Q & A: Timing of marriage to fiancé

Q. My fiancé and I have an interview arranged in London, UK in March. I am the principal applicant and my fiancé is a dependent on my application.

My question is, when should we marry? Is it best to marry before the interview or medical or does it not have any bearing on the interview result? Is it still the case that we have to marry?

Answer: Fiancé(e)s are not included within the definition of an "accompanying dependent." As such, it may be up to the discretion of the visa officer to include him at the time of the interview. If he is included as a dependent, it may be with the stipulation that you marry within 90 days of landing.

In cases of common law marriage, the applicants would be assessed separately. If one applicant was unqualified, the case would be assessed on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds.