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Topic: How much evidence did you send?  (Read 460 times)

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How much evidence did you send?
« on: October 20, 2014, 07:50:36 PM »
Those who have successfully applied for a spouse visa, how much evidence did you send to prove that your relationship was genuine?

I've been with my fiance for nearly 8 years.  It will be ten years together, with us living together for 3-4 years, and maybe 1.5-2 years being married, when we apply for my spouse visa.  So, that's a long time!  I could probably provide hundreds of pages of e-mails, a pretty good amount of photos (I'm pretty camera shy, but we do have photos together spanning the years,) plus the official stuff like marriage certificate, rental contracts of our shared apartments, separate phone bills in both our names coming to the same address, a few letters, postcards, and wedding invites addressed to both of us, and even more.

I'd REALLY like to avoid the dreaded in-person interview if possible.  From what I've read, it seems like they only interview those who don't provide enough evidence that the relationship is real.  Is this correct?

So... am I going overboard?  How much (and what kind of) evidence did you guys send?

Also, most of our stuff from living together (bills, rental contracts, etc,) are in Japanese.  Our names are in English, and sometimes our address is, but most of it's Japanese.  Do you think that will be a problem?  I mean, it's easy enough to compare the kanji characters and numbers and see that two addresses are the same... 

That was a billion questions... sorry! I just stress about everything...   Thanks a lot!
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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2014, 08:32:32 PM »
If you will have been married for a while and living together all you really need to provide is your marriage certificate, 1 or 2 photos and maybe also some evidence that you live together (tenancy agreement, couple of bills etc.).

Things like emails and letters are only required if you live apart, in different countries, after getting married, because you need to show that the relationship has continued while apart and that it's not a sham just for a visa.

There are no in person interviews at all if you apply in the US, but in Japan you submit your application in person anyway, but I don't know if they actually conduct interviews (especially as I believe the visa is actually processed in Manila).


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2014, 08:39:06 PM »
If you will have been married for a while and living together all you really need to provide is your marriage certificate, 1 or 2 photos and maybe also some evidence that you live together (tenancy agreement, couple of bills etc.).

Things like emails and letters are only required if you live apart, in different countries, after getting married, because you need to show that the relationship has continued while apart and that it's not a sham just for a visa.

There are no in person interviews at all if you apply in the US, but in Japan you submit your application in person anyway, but I don't know if they actually conduct interviews (especially as I believe the visa is actually processed in Manila).


Wow, that is way less than I was thinking, ha ha.  I'll probably go overboard anyway.  :P  Better safe than sorry!

Yes, I think my application will be processed in Manila. 

Thanks for your response!


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2014, 08:41:49 PM »
I had/have been together with my husband for 6 years now. For some of the proof of our relationship, I included maybe 2 -3(or 4) email conversations for each year during that period. Nothing long, just ones where there was a back and forth dialogue. I also printed out our "Facebook Friendship" because It gave a good summary. For photos, I included wedding photos and then maybe 2 photos from each year over the past few years. We have had time together and time living a part so I did include a lot for consistency.

For the other stuff - letters, invites, etc. I would say maybe include a few of those things, but not all of them. The phone bills and rental contracts are good because it's showing you actually lived together, but I wouldn't include too much other mail. I think 1 or 2 pieces that have been addressed to you both is fine.

You want to provide enough to show it's a real relationship over the time period you say, but definitely don't want to go overboard because that will just give them more to look at! If you have been together for 8 years, I'm sure you have enough evidence!

I'm not sure about the things that are in Japanese. I would assume you would need to provide a translated copy, but I don't have experience in this area. I'm sure someone else here will!


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2014, 08:49:16 PM »
I had/have been together with my husband for 6 years now. For some of the proof of our relationship, I included maybe 2 -3(or 4) email conversations for each year during that period. Nothing long, just ones where there was a back and forth dialogue. I also printed out our "Facebook Friendship" because It gave a good summary. For photos, I included wedding photos and then maybe 2 photos from each year over the past few years. We have had time together and time living a part so I did include a lot for consistency.

For the other stuff - letters, invites, etc. I would say maybe include a few of those things, but not all of them. The phone bills and rental contracts are good because it's showing you actually lived together, but I wouldn't include too much other mail. I think 1 or 2 pieces that have been addressed to you both is fine.

You want to provide enough to show it's a real relationship over the time period you say, but definitely don't want to go overboard because that will just give them more to look at! If you have been together for 8 years, I'm sure you have enough evidence!

I'm not sure about the things that are in Japanese. I would assume you would need to provide a translated copy, but I don't have experience in this area. I'm sure someone else here will!

Thanks for the info!  I know we'll need our marriage certificate translated.  I guess I'll have a few pieces of mail translated as well, or at least the address section.

Facebook friendship is a good idea!  I'll do that when the time comes. 
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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2014, 08:54:46 PM »
...I mean it was excessive and you probably don't need it if you have emails and photos, but I sent it. I don't use Facebook very much though so It wasn't a huge stack of paper by any means.

I would say anything that is an official document that they are asking for, probably make sure there is an english translation. Definitely not positive about how this works with different languages. Hopefully someone can provide more details!


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2014, 08:58:36 PM »
In terms of emails, don't include any email content... UKVI don't need details, just dates of correspondence to show regular contact while apart. I wouldn't include anything from Facebook as it's not really considered a reliable source.

