My fiancé and I are currently getting together the documents necessary for my application, and intend to get married soon after I get my visa.
This is a long and scary process, and while we'll also be asking a few questions to a lawyer, I'd really appreciate some advice!
1) I've spent a total of 6 years living in the UK, mostly as a student, and 2 years on a Post-Study Work visa (I did a master's degree after that).
I first entered the country as a student (1+ year), then got the PSW (2 years) and then got another student visa for the master's (almost 3 years, long program). During this time, I used NHS services, had my own NHS number, etc.
From what I understand, it is the surgery's/hospital's responsibility to make sure I was eligible for services (I think they hand out forms to patients to be filled), and I was always honest about my status in the UK – so as far as I can tell, I never used the services illegally.
In the VAF4 form, there is this question: 6.17 Have you ever received medical treatment in the UK?
This question is followed by: 6.18 Did you have to pay for the treatment?
Now, I've paid for the dentist a couple of times with the NHS, but I also had private treatment when I needed urgent help. I paid for that privately, and still have the bills somewhere.
Should my answer be YES or NO? Because I did get both free treatment (GP surgery, trip to the A&E, for example), and also paid for it.
The form also asks for the hospital info/doctor's surgery. When I lived in the UK, I moved between different boroughs and registered at local clinics every time – so I went to multiple surgeries. There's no space to mention them all. What should I put there?
2) My fiancé was born in the UK in 1982 and lived there until age 10, but his parents were Irish and he moved to Ireland after that. He has an Irish passport, never had a British one. We've checked the rules, and if he was born in the UK before 1983, it appears he got British citizenship automatically. Does that mean he does not need to have "settled" in the UK as an EU/EEA citizen? If we supply his birth certificate, does he also have to order a British passport? Do we need any official confirmation that he has British citizenship? Ordering a British passport for the first time as an adult apparently takes 6 weeks and we'd rather not wait for that if we can (we miss each other and want to be together as soon as possible).
3) If my fiancé counts as British officially due to his birth certificate, then which nationality does he put down first in the VAF4 form? He's always identified as Irish, but we don't want the lack of an official "settled" status to trip up immigration.
4) There is the following question on the VAF4 form: 6.5 Have you ever been refused, deported, removed or otherwise required to leave any country (including the UK) in the last 10 years?
I've never had any issues with the UK, or being denied entry anywhere. However, one time, my tourist visa application to Belgium was denied (they lost some of the documents I handed in). I do not intend to hide this fact (I am handing in the old passport with the rejection), but I don't know if this is what the question means.
These are the main questions. I'd really appreciate some help, and thank you in advance. It scares me terribly that something might get in the way of getting back together with my fiancé.
