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I have decided to get married to my partner. We've been together for two years, living in China as she is a Chinese national and I'm a British national. Currently, we do not fit the requirements for a spouse visa as I have been earning only in China and do not have enough savings to meet the financial requirements. So we've decided to go with the marriage visa for two main reasons.

  1. To marry and have a ceremony in the UK.
  2. To spend as much time together as possible until she returns back to China so that afterwards I can apply for her spouse visa from the UK.

My main question is, how likely will the visa succeed IF her plan is to return to China while I stay in the UK and apply for her spouse visa?

The main problem I see is proving that she has ties to China and she will NOT stay in the UK after the visa is over. Since we want her visa to last as long as possible, she will need to give up her job. Our plan is that after her marriage visitor visa ends, she will return to her hometown with her parents and take up a part-time job whilst she waits for her spouse visa to go settle in the UK. Her parents are on the process of compiling documents to prove that they have a house,. She will stay with them and they will also cover her costs while she waits for her spouse visa. Would this be rejected?

I am also compiling documents to show that our relationship is authentic, that the marriage will occur (appointments for giving notice and hiring a hall for wedding) and that she will be supported during her time in the UK. However the issue is that once I come to the UK I will need to find a new job, so I will be supported by my parents until I do. Will this largely affect the application?

Thank you for reading this. I'm appreciative of any advice you can give!

EDIT:

Although the above is our preferred scenario, she could also take leave from her work and go for a shorter period to marry me and then return back to her job while waiting for Spouse Visa. It's also possible but for obvious reasons we don't prefer it.

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  • Why not just marry in China and then work towards your return to the U.K (eg increasing your savings, finding a job in the U.K. etc)? Without a job, and unless she can prove her parents are dependent on her, demonstrating sufficient ties looks impossible.
    – Traveller
    Apr 10 '18 at 10:52
  • Yeah I feared as much. That leaves us with two options then... 1) Marry in China and begin process for Spouse Visa or 2) Still go with the marriage visa but gain leave of absence with her current job so that she comes back to employment. In the case of 1) is it still possible to get a Family Visit visa? And in the case of 2) does me not having a job still have a huge impact? Thank you so much for your help!
    – MGX
    Apr 10 '18 at 11:32
  • A specific Family Visit Visa no longer exists, it was replaced by the Standard Visitor Visa. Do you intend to remain in the U.K. to look for work after your marriage, while your partner returns to China? It’s possible that such a scenario could weaken her application - the temptation to stay might be viewed as strong, although a well-paid job and savings back home should help overcome this perception.
    – Traveller
    Apr 10 '18 at 11:52
  • Thanks Traveller. That's my plan for both scenarios either marrying in China or marrying in the UK. If I opt to marry in China would a Standard Visitor Visa still be a viable option? Thanks again!
    – MGX
    Apr 10 '18 at 12:16

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