Need help with Unmarried Partner application

My British citizen partner and I have been living together here in the US since Nov 2014. We also have a biological son together (also registered as a British citizen), born March 2016.

My intention was to apply for the Family Visa for Unmarried Partner, but I got confused with the online application because the visa category was under "Settlement". When I tried to select Family Visa (Long-term) I got a pop-up warning that this visa category didn't allow you to work in the UK. So I went ahead and selected "Settlement" for Unmarried Partner. I emailed and called UKV (paid for service) to inquire but all I got was "The International Enquiry Service (IES) staff are unable to provide advice on individual applications. This is because the type of visa that you should apply for, along with the specific documents you should provide with your application, will depend on your personal circumstances."

I have some questions hopefully somebody can help clarify.

1. Did I apply for the correct visa category for unmarried partner? Is it really under the Settlement category? I am confused because I know I am not yet eligible to settle or apply for "Indefinite Leave to Remain".

2. Bank Statements – We have a joint Checking and Savings account with Wells Fargo. Since we’re enrolled in paperless banking, I printed the statements from the internet. We asked Wells Fargo to issue a letter to confirm the authenticity but they were only willing to give us a letter stating below. I have read of this forum that some members went to the bank and had each page stamped. Will this be a problem for us then?

----Start of letter from Wells Fargo---
Applicant and Sponsor’s Name
Our street address
Our city, state, zip code

Dear (blank),

This letter is verification that the Customer named above has the following deposit accounts with Wells Fargo.

Account Number
-xxxx (last 4-digits of account number)
- xxxx (last 4-digits of account number)

Date Opened 10/20/2014

Current balance as of the date of the letter
--End of letter from Wells Fargo---

3. Financial Requirement  - We submitted our application using only cash savings to meet the minimum requirement (ie. £18,600 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £62,500). Our current savings today are well above the minimum £100k+ but if you count 6 months back, it was only about £60k at that time. We did provide additional proof of the savings coming from our employment (pay slips + corresponding ACH deposits from our company). Is UKV extremely nit picky and strict about the 6 month rule? I am really worried about that.

4. Financial Requirement – My partner is fortunate the company he works for here in the US has a branch in the UK. They agreed to transfer his position to the UK but they were taking forever to provide his new job contract. After more than 3 months of waiting we finally found out today that they are releasing his new job contract this week. His annual salary in his new position in the UK will meet the minimum requirement. Is there a way for us to provide UKV with a revised Appendix 2 Financial Requirement Form so we are relying on Category 3B “With current employer for 6 months or more – overseas sponsor returning to the UK” instead of Category 3F Cash Savings?

5. Retroactive Priority – How do I request for this service? Where do I pay for the priority fee and how do I inform Sheffield?

Thank you in advance!

Online application submitted: 14 Nov 2017
Biometrics appointment: 17 Nov 2017
Shipping to UK: 04 Dec 2017
UPS Tracking Delivered to Sheffield: 07 Dec 2017
Email confirmation from Sheffield: --
Decision Made Email: --
Decision Made: --

Welcome to the forum, masonjohnsmum .

I actually already wrote a reply to your questions in the other thread, but I'll move it to here instead and delete it from there.

1. Did I apply for the correct visa category for unmarried partner? Is it really under the Settlement category? I am confused because I know I am not yet eligible to settle or apply for "Indefinite Leave to Remain".

Yes, that's the correct visa . As long as you are not married, but have been living together for at least 2 years prior to applying, you need the Unmarried Partner visa.

I actually don't even know what the Family Visa (Long-term) is!

'Settlement' (ILR) and 'settlement visas' are two different things. A settlement visa is a family visa that eventually leads to settlement (ILR). As a family member/partner of a UK citizen, you need to spend 5 years on settlement visas before you can qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

2. Bank Statements – We have a joint Checking and Savings account with Wells Fargo. Since we’re enrolled in paperless banking, I printed the statements from the internet. We asked Wells Fargo to issue a letter to confirm the authenticity but they were only willing to give us a letter stating below. I have read of this forum that some members went to the bank and had each page stamped. Will this be a problem for us then?

If your bank statements are printed from online banking, they must be either:
- accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming that each statement is authentic
or
- stamped/signed by the bank on EVERY page

3. Financial Requirement  - We submitted our application using only cash savings to meet the minimum requirement (ie. £18,600 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £62,500). Our current savings today are well above the minimum £100k+ but if you count 6 months back, it was only about £60k at that time. We did provide additional proof of the savings coming from our employment (pay slips + corresponding ACH deposits from our company). Is UKV extremely nit picky and strict about the 6 month rule? I am really worried about that.

You MUST have held at least £62,500 in the account for a FULL 6 months before applying for the visa. If the balance drops below £62,500 for even 1 day during the 6 months, you will not qualify for the visa.

The only exception to this is if the money has come from the sale of a house you owned or from investments you have cashed out... in that case, you only need to have owned the house/investments for 6 months before transferring them to your bank account.

