Many consider the UK to be one of the most difficult countries to migrate to. For this reason, when they decide to move to this country potential migrants should start considering all possible ways to do so. In the last few years, the government has tightened immigration conditions to reduce the number of foreigners in the country. But there are some still considered to be eligible, and quite needed. These are the labor category migrants. No need to mention how this was a direct impact covid-19 pandemic measures on the economy and the supply chain.
Is there any other category that can migrate easily?
Another category is the students. Approximately a decade ago they were given a simplified form and visa procedure, where, after the completion of the education process, young professionals had the right to stay and look for work in the country for two years. Also, no visa is needed for wealthy pensioners and high-level specialists.
But in this article, we’re going to look at how a partner visa works, and how long it takes for the whole process to be complete, to the point where you can join your partner.
Visa process for partners
Source: sterling-law.co.uk
If you are planning to immigrate to the UK, where do you start? The first thing that should be done before the planned move, is to become familiar with the detailed conditions for obtaining a visa. For this purpose, the website of the consulate has special instructions, which are written in steps, in order to get a visa and under what conditions. The process is individualized for each migrant. It may allow the newcomer to live and work in the country for a certain amount of time.
Once the type of visa has been chosen, you must submit an application, preferably in advance, a few months before your planned departure.
The government has established strict visa rules to protect their country from unscrupulous citizens who wish to immigrate here. However, those who want to live in a family circle are treated with respect.
But while the government is friendly to citizens who want to be reunited with their family members, getting a visa is not as easy as it seems. In order to ensure that the visa barrier does not become an obstacle on your way, you need to fill out the visa documents correctly and show your courtesy during the personal meeting with the representative of the visa center.
A partner visa can be obtained if your significant other is a citizen of this country, or has been a legal resident in the UK for at least three months. At the same time, he must be employed or have other means of earning income (self-employment, real estate rental, self-employment, bank interest, etc.). A lot more about this visa type can be found on the following link https://imperiallegal.com/media/articles/fiancee-visa-or-marriage-visa-what-visa-you-need-to-marry-in-the-uk/ .
It should be noted that there have been some minor changes in this visa category in connection with Brexit. Depending on your case, this should be checked before application filing.
The applicant must complete the application form. This can be done on the official website of the Embassy online. The form is filled out exclusively in English, then printed and signed.
As for which documents you’ll be needing, the following are always required (the list is subject to change):
- a passport valid for at least 6 months;
- A photo;
- documents confirming marital status, visa history, and financial capacity;
- social security policy.
Depending on your particular case, additional documents may also be required.
Your partner, or in other words, the person inviting you to come also plays an important role in obtaining the visa. An EU citizen living in this country must provide a letter of invitation describing the relationship with the guest. If possible, he should take on financial responsibility for supporting the partner who plans to come. EU citizenship and exercise of rights in the United Kingdom must also be confirmed by a letter from the employer, documents indicating ownership of a business or real estate, bank statements, etc.
So, how long does it take to obtain one?
Officially, three weeks are planned for issuing the visa. An accelerated procedure is not foreseen. In this case, the visa officer may extend this period for one reason or another. We say this because when the pandemic started the whole procedure got a new dimension when it comes to the issuing time. A lot of applications were paused because of non-working periods, resulting in so many piling up. The speed of processing got extended. Many embassies stopped working and when they finally started, the lines in front of them made of people waiting to be interviewed were too long. At this point, you can expect to be waiting between two and twelve weeks.
What can you also expect?
Filling out all the paperwork can be time-consuming, as the package of necessary documents is filled out individually. Everything depends on the person invited and the calling party. In some cases, it is very difficult to find evidence of marital/partner relationships;
The questionnaire contains many tricky questions. The correct answer to them significantly affects the adoption of a positive decision on issuing a visa.
Is there anything you can do to speed up the process?
Source: nproxy.org
As the circumstances we live in cannot be influenced by you, you need to find those you can influence in order for the whole process not to last a lifetime. First and foremost, you want to make sure you have all the documents neatly collected, and filled correctly. This also means you should pay special attention not to make any mistakes when you fill out papers they ask you to. Making mistakes will only result in delaying the whole process. You do what you can, and wait for the assessing period to be over. Additionally, in order to make sure you’ve done everything well, you can hire professional help. These are lawyer firms specialized in such business, who help you collect and fill out everything right.
Having someone reviewing all documents will make the whole process not only faster but also easier.
