Please help (I hate visas!)

I'm from the UK living in Canada while we try and sort out this whole visa thing and it's driving us mad.

Basicly I met my Canadian girlfriend when she came to the UK on a Working Holiday Visa. After months of trying to find a way for her to stay I could find no other way other than to come back to Canada with her on a working Holiday visa myself.

We are due to return in August and I am desperately trying to find a way for us to live together legally in the UK but she seems to evade all the other visa requirements.

She has no ancesteral links, no special job status and no money so we don't know what to do. What she really wants to do is come back with me to study in the UK.

I have a place for her to live (I am a UK citizen) and we have been together for almost 3 years now although we can't prove it on paper as we have lived with our parents so no bills ect to prove anything for the unmarried partners visa.

I don't want to go home alone.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Chris

Hi Chris,

The easier would be to get married (and get a wife visa).

If you cannot prove that you have been living together for 3 years (are you sure? nothing at all?) then there is not a lot of option.

Maybe a student visa but she will need money to pay for the courses (and international fees are really high)and some money to support herself.

If she wants to study she will have to live in the UK (with a visa)I think it's 2 years before beeing able to pay the same as UK students , she will have to pay international fees for the first years.

Or she could go on a fiancee visa (but not allowed to work ) if you are planning to get married once she is in the UK

Hope this helps

Joanne

Hi Joanne thanks for your reply.

I realise marrige is probably the only option that makes sense and although we plan to in the long run I don't think we want to rush into it for the wrong reasons.

We have been living together for 2 years and although we have collected as much correspondence as we could find there is nothing with both our names on (ie Bills ect) as we have been living with my parents and her parents.

We have always hoped to apply for the unmarried partners visa using this documentation but I'm not sure it will be accepted. (Or do you think it might?)

Ideally we should have moved into our own place the day we met! It probbaly would have saved problems liek this but we all know the world doesn't work like that and I didn't earn enough to support us both.

Hi again,

From the Home Office website:

The Entry Clearance Officer will need to see evidence of a two-year relationship. This may include:

* documents showing joint commitments, such as bank accounts, investments, rent agreements or mortgages
* letters linking you to the same address, and official records of your address
-----------------------------------------
If you don't have any bills, maybe you can use letters or documents that would have your address on it?
For example: letters or document from your work place (on your wage slip?)
Did you register your details for health insurance of some kind? What about the National Insurance number (did you need one when you arrived in Canada , did you give them your address), prescriptions, doctors (maybe ask them a letter to confirm how long you have been registered with them with that address?), receipts from purchase (with your address on it), immigration documents?
I don't think you have to find documentation with both your names on it, if you can find documentation that shows you have been at the same address for a certain amount of time it should be enough.

Also for this type of visa, you must be able to support yourself and live without claiming state benefits (public funds). You will also be asked to provide some documentation to show that you will have a place to live when you arrive in the UK.

Hope this helps

Joanne

Joanne

Thanks again - I'm sure the home office website is designed specificly to confuse people! I actually asked them for help/advice once on this and they refused.

Thanks for this, I have always wondered if this was the case as we have piles and plies of evidece that we have lived in the same place both here and in the UK, and there would be no trouble proving we both have somewhere to go once we get back.

The only bummer with this visa (like you say) is that she can't work or study (which is what she really wants to do) but I suppose to have her legally in the country at all is something in itself!

Thanks for your help.