Applying for a UK Spousal Visa...where to start & money issues

Hello! I'm new here, please forgive me if this has been asked 8347039808192831092 times before...

I am an American citizen living in the US, engaged to a British citizen in the UK. He will be visiting me this May, and we will be getting legally married here at my local city hall (we'll eventually have our big ceremony/party thing later after I move there). The plan is then, as we'll be going to NYC anyway, to apply for my spousal visa in person (well, by courier I should say) at the British consulate while we're there.

I've done a bit of research and have a general idea about how things work, but this whole thing seems sooo daunting and complex!  And I'm SOOOOO scared about money! We know the cost of the visa and everything, that's cool. But I know he has to be able to prove that he could support me for one year in the event I couldn't work. He makes enough money, but I am completely dirt poor with buckets of student loan debt. I will have a few thousand saved up by May, but not a huge amount. I'm just so deathly scared about not being approved because I'm so poor. I've read we'll each need to supply 6 months of bank statements and a write up a budget to show all our monthly incoming/outgoing funds, and now do all this biometric data stuff...I'm so overwhelmed and scared I just don't know where to start! I can't even find the application for a spousal visa on the Home Office site!

Eep! Any help or hugs would be GREATLY appreciated!

EDIT: oh, I should probably include we will initially be living with his parents, mostly rent free.

First off, hugs to you, because many of us here understand the stress!

Second, I just went through this whole process in the past month and a half (getting married, the visa, and moving--I just arrived in the UK Friday). Finances are what most people worry about, and I totally was because I don't have a huge amount of savings and am paying student loans, just like you. As far as I understand, they are more interested in your fiancee's finances than yours. As long as you have a budget that shows he can support you, then your finances should be fine. The part where you may run into trouble is living rent free, as they may call it financial co-sponsorship (which is not allowed). You can certainly live with parents, but you need to show that any rent you will be paying is "reasonable."

That's a quick rundown on that, and I'm sure other people have much better advice. Feel free to PM me if you want to vent about the frustrations of the process. But as long as you get everything in order, you should be fine (although no matter how prepared you are, it never seems to help with the stress!)

Hello!

As I've already said in my post in the welcome wagon, I was in the same situation.  Except I had no savings and no other money  Luckily my man is so much better with money than I am, and he has lots of savings and a good job.  They had no issues about me or him, so if your guy has the money to support you then it shouldn't be a big deal.  If you provide all the documentation and paperwork they ask for, and your case is straight forward then you are good to go!

Try not to stress too much about it, once you get here to the UK you will be able to work (If you choose to do so), and help support your life here. 

Ni, it's the VAF4...actually it's the generic on line application, available on www.ukvisas.gov.uk


How much does your boyfriend earn?


Vicky

Doh, i was posting that you couldn't do it in person but then when i reread I saw you say courier so never mind

Thank you so much everyone! This is very encouraging and making me feel ALOT better!!!

Kawaii, as far as the living w/parents things goes...I assume we'll just have to draw up some sort of document stating that we'll be paying x amount of money per month to his parents, and have them and us sign it, then include it with our supporting documents? Would we need to get in notarized or not? Would that work do you think? As far as the budget we draw up, in the outgoing funds, should I list things like student loan & credit card payments? Or will they even know the difference if I don't list them?

Marlene, THANK YOU! I have literally less than nothing in the bank right now too, and he's far better with money than I am, he even still owns a house out in Lowestoft where he used to live (which he's trying to sell) and has stellar credit. If they're looking more at him than anything, we should be ok. *WHEW*

Vicky- thank you! He earns around $40,000 US/year I think, or close to it. Like I said above he owns a house he's in the process of selling and has good credit. He also has a daughter now though from a previous relationship, but financial stuff regarding that situation hasn't even been touched on yet. Her mom will have primary custody, but financially I'm not sure yet to what amount he'll be affected.

Julia, are in you Atlanta? So am I! Roswell to be exact. We have been planning on doing it via courier in NYC but I've considered the idea of doing it online. Anyone know of any pros/cons of applying online? Is the app actually submitted online with payment? Then what do I do with my supporting docs? I was leaning towards courier cuz then at least everything goes in altogether in one go, makes me less paranoid.

Hi I moved from Atlanta to Kingston-upon-Thames in August. I lived in Brookhaven and worked downtown at the CNN center. Regarding the courier service, you still submit the application online. They just submit your supporting documents... I believe. But, I could be wrong.

you have to submit the online application form- that's an absolute requirement.

Regardless of if you apply by post or by courier, you still submit the same documents- a paper copy of your application (printed out from the online application form NOT handwritten), your biometrