A1 English test or ILETS for fiancée Visa?

[Terry90]

Hello,

I am currently living with my Thai girlfriend in the UK on a tourist Visa which expires on 16th December. We want to get a Fiancée Visa and I have just looked into booking my girlfriend in for an A1 english test in Manchester. But I am now confused as to whether I need to book an A1 English test or an ILETS test?

If anyone has done this recently and knows which one is the correct Test that would be greatly appreciated.

Also as you need a TB test for the fiancée Visa can you get these in the UK or do they need to be done in Thailand?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Terry

[theoldgit]

She can use either, it depends which one is more convenient.

2.1. Changes to test requirements from 6 April 2015

A Home Office procurement exercise has resulted in Trinity College London and the IELTS SELT Consortium being approved to deliver Secure English language test (SELT) services for UK immigration purposes from 6 April 2015.

There are 2 key approved level A1 tests from 6 April 2015 for new A1 partner and parent test candidates:

Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) offered by Trinity College London (available in the UK).



IELTS Life Skills offered by the IELTS SELT Consortium (available in the UK and overseas).

I don't want to sound pernickety, but your girlfriend isn't living with you on a tourist visa, she's currently staying with you on her holiday, just be cautious with your terminology in any correspondence with the UKVI.

Your girlfriend will be aware that she needs to apply for her visa from her home country, though of course she can take the test in the UK during her holiday.

[brewsterbudgen]

She can also take it in Thailand when she returns from her holiday in the UK. Both IDP and British Council offer IELTS A1 Life Skills tests in Bangkok.

[7by7]

This is the list of UKVI approved tests.

Only IELTS is available in Thailand, and unfortunately there are only three approved test centres there, and they are all in Bangkok. See page 11 of that document for their addresses.

The addresses of approved test centres in the UK are on page 2. There is one in Manchester:

Trinity Manchester SELT Centre

Peter House, Oxford Street, Manchester M1 5AN

I trust that you are aware that while she can sit the test whilst in the UK as a visit, she cannot undertake a course of study for it.

She cannot take the TB test in the UK. Where one is required, and it is for Thailand, it must be done at a Home Office approved clinic in the applicant's country of residence.

See Tuberculosis testing in Thailand

May I ask why you have opted for a fiance visa?

This will only be valid for 6 months and she will have to apply for Further Leave to Remain after your marriage in the UK and within that 6 months; at a cost of, currently, £649 by post or £1049 in person.

If you marry then she can apply as your spouse and that cuts out the above application and fee.

In addition, if she enters the UK as a fiance she cannot work until she has FLR; if she enters as a spouse she can work immediately; should she wish to do so.

You can either marry in Thailand, but that of course will mean you travelling out there (which may be more expensive than paying the above fee; unless you're going to go anyway), or you can marry in the UK while she is there as a visitor; if there is still enough time, and she can then return to Thailand and apply for settlement as your spouse.

See Marriages and civil partnerships in the UK 5. Foreign nationals

You may find UK settlement visa basics useful, though it does need some updating, and also Apply to join family living permanently in the UK

Whether she applies as your fiance or spouse, she will have to pay the immigration health surcharge when she applies.

[Terry90]

Thanks for the replies,

I want her to sit the test in the UK because I can go along with her and help her study for it to. I still cant work out the difference between the A1 - Graded Examinations in Spoken English and the A1 - ILETS life skills test? I.e does anyone know which is easier? Because I will book her in for the easier one

Regarding the TB test I will book one for when she flies home to Thailand and she is in Bangkok to save money and time.

Also regarding why I want a Fiancée visa and the extra cost, I just want more time with her to make sure everything is perfect before i commit to marriage. Although i do love her so I am sure everything will be good.

Why would I go in person if its going to cost me more money than applying by post?

How much do the Fiancée Visa or Spouse visa fees cost?

Thanks,

Terry

[wooloomooloo]

Why would I go in person if its going to cost me more money than applying by post?

Because we can't be certain of what our circumstances will be in the months and years to come.

My wife presented herself in person to the PEO in Croydon to submit her ILR application. It cost me an additional £500 but was worth it. It's not a guaranteed service but certainly suited our requirements. My wife's passport wasn't floating about the ether for months on end and was available to her in case of emergencies.

It might not seem much to you but possession of my wife's Thai passport wasn't something we were willing to forgo.

[brewsterbudgen]

The A1 IELTS test is quite easy. 2 candidates are tested together and interact with each other, talking about basic topics. There is also a short Listening test (3 questions). It takes about 18 minutes.

[7by7]

Spouse visas and fiance visas both come under the settlement visa category and the fee is the same. Currently £956.

But you will have to pay in USD, at an exchange rate set by, and favourable to, UKVI. Currently the amount you will actually have to pay is 1530 USD (Yes, it is ridiculous that the UK government charges in a foreign currency, as are their pathetic excuses for so doing!)

Obviously, you and your fiance's decision which route you choose.

Remember the IHS surcharge of £200 p.a., paid in advance when making the visa/LTR application.

If she enters as a fiance I'm not sure if she pays this with her initial visa application or her first FLR one. The guidance says

You don’t need to get an IHS reference number or pay the healthcare surcharge if:

you’re applying for a visa (from outside the UK) for 6 months or less

so as a fiance visa is valid for 6 months I suspect it'll be at her first FLR application.

Can anyone confirm?

Whether one considers it worth paying the extra fee, currently £400, to make an FLR or ILR application in person for a same day decision is a personal matter; usually dependent on how quickly one wants their passport back. Postal applications can take three to six months.

[Terry90]

Thanks for the replies,

OK so I have the information for the English test now thanks.

I have some big decisions to make because financially it is alot cheaper to marry in the next few months and apply for Spouse visa.

Does this make it any easier to get the Spouse visa as we are married than being engaged and apply for the fiancée visa? I ask this because I don't want my girlfriend to returning to Thailand and then waiting a long time for her to come back to the UK as i wont have the money to go to Thailand to go and see her.

Also the price you quoted for the cost of the Visa, do I pay all of that when I have a successful Visa application or is the same with the Tourist visa and you must pay when you go to BKK and if she fails im almost £1000 down?

And your right it is ridiculous that we need to pay in USD for a visa for the UK, just like how hard it is for genuine people who have lived and worked in the UK there whole lives to be with the ones they love.

Thanks for the help,

Terry

[theoldgit]

Certainly the spouse visa is more cost effective as a further leave to remain application doesn't need to be made after your marriage.

I don't think either method is easier than the other, if your girlfriend ticks all the boxes for either route she will qualify.

The fee for both has to be paid at the application stage, just to clarify it's a fee for processing the application not a fee for the actual visa, so yes if the application failed the fee would be lost, though in the case of a spouse visa the NHS surcharge would be refunded.

So as 7by7 pointed out earlier, the fiancé visa would be cheaper at the first stage, and the NHS Surcharge wouldn't need to be paid then, but once you were married she would need to pay the application fees he identified, and the NHS surcharge, and she would need to pay those fees again further down the line. If she goes for the spouse visa she only needs the one FLR.

[7by7]

Indeed.

You, or rather she as it'll be her application, will need to show that the relationship is genuine and subsisting whether she applies as your spouse or your fiance.

The only real difference at the initial visa application stage is:

• if applying as a spouse she will need to show that you are already married,
• if applying as a fiance she will need to show that you intend to marry in the UK within the 6 months term of the visa. Usually a simple letter of intent is sufficient for that, as a couple cannot give notice of their wedding at a registry office unless they both attend in person.

Other than that the requirements, financial, accommodation etc., are exactly the same whichever route you choose.

It is entirely your choice, of course.

[Terry90]

Thanks again for the help,

So If both me and my girlfriend were to attend the registry office we could book a date for say June next year? That way it would be around the end of the the Fiancée visa just to ensure everything is good before hand.

Fingers crossed it works first time as I don't want to be paying £1000 to retry for the Visa. Is the Fiancee/Spouse Visa easier than applying for a first the Tourist Visa then? And is it easy enough to do by myself or use a Visa company?

Thanks,

Terry

[theoldgit]

And is it easy enough to do by myself or use a Visa company?

It's easy enough to do for yourself, providing you ensure that you have everything covered, a reputable agency will tell you just that.

There's nothing wrong with using a reputable and honest agency, some people like the comfort factor that brings, especially if you don't have a lot of time and patience to research everything required.