by the institutes stating English as a medium of instructions during the academic program.
• Suffer from physical or mental anomalies, which could be challenging to sit for the language exam.
• Have a refuge or humanitarian protection status.
• Are over the age of 65.
• Are a victim of domestic violence.

If you are a national of the following common-wealth countries, you are exempt from meeting the English language requirements:

• USA
• Australia
• Newzealand
• Canada
• Grenada
• Belize
• Barbados
• Antigua and Barbuda
• The Bahama
• Dominico
• Jamaica
• Guyana
• Ireland for citizenship only
• St Lucia
• S Kitts and Nevis
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago

You can provide the following proof (depending upon your circumstances) to satisfy genuine relationship conditions.

• Joint bank accounts statements.
• Details of accommodation proof.
• Divorce certificate; in case of previous marriage history.
• Reference letters of family, friends, and or professionals who could guarantee your genuine relationship.
• Birth certificates of children you had together (if applicable).
• Proof of how you met, how frequently you see each other, and the duration of your relationship.

For a successfully positive response from the UK Immigration centre, a genuine relationship is one of the many requirements for Fiancé Visa UK. This evidence is mandatory to validate that you and your partner have genuine intentions of living together permanently if you plan to settle in the UK in the long run.

Yes, you must be engaged to apply and qualify for the Fiance Visa UK. In particular, UKVI requirements imply that you and your partner must have at least had a ‘face-face meeting’ in person once to satisfy that you are in a genuine relationship before applying for the UK Fiancé Visa. Please be noted that any evidence of meeting through the internet or a phone call is not considered; as a means to provide evidence to meet the genuine relationship criteria.

Note that once you enter the UK via this route, you are supposed to get married within 6-months, the validity period of the UK Fiancé Visa route. So depending on the individual merits, your circumstances are assessed differently by the UK immigration caseworkers.

If you are intending to get married and are planning to stay for more than 6-months following your marriage in the UK, you can switch to a UK Spouse visa category once you are married.

So can a Standard Visitor Visa allow me to get married in the UK?

No, it doesn’t. You are not allowed to get married under the Standard Visitor Visa, even if you arrange your wedding.

As disturbingly painstaking as it can be to get the refusal/rejection, you still have a safety net alternatively through UK Fiancé Visa appeals. Typically, failing to satisfy the genuine relationship requirements or missing strong documentary evidence leads to the Fiancé Visa application refusal. Nevertheless, it is never too late to pursue legal assistance from Immigration Experts.

Our Immigration Lawyers in the UK can offer a supreme appeal package covering services from drafting appeal forms, sourcing and compiling the missing evidence, and representing your case at the upper tribunal hearings. If you think that the refusal wasn’t due to your mistake but rather an unjust decision (unfairly considered case), i.e. some of the evidence has not been assessed or thoroughly reviewed. You can still have leniency to follow and lodge an appeal through a UK Judicial Review.