Hello,
I am Australian, my boyfriend is English. We have lived together for 1 yr already & we would like to get married & continue to live together in the UK. I was originally sponsored in the UK on a work permit for 18months, then when that ended, another company sponsored me for 18months which from the end of May will have 5months remaining. We would like to get married around the end of June or early July to avoid the heat & holiday makers on our honeymoon. I love the idea of getting married in Paris & staying there for our honeymoon but I have some concerns after reseaching on the internert. I've read about a rule stating that if "my" visa has less than 6 months validity then it cannot be changed to a spouse visa. Does that mean the whole term of the granted visa or the remaining amount? It sounds like the remaining amount....bad news for me. Would I need a certificate of approval if marrying outside the UK? I would prefer not to marry in a church, but both my boyfriend & I were baptised CofE, so I've heard there's perhaps a loophole to marry in a CofE, however I've also read something about having to be parish members for 6 months prior.

If these options are not viable, it sounds like I could apply for a fiance visa, before my current visa finishes. If I followed this route, would I be allowed to continue working until the wedding?
Also I am aware that I could apply for an extention on my work permit & then will have more than 6months remaining on my visa, & I could then marry & apply for a spouse visa, but that means paying for the extention & then paying again for the spouse visa after. I would not like to waste money as there really isn't much there to waste in the first place.
Presuming I can get married one way or another, I still need to apply to get the indefinite leave to remain stamp in my passport (with a pile of the appropriate documents I have seen listed) before I can change my employment at all or remain after my work permit expires, is this correct?
Regarding the documents, the lease to the property is in my name... & my boyfriend is a self employed & doesn't earn a great deal.....I am concerned about his "proof" to provide accomodation & funds to support us both.......or since I've resided here for 2 1/2 years already, can I submit some documents to say that I can already support myself? Also there is another flatmate living with us in this rental property. I have read that we need to live in a property exclusively. If this is true, & I remove our flatmate, then what is the time limit before I may accept a flatmate into the property again should I want to?
Any help or advise would be appreciated,
Belinda.

 

Oh thanks so much Kaitain,
You have really calmed me down..... I can now resume planning the wedding with confidence.
Does anyone know if I will definitely have to return to Australia to apply for the spouse visa after the wedding? Of course I would love a little holiday, but I'm planning to spend as much as I can on the wedding & honeymoon- a return trip to Oz for a month so soon after would be a great expense I would love to avoid if I can. I would have to borrow money to do it.
Any suggestions are most welcome!

 

I've been doing some more research (on the IND- Immigration & National Directorate website) & found a paragraph which seems to apply to my situation ie: am already a resident in uk on an 18 month work permit & will be married with 4 months remaining on my permit before it expires.
It looks like I may be able to apply for an extention as a spouse, in which case not need to leave the UK while the extention application is processed.

The wording is a bit tricky to understand, so I am hoping someone can verify that they are saying "the visa granted must have originally been longer than 6 months" (happily, that would apply to me), otherwise it could be saying "the visa held must have longer than 6 months remaining when the application was submitted" (hopefully its not saying this).

Here is (in italics) the section in question:

Requirements for an extension of stay as the spouse or civil partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom

284. The requirements for an extension of stay as the spouse of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom are that:

(i) the applicant has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom which was given in accordance with any of the provisions of these Rules, other than where as a result of that leave he would not have been in the United Kingdom beyond 6 months from the date on which he was admitted to the United Kingdom on this occasion in accordance with these Rules, unless the leave in question is limited leave to enter as a fiancé or proposed civil partner; and

(ii) is married to or the civil partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom; and

(iii) the parties to the marriage have met; and

......etc etc....the standard requirements (accomodation, adequet funds....)

Sooooo.....what do we think?

 

cool!..... but not so great is that I have in the mean time checked the requirements & realise that at least one of the partners to be married needs to be a resident in France for a minimum of 40 days prior to the wedding! Also, I am researching other countries & discovering great variations in the level of difficulty in marrying.
How naive I was......oh well, your last response has been another real boost, so thanks very much. I will be able to sleep tonight!

 

Oh....yes, I see now. I had done so much research on the weekend (mostly into hotels abroad.....before I read about residency requirements for marriage in those countries) that I went a bit "computer crazy meltdown brain"! At the end of my last post, I relaxed a bit, but when I read your post, it hit home that I need to submit my application for extention as a spouse while I still have 3 months left (so, before August).
Luckily we want it to be a small affair, so its not too difficult to organise quickly.
Could someone confirm it would be ok to submit my application mid July then?
Also as far as the documents go regarding us having sufficient funds, if my other half supplies a summary of his yearly accounts (from the accountant), and some bank statements (how many?), then as I get paid weekly, how many payslips should I supply? I can also supply utillity bills, they are all in my name.....should I change some now to be in both of our names?
Thanks,
Belinda

 

Thanks so much Kaitain,

Yes, it is supprisingly stressfull! I thought only people with big weddings had stress problems. Now it is turning into a race against time.
I've been looking into cyprus as you suggested & you're right, there are some beautiful areas. I think this might be the place.

I wonder why it would take 3 weeks, once I am there? Do you mean time to choose the place where the ceremony would take place? I'm asking because I have read that ceremony's can be arranged after 3 working days?