Apply to join visa documentation

Hey all,
We're getting ready to apply in the next couple of weeks for my "fiancee visa". Does anyone have a quick documentation checklist I can reference? I'm good on the financial requirement documentation, but what about anything else? I don't have to meet the English language requirement as I am a US citizen. As far as proof of our intent to marry, I am sending our receipt from the provisional booking day with the Rugby registration office, our provisional booking confirmation slip, our reception venue contract and a save the date. I was also debating whether or not to send my wedding dress receipt.

Thank you tons!

Once you have everything, if you can post a list here of all the documents you will be including, we can check it and make sure you aren't missing anything .

As well as proof of intent to marry and the financial requirement evidence, you'll also need to prove you have suitable UK accommodation and have evidence of a genuine relationship, by way of regular communication throughout your relationship.

For the accommodation, you need:
If your fiance owns their own property where you will live together:
- Land Registry document
- Latest original mortgage statement (optional)

If you will be renting:
- your fiance's original tenancy agreement
- letter from the landlord giving you permission to live there too when you have your visa

If you will be living with family or friends:
- their Land Registry document
- an original signed letter from the homeowner giving you both permission to live there and stating it will not be overcrowded with you there too

For the relationship evidence, you need things like:
- a photo of you together
- boarding passes from trips to see each other
- letters/cards you've sent to each other
- screenshots of email inboxes/call logs/message logs showing regular communication over the length of your relationship.

There's a suggested supporting document list here, but not all of it may apply to you, and it's vague in places:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-uk-visa-for-family-settlement-form-vaf4a

Also, don't forget you need to print and complete VAF4a Appendix 2, as well as the online application, which is also in the above link.

Thanks!
Honestly, the part I'm having the most trouble with is documentation to prove our relationship! We talk on facebook messenger every day, but it's impossible to scroll back 4 years to the start of it.

I have some emails of flight confirmations of when I've gone to see him, but no boarding passes.

We have emails going back a few years but they're not all there and a lot of them are quite personal (so they'll be getting screenshots only).

We have loads of pictures but I'm pretty sure none of them are date-stamped.

My mom and her boyfriend flew out last year to meet Andrew, but of course we took no pictures of them together haha.

We'll get it sorted though!

Thanks for your reply. Very happy to have you as a resource

Honestly, the part I'm having the most trouble with is documentation to prove our relationship! We talk on facebook messenger every day, but it's impossible to scroll back 4 years to the start of it.

Okay, well Facebook isn't generally considered a reliable source of evidence, since accounts can easily be faked, so I wouldn't recommend including anything from there anyway.

I have some emails of flight confirmations of when I've gone to see him, but no boarding passes.

Okay, if you don't have boarding passes, then include the etickets.

We have emails going back a few years but they're not all there and a lot of them are quite personal (so they'll be getting screenshots only).

You should NOT include ANY email content anyway, so that's not an issue - imagine you were applying before the internet and only had phone bills to show communication... your phone bill would only show a list of numbers, call dates and times - you wouldn't have a recording of the conversation on it too .

You basically want to show the same thing with emails... just an 'itemised phone bill' style view of your inbox.

So, what you want to do is just screenshot a selection of emails from your inbox, subject lines and dates only, covering your entire relationship, and paste them onto 1-2 sheet of paper maximum, in a list.

So, say you've been together 5 years, you would want to select maybe 1 email per month, so 60 emails total, and make a screenshot of the date and subject line and paste them all onto 1-2 sheets of paper maximum.

We have loads of pictures but I'm pretty sure none of them are date-stamped.

Lots of pictures are not needed. You only need to include 1, maybe 2 photos maximum, and only with you and your fiance in them - no one else. They do not need to be date-stamped.

The photo(s) are just to show you have met at least once in person. I would just include 1 photo from the beginning of your relationship and 1 more recent photo.

My mom and her boyfriend flew out last year to meet Andrew, but of course we took no pictures of them together haha.

No need to include any photos of anyone but you and your fiance .

_________________________________________________ _____________________________

Okay, so based on what you have, I would send:

- 2 photos of you and your fiance together
- all of your etickets/confirmations from visits to see each other
(- if you have any cards or letters you've sent to each other, you can include them too)
- 1-2 sheets of paper showing a list of screenshots of email subject lines and dates covering the entire relationship

Thank you! You're very helpful

I was in the same exact boat as you with the  Facebook and emails as our only contact.  my emails were from my old work email so I couldn't just screen shot them. but I just selected non personal one from every 6 months we have been together and sent those.

you can change the Facebook stuff to the old lay out and print from that.  log into your Facebook. then in separate window use this link https://m.facebook.com/messages/read/?tid=id.154176994771590&start=184050  - you then have to change the number at the end up or down to scroll through. its the fast way to do it and it will show both your names and pictures.  I think just took screen shots of those and sent it.

also none of my photos are timed stamped. so I selected 1 from like every 3-6 months from the start of our relationship, making sure some were with family and friends and then wrote something next two it to time stamp it and explain who people were. it may have been overkill but at least they could see the timeline of our relationship that way too. 

I didnt send any boarding passes, just booked fight confirmations. hope this helps a little I was scared because sometimes the Facebook stuff and emails look fake so I may have gone overboard with what I provided, but better to be safe than sorry.

I was in the same exact boat as you with the  Facebook and emails as our only contact.  my emails were from my old work email so I couldn't just screen shot them. but I just selected non personal one from every 6 months we have been together and sent those.

you can change the Facebook stuff to the old lay out and print from that.  log into your Facebook. then in separate window use this link https://m.facebook.com/messages/read/?tid=id.154176994771590&start=184050  - you then have to change the number at the end up or down to scroll through. its the fast way to do it and it will show both your names and pictures.  I think just took screen shots of those and sent it.

also none of my photos are timed stamped. so I selected 1 from like every 3-6 months from the start of our relationship, making sure some were with family and friends and then wrote something next two it to time stamp it and explain who people were. it may have been overkill but at least they could see the timeline of our relationship that way too. 

I didnt send any boarding passes, just booked fight confirmations. hope this helps a little I was scared because sometimes the Facebook stuff and emails look fake so I may have gone overboard with what I provided, but better to be safe than sorry.

Yeah, all the photos were overkill.  It's okay, so long as the required documents don't get "lost" amongst the unnecessary documents (which unfortunately we've seen happen).

Remember the photo is simply to prove you have met in person.  That's it.  They don't care if you've met family or friends or travelled or anything else.  It's literally to prove you've met.  Arranged marriages are allowed and those visas are approved everyday.   

Exactly. I was just nervous. 

I would follow the advice here on the docs. Mine was approved but I stressed myself for nearly no reason!

But hopefully the facebook stuff helps!

Oh man,
I am 100% in that state of panic right now haha.
I know that I'm probably stressing myself for no reason, but it's hard not too. Since we're getting married there if the visa doesn't get approved---there goes our wedding! Ack!

I'm also a full time student working a full time job right now and I've been stress eating so now my wedding dress has gotten a bit tight. I need to chill for sure haha! These boards make me feel SO much better.

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement!

Oh man,
I am 100% in that state of panic right now haha.
I know that I'm probably stressing myself for no reason, but it's hard not too. Since we're getting married there if the visa doesn't get approved---there goes our wedding! Ack!

Please don't panic - it sounds like you're already pretty organised for the visa already .

It's just a tick-box visa - as long as you meet the requirements and provide the documents, the visa will be granted. And visa applications made in the US have a 93-96% approval rate (across all visa types) .

I'm also a full time student working a full time job right now and I've been stress eating so now my wedding dress has gotten a bit tight. I need to chill for sure haha! These boards make me feel SO much better.

Sounds like you have it pretty full on at the moment.

For the visa though, just stay calm, don't panic, and we'll help you through it and answer any questions you have.

Best thing to do is not rush it, and don't submit the online application until you have all your supporting documents in your hands and are ready to put everything in the mail .

Thanks again for the words of support.

I think I feel better about it now than I have at any other point in time. Luckily, my fiancee has been super supportive and has gotten together many of the requirements. Also lucky that he has kept all of my flight itineraries I have emailed him the last 3 years. I was missing a few.

We are sitting down on Skype this week and going through the practice application and appendix. We plan on making a note of the questions that we're not sure on and posting them here.

The most challenging part so far has been the financial requirement. His bank statements get released on the 28th of every month and it's been a pain figuring out how to get his paycheck to coordinate with that so the most current paycheck would be on there. He's going to end up getting paid early this month so that it will show up on this statement. So thankful that he works for a company that is willing to do that for us.

I know we will get there! I'll be very relieved once it's done!

One additional question: I've been reading on other posts about having a letter of introduction (or something like that) from your sponsor. Does my SO need to write a letter to send with the documentation? If so, what information does he need to include?

Thanks!!

One additional question: I've been reading on other posts about having a letter of introduction (or something like that) from your sponsor. Does my SO need to write a letter to send with the documentation? If so, what information does he need to include?

Yes, a letter from him is mandatory - without it, the visa could be refused.

It should detail how he meets each requirement to sponsor you and a short history of your relationship.

For example,

To The Entry Clearance Officer,
Paragraph 1: how he qualifies to be a sponsor (his UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: his current employment situation and which financial requirement category he meets
Paragraph 3: where you will live together in the UK, including details of the property (number of bedrooms, and if anyone else is living there)
Paragraph 4: short history of your relationship (when/where you met, how often you see each other, when you got engaged, when and where in the UK you plan to marry, why you have decided to settle in the UK instead of the US)
Paragraph 5 (Optional): List of all the documents he is including to support each requirement mentioned above

  Very glad I asked then! Thanks!