If you are the fiance of a British passport holder and you are intending on getting married in the UK within 6 months of arriving in the country, then this UK Fiance visa is the right visa for you.

There is a strong requirement to prove that you will be married within 6 months of arriving in the UK and that your relationship is in fact genuine and subsisting. This does not mean that producing a wedding ring is sufficient proof. It is quite a lot more extensive than that.

The UK Fiance visa will be issued to you for 6 months in which time you must enter the UK and legally marry your British passport holder partner. You will not be permitted to work during this time, so you must evidence that you have the finances to support yourself until you are married. You also have to have met your partner and intend on living permanently together with them in the UK.

The only requirements on this UK Fiance visa are that the applicant must be 21 years or older, you must have met your partner, you must plan to marry within 6 months and you must have sufficient funding and a place to stay in the UK.

Once you are married, you can then apply for your UK Marriage visa which will then grant you rights to work and live freely in the country for a further two years.

Please be advised that as of the 9th July 2012, there have been certain UK immigration law changes, which will affect all UK Settlement visa applicants.

Financial requirements to qualify under settlement as a spouse, child, fiancé or partner of a British Citizen or settled person

The applicant’s earnings CANNOT be taken into account at the Entry Clearance stage of the application. Only the British passport holder/settled person must evidence earnings as below. Along with earnings from salaried employment or self employment (UK), other earnings from non-employment can also be counted eg: property rental income, child maintenance income, interest income etc. Savings can be evidenced jointly.

Scenario 1 – Employed in the UK

The applicants British spouse must be employed or self employed in the UK and must be earning at least GBP18 600 annually gross, which must be evidenced over the 6 months prior to application at least.

Scenario 2 – Employed in SA with the same employer for 6 months or more prior to application

The British partner is working in South Africa and is earning equal to or more than GBP18 600 equivalent (for at least the last 6 months) AND has a future offer of employment in the UK which will earn them GBP18 600 gross annually or more.

Scenario 3 – Employed with the same employer for less than 6 months prior to application

A – If the applicant’s partner has been working in the UK for less than 6 months, they would need to show that in the last 12 months prior to application, they have received earnings which meet or exceed the earning threshold.

Or

B – If the partner has been working out of the UK for less than 6 months, they need to show that they meet the earnings threshold over the last 12 months prior to application AND they need to have an offer of employment in the UK (which starts within 3 months) which will earn them a salary which is at or above the earning threshold.

Scenario 4 – no earnings at all

If the British spouse is not earning any money at all and has not been for the last 6 months, the couple needs to show joint minimum saving of GBP62 500 or equivalent.

Self-employment in the UK only

If the applicant’s partner is currently in self-employment in the UK, they need to show that they have met the salary threshold for the last financial year or as an average over the last 2 financial years.

Earnings shortfall

If the British passport holder’s earnings fall below the required threshold, then they need to show additional savings (in addition to the GBP16 000) of 2.5 times the amount which is the difference between what they are earning and what they should be earning according to the threshold.

Eg: if the British partner is earning the equivalent of GBP15 000 annually, the difference between these earnings and the GBP18 600 threshold is GBP3600. One needs to times this amount by 2.5 and add on GBP16 000 (which is GBP25 000).

Savings

Any savings must be evidenced in the account/s for at least 6 months prior to application. Where the applicant’s British partner is in self-employment, savings may not be used to supplement any earnings shortfall.

Children

Where there are non-British children included in the applications, the earnings threshold must increase by GBP3800 for the first child and GBP2400 for every child thereafter.

As of the 28 November 2010, all partner applicants (spouse, partner, fiance etc) will have to prove their English proficiency before they can apply for their visa. The UK does not consider South Africa to be an English-speaking country and it is for this reason that we have to prove our English language abilities before immigrating. This is done by writing and passing an approved English exam and submitting the results in with your visa application. If you do not pass the exam, you cannot get the visa. In certain instances you may be exempt from having to write the exam, for example if you are 65 years or older or if you have a degree qualification that was earned at an English educational institution. This will be discussed on consultation.

It is strongly advised to do a chest X-ray and take the results of the X-ray with you on the plane when you have your visa and are on your way to the UK. Although the X-ray is not a requirement for the actual visa application, they will most likely check for it when you land in the UK. It can be quite an ordeal if you have no proof that you are clear of TB and other lung diseases, therefore it is best to have it with you incase they do.

Don’t let the stress get to you! Let us process this visa for you.

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