The Final Checklist!

Hi All,

I've (nearly) come to the end of preparing my bundle for shipment and just wanted to ask if someone could have a quick check to ensure I'm not missing anything?

I'm in a unique situation in that I've been issued with a spouse visa before through FLR(M) when I was in the UK as a student. My Husband and I went abroad for work and we weren't able to apply for my second 2.5 years; hence this new spouse visa application and starting the process all over again.

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Contents

Application:
* Receipt for Priority Visa Service
* Return shipping label from VFS & Return Envelope
* Biometrics Receipt (my appointment is on Friday, so will be stamped then)
* IHS Payment Receipt
* Signed printed Application
* Appendix 2
* Applicant Supporting Statement
* Sponsor Supporting Statement (explaining reason for new application)
* 2 colour photos of Applicant
* 2 colour photos of Sponsor
* Certified colour copy of Sponsor Passport
* Applicant Passport
* Proposed Itinerary

Evidence of previous spousal visa:
* Approval letter of last spousal visa

Evidence of Relationship:
* Sponsor's Decree Absolute
* Marriage Certificate
* Council Tax Bills in both our names
* Tickets from travel together (variety)
* Utilities bills in both our names
* Bank account in both our names
* British Airways Statements
* Photographs
* Phone bills to show we text/call each other regularly

Maintenance (Category B: salaried employment < 12 months):

1st Employment (March 2017 - October 2017)
* Offer Letter of Employment
* Employer Letter specifying dates of employment, role, and salary
* Official payslips
* Letter from bank saying statements are authentic (this got crumpled, but it's still readable: is that ok?)
* Duplicate bank statements showing funds deposited into account

2nd Employment (January 2018 - March 2018 - Though he will still be employed with this company after March 2018)
* Employment Contract
* Letter from employer confirming extension of assignment
* Letter from employer stating dates of employment, role, authenticity of payslips, salary, type of employment
* Stamped printouts of payslips
* Official January bank statement showing funds deposited in account
* Stamped Temporary Bank Statement for Feb & March with funds displayed

Accommodation:
* Tenancy Agreement
* Council Tax Bill
* Water Bill
* Letter from Landlord giving me permission to stay
* Mortgage statement from house Sponsor and I own
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Also, my husband had about 2 months when he wasn't working in the last 12 months. This hasn't impacted on us meeting the income threshold when his salary from the other months are factored in. I assume this break in work will be ok?

Many thanks for the help!

Sorry to be a pain, but any help with my questions would be really appreciated :-)

Have you lived together for the entire time you've been married? If so, you don't need any evidence of flights, emails, etc.

You have a few things you don't need. I would take out all of the following:
* Applicant Supporting Statement
* 2 colour photos of Applicant (you only need 1 photo)
* 2 colour photos of Sponsor
* Certified colour copy of Sponsor Passport (you only need the photo page)
* Approval letter of last spousal visa

If you have lived together for the entire time, you don't need the following:
* Tickets from travel together (variety)
* British Airways Statements
* Phone bills to show we text/call each other regularly

You also don't need the following:
1st Employment (March 2017 - October 2017)
* Offer Letter of Employment
* Employer Letter specifying dates of employment, role, and salary

For accommodation, you don't need:
* Council Tax Bill
* Water Bill

Where will you be living in the UK? Are you renting or living in the house you own (is the house in the UK or US)?

If you rent, you need:
* Tenancy Agreement
* Letter from Landlord giving me permission to stay

If you own in the UK, you need instead:
* Land Registry document
* Mortgage statement from house Sponsor and I own

Also, my husband had about 2 months when he wasn't working in the last 12 months. This hasn't impacted on us meeting the income threshold when his salary from the other months are factored in. I assume this break in work will be ok?

Nope, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is:
- his CURRENT salary is at least £18,600
and
- his TOTAL income from the last 12 months was £18,600 before tax

So, from your document list, you only need to include:

Applicant documents:
* Receipt for Priority Visa Service
* Return shipping label from VFS (no return envelope needed)
* Signed printed Application
* Appendix 2
* Biometrics Receipt
* IHS Payment Receipt
* Applicant US Passport
* All previous US passports
* 1 colour photo of Applicant

Sponsor Documents:
* Copy of passport photo page only
* Sponsor Supporting Statement, which needs to state how you meet each requirement of the application:
1) how he qualifies to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
2) current employment details and which financial category you meet
3) where you will live in the UK, including property details
4) short history of the relationship, one paragraph only

Financial requirement - Category B (with current employer less than 6 months)
Mandatory
* 12 full months of payslips showing at least £18,600 before tax in total, the latest dated no more than 28 days before applying online
* 12 full months of bank statements showing the deposit of every single payslip, the latest dated no more than 28 days before applying online
* letter from CURRENT employer, dated no more than 28 days before applying online, stating ALL of the following:
i) employment and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time earning current salary
iv) type of employment
Optional but recommended
* current job contract

Accommodation evidence:
If you are renting in the UK:
* Tenancy Agreement
* Letter from Landlord giving you permission to stay

Evidence of Relationship:
* Marriage Certificate
* Sponsor's Decree Absolute
* 2 photos of you together
* Council Tax Bills in both our names
* Utilities bills in both our names
* Bank account in both our names
* you can also include the address page from your tax returns

If you have lived apart for any time since being married:
* Tickets from travel together (variety) - only while living apart
* British Airways Statements - only while living apart
* Phone bills to show we text/call each other regularly - only while living apart

Have you lived together for the entire time you've been married? If so, you don't need any evidence of flights, emails, etc.

You have a few things you don't need. I would take out all of the following:
* Applicant Supporting Statement
* 2 colour photos of Applicant (you only need 1 photo)
* 2 colour photos of Sponsor
* Certified colour copy of Sponsor Passport (you only need the photo page)
* Approval letter of last spousal visa

If you have lived together for the entire time, you don't need the following:
* Tickets from travel together (variety)
* British Airways Statements
* Phone bills to show we text/call each other regularly

You also don't need the following:
1st Employment (March 2017 - October 2017)
* Offer Letter of Employment
* Employer Letter specifying dates of employment, role, and salary

For accommodation, you don't need:
* Council Tax Bill
* Water Bill

Where will you be living in the UK? Are you renting or living in the house you own (is the house in the UK or US)?

If you rent, you need:
* Tenancy Agreement
* Letter from Landlord giving me permission to stay

If you own in the UK, you need instead:
* Land Registry document
* Mortgage statement from house Sponsor and I own

Nope, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is:
- his CURRENT salary is at least £18,600
and
- his TOTAL income from the last 12 months was £18,600 before tax

Thank you ksand24. I very much appreciate your response. My husband and I have lived together since we were married. In fact, me leaving to go back to the US to reapply for this visa has been the longest time we've spent apart since we first met. The only reason why we have included the letter from employer from March 2017 - Oct is just to show we were living and working together on a British overseas territory (we were employed by same company).

We will be living in rented accommodation in the UK. The house we own is also in the UK, but that won't be our main place of residency.

Hmmm, so I don't need to include passport-sized photo of my sponsor? I could have sworn I saw that as a requirement somewhere...?

Hmmm, so I don't need to include passport-sized photo of my sponsor? I could have sworn I saw that as a requirement somewhere...?

They ask for a photo of the sponsor for FLR(M) and ILR, you've probably seen it in one of those check lists. 
 

The only reason why we have included the letter from employer from March 2017 - Oct is just to show we were living and working together on a British overseas territory (we were employed by same company).

Ah, okay - in that case, the letter should go in your relationship evidence instead of the financial evidence.

Out of curiosity, which British overseas territory were you living on? I've lived and worked on 3 British overseas territories since 2013 .

We will be living in rented accommodation in the UK. The house we own is also in the UK, but that won't be our main place of residency.

Okay, so if you want, you can include the Land Registry document and mortgage statement from that house as part of your relationship evidence, but it won't be your accommodation evidence as you won't be living there.

[quoe]Hmmm, so I don't need to include passport-sized photo of my sponsor? I could have sworn I saw that as a requirement somewhere...?
[/quote]

Not for the initial spousal visa from outside the UK. You do for FLR(M) and ILR though.

stupid little question thought i'd add here:

i got my UK passport photos taken today.  there are 2 on the page. do i cut them out?

stupid little question thought i'd add here:

i got my UK passport photos taken today.  there are 2 on the page. do i cut them out?

Yes. 

Ah, okay - in that case, the letter should go in your relationship evidence instead of the financial evidence.

Out of curiosity, which British overseas territory were you living on? I've lived and worked on 3 British overseas territories since 2013 .

Okay, so if you want, you can include the Land Registry document and mortgage statement from that house as part of your relationship evidence, but it won't be your accommodation evidence as you won't be living there.

[quoe]Hmmm, so I don't need to include passport-sized photo of my sponsor? I could have sworn I saw that as a requirement somewhere...?


Not for the initial spousal visa from outside the UK. You do for FLR(M) and ILR though.

We were on Ascension Where were you?
Speaking of which, I found it very strange that our time out there (on a British overseas territory) didn’t count toward the five years. I would have thought working abroad on one of territories would have been seen as comparable. No regrets though - such a beautiful place with amazing people. We even got a chance to go to St Helena :-)

We were on Ascension Where were you?

Ah, cool . Not many people end up on Ascension. I spent 3 months on the island from Dec 2013 to early March 2014.

I’ve also spent 9 months in the Falklands (5 months in 2013, 4 months in 2015) and last month I came back from 4 months in Gibraltar.

What were you doing on ASI? I was working on the airfield for the RAF .

One of my colleagues is on Ascension at the moment and another colleague just arrived back in the UK two weeks ago .

Speaking of which, I found it very strange that our time out there (on a British overseas territory) didn’t count toward the five years. I would have thought working abroad on one of territories would have been seen as comparable.

Well, Ascension is not part of the U.K. and even U.K. citizens need a permit to work there, so there’s no reason why it would count. There are no permanent residents at all on Ascension, so even people born and raised on the island have to leave once they reach age 18... unless they can get a job and a permit to work there.

No regrets though - such a beautiful place with amazing people. We even got a chance to go to St Helena :-)

That’s awesome . Another of my colleagues just spent 4 months working in St. Helena .



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Ah, cool . Not many people end up on Ascension. I spent 3 months on the island from Dec 2013 to early March 2014.

I’ve also spent 9 months in the Falklands (5 months in 2013, 4 months in 2015) and last month I came back from 4 months in Gibraltar.

What were you doing on ASI? I was working on the airfield for the RAF .

One of my colleagues is on Ascension at the moment and another colleague just arrived back in the UK two weeks ago .

Well, Ascension is not part of the U.K. and even U.K. citizens need a permit to work there, so there’s no reason why it would count. There are no permanent residents at all on Ascension, so even people born and raised on the island have to leave once they reach age 18... unless they can get a job and a permit to work there.

That’s awesome . Another of my colleagues just spent 4 months working in St. Helena .



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Yea Ascension is really tiny - if I remember correctly 800 people in total on the island? We worked for the government. Met some really amazing people in the RAF! Did you get a chance to see the green turtles nesting?!

We'd like to go to Gibraltar or Pitcairn at some point. Some of our friends from Ascension ended up on the Falklands, but they say it's very different from Ascension.

Would we have to wait until after I received ILR in order to work/live on another overseas territory?

Regarding St Helena: we got lucky...we were able to take one of the last RMS voyages from Ascension to St Helena to Cape Town. BEST EIGHT DAYS EVER!!!! I definitely see why the Saints hold the RMS so dear to their hearts! I didn't want to get off      

* 12 full months of bank statements showing the deposit of every single payslip, the latest dated no more than 28 days before applying online

I might be overthinking this, but maybe not....

So my husband gets paid every 26th, 27th, or 28th of the month. Depends on the month really. I applied online on Tuesday 27 March, when my husband got paid. The (temporary) bank statement showing the deposit for this payment was printed on 28 March. This is one day after I applied online, not within 28 days before. Is this going to be a problem? I'm feeling quite paranoid now 

I might be overthinking this, but maybe not....

So my husband gets paid every 26th, 27th, or 28th of the month. Depends on the month really. I applied online on Tuesday 27 March, when my husband got paid. The (temporary) bank statement showing the deposit for this payment was printed on 28 March. This is one day after I applied online, not within 28 days before. Is this going to be a problem? I'm feeling quite paranoid now 

That shouldn't matter. The only thing you have to make sure is that the latest payslip and bank statement (and the employer letter) are not dated more than 28 days BEFORE your online application date.

And you need to make sure you have at least 6 full months of payslips and bank statements... so if the latest payslip is dated 27th March 2018, then the first payslip and bank statement must be dated on or before 27th September 2017.

Yea Ascension is really tiny - if I remember correctly 800 people in total on the island? We worked for the government. Met some really amazing people in the RAF!

Yep, it's about 800 . There are only about 20-22 people in the RAF on the island, plus 4 Met Office staff (who are MOD civilians) - I was one of the 4 Met Office staff .

Did you get a chance to see the green turtles nesting?!

I did . Sadly I left in early March though so I didn't get to see them hatching.

We'd like to go to Gibraltar or Pitcairn at some point.

Honestly, Gibraltar wasn't the best place I've been to - I would take Ascension over Gibraltar any day. It's a big rock with a mass of apartment blocks and concrete beside it. The whole place is only 2.6 square miles (Ascension is 34 square miles), most of which is taken up by the Rock, and then you have 30,000 people crammed into the other 1 square mile or so... it's the 5th most densely populated place in the world.

It's also filled with a ton of UK high street shops (Morrisons, NatWest, Next, Debenhams, Peacocks, Dorothy Perkins, TopShop, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wagamamas, Costa Coffee, and the local Spanish supermarket carries Waitrose food), so apart from the cultural difference of it being a mixture of Spanish and English (it's all British road signs, but everyone drives on the right; and everyone switches between English and Spanish when they're talking), it doesn't really feel like you're overseas.

Some of our friends from Ascension ended up on the Falklands, but they say it's very different from Ascension

Yeah, it's very different.

The Falklands are basically like a windier version of the Scottish Highlands/Shetland Islands. They are the same latitude south as London is north, but because there is no other land nearby, there's no friction to slow down the wind... so you get strong winds on about 1/2 of the days and gales on maybe 1/4 of the days. While it is sunnier than the UK, you can also get snow at any time of the year (it can be 15 degrees one day (in a northerly wind) and snowing the next day (in a southerly wind)).

On the plus side, there is some amazing wildlife there - penguins, elephant seals, whales, dolphins etc.

Would we have to wait until after I received ILR in order to work/live on another overseas territory?

No, not necessarily, but you would need to be able to show that:
- the UK was your primary residence for the entire 5 years
and
- you and your spouse have lived TOGETHER for the entire 5 years, even if you weren't in the UK for the entire time

So that would mean being able to document that you were living in the same property while you were on an overseas territory, by way of utility bills, tenancy agreements etc.

Also, you would also have to make sure that you were in the UK when it came time to renew your visa after 2.5 years and 5 years, and able to meet the financial requirement again with UK income in 2.5 years and 5 years.

Regarding St Helena: we got lucky...we were able to take one of the last RMS voyages from Ascension to St Helena to Cape Town. BEST EIGHT DAYS EVER!!!! I definitely see why the Saints hold the RMS so dear to their hearts! I didn't want to get off      

That's awesome . We've had one member of the Met Office living on St. Helena for about the last 2-3 years (they do 4-6 months at a time) - they've been working with the government to get the airport up and running and have been forecasting the weather for the planes landing and taking off.

For comparison, here are some of my photos of the various overseas locations I've worked at:
Ascension
Falklands
Antarctica
Gibraltar