Spousal Visa Application - original or copy documents?

Thanks very much for the speedy reply.

Just take a screenshot of the name and date of the message on the Skype interface, crop it and paste it into Word... if you resize them, you should hopefully be able to get several on a page.

But if you can only fit 10 message on a page, then just go with 3 pages of 10 messages rather than 20, and do 1 message every 4 months instead of 1 message every 2 months.

Basically, as long as you show communication at regular intervals during the length of time you used Skype, it doesn't really matter if you include 30 or 60 messages.

Hello again. Well, after a long delay we are finally ready to proceed with the spousal visa application. I'm gathering together the necessary documents.

Instead of WhatsApp messages (which we have only really used in the last couple of years) could we use a selection of email headers, covering the 12 years of our relationship? We have done a search of my partner's GMail inbox against my name and selected a few emails from each year, amounting to 3 pages in total. Here is an example.



If so, should I redact the subject lines or leave them in? They include the first few words of the messsage content.

Many thanks, as always

Here's a neater version.

I hope you can see this okay. It's linked to my Google Drive account. I could not find a way to upload a file to the forum.

Hopefully this will suffice instead of WhatsApp messages?

The first redacted column states our first names and will be unredacted for the application.



Thanks!

As nobody has disagreed, I'm hoping the email proposals I mentioned above are okay.

I've now run into a slight problem with my employer's letter and would appreicate some help.

They have produced a letter with all the required information. However, it has been produced electronically in Word and is signed electronically.

I asked if the letter could be signed and posted to me but the person who compiled it (who works for a government department's salaries team) works from home and cannot do so as she does not have an official printer. She offered to ask the finance centre to print a copy out and post it to me, but it will still have an electronic signature. Also, the departmental heading on the letter is an electronic (cut and pasted) one and looks squashed. I'm concerned the HO might think the letter has been manipulated.

One possibility I thought of is for my senior line manager, who is the head of the orgainisation I work for, to write the letter for me, relaying the information from the salaries team.

Another possibility is to include the email chain showing my request for a letter and the salaries team's response.

Thanks for any help. We plan on submitting the application in 14 days time.

Hello again

We resolved the issue with the letter from my employer, and are now ready to submit the application this weekend.

We'd be very grateful for any comments on this document list before we do so.

Applicant Documents

Her current passport (which the visa will be put into)
Her previous two passports (she has lost her first one. Is that an issue?)

Sponsor Documents

Certified colour  copy of my UK passport photo page.

Sponsor letter of support

Accommodation Documents

Official copy of the Land Registry title for my flat
My latest mortgage statement (this is dated January 2022 as I have not received the January 2023 statement yet).

Financial Documents:

7 months of payslips, latest dated  31 January 2023.

7 months of bank statements, latest dated 12 February 2023, stamped by the bank branch on every page.

Employer letter dated 9 February 2023 confirming my job title, salary, length of employment, length of time earning current salary (April 2022), and type of employment (permanent).

Latest P60 dated April 2022 (this was provided online only, we are using that PDF)

Job offer and written terms of employment

 Relationship Documents

Our marriage certificate

My divorce decree absolute

2 photos of us together, one from when we first met and one from our wedding

Boarding passes and booking confirmations (where we do not have boarding passes) from trips to see each other

Greeting cards sent to each other

A selection of emails covering the entire length of the relationship 2010 - 2023 (3 pages) - no message content

A selection of Skype screenshots from 2018 - 2023 (we met in 2010, ans Skyped from then but our Skype history does not go back further than 2010) - 3 pages

Thanks!

My wife's spousal visa has been approved. Thank you very much ksand24, larrabee and Mr Man for your invaluable help.

All she has received is her passport, with no covering letter. The entry clearance vignette states it is valid from 24 April to 23 July 2023 (90 days).  We were a bit suprised about that because in the application form she stated an intended arrival date of 15 June, so we thought the earliest date of allowed entry would be seven days before that date. We also thought she would only be allowed 30 days to enter.

Am I right in thinking she can now enter anytime after 24 April?

Will her decision letter come seperately and, if so will it be by post or email? I presume its the decision letter that explains the timescale for her collecting a BRP from  the Post Office.

thanks again

Timeline:
Spousal Visa application made 18 February 2023
Biometrics: 28 February 2023
Visa Approved: 18 April 2023

By way of an update, in case it is useful for anyone else in the future, I telephoned UKVI yesterday about the missing decision letter on the number provided here: https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk/y/outside-the-uk/applying-for-british-citizenship-and-nationality

They told me that the decison was issued on 17 April, should have been received in the post by now, and that they would pass my query to their escalation team. Today, my wife received an email with the decision letter attached.

Interestingly, the letter confirms that the entry clearance visa endorsed in her passport allows her to enter the UK within a 90-day window. Previous advice on this forum suggested it would be a 30 day window, so perharps there has been a rule change.

Congratulations

They told me that the decison was issued on 17 April, should have been received in the post by now, and that they would pass my query to their escalation team. Today, my wife received an email with the decision letter attached.

Interestingly, the letter confirms that the entry clearance visa endorsed in her passport allows her to enter the UK within a 90-day window. Previous advice on this forum suggested it would be a 30 day window, so perharps there has been a rule change.

Glad you got it sorted in the end .

The 90-day window must be a very new change, because the UKVI website still says that the vignette will be valid for 30 days:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biometric-residence-permits-overseas-applicant-and-sponsor-information/biometric-residence-permits-overseas-applicant-and-sponsor-information-accessible-version


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Congratulations! 

Thanks both. It's been a much delayed process.

I guess it must be a very recent rule change. This is what her decision letter says:

This notice explains that, when you arrive in the UK, you will have permission to be in the
UK (known as permission to enter) as PARTNER (STANDARD) from 24 Apr 2023 until 24
Jan 2026.

Your passport/travel document contains a short-term entry clearance visa, which allows
you to travel to the UK. This visa is valid for 90 days. If you do not travel to the UK before
your 90-day visa expires you will need to apply and pay to transfer your visa...

Once again, thank you both for your help.

Thanks both. It's been a much delayed process.

I guess it must be a very recent rule change. This is what her decision letter says:

This notice explains that, when you arrive in the UK, you will have permission to be in the
UK (known as permission to enter) as PARTNER (STANDARD) from 24 Apr 2023 until 24
Jan 2026.

Your passport/travel document contains a short-term entry clearance visa, which allows
you to travel to the UK. This visa is valid for 90 days. If you do not travel to the UK before
your 90-day visa expires you will need to apply and pay to transfer your visa...

Once again, thank you both for your help.

Thanks for sharing. I think that's a change for the better. A 30 day window is pretty small to have to aim at for an international move when anything could happen to throw a spanner in the works. Having 90 days will take some of that pressure off.