4. Financial Requirement – My partner is fortunate the company he works for here in the US has a branch in the UK. They agreed to transfer his position to the UK but they were taking forever to provide his new job contract. After more than 3 months of waiting we finally found out today that they are releasing his new job contract this week. His annual salary in his new position in the UK will meet the minimum requirement. Is there a way for us to provide UKV with a revised Appendix 2 Financial Requirement Form so we are relying on Category 3B “With current employer for 6 months or more – overseas sponsor returning to the UK” instead of Category 3F Cash Savings?

Unfortunately not. As you applied under Category D: Cash Savings (which is Part 3F of the application form), ONLY your savings can be considered. You cannot add an extra category after applying.

So, you're going to have to see what happens with this application. If it's refused because your savings don't meet the requirements, you can reapply, either using his job offer PLUS the last 12 months of his income, or using the cash savings if they now meet the requirements.

5

. Retroactive Priority – How do I request for this service? Where do I pay for the priority fee and how do I inform Sheffield?

You can't. They stopped allowing people to upgrade retroactively about a year ago.

Thank you!

1- Yes, the unmarried partner visa is one of the settlement visas. You need to provide strong evidence of living together covering at least 2 years.

2-That doesn't seem to say what it needs to. It's much easier just to have statements stamped in branch.

3-They are very strict. A penny too little or a day short is an automatic refusal.

4-We did have one member include a whole bunch of new evidence but they were extremely lucky that it was considered. I honestly wouldn't count on them accepting a change in category.

5-They changed the rules such that priority can no longer be applied for retroactively. A few people still tried during the summer when the wait was particularly long but we can't recommend it as they have no obligation to honour the upgrade and it's a lot of money to spend just on the off chance.

Thank you for your reply ksand24 and larrabee!

Oh gosh. It's sounding more grim and I expect our application will be refused.

 If that's the case we have to pay a new application fee right? 

Thank you for your reply ksand24 and larrabee!

Oh gosh. It's sounding more grim and I expect our application will be refused.

 If that's the case we have to pay a new application fee right? 

Unfortunately, yes but you will get the IHS payment back... eventually!

If it is refused though, we can make sure you send everything that you need for success next time. 

Oh gosh. It's sounding more grim and I expect our application will be refused.

Sorry to hear that .

Unfortunately, the requirements are really strict - if one document is missing, or out of date, or if the finances don't meet the requirement exactly (either in amount or dates), they can refuse the visa.

If that's the case we have to pay a new application fee right? 

Unfortunately, yes. They will refund the IHS surcharge, but it can take up to 3 months to get it back... and you'll need to pay it again when you re-apply.

I went through a similar visa process some years back, but through my work, as I'm originally from the Philippines. I'm now a US citizen.

I must give kudos to US Immigrations in this respect since they're at least more flexible in terms of allowing applicants to provide additional information if the original submission was lacking or at least give a chance to appeal a decision. It seems there is no flexibility with UKV based on people's experiences.

I must give kudos to US Immigrations in this respect since they're at least more flexible in terms of allowing applicants to provide additional information if the original submission was lacking or at least give a chance to appeal a decision. It seems there is no flexibility with UKV based on people's experiences.

You can appeal UK applications if they have been refused, however, an appeal takes about a year to be processed and usually will only be successful if you met all the requirements and provided all the documents, and UKVI made a mistake and overlooked something you included originally. So, it's just quicker and easier to just reapply for the visa and correct the reasons for refusal... doing that, you'll get the visa within a few weeks compared to waiting up to a year for an appeal that probably isn't going to be successful and then having to reapply for the visa anyway.

The thing with the UK government is that they are extremely anti-immigration at the moment... they are trying to drastically reduce immigration to the UK and so they've made the visa rules strict, the financial requirements specific and pedantic, and the visa fees really high... in an attempt to prevent people from a) qualifying for a visa and/or b) wanting to move to the UK at all.

Well, I think I'll take my chance and mail my partner's new UK job contract to Sheffield and write a letter to them to ask for their kind consideration. In any case I think it will make me feel a little better than doing nothing at all. Hehe

I'll keep you guys posted.

Well, I think I'll take my chance and mail my partner's new UK job contract to Sheffield and write a letter to them to ask for their kind consideration. In any case I think it will make me feel a little better than doing nothing at all. Hehe

I'll keep you guys posted.

Honestly, I really would not recommend doing that. The website explicitly states that you can only add extra documents to your application after you have applied under certain circumstances (namely, they first have to contact you to ask for extra documents):

D. (a) In deciding an application in relation to which this Appendix states that specified documents must be provided, the Entry Clearance Officer or Secretary of State (“the decision-maker”) will consider documents that have been submitted with the application, and will only consider documents submitted after the application where sub-paragraph (b), (e) or (f) applies.

(b) If the applicant:
(i) Has submitted:
(aa) A sequence of documents and some of the documents in the sequence have been omitted (e.g. if one bank statement from a series is missing);
(bb) A document in the wrong format (for example, if a letter is not on letterhead paper as specified); or
(cc) A document that is a copy and not an original document; or
(dd) A document which does not contain all of the specified information; or

(ii) Has not submitted a specified document, the decision-maker may contact the applicant or his representative in writing or otherwise, and request the document(s) or the correct version(s). The material requested must be received at the address specified in the request within a reasonable timescale specified in the request.

(e) Where the decision-maker is satisfied that there is a valid reason why a specified document(s) cannot be supplied, e.g. because it is not issued in a particular country or has been permanently lost, he or she may exercise discretion not to apply the requirement for the document(s) or to request alternative or additional information or document(s) be submitted by the applicant.

(f) Before making a decision under Appendix FM or this Appendix, the decision-maker may contact the applicant or their representative in writing or otherwise to request further information or documents. The material requested must be received at the address specified in the request within a reasonable timescale specified in the request.

From: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Also, it's not as simple as just sending the job offer - that won't meet the requirements either.

If he is not currently employed in the US and is between jobs (Category B) you have to send:
- UK employer job offer letter
AND
- 12 full months of original US payslips showing a total income of £18,600 or more before tax
- 12 full months of original US bank statements showing the deposit of every single bank statement

If he is currently employed in the US (Category A), you have to send:
- UK employer job offer letter
AND
- 6 full months of original payslips showing at least £1,550 before tax on each one
- 6 full months of original bank statements showing the deposit of every single payslip
- a letter from his current US employer stating: job title, length of employment, current salary, length of time earning current salary, type of employment

However, as you applied under Category D and not Category A or B, I doubt they will be allowed to consider those documents anyway.

I believe the person who was allowed to add documents was contacted by Sheffield for a different issue and they asked nicely if they were allowed to include extra documents along with Sheffield's other request, since they knew they were missing documents. They were given permission to do this, so they sent the documents as instructed by Sheffield.

The problem with just sending documents to Sheffield and hoping for the best is that they likely won't be matched with the application, as they won't be expecting them, and so they will end up just sitting in the mail room collecting dust.

In that case. I will wait here until we get our rejection letter 

Unfortunately, the requirements are really strict - if one document is missing, or out of date, or if the finances don't meet the requirement exactly (either in amount or dates), they can refuse the visa.

Sorry to ask again but I am really kicking myself for this mistake.......

I was looking over our joint bank statements and we had hit the minimum amount as of 6/7/17 so technically speaking it's been sitting in our bank account for more than 6 months.

My online application was dated 11/14/17 but my documents were only received by Sheffield on 12/7/17. I wasn't able to mail my documents sooner because I needed my passport for traveling abroad from 11/19 to 12/2. So I sent the documents as soon as I returned to the US.

So does this mean I applied 2 weeks too early? If I had just waited until I got back to the US on 12/2 then I would have been ok right??? Darn! In my mind I just wanted to get over with the biometrics appointment before I traveled and now this has become a costly mistake 

Sorry to ask again but I am really kicking myself for this mistake.......

I was looking over our joint bank statements and we had hit the minimum amount as of 6/7/17 so technically speaking it's been sitting in our bank account for more than 6 months.

My online application was dated 11/14/17 but my documents were only received by Sheffield on 12/7/17. I wasn't able to mail my documents sooner because I needed my passport for traveling abroad from 11/19 to 12/2. So I sent the documents as soon as I returned to the US.

So does this mean I applied 2 weeks too early? If I had just waited until I got back to the US on 12/2 then I would have been ok right??? Darn! In my mind I just wanted to get over with the biometrics appointment before I traveled and now this has become a costly mistake 

The clock stops with the date of the online application so you would have had to have applied at least 6 months after 6/7/17, when you first hit the qualifying mark.

The documents must meet the requirements on the date you submit your online application, as this is your Official Application Date.

So, if you applied online on November 14, you must be able to show at least £62,500 in your bank account since May 14... or possibly longer, since the 6-month period you use has to correspond with your latest bank statement, which must be dated within 28 days of applying online.

For example, if you applied online on Nov 14th, but your latest bank statement was dated say, October 31st, you would have to provide bank statements covering April 30th to October 31st, and showing that there was no less than £62,500 in the account from April 30th onwards.

So, in order to meet the requirements, your latest bank statement would have to be dated on or after Dec 7th and then you would have needed to apply online on or after December 7th (depending on your bank statement issue dates).

Also, your documents have to be mailed to Sheffield within 5 days of your biometric appointment... so if you did your biometrics between Nov 14 and 19, you only actually had from between Nov 19 and Nov 24 to get your documents to Sheffield (though in the past some people have mailed them late and have had no issues with it).


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Thank you for your prompt replies as always!

Oh what a costly mistake indeed! I can't get over myself because it was an avoidable mistake.

Now the pain of having to explain to my partner why we need to shell out another $2k+