UK Spouse Visa - document check please

Hi guys,

I was hoping some of you who have been through the process could check our document list and just see if we've missed anything as a helpful set of eyes.

We will be filing under Category F - self employment. We are both living in the US and so we will be traveling back to the UK together.

1. Table of Contents

2. Applicant
- Letter of Introduction
- Biometrics/application form
- Biometrics receipt
- NHS surcharge receipt
- Current US passport
- Previous US passport (changed due to marriage)
- 2 Passport Photos

3. Sponsor
- Letter of Introduction
- Certified copy of British bio page
- Birth certificate

4. Finances
- Covering letter, detailing work history of sponsor
- Appendix 2
- Unaudited Accounts, with certificate of confirmation from an approved accountant
- US tax return for last financial year (Jan-Dec 2016)
- Invoices for work for Jan-Dec 2016
- Bank statements for Jan-Dec 2016 period to prove payments received
- Invoices and matching bank statements for April, May and June as proof of continued self-employment
- Employment offer letter for job starting within three months of arrival
- Employment contract for job starting within three months of arrival

All earnings both prior and after are higher than the minimum income threshold of £18600.

4. Accommodation
- Letter from parent allowing us to be a lodger in her house
- Tenancy agreement to prove she is the lease holder
- Recent council tax bill
- Recent utility bill

5. Marriage
- Letter detailing how we met, the wedding and so on
- Marriage certificate
- Wedding photos (about 3)
Below as proof of living as a married couple;
- Joint rental agreement
- Joint bank account statement
- Joint renter's insurance
- Joint medical insurance
- Joint credit card

Do you think there's anything missing? All documents are originals where required.

Any assistance and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Luke

Okay, a couple of notes:

- Appendix 2 is part of the applicant's documents, not the finances. Despite the name, it is the second half of the application form and contains the questions about how the applicant meets all the visa requirements, not just the financial requirement. It should be completed by the applicant.

- for the relationship evidence, you need to include evidence from the entire length of your relationship... so evidence of how you kept in contact between 2007 and 2015 (boarding passes, letters/cards, phone calls, emails etc.) and then covering the entire length of time you have lived together in the US... tax returns are good for this.

- for the accommodation evidence, you need permission from the actual landlord/owner of the property for you both to live there with your mother... does your mother have the landlord's written permission to have you lodge with her?

Also, you don't need the following:
3. Sponsor
- Birth certificate

4. Finances
- Covering letter, detailing work history of sponsor

4. Accommodation
- Recent council tax bill
- Recent utility bill

5. Marriage
- Letter detailing how we met, the wedding and so on - this goes in the sponsor's letter...  you don't need a second letter

The sponsor letter should include:
- your eligibility to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
- how you meet the financial requirement
- where you will live in the UK
- a short, 1-paragraph history of your relationship and why you are choosing to move to the UK

All earnings both prior and after are higher than the minimum income threshold of £18600.

That's good, because if they weren't, you wouldn't qualify for the visa .


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Don't forget:
- priority processing receipt (if using priority)
- return shipping labels


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Thanks for the feedback!

I'll definitely make sure Appendix 2 is filed with the application. We're going to provide a lot of evidence we used for my US visa as proof of evidence. That includes emails/Facebook posts/texts etc. Then there's boarding passes/tickets for the visits we had in the time.

As for the letter from the landlord. This isn't required in this instance. My mother is in a council property and has been there for ten years. She's therefore a secure tenant - as per government laws, she's automatically allowed to rent part of the property without prior consent. She doesn't need permission to have lodgers. Maybe I'll include a print-out of the gov website page regarding it.

Just as a side note regarding the council house. Parent doesn't receive any benefits or anything. So she's not claiming anything from the state.

I'll definitely make sure Appendix 2 is filed with the application.

Yep, that's the best thing to do. They cannot process the visa without Appendix 2 (because it is an incomplete application without it), so having it on/near the top means they can easily see it.

e're going to provide a lot of evidence we used for my US visa as proof of evidence. That includes emails/Facebook posts/texts etc. Then there's boarding passes/tickets for the visits we had in the time.

Just a note that you should not include 'a lot' of this evidence... just a selection of things.

I would include:
- all boarding passes
- no more than 2 sheets of paper showing a list of maybe 6-8 emails per year (date and subject line only - no email content)
- no more than 2 sheets of paper showing a list of maybe 6-8 texts per year (date and name/number only - no message content)
- I would not include anything from Facebook as it is not generally considered a reliable source of evidence (you can easily fake a FB profile).

As for the letter from the landlord. This isn't required in this instance. My mother is in a council property and has been there for ten years. She's therefore a secure tenant - as per government laws, she's automatically allowed to rent part of the property without prior consent. She doesn't need permission to have lodgers. Maybe I'll include a print-out of the gov website page regarding it.

Ah, okay - normally, you would need a letter from the council as well, giving permission for you both to live there too, but if you can provide evidence that she is allowed to rent without their consent, that should hopefully be okay. Although it might be worth getting a recently-dated letter from the council confirming this.



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Just as a side note regarding the council house. Parent doesn't receive any benefits or anything. So she's not claiming anything from the state.

It would not matter if she was receiving benefits. 

Yep, that's the best thing to do. They cannot process the visa without Appendix 2 (because it is an incomplete application without it), so having it on/near the top means they can easily see it.

Just a note that you should not include 'a lot' of this evidence... just a selection of things.

I would include:
- all boarding passes
- no more than 2 sheets of paper showing a list of maybe 6-8 emails per year (date and subject line only - no email content)
- no more than 2 sheets of paper showing a list of maybe 6-8 texts per year (date and name/number only - no message content)
- I would not include anything from Facebook as it is not generally considered a reliable source of evidence (you can easily fake a FB profile).

Ah, okay - normally, you would need a letter from the council as well, giving permission for you both to live there too, but if you can provide evidence that she is allowed to rent without their consent, that should hopefully be okay. Although it might be worth getting a recently-dated letter from the council confirming this.



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I wouldn't include any boarding passes and messages as you've been living together.  They just want proof youve been living together since you married.  One item a year (such as tax returns) will suffice.

I wouldn't include any boarding passes and messages as you've been living together.  They just want proof youve been living together since you married.  One item a year (such as tax returns) will suffice.

I thought the rules were now that you have to cover the entire length of the relationship?  Won't it look weird that a 9 or 10-year relationship only has 1-2 years of evidence? (As per their previous posts, they met in 2007, entered into a long-distance relationship a year later and got married and started living together in 2015).


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I thought the rules were now that you have to cover the entire length of the relationship?  Won't it look weird that a 9 or 10-year relationship only has 1-2 years of evidence? (As per their previous posts, they met in 2007, entered into a long-distance relationship a year later and got married and started living together in 2015).


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Ah, ignore me then.  I thought they had been married for 10 years!