Can you tell me more about the settlement visa?

How long will it take the british Embassy to issue my settlement visa.?

• I had a six months visiting visa from my white fiance in Uk , but i only spent 3months.but due to i was unable to be granted a residency there according to the british immigration law cos they said i came with a visiting visa both of us has to come back here and got wedded last month and she has gone back to the Uk, so i will like to know how long its gonna take the british embassy here to grant my Settlement visa since i ended up marrying a bristol , although i have applied with the necessary document altogether with our marriage certificate and they ask me to come back for an interview , please someone tell me is anything good working out of this cos i will not like to miss my bristol Darling.

• Answer:

  You have a journey to make. The best advice I can give is to take the view that you start at the begining and take it slowly. The Home Office will not let you go from "visitor" to "resident", if you simply arrive on a tourist visa, get married and then expect to stay. Okay, so you are now married and hold, I presume, a UK marriage certificate. You must then go back to your homeland and apply to the British Embassy. The Embassy will require a fair amount of paper and an interview. The interview is not frightening, as long as you are totally frank and above all truthful with the Embassy. Do not try and make any stories up or make clever explanations. Embassy staff are very experienced people and they will know if you are not telling them the complete truth. I mean that, if you are going to try and be clever with the British Embassy - forget it - they will find you out. Once they have seen you, they will check with the Home Office in London. They will need to know that you can be supported in the UK, that you will have a place to live and that you are of good character. Not a perfect character, but good. They want to make sure yours is not just a marriage to get a visa. They will want to see proof of a long term relationship, such as letters or emails (intrustive? Yes, but if you have nothing to hide, this should not be a problem). You will wait, perhaps, for about 4 weeks or so before a settlement visa is granted. Sometimes, this is quicker - it depends on the workload. You can then enter the UK with your head high. Some people try to just stay here. It doesn't work in the long term. Getting work is nigh on impossible, and do the slightest thing wrong, which involves you getting into trouble with the authorities and you will stand out - possibly be imprisoned and slung out of the UK. In this case, you will not get a Visa to come back. Period. If you are genuine in your intentions and your relationship is true then you will be welcome. The short seperation you will need to do the job properly you will get through and trust me, you will sleep a lot better at nights!