Fiancée Visa Queries - UK citizen marrying Vietnam citizen

[dan1988]

Hi All,

Our situation
I am a UK citizen from birth and my fiancée is a Vietnamese citizen. I am 23, have an engineering Degree and job above the minimum income threshold of £18,600 and have savings of £12,000. My fiancée is 28 and has a degree in engineering in Vietnam. She also has a masters degree in engineering in the UK. She was granted a 2 year student Visa and left the UK before it ran out.

I met her at university 1.5 years ago and we have been a couple for 1 year and 1 month. Whilst she was in the UK we did not live together although I would often stay at her accommodation. I have been to Vietnam and met her family and lived with her for 1 month.

I asked her to marry me whilst visiting her in Vietnam.

Our aims
We want to live together in the UK and she would like to work in her chosen field. We have decided that marriage in the UK is best and will apply for a fiancée Visa when we have our documentation up together.

Questions
Will our application be refused as we have not lived together for a prolonged period?

I would prefer to arrange the marriage when my fiancée is in the UK, can I do this or does it need to be booked before we apply for the Visa?

My fiancée left the UK in January 2012 and I was lucky enough to visit her for 1 month in June 2012 and meet her amazing family.

I would appreciate any help or advice from others.

Thank you for your time.

[MPH80]

Will our application be refused as we have not lived together for a prolonged period?

I would prefer to arrange the marriage when my fiancée is in the UK, can I do this or does it need to be booked before we apply for the Visa?

1) No - the requirement for a fiancee is for you to have met - not to have lived together.

2) You need to show some evidence that you have made some arrangements. Not least that the 6 month timeframe is remarkably short to get it all arranged in time.

For example - when I applied for this - we showed an engagement ring receipt, a provisional reception venue booking and a booking of the church. All places had been warned there may be a problem and were ok with it being postponed if necessary. We finalised everything else (outfit, flowers, transport, details at the venue) when my (now) wife was in the UK.

[thesk000]

deleted !

[dan1988]

Hi All,

My Fiancée and I are getting ready to apply but I have one question regarding the £16000 savings. I am earning about the £18,600 threshold, I currently also have just over £16,000 in savings.

I have not had £16000 in the account for 6 months though, I can show on my bank statements that it has come from my salary, would you advise to apply now or wait a couple of months till I have had it there for 6 months?

or is the main reason for declaring savings above £16,000 to meet a shortfall?

Thanks for your time.

[Casa]

You only need savings of £16,000 or above if you have a shortfall in the £18.600 earnings.