How to Get a Visa After Marriage
Love may lift you up where you belong and it may be all you need, but it won't get you past immigration agents. For that you'll need a valid visa. The rules for obtaining a spouse visa vary somewhat depending on where you'd like to live, where you both are from and just which one of you is the stranger in a strange land. The guide below outlines the basic steps most people go through when applying for a spouse visa after marriage.
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Things You'll Need
- Marriage certificate
- Spouse visa application
- Proof of income
- Proof of adequate housing
- Proof of gainful employment
- Bank statements
- Proof of ongoing relationship
- Divorce paperwork (if applicable)
- Custody paperwork (if applicable)
- Education certificates, degrees or diplomas
- Current resume
- 2 to 4 passport-style photos
- Visa application fees
- Current passport
Instructions
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Determine which country you are going to live in permanently and which embassy you'll need to go through. If your spouse is legally working and residing in the same country as you, you can apply from within your country. However, if your spouse is on a tourist visa or has never been to the country in which you intend to settle, you must go through an embassy outside its borders.
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Call several months prior to the marriage ceremony to set up an appointment at the embassy in your spouse's country of record. For example, if you are a U.S. citizen and you marry a U.K. citizen with the intent of settling in England permanently, you must call the British Embassy closest to your home of record within the United States.
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Download and fill out the spouse visa application from the embassy website. Be sure you understand each question and answer honestly.
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Gather your supporting documents. These include bank statements, proof of adequate domicile, proof of employment or income, evidence that your spouse will be eligible to seek gainful employment if a visa is granted, legal records pertaining to any previous marriage, divorce or child custody situation and valid current passport.
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Compile proof of your ongoing relationship. The evidence can include photos taken over a length of time, e-mail messages sent between partners, phone records and logs of online chats, ticket stubs for events attended or proof of joint travel plans, trips or finances.
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Add the certificate of marriage to the stack of documents when the ceremony is complete. As an added touch, you can include wedding mementos, such as the newspaper announcement, photos or invitations.
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Include four recent passport-style photos and be sure you are prepared to pay the appropriate fees. Check the embassy website for currently acceptable payment methods and visa application costs.
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Arrive early for your appointment. It is common policy for the embassy to schedule a number of people for the same time slot. Bring all your documents and attend as a couple.
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Participate in a short interview. When your turn arrives, you will submit your documents to the immigration clerk. The clerk will look through them and ask you a number of questions, such as how long you have known your spouse and how much time you've spent together as of today. She will ask how you two met and if the marriage was arranged. She will ask about children involved and current custody documents. And then she will inquire as to your current visa status. Be ready to answer questions on all of these topics. Questions can occasionally be quite personal and may feel unnecessarily embarrassing, but will not go beyond the scope of what any married person would know about his spouse.
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Pay your fees. After the embassy official collects the money, you will be given a time to return. Depending on the country, it might be the next day or it might be the next week.
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Return at the appointed time to learn what decision has been made. If no red flags were raised during the interview, you will have your visa. If there were issues, the embassy may wish to interview you and your spouse separately or you may have to resolve a larger issue, such as provision of adequate housing, and re-apply at a later date.
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Tips & Warnings
In the United States, the procedure is slightly different as the documents are submitted and then a case number is assigned to the application. An interview is granted after all documents have been carefully reviewed and any additional documentation requested and turned in. The process in the US can take from three months to two years, depending on the circumstances surrounding the relationship. It may be beneficial to retain the services of an attorney who specializes in spousal visas and immigration law, particularly when bringing a foreign spouse into the United States as the current forms are quite long and can feel overwhelming. When you go to your interview, be sure to dress in a manner appropriate for the country you wish to reside in. It will help your case tremendously if it looks as if you already 'fit in' and the visa is a simple matter of paperwork. Keep all your documents in an expanding file folder, so when they ask for a specific item you can locate it easily. When preparing your file, if you're not sure you'll need it, but think it might be useful, bring it. Better to have it and not use it, then to need it and not have it.
There are variations from one country to the next as well as specific qualifying criteria pertaining to finances and housing. Be sure to check with the embassy to ensure you meet all qualifications prior to submitting your application. If there is an error in your paperwork or if the agent reviewing the files finds any reason to doubt the validity of your marriage, the spouse visa will be refused. The fees are non-refundable.
