Canadian wanting to join British BF.

Hello everyone. I was wondering what would be the best option for my boyfriend and I. We're wanting to live together in the UK within the coming months (I'd say within 6months). I'm a 20 year old Canadian, 21 in February, and my boyfriend is a 23 year old British citizen. We've met and lived together for about a year and a half and I've visited the UK twice. Currently he is in the UK searching for a job while I am in Canada already working.

Recently I've come across the youth mobility scheme and this looks like a good start for it all seeing as I can work while living in the UK. In the end we do want to get married and ultimately switch over to a marriage visa. I've thought about applying for a fiance visa, but I would need to be 21 and I've read that the COA would soon be abolished making it easier to get married from within the UK.

Any opinions or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks~

You have quite a few options.

Youth mobility scheme is a good option for you as you're between 18 and 31 years old. You'll have to be sponsored by the Canadian government before applying. If your application is accepted, you'll be allowed to live in work in the UK for a total of 2 years. If you meet the requirements, you'll be able to switch to the spouse visa from within the UK but you'll have to apply before your YMS visa expires.

You could also wait until you turn 21 in February and then apply for a fiancé(e) visa. Once you get married in the UK, you'll be able to apply for the spouse visa. Or you can get married in Canada and then apply for a spouse visa.

Hope it helps!

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
London, United Kingdom

I appreciate the quick reply . What I'm concerned about is the change over to the marriage visa if I do go the YMS route. Would I need to go through biometrics again in Canada? You did say I could apply from within the UK, but would that hurt my chance of being accepted?

If you apply from within the UK, all the process will take place here. Why would the fact of applying from within the UK affect your chances?

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Immigration Advisers
London, United Kingdom

Well, with all the information I've read it just gets confusing haha . Thanks for clearing that up.

Just make sure that you meet the requirements and it should be fine.

Good luck!

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
London, United Kingdom

VisaWise,

Thanks for all your helpful responses. We are in a similar situation to the original post, except I'm the Brit: whilst my girlfriend has been studying (over 18 months) she's visited me 4 or 5 times. Do you think it's likely those visits will negatively affect our chances of getting the (Youth Mobility) visa?

Thanks,
Stu

No, it shouldn't affect your chances. If she had been refused before, it would have been a negative factor, but not if she has been accepted every time.

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Regsitered Immigration Advisers
London, United Kingdom
info@visa-wise.co.uk
http://www.visa-wise.co.uk

So, I will be applying for a Youth Mobilty Scheme Visa soon and was just triple checking a few details.

What documents and additional information should I include besides the VAF9 + Appendix 7, my passport, passport sized photos (45mm x 35mm) and an account summary?

How would one suggest taking money to the UK? Should I simply convert the money to pounds and open an account when I arrive? Or would a better idea be to transfer money to my boyfriends account already in the UK? I don't know if travellers checks would help any as well.

When arriving in the UK, how long does it take to receive a temporary NI Number when visiting your local job centre? Any experiences that anyone wants to share?

After some time my boyfriend and I are planning to get married. Are there any documents I should obtain while I'm still in Canada? (ie. A long form birth certificate)

Answers to any of the above would be greatly appreciated or any other useful tidbits.

-- Tue Feb 01, 2011 3:00 pm --

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone that helped so far <3 I just received my YMS today. It was much easier than expected and only took 3 business days total to receive everything back.

In the future I will be applying for a spouse visa from within the UK, so if anyone has any information or good/bad experiences please feel free to leave a message.

Thanks to everyone once again~