The fiancé(e) visa route is the perfect option for a British citizen or a person who is Settled in the UK with Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or equivalent, who intends to have their fiancé(e) come to the UK to marry and remain with them after the wedding day, with a view to settling permanently in the UK.

Therefore, this sets the fiancé(e) visa apart from the Marriage visit visa which is only for couples who do not wish to stay in the UK or settle after the marriage or civil partnership takes place and will not be visiting the UK for more than 6 months.

The fiancé(e) visa is a 6-month visa, which allows the foreign national (also known as the applicant) to enter the UK and prepare for the big day and then to switch to the spouse visa category after the wedding day which can lead to settlement and British Citizenship.

Along with the many expressed Immigration rules that couples are required to meet under Appendix FM 1.7 and part 8 of the Immigration Rules, and Specified evidence requirements, couples must be able to prove that :

• The applicant is outside of the UK at the time of applying for the fiancé(e) visa, either in their country of origin or where they are living as an ordinary legal resident (a fiancé(e) visa cannot be obtained within the UK).

• the sponsor is a British Citizen or settled person (with ILR);

• Both individuals are at least 18 years old at the time of applying.

• They are in a genuine and subsisting relationship.

• The couple will marry within 6 months of the fiancé(e) visa being granted.

• Any previous relationships have been dissolved /terminated.

• The sponsor meets the income requirements of £29,000 (minimum)

• The applicant has taken and passed a SELT English language test at CEFR A1 level or above if they are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, or they do not hold a relevant Degree researched or taught in English.

• Where the applicant is a national of a listed country, they have evidence of a negative IOM TB test, issued no more than 6 months before the visa application is submitted.

• The sponsor has sufficient space to accommodate the applicant and any children that may arrive with the applicant as their dependent, as indicated in Housing Act 1985.

• The applicant has Sole responsibility for any children accompanying them and sufficient evidence of this has been met to safeguard the child applicant.

• The applicant’s complete international immigration and travel history has been provided.

• Conflicting circumstances, and safeguarding measures (pertaining to children relocating) have been identified and detailed according to the Immigration Rules.

At the time of applying for the visa, there must be undisputable evidence that the relationship is genuine and subsisting throughout the duration that the relationship has existed must also be sufficiently evidenced.

The requirement for the legitimacy of a relationship in the partner categories is not one to be taken lightly and a lack of evidence, conflicting information, or insufficient information provided in any of the expressed mandatory requirements or any of the implied requirements of the application is a sufficient reason for an Entry Clearance Officer to refuse the fiancé(e) visa application.

The intention to marry each other is a factor that Entry clearance officers must establish along with financial, maintenance, and suitability requirements. Couples need to ensure that they are aware of the implications of their whole relationship being scrutinized, by an unknown individual and even questioned on it, and the effect that this can have when an application is prepared poorly, or additional personal questions are asked by an ECO to gather information to make a decision.

Entry clearance officers or caseworkers act as decision-makers and are required to review and assess the application after it has been allocated into the correct “risk category“. Risk categories range from low-risk to high-risk applications. The latter is usually decided by a more senior Entry clearance /case Manager, with an extended processing time frame where the application is a higher risk, requiring more handling and assessing.

The Entry Clearance officer's role is to review the submitted application and uses all supporting evidence presented to decide whether the applicant is entering for the purpose they have stated in the application form and whether through the evidence provided, or lack of evidence provided there are sufficient grounds for refusal based on the Immigration rules and suitability requirements.

An Entry Clearance officer decides whether on the balance of probabilities, an application is made for the sole purpose of obtaining a visa, or whether there is a genuine intention to marry and remain in a genuine relationship, irrespective of the visa outcomes.

Entry clearance applications once submitted in the family/ partner category are usually decided within 90 days of the applicant attending the Visa Application Centre and submitting their biometrics. This can be expedited if there is a Priority Visa Service option available and selected.

If the application for the fiancé(e ) visa is successful, then the applicant will have a specified time frame to arrange travel to the UK and marry. While a fiancé(e) visa is a multiple-entry visa and allows for multiple entries within the 6 months, it is only to enter the UK as a fiancé(e) for the purposes of marrying and switching into the spouse sub-category within the UK.

UKVI fees:

The UKVI costs for application processing and administrative fees are non-refundable and must be paid for at the time of application submission. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the relevant UKVI fees are secured in good time prior to submission.

The fiance(e) visa route is considered a route to settlement and as of 4 October 2023, the Fiancee visa fee costs GBP £1,917, charged in USD at around USD $2422.00

Priority Service options:

Some countries have Visa Application Centres which offer an expedited service, enabling an application to be considered sooner rather than within the standard waiting times, allowing customers to obtain a decision on the application within 15-30 working days, depending on the recent processing time-frames.

The Priority service fee costs GBP £573.00 if it is available in the country of application.

Value added services

Consular services for the UKVI are managed by VFS Global and TLS Contact, who provide administrative services like scanning documents, capturing and recording biometrics, and uploading these to the UKVI for the core decision-makers.

Where available, customers can opt to have their documents scanned at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) by TLS contact or VFS Global, instead of uploading documents themselves. This can cost anything from GBP £40.00- GBP £70.00.

The value-added services include passport retention, allowing the applicant to keep their passports whilst the application is being considered, and even application updates by text.

As qualified Immigration law consultants and legal representatives, we provide a unique and bespoke service for all client needs.

We are experienced in dealing with both straightforward and low-risk applications, as well as cases that are considered more complex, including those with previous adverse immigration history.

We provide detailed and bespoke consultation services, which include a full analysis of the case, detailing any potential issues we see which may cause a refusal, and we collaborate with you as our clients to resolve these issues.

We assess your aspirations, and time-sensitive requirements, advising you on which of our legal services and packages we have available that will best suit your needs and Immigration journey.

We liaise with the UKVI on your behalf to ensure that we achieve the best results, providing client care from commencement to completion. Allowing you to focus on planning for the big day.

Contact us to find out how we can help you reach your goals!