Just wanted to add a little further clarification on question 2:
2. If there have been small cash gifts over the years from family (e.g. multiple gifts ranging from 50-100 pounds) do we need to mention these in our declaration of funds letter? If so, over what period of time - just the past 6 months, in accordance with the 6 months of bank statements we’re providing? Or further back?
None of these gifts actually appear in the six months' of statements that we are submitting, so it seems odd to mention them in our declaration of funds letter. Is it necessary to declare gifts from over the years or am I overthinking it??
And regarding bank statements which we had printed out in the branch, our bank will no longer stamp these. Instead, they have a note at the top of the first page which reads 'This statement was printed in Branch XX-XX-XX on DATE at TIME'. At the bottom of the final page is a statement with the bank's name, address, registration number, etc. Intermediate pages do not have either note on them, just the transaction details. None of the pages are on official stationary, although the name and logo are on the first page.
This does not seem to match the guidance I've seen in Appendix FM but the staff at the bank said this is what they are providing people for visa purposes now. Is a printed statement with this text actually acceptable, given its not on official stationary? Will I need to request a 'letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic'?
