Spouse Visa Supporting Documents

Hi, I recently married my wife in the US and we're currently preparing everything for our spouse visa application for her to come to the UK. I've listed below our current check list and I would appreciate any advice if you think something should be added/changed.


Applicant
•   Letter of introduction
•   Passport and two colour passport-sized photos
•   Evidence of biometric enrolment
•   Pay slips (3 months)
•   Bank statements (3 months)
•   Resume
•   Letters of recommendation from employer
•   Proposed flight itinerary for travel to UK

Sponsor
•   Support letter
•   Passport bio page (certified copy)
•   Birth certificates (long-form & short form)
•   Employment contract
•   Pay slips (6 months)
•   Bank statements (6 months)
•   Building society pass book & recent statement (ISA savings account)
•   P60
•   CV & degree certificates

Third Party (Sponsor’s Parents)
•   Support letter confirming rent free accommodation
•   Mortgage statement
•   Utility bill
•   Estate agency document detailing house rooms and sizes (dated 14th March 1998)

Applicant/Sponsor Relationship
•   Certificate of marriage
•   Selection of photos from wedding and other visits


I also have a couple of questions regarding a couple of the documents we need to submit...
1.   Does the applicant need to provide an additional form of identity as well as their passport? Would a social security card or drivers license suffice?
2.   The document I have detailing house/rooms sizes is from 1998 when the house was put up for sale for a short time, is this document going to be too dated to submit with the application or should it be ok?

Thank you in advance for any help/advice.
Andy

Hi, I recently married my wife in the US and we're currently preparing everything for our spouse visa application for her to come to the UK. I've listed below our current check list and I would appreciate any advice if you think something should be added/changed.


Applicant
•   Letter of introduction
•   Passport and two colour passport-sized photos
•   Evidence of biometric enrolment
•   Pay slips (3 months)
•   Bank statements (3 months)
•   Resume
•   Letters of recommendation from employer
•   Proposed flight itinerary for travel to UK

Sponsor
•   Support letter
•   Passport bio page (certified copy)
•   Birth certificates (long-form & short form)
•   Employment contract
•   Pay slips (6 months)
•   Bank statements (6 months)
•   Building society pass book & recent statement (ISA savings account)
•   P60
•   CV & degree certificates

Third Party (Sponsor’s Parents)
•   Support letter confirming rent free accommodation
•   Mortgage statement
•   Utility bill
•   Estate agency document detailing house rooms and sizes (dated 14th March 1998)

Applicant/Sponsor Relationship
•   Certificate of marriage
•   Selection of photos from wedding and other visits


I also have a couple of questions regarding a couple of the documents we need to submit...
1.   Does the applicant need to provide an additional form of identity as well as their passport? Would a social security card or drivers license suffice?
2.   The document I have detailing house/rooms sizes is from 1998 when the house was put up for sale for a short time, is this document going to be too dated to submit with the application or should it be ok?

Thank you in advance for any help/advice.
Andy

Congratulations on your recent marriage.

I don't think you need a proposed flight itinerary as it is advised that you don't book flights until your visa is in hand. And I don't think you'll need letters of recommendation.

Your wife will just need her passport and any other passports that she's had in the past 10 years. She won't need her social security card or her driver's license.

I'm not sure about the estate agency document, but I'm sure someone else will come along with the answer.

HTH!

Your list looks pretty good, but there are a few things you don't need (and one extra thing you will need -which is in red):

Applicant (these two documents are not required for the visa, so may not even be considered. It's up to you if you want to include them )
•   Resume
•   Letters of recommendation from employer

Sponsor
•   Birth certificates (long-form & short form) - not needed... they are only required if passport copy is not certified... the long-form birth certificate is only needed to confirm the validity of a non-certified passport photocopy (the short form is not needed at all).
•   P60 - current 2010/11 P60 is irrelevant as it only will contain details of earnings from April 2010-April 2011... and they will only consider money earned in the last 3-6 months (2011-2012).
•   CV & degree certificates - no need for these... your current job and income are the only things that are relevant.

Third Party (Sponsor’s Parents).
•   Utility bill - not necessary.
You will need to include their land registry document though... which isn't currently on your list.

Be aware that if the sponsor's parents are only providing accommodation and not financial help, they are not technically considered 'third party sponsors' ('third party sponsorship' is for maintenance only, not accommodation - until about 18 months ago, help with accommodation from family members was allowed, but third party sponsorship wasn't)

1.   Does the applicant need to provide an additional form of identity as well as their passport? Would a social security card or drivers license suffice?

Nope - their passport is the only ID requirement for the visa (this applies to the sponsor as well - if they have a passport or a certified copy of their passport, then no other ID is required (not even birth certificates)).

2.   The document I have detailing house/rooms sizes is from 1998 when the house was put up for sale for a short time, is this document going to be too dated to submit with the application or should it be ok?

Not sure, to be honest... I haven't heard of anyone including an estate agency document before.

Thank you for the advice so far, it's much appreciated. It seems that we've got pretty much everything covered so far, apart from the land registry document... I didn't know that we would need that, my parents don't have the registry document but I just downloaded the form online to send away for an official copy, so that's in hand now.

I suppose I can take out some of the information you said wouldn't be relevant. I just want to make sure I give them everything they need, and some more.

As for the estate agency document... i'm not sure if that will be ok with it being so dated, although it is an original document from 1998 which includes room descriptions and measurements. The only drastic change to the house has been adding a conservatory, so there is actually more room than stated. What would you suggest I include to show that there is no 'risk of overcrowding'?

Thanks again
Andy