The best evidence you can provide is that you are married and live together - time spent together in person is much stronger evidence than emails and letters.

Don't send more than 1 or 2 photos in total - they are just for evidence that you have met. Maybe one from the wedding and one from earlier in the relationship.

Usually it's not better to be safe than sorry - the more unnecessary stuff you include, the more work you make for UKVI and the more chance that they will miss the important stuff. Only send what is absolutely required and leave everything else out.... They probably won't even see most of it anyway as someone will have to organise your application first and may take out the unnecessary stuff before giving it to the processing officer.


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2014, 09:06:12 PM »
I was sharing my own experience - thank you.

Being safe than sorry is important. It is important to make copies of the application and keep them for your own record. That way you can reference if you ever need them. That is what "being safe than sorry refers to" I'm not saying send everything you own. I'm saying to make copies and save them for your own records.

Facebook and emails were fine in my case. I included 5 pages from Facebook and the emails over a 6 year period were about 20 pages of emails. Not that much. It was piece of mind for me and it worked out. My application notification came in on october 7th and I received my visa in the mail today so it did not effect the speed.

I think the great thing about the forums is that everyone can share their own experiences. At no point did I say THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT IS RIGHT. It's important to share all experience so that we can learn from each other. I was replying as to help snow fish out. and others reading this. If sending 5 extra pieces of paper makes someone feel better than why not?


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2014, 09:22:40 PM »
I'm just saying that your application would have still been approved even if you hadn't sent all of that stuff.

(I was replying to Snowfish regarding better safe than sorry.)

I know that it's good to read other people's experiences, but at the same time, I've been on the forum for almost 8 years and I've seen hundreds of fiancé and spousal visas approved in that time, and advised on the majority of them - I know what is necessary to send and what is not, and I was just clarifying that although your visa was approved with no issues, there is not necessarily any need for Snowfish to also include all of those things.

We have in the past seen visa applications questioned or refused because of Facebook content (which could potentially harm an application if there's information on a status or message that could be questionable in terms of immigration), and as it can be easy to pose as someone else on Facebook, we generally don't advise including anything from it.

As I said, if they have been living together for a number of years then things like emails and Facebook aren't really all that relevant to the application because they can communicate in person and they see each other every day - they don't need social media to be able to show their relationship, they just do it by living together.


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2014, 09:46:00 PM »
People tend to assume that it is really important to "prove" their relationship. It isn't. The only relationship requirement for the fiance visa is that the couple have met in person, and the only requirement for the spousal visa is a valid marriage certificate. Visas are issued for arranged marriages. Facebook, chats, love letters, all that stuff is irrelevant. People say it gives them "peace of mind," but why? Why does it make you feel better to include a bunch of stuff that no one will look at and that doesn't make a whit of difference to the success of an application? Financial evidence is much, much more important. If you don't meet the financial requirement, UKVI doesn't give a d*mn how much you love each other.

Of course including it doesn't cause your application to be refused, but it doesn't help either. People can do what they like, of course, but it is important for everyone to understand that sending a bunch of personal stuff doesn't help your application and isn't in any way necessary.
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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #10 on: October 21, 2014, 01:00:03 AM »
I applied for my spousal visa in August and it was approved in September.  I compiled the supporting documents based on the UKVI guidelines, threads posted in this forum, and direct advise from Ksand and others on this forum.  My husband and I have been together for 4 1/2 years, married for 14 months (at time of the application) and living apart since January of 2014 (save a couple of visits in April and July). 

The relationship evidence I included (in addition to our marriage certificate):
2 pictures of us to prove that we have met in person
2 pages of Skype screenshots (about one call per 2 months that we were apart showing calls (and perhaps the wayward 'Hello') but no other dialogue)
1 page screenshot of our e-mail conversations dating back to 2011 (I just typed his e-mail address into my in-box search function)
8 boarding passes (1 for his visit to the US in 2010, 1 for my visit to the UK in 2011, 2 from our trip together to the UK in 2012, 2 from my trip to the UK in April 2014, 2 from his trip to the US in July 2014)- these were to prove that we had met and that we were visiting each other whilst separated.

It is important to demonstrate that you have met each other and that you have remained in contact during any subsequent separations. If you have been living together then show evidence of that.  The goal is not to overwhelm but to support the application.  Good luck!
Met Mr. Beatlemania: 20 Jan 2010
Tier 4 Visa Approved: 17 Sep 2012
Spousal Visa Received:  22 Sep 2014
Ohio to Essex: 26 October 2014
FLR(M): 10 May 2017
ILR: 23 October 2019
Citizenship: 6 September 2022


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Re: How much evidence did you send?
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2014, 08:00:36 PM »
Thanks for all the replies, and I did not mean to start any drama.

Upon reading all the responses, I think I will nix the Facebook idea.  We should have plenty of other "real" evidence of our years of living together, like our rental contracts and bills.  Once he returns to the UK, I guess I'll make it a point to save some emails/skype evidence to show our communication during the months we'll be apart.

And yes, I don't plan to make the application until I am absolutely certain we will meet the financial requirement.  That is my biggest source of stress, so I'm glad I can chill out about proving the relationship.  ;) 

Thanks again for all the help!  Lots of helpful people on this forum.  Much appreciated!
Will sell soul for Duke's Mayonnaise.


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