Americans are “non-visa nationals”, so why do I even need a visa?
Whilst American tourists and business visitors can enter the UK without having to apply for a visa in advance, anyone wishing to stay longer than 6 months must apply for a visa that will permit them to do so. American spouses and partners are no exception and must apply for a family visa from the USA before travelling to the UK.
What are the rules?
The Immigration Rules are detailed within Appendix FM whilst the evidential requirements are detailed within Appendix FM-SE.
The legal requirements are based five different segments.
The first is to prove your relationship to the UK partner, whether that be to show you are engaged, living together for two years or married. You also must show sufficient documentation to prove a genuine and subsisting relationship over a reasonable period before the application is submitted to rule out any allegations of a sham marriage.
The second is to show a UK home where you will both live. This can be owned, rented or a place provided by a family member or friend as long as inclusion of the applicant will not result in overcrowding as defined by the relevant Housing Acts.
The third, and possibly the most important, is the financial position. You can show that your UK partner is working, self-employed, has income from other sources such as rented properties and so on. You can also rely on cash savings – a staggering £62,500 is required if no other income can be relied upon.
The fourth segment is to do with English language and Tuberculosis testing which US citizens are exempt from as long as they have lived there for at least 6 months before applying.
The fifth and final segment is to do with character and immigration history. They take into account any previous overstaying, refusals, breaches of visa conditions and any civil/criminal convictions which include driving offences. There is a sliding scale used for assessment and some offences result in a mandatory refusal whilst others allow discretionary arguments to be made when seeking a pragmatic approach.
For further information regarding each stage of the application process, please read the entire article, or contact Grace McGill, the head of the Immigration Department at Burness Paull.
