Visa Success At Last!

[scottish-guy]

Matt, thanks for input but just two things : you have stated twice that the UK "does not recognise same sex marriage" - it absolutely does - and irrespective of the legislative "level" at which marriage takes place (the honest answer is I don't know) the current issue is that his Visitor Visa specificially precludes it as well as work and study

The suggestion of using a third country to get married is one I will certainly look into.

The issue is going to be whether my BF can obtain a Visa/Schengen Visa for that "third" country (notoriously difficult for Vietnamese to gain lawful entry to anywhere outside of the Asean countries) and whether the conditions of that Visa and the laws of the particular country allow or preclude entering into either a CP or marriage.

A preliminary search suggests that Latvia and the Czech Republic are the easiest Schengen countries to obtain a visa from (99% approval apparently) - but I've yet to search their same-sex policies

[cdnmatt]

Matt, thanks for input but just two things : you have stated twice that the UK "does not recognise same sex marriage" - it absolutely does - and irrespective of the legislative "level" at which marriage takes place (the honest answer is I don't know) the current issue is that his Visitor Visa specificially precludes it as well as work and study

The suggestion of using a third country to get married is one I will certainly look into.

The issue is going to be whether my BF can obtain a Visa/Schengen Visa for that "third" country (notoriously difficult for Vietnamese to gain lawful entry to anywhere outside of the Asean countries) and whether the conditions of that Visa and the laws of the particular country allow or preclude entering into either a CP or marriage.

A preliminary search suggests that Latvia and the Czech Republic are the easiest Schengen countries to obtain a visa from (99% approval apparently) - but I've yet to search their same-sex policies

Ok, sorry, I'm not too well versed on UK law. Unsure if this helps any, but I've been through this process before, albeit in Canada. My first husband was Hungarian, and we successfully got him PR status to Canada. If it helps any....

- It took about 18 months and $8000. I think the application fee itself was only about $700, but he had a high-end immigration lawyer help us. We had meetings with 5 different lawyers, and picked the one we liked.

- We got married in Canada while he was an illegal immigrant. He came in under a 6 month visitor VISA, and stayed for 5 years. Again, marriages in Canada are under the provincial governments, so federal government and immigration have absolutely nothing to do with them. Maybe the UK is different.

- This is actually one of the main reasons we moved to Budapest. If you apply from outside of Canada and get rejected, you have the right to one appeal. Apply from inside Canada and get rejected though, you have no right to appeal, and simply get your deportation notice.

- The first round of documentation was about 3 inches thick, and took about 6 weeks to put together. They want everything -- financials, bank statements, lease / house title if you own, cover letters from each of you explaining the relationship, letters from family and friends on both sides verifying the relationship, tax returns, joint bank account statements, timestamped photos of you together, things like birthday cards from family / friends, business registration if you own a business, travel itineries of any trips you took together, criminal background checks from all countries you ever resided in, etc.

- I had to modify my cover letter, because it mentioned that we got married on advice from the lawyer. She said that was a really bad idea, as the government doesn't take kindly to people who only get married for PR status I guess.

- During the application process, we submitted two more rounds of documentation, each about 1 inch thick. Just photos of us together in Europe, proof of residence, more letters from family, extra photos ad birthday / Christmas cards, etc.

- After 18 months, he got a letter from the Canada embassy saying he's approved. He went to the embassy in Vienna and have his PR status affixed to his passport. Upon entry to Canada, he got his PR card, and all necessary forms to get a SIN# for work, health care, etc.

- You'll have to check UK law, but the one reason I highly doubt we'll ever apply to get Leo PR status is because under Canadian law, you need to reside in Canada for 2 out of every 5 years in order to retain PR status. If you don't, they revoke your status.

- I had to sign that I would take care of him for 10 years. If he conducted any criminal activity, went on welfare, or anything of nat nature, then I was held liable for him.

Obviously, best to consult an immigration lawyer, but I would imagine the process is somewhat similar in Canada and the UK.