Paper Marriage: A step closer to the real thing, or a disaster waiting to happen?

[Jennylady]

I wouldn't do it if you can avoid it.
Lying to the government is not a very good idea.
Do you have any grandparents who were born in the UK? If you do, and can prove it, you can get an ancestry Visa and can live and work in the UK. But I must admit I'm not sure of all the fine print.
If you have ancestral links to anywhere in the EU - explore them because if you do - get your visa/passport for that country and then go to the UK.
Tourist visas do last a fair amount of time and may be worth investigating as well.

[Tooki]

Look into the ancestral visa. I know some people who have gone through it and it was a very straightforward process for them. (Sadly I can't get it because my Anglo side decided to move to Australia at least 100 years ago ).

Or *become* Canadian so you can get a two year Working Holiday Visa.

[Kristin91]

Personally I don't think anyone should get married just so they can live together. If you're not ready to get married, you're not ready to get married- simple as that. And especially because you're questioning it, makes me think that you're not ready for a "paper marriage" either. A "paper marriage" is still a marriage, and if both people can't see it that way then I don't see it ever working out. So just wait until you're ready to get married, and keep being strong throughout the distance.

[13000km]

I asked the same question when my boyfriend and I were looking at options to close the distance. And got the same advice from the wonderful people on LFAD. They were right, we were not ready to make a big move AND be married. None of our parents were particularly thrilled by the idea, of course. My parents said my finishing school was their top priority, and he was already in the middle of getting his BA. So, school it was. With the help of my family and his family, we found a great program here that happened to be exactly what I was looking for and got enrolled. I haven't been able to get a job since we closed the distance, but other than that we've been doing great! I have been supporting myself with the savings I built up prior to coming here, so the 6 months visitor visa is definitely doable.

I love to see someone with no fairytale ideas about this! many people are like: oh, we only saw each other in person once!!! for vacatioons, when neither my SO nor I were working (for anytime between 1 week or less up to 3 months) but next time we see each other we will get married!!! No ofense ladies, but.. really? while you are on vacations or on one visit or many visits with just a few days, that total time spent together under the same roof is less than 6 months, no matter how long you are together, i think it is really really risky to get married. because you dont really know how the person is in the real world, with jobs and everything in the way. and without that feeling of "i only have 2 weeeks with him/her before we go back to LDR and spend 6 more months without seeing each other!!!"
when you are in a visit, you behave differently because you know the visit is just a tempopary thing. you will be far away from each other again soon.


so i always always roll my eyes to people that want to get married the next time they see each other, after one visit only, sometimes having spent less than one or two months in person together. i learned how to hold my tongue ,most of the times when it comes to those toppics. but i just wanted to say how rare it is to find someone that thinks like you, so congratulations for having your head in the right place!

ps: again, this is not to cause a discussion, is just how i feel about it!

Marriage is definitely a big step that requires a lot of consideration, but many times in an LDR you build a more solid foundation because of all the talking you do with each other. My boyfriend and I only spent 3 weeks together in person before closing the distance, and will not be living together before we are married. While it's possible that people behave differently on visits than they would from a day to day basis, I think LDRs are "solid" enough to build and progress like a regular CDR would.

[McWood]

Look into the ancestral visa. I know some people who have gone through it and it was a very straightforward process for them. (Sadly I can't get it because my Anglo side decided to move to Australia at least 100 years ago ).

Or *become* Canadian so you can get a two year Working Holiday Visa.

How do you "become canadian"? lol

[greensweatergirl]

How do you "become canadian"? lol

You have to fight off a polar bear inside any Tim Hortons location.

[CynicalQuixotic]

You have to fight off a polar bear inside any Tim Hortons location.

With a hockey stick, while singing "O, Canada".

[Malaga]

Honestly the more I hear about the fiance visa, the more it seems like a hassle rather than something beneficial.

Paper marriages IMO are too big of a deal to be messed with if you're not ready for marriage altogether.

[Tooki]

How do you "become canadian"? lol

Get into Ice Hockey, say 'eh' a lot and say 'zed'