Photos and other evidence

Hi.

Spouse visa application. I'm seeing a lot of different information regarding evidence. Is there one really good resource you would recommend?

I have compiled a LOT of photos of our travel and in normal life together in the same photo, titled and dates.  How many is too few/many?

Should we show bookings in hotels? I think mostly though we booked under one name. Airbnb would probably show both

We know we have to write our own letters, but do letters from friends and family help? I've seen conflicting information on this. How many would be good? does it help if these people are important? should all four of our parents write one also?

We lived together in Mexico for about a year but have no documentation showing so. problem?

Many many thanks

Spouse visa application. I'm seeing a lot of different information regarding evidence. Is there one really good resource you would recommend?

The only source you should be using is the UKVI website and the online application... and of course we can give advice here.

See:
https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/provide-information
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826340/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

I have compiled a LOT of photos of our travel and in normal life together in the same photo, titled and dates.  How many is too few/many?

1 photo is all you need... they literally only need it to prove you and your partner have met 1 time in person. Only you and your partner should be in the photo, no one else.

However, we usually recommend sending 2 photos... 1 from the beginning of the relationship and 1 from your wedding (if you married recently, or 1 from the wedding and 1 recent (if you have been married a long time).

Should we show bookings in hotels? I think mostly though we booked under one name. Airbnb would probably show both

No, these are irrelevant and are not needed.

We know we have to write our own letters, but do letters from friends and family help? I've seen conflicting information on this. How many would be good? does it help if these people are important? should all four of our parents write one also?

Nope, they are not allowed to consider any letters except the mandatory letter from the sponsor. Any other letters will be ignored, so you should not send them at all.

So, you send a sponsor letter of support for the visa detailing:
Paragraph 1: how they qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how they meet the financial requirement, including employment details and financial category
Paragraph 3: where you will live together in the UK, including property details and address
Paragraph 4: a short, factual history of your relationship, and why you wish to settle in the UK (no more than a few sentences)

The applicant does not need to write a letter at all, but if they want, they can include a contents letter for the documents, stating:
- visa type applied for
- date they want the visa to start
- list of documents included in the application

We lived together in Mexico for about a year but have no documentation showing so. problem?

Yes, it could be a problem. If you have lived together for any period of time during your relationship, you should prove it by way of rental agreements, utility bills, tax returns etc.

If you do not have any evidence of this, I guess you will need to provide evidence that you were physically together in person during that year, for example, plane tickets showing you travelled together, evidence of texts/calls you might have made to each other etc.

many thanks for your very useful and informative reply

the "living together" is kind of loose term. I was at my place and hers very regularly, but we didn't have our names on things together and my official documentation related to my own address then I kind of just ended up there, and I don't have official documentation related to her apartment.
 I'm feeling like this is now a big worry for me.

help

the "living together" is kind of loose term. I was at my place and hers very regularly, but we didn't have our names on things together and my official documentation related to my own address and therefore I don't have official documentation related to her apartment. I suppose then this loose living arrangement would not class as officially living together, do we then just need to prove we were living in the same city?

Okay, in that case, you were not living together. So, when the application asks if you lived together, you say no.

So, for that period, you just need to show that you were in regular communication with each other, same as for the rest of your relationship.

So, you provide:
- your flight tickets to and from Mexico (assuming you travelled by plane)
- text, emails and calls to each other during that period
- public transport receipts from going to see each other, if applicable.
- you could provide an extra photo together in Mexico to show you were there at the same time
- you also could provide maybe 1 bill in your name at your address, and 1 bill in her name at her address, dated in the same month, to show you were both living in the same city at the same time

feeling quite overwhelmed by all this proof.

It can feel overwhelming, but it's really not that bad. The whole process is relatively straightforward.

For the relationship requirement you will need:
- marriage certificate
- 1-2 photos of you together
Evidence of communication throughout your relationship:
- boarding passes/flight tickets for any trips you've taken to see each other/taken together
- letters, cards you have sent to each other/given each other
- selection of email/text/call logs showing regular communication for the duration of the relationship
- (evidence as suggested above for your time in Mexico)

For some time, I didn't have an alternative address but I didn't change any official documentation because we were leaving the country quite soon after.

I can't believe I don't have anything. Also as Im no longer in Mexico I can't get my bank statement for example. I didn't bring anything back with me.

Im worried about this. please have you got some advice on this? It says clearly I will need to prove we lived together and I don't think we can....

Im worried about this. please have you got some advice on this? It says clearly I will need to prove we lived together and I don't think we can....

You are only required to have lived together if you are applying as unmarried partners. As a married couple, there is no requirement to have lived together.

but when we lived together when I had no alternate address, and I'm asked if we lived together, then I'll need to supply proof. I don't have any. if i say we didn't live together then this wouldn't be true

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/provide-information - it says in proof of relationship.

but when we lived together when I had no alternate address, and I'm asked if we lived together, then I'll need to supply proof. I don't have any. if i say we didn't live together then this wouldn't be true

You can explain the situation in your letter.

do you think this would cause us to be denied?

do you think this would cause us to be denied?

The only thing that would cause you to be denied for relationship evidence is not providing ANY relationship evidence at all for that year.

So, as long as you can provide something showing you were in contact with each other regularly while you were both in Mexico, you should be fine.

As mentioned above, things like plane tickets, cards, letters, emails, texts, call logs, transport tickets, tickets for events you attended together... anything like that.

but when we lived together when I had no alternate address, and I'm asked if we lived together, then I'll need to supply proof. I don't have any. if i say we didn't live together then this wouldn't be true

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/provide-information - it says in proof of relationship.

In regards to what UKVI consider to be living together, they mean officially living together, with both your names on tenancy agreements, bills, mortgages, tax returns etc.

If you were not officially living together because you were still renting your own place separately and had nothing in your name at her address, then for the purpose of the visa, you were NOT living together, you were just staying at her place as a guest.

As larrabee said, there is no requirement for you to have lived together, and there is also no requirement for you to provide proof of your separate addresses in Mexico... so if you don't have anything to show where you lived for that year, then you just tick NO to the living together question and don't provide any evidence of your address. Instead you provide the same documents as for the rest of your relationship.

For example, what relationship evidence are you sending to cover your 5-month hike just before you moved back to the UK? You might have been living together then, but I assume you weren't renting a place together with bills in your names if you were travelling...so that doesn't count as living together, it's just travelling together.

Ok. Well then I'll classify myself as a guest with her as it wasn't official official with my name on anything. I was renting a cheap room elsewhere and stayed there a couple of nights a week . I suppose I've built this to be more official in my own mind when really it was entirely her place I was just part of the furniture