German Taiwanese couple trying to plan immigration to UK

[weltenbummler]

We are a German Taiwanese couple that currently tries to figure out where to live their life. We have been following the posts in this forum for a while now and decided it is time to share our situation, especially because we could not find anything related to our somewhat complicated situation.

Personal profiles:
He is a 26yo German, a bachelor of science in computer science, studied in Germany + Canada, worked as a professional in Germany, USA, Australia, speaks German, English, Spanish, somewhat French and is learning Chinese

She is a 28yo Taiwanese, a master of humanities and social sciences, studied in Taiwan and USA, worked for Taiwanese government in Drug Prevention Center and some casual jobs in Australia, speaks Chinese, Taiwanese, English, is learning German

Our Objective:
My girlfriend looked into immigrating to Germany, but after looking at our visa options and especially job chances for non-German speaking persons, we decided to focus on the UK.

Arguments for UK:
There are several reasons for our decision:

• - She speaks English very well whereas her German still needs improvement, also working experience in an English speaking country will be a plus if we ever wanted to move somewhere else
  - I am a bachelor of science in computer science and I would like to study a master program in an English speaking country and I have a job offer for a London based position
  - Lack of other options (USA too complicated, Australia too isolated, Taiwan too difficult)

Arguments against UK (especially London):

• - Economical situation not perfect
  - Difficult to find accommodation (especially during Olympic games)
  - Expensive

Now we have done our homework and identified all (?) options too get a visa for my Taiwanese unmarried partner:

Visa Options:
(1) Youth Mobility Scheme

• - We tried to apply, but there is a 1000 persons per year limitation that was greatly exceeded this year (at least 6000 people)

(2) Tier 2 – Sponsored job

• - This means she can go to the UK for 6 months, cannot work during this time but has to find a job from a registered employer (sounds very difficult, especially due to the registered employer limitation)

(3) Tier 2 Representative for overseas company

• - If she manages to find a job / company that requires someone in the UK and sends her there (to do whatever kind of work), she will be allowed to work and could search for a better job while there.

(4) UK unmarried or same-sex partner

• - Usually for British nationals but possible to apply for if I become a settled person in the UK (self-sufficient + accommodation)

(5) EEA family permit unmarried partner

• - Since I am German she can apply but has to prove that our relationship is equal to being married with each other.
  - She will be able to go to the UK for 6 months
  - Is allowed to work for any employer
  - Has to apply for an extension right away because granting the extension might take up to 6 months (according to UK Border Agency).
  - I would have to prove that I am self-sufficient and we have an address right away (sounds like a good option, although two problems: (a) our relationship – we have been spending 24 hours with each other for the last two years but lacking evidence, (b) having an address in the UK – afaik finding accommodation is not easy / takes time)

(6) ½ year Tourist

• - Cannot work but could search for a job
  - Has to return to Taiwan to apply for any other visa

I mentioned that we are lacking evidence to show that our relationship is equal to marriage because we do not have joint bank accounts, utility bills or tenant agreements. This is the reason why:

Timeline of our relationship:

• - July 2008: Met each other in USA, afterwards she went back to Taiwan, I went back to Germany
  - August 2008: Intensified contact through e-mail + Skype (longest call: 9 hours straight )
  - October 2009: I visited her for two weeks in Taiwan
  - February 2010: She visited me for two weeks in Germany
  - July 2010: She quit her job and came to Germany on a tourist visa
  - October 2010: We went together to Australia for one year on a Work and Holiday visa
  - October 2011: We returned to Taiwan and I have been learning Chinese
  - December 2011: We returned to Germany to deal with family matters. During this time she finished level A2 German language class
  - February 2012 until now: We returned to Taiwan where I picked up with my Chinese studies and worked remote on a software project

Since July 2010 we have been spending pretty much 24h/day with each other but have been living in our parents’ houses and rented rooms (especially in Australia, but without tenant agreements). We did not have to pay any bills and there was no need for a joint bank account. However, we have lots of pictures, e-mails, SMS and phone call logs.

Wow, reaching the end of the 2nd page in my word document.

I know that our situation is complicated but I hope there is someone in this forum who (is willing to read two full pages and) understands our situation and can guide us into the right direction. We are desperate for knowing what our next step should be…

Thank you for your help

[Lucapooka]

Or you can marry!

[weltenbummler]

That's the answer we usually get from our relatives but from the immigration experts at immigrationboards.com I expected a bit more than that

[Greenie]

You yourself have identified the problems with the various options you have available to you. The most obvious, cheapest and straightforward route would be to apply as an unmarried partner under the EEA regulations, however you do not have evidence of cohabitation for two years, and therefore the application is likely to be refused.

Many of your other options are not really options at all. 1) you have indentified as not being available to her, 2) you misunderstand there is no visa allowing her to come here for 6 months to look for a tier 2 employer. 4) is not possible because to be settled you would need to be here in the UK for 5 years exercising treaty rights under the EEA regs. 6) only delays having to go for another 'option'

If you don't have evidence of cohabitation then the most straightforward option is to marry. You do not have to be self-sufficient, if you can prove you are exercising treaty rights in another way, e.g. worker, student etc.

[weltenbummler]

Thanks for your reply. Regarding the options that are left:

(1) Tier 2 Skilled Worker
- How about taking a tourist visa to find an employer that would sponsor her in the UK and going back Taiwan to apply for this visa? How likely is it to find an employer from the list of registered sponsors at all?

(2) Tier 2 Representative of overseas company
- If she can find a job here in Taiwan that requires her to work in the UK, we would at least have the possibility to go there.

(3) EEA family member permit
- We spend more time together than a married couple could possibly do. According to the immigration law we meet the requirements just we cannot prove it? Are there no other ways to prove it? Like letters of parents, friends pictures, travel logs? Even if we decide to marry right now, don't we have to be married for some time until they recognise it as legitimate?

One additional option would probably be for her to join a PhD program, but getting a PhD for the lack of alternatives doesn't sound right. Why does this have to be so complicated... shouldn't the UK want some young, self-sufficient and skilled professionals?

[Greenie]

1) entering the as a tourist in order to seek work is not really in keeping with being a tourist and if she was asked what she intended to do by the immigration officer at the airport, and she told him this, she may well be refused entry. Impossible to say how likely it is to find an employer without knowing what sort of experience she has and what sort of jobs she would be looking for, but many employers will not even entertain applications from people who do not already have permission to work in the UK. They would also have to undertake the RLMT (unless she is in a shortage occupation) and apply for a restricted CoS making things harder

(NB - she doesn't need a visa to enter as a tourist - holders of Taiwanese passports (which includes the holder's national ID card numbre) are non-visa nationals and therefore she can seek entry at the border)

2) again impossible to comment on her career prospects.

3) they want to see evidence of cohabitation to show that you are in a durable relationship akin to marriage, evidence of travelling together doesn't' show that. However the EEA FP is free so there is no harm applying for it. Just expect it to be refused. No you don't have to be married for a certain period.

[weltenbummler]

Re (3) Is there any way of pulling this together? What if we stayed in our parent's houses and did not have to pay utility bills? I mean it is very common for Taiwanese people to stay in their parents house until they are 30 because the rent is too high / space on the island to few. In Australia we lived most of the time in a house of a friend (but again: no utility bills). Does marriage akin relationship really just mean to share bills to them?

[Greenie]

Its worth a try given the application is free. Its not about showing you shared bills but that you lived together as a couple. Letters from friends and family alone are unlikely to be accepted. Even if you don't pay bills or have a tenancy agreement they would expect evidence such as bank statements, drivers licences, pay slips and other official letter showing you have been living at the same address.

[weltenbummler]

That sounds actually a little bit more promising, because we might be able to collect some of those "official letters". This is everything I can think of for now:

During our time in Australia:
* Payslips that show the same address
* Bank Statements that show the same address
* Contract about buying a car
* Regular money transfers between our accounts that show shared living cost
* Correspondence with the Australian Taxation Office that shows the same address
* Invoices for things like car repair with both names
* Superannuation fund statement / correspondence that show the same address

During our time in Europe:
* Some mail correspondence from the above to our address in Germany
* Certificate from the University about a language course that shows our German address
* Student ID that shows my German address
* Bank statements that show that I payed for things like her 10 weeks language course
* Flights booked together and payed completely by either one of us

During our time in Taiwan:
* Some mail correspondence from the above to our address in Taiwan
* Statements that show that she payed for my 4 months of CHinese language classes
* Flights booked together and payed completely by either one of us

Please let me know if this might be sufficient for an application or if you can think of anymore examples that would help me to find more evidence in my files