Accommodation Details - Certified Original Documents

Hi all,

I am visiting the UK and planning on travelling back to the US on Monday to apply for a partner visa. I've met my partner's landlord and he is very happy for me to live in the house once I have a visa.

Our plans changed, and I am leaving sooner than expected to apply. The landlord is overseas on holiday and is not able to sign a physical letter. If my partner emails him and replies with confirmation that he is the landlord and owner, my partner is his current tenant, my partner and son have been living at the property, it is a three-bedroom house, and he is happy for me to live there once I return with a visa, would that suffice? We would print out the email correspondence and his contact details would be in his email signature.

The alternative is to wait until he returns from his holiday, but I really want to leave and apply as soon as possible. I will call the Home Office tomorrow (at an extortionate cost) to ask them as well, but I thought someone here may have some insight so I can stop getting so worked up over it.

Also, we only have a digital copy of the lease agreement. Should we print that out and make note that the landlord holds the original? We do have a certified copy of a Council Tax bill with my partner's name on it showing that he lives here.

Freaking out a little bit!

All the documents you submit must be either original or certified, so really you'd be best to wait until the landlord comes back so you can include a physically signed letter from him, an original/certified copy of the tenancy agreement. Council tax bills aren not needed and probably won't have any bearing on the application - because what matters is the tenancy agreement and landlord's permission letter.

I wouldn't bother wasting your money calling the Home Office - they are known for giving incorrect advice and usually have no idea what they are talking about (they have advised people to apply for the wrong visa before, and also to include the wrong documents!).

Thank you! We have already spent a small fortune calling the Home Office and not getting clear answers.

You seem to be very knowledgeable and helpful. On an unrelated note... My partner and I would like to get married eventually. If I enter on an unmarried partner visa, do you think we will be allowed to get married in the UK at some point within the 33 initial months? Someone over the phone said she couldn't see any reason why not and that we would just have to notify them to change it to a spouse visa. The fiance visa is not an option, as we do not want to get married within 6 months of entry.

If I enter on an unmarried partner visa, do you think we will be allowed to get married in the UK at some point within the 33 initial months? Someone over the phone said she couldn't see any reason why not and that we would just have to notify them to change it to a spouse visa. The fiance visa is not an option, as we do not want to get married within 6 months of entry.

Yeah, as far as I know, you can marry whenever you like.

However, how are you qualifying for the Unmarried Partner visa?

In order to qualify as unmarried partners, you must have legally lived together in the same country for a minimum of 24 consecutive months before you apply.

So, that means, either you must have been living in the UK on a different visa (work or student visa) for the last 2 years or more, and living with your partner for that entire time, or your partner must have been living with you in the US (on a work or student visa) for the last 2 years. Or alternatively, you have been living together in a third country for at least 2 years.

To get the unmarried partner visa, you must show evidence of 2 years of cohabitation:
- tenancy agreements in both names
- utility bills in both names/sent to the same address
- bank statements to the same address
etc.

If you haven't been living together for the last 2 years, you cannot apply for an Unmarried Partner visa, so your only options will be:
- fiance visa to marry within 6 months
or
- marry in the US/a third country and then apply for a spousal visa
or
- apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa for the UK, marry in the UK as a visitor within 6 months, then return to the US and apply for a spousal visa.

Is there any way I can send you a direct message or speak to you via email? We have a long story...

Freaking out even more now.

Sure, you can send me a PM through the forum. You should see a small 'message' button under my avatar in this post.

Have sent you at least one message. Thank you!