Hi all.
Well, I never thought this day would come, but it's time to renew my visa. Seems like only 2.5 years ago we were rejected for our first visa. We were silly and just submitted a letter from my husband's employer for the 'finances' bit and not copious amounts of paystubs. Silly us.
This time the stakes are higher, as we've got a toddler. And not enough money for an immigration lawyer.
So.... I've been reading the forums on the 'suggested documents' list- this is useful and thanks.
In any case I've got a question that I can't find the answer to.
Let's say my husband's name is Stan Starr.
Let's say my name, before getting married, was Lisa Lennon.
When my husband and I married the advice was not to change my name- just to keep it as it was for immigration purposes. The visa advice helpline said I could go double-barreled and hyphenate when I needed to renew my US passport. This is what I did.
As of now my very fresh US passport says Lisa Lennon-Starr,
but *everything* else says Lisa Lennon.
(this includes the mail to prove cohabitation, and my original UK visa (the one I'm renewing). How big of a problem will this be?
How long ago did you change your name on your passport? And have you changed your name on your BRP card as well?
Your passport and BRP names must match at all times, so if you change your name on your passport, you have 3 months to change your name on your BRP card as well, or you can be fined £1,000 and have your visa curtailed. This costs about £150-200 and can take up to 6 months to be processed.
If you haven't changed your name on your BRP:
- if you changed your passport name less than 3 months ago, you can just apply for the new visa in the new name without changing your current BRP, because the new BRP will simply be issued in your new name.
- But if it has been more than 3 months, I'm not sure what will happen. I guess you would need to write a letter explaining why the BRP name wasn't changed within the allowed 3 months.
Also: they're asking for all the details of where I've travelled since getting my UK visa. Do my eyes deceive me and are they *only* interested in the last 2.5 years? Do I not have to detail *every* freaking trip I've taken for like the last 10-50 years? Seems too good to be true.
Not sure actually, as the online application is new and we can't see what questions are on it. I would guess that if it's just asking for the last 2.5 years, then that's all you need.
The paper form actually only used to ask you to for any periods of more than 6 months that you have spent out of the UK in the 2.5 years... so most people didn't have to list any trips at all.
