Do we have to be married/engaged to get a visa?

I'm a little confused. Can my lovely girlfriend come to the UK and live with me as my girlfriend?
Is a ‘family of a settled person’ visa the answer to that question?

Thank you in advance

The short answer to that question is no unfortunately, the UK government is making it more difficult for people to settle in the UK year on year.

She could come under the skilled workers programme or skilled worker points system if for example if she has a PHD that gives you the most points, fluent English speaker gives you a few more points and so on. If she is a nurse she could try to find work here but as we have all probably read this route to the UK is getting more and more difficult.

The best way to get the loved on to the UK is either a Fiancée or Spouse visa details of which can be found in the Immigration forum.

What about the Unmarried Partners Visa?

i think you need to be in a relationship for 2 years for that. which i think means living together for that time. which implies it wont have been in this country.

i think you need to be in a relationship for 2 years for that. which i think means living together for that time. which implies it wont have been in this country.

I couldn't find any mention of an 'Unmarried Partners Visa' on the UK Visas and Immigration website. Is it possible this is now the 'Family of a Settled Person Visa'?
I now see that that requires you have 'lived together for 2 years', which I assume can be taken literally as having lived in the same house together for 2 years; not that you consider you've been in a relationship for that time...?

i understand this category was devised to treat heterosexual couples in the same way as same sexual couples. the onus is on the applicant to satisfy UKVI that the relationship is genuine and has been so for 2 years minimum. so living together for that amount of time would go a long way.

"The Unmarried Partner visa (also known as the UK defacto visa) allows the unmarried partner to enter or remain in the UK on the basis that they are in a relationship with a person who is present and 'settled in the UK'. 'Settled in the UK' means that you are ordinarily resident in the UK with no immigration restrictions on the length of your stay.

The Unmarried Partner visa applies to both heterosexual and same sex relationships provided that you can prove that your relationship is subsisting and has been in existence for two or more years."

http://www.visalogic.net/uk/uk-unmarried-partner-visa/4/24

Thank you JohnAsh.
What you quoted suggests that a long distance relationship like mine would qualify. We are in daily contact (for 2 years come January). We have had 3 holidays together. I have met her family. There is some financial support from my side etc.
But then further down that same page it says "You need to show that you have been living with your partner for at least two years in a relationship similar to marriage. You will need to provide documentary evidence confirming this." That suggests otherwise.
Also I can't find mention of the 'Unmarried Partner Visa' on the UK government site. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/philippines/family

I know. It can be tricky navigating ones way through the new government website. At a guess it might well be the same form as the Fiancee and Spouse visa.

Why not give Visalogic a call and ask them to expand on what they put on their website?

Without researching it I have a gut feeling that it is going to be extremely difficult to get the beloved Filipina over here on that kind of visa, and if you haven't lived with her for two years you might as well forget it.

In fact I would be interested to know if the option we are talking about is actually available for opposite sex couples, just bringing your girlfriend here from the Philippines just seems a none starter to me, it would certainly get the backs up of the many people here in the UK that are against any form of immigration.

According to Visalogic it applies to heterosexual relationships too.


"..........provided that you can prove that your relationship is subsisting and has been in existence for two or more years."

Interesting.

The existence of a long-distance relationships don't count. You must actually have co-habited for at least two years to qualify for that visa.

I agree with Markham. Basically you're not going to be able to bring a girlfriend over here unless you already live together elsewhere. You'll need to get married or go for a fiancee visa then get married within 6 months.

yes--why not just go for a fiancee visa ? after all--you have met--and hopefully have facebook , skype, text or emails showing on going contact and affection. assuming--of course that you as sponsor meet the financial and accommodation requirements. and--assuming--of course--that your both free to marry--or is that the problem ?

if your girlfriend can get a fiancee visa---that then gives you 6 months to really get to know each other.

Thank you all for your replies.
I'd assumed from the wording that the 'Unmarried Partner Visa' was probably a non-starter.
Without sharing more than you need to know about me (we've just met after all) I've never felt the urge to get married. I guess that's something I'll have to work on .
Also, my girlfriend only got her divorce 4 months ago (although she was estranged from her husband for 6 years previous to that) and it would be a very big thing for her to jump straight into another marriage.
I'd just hoped we could do it without the added pressure of a wedding.
Thankfully the financial and accommodation requirements shouldn't be a problem.

Also, my girlfriend only got her divorce 4 months ago

is youre g/f filipina ?

was she married to a filipino ?

where did she get the divorce ?

oss, thank you for clarifying bigmac's pertinent questions
My girlfriend is Filipina, but she was married to a Japanese man in Japan, and was divorced in Japan. She still lives in Tokyo and would be applying for her visa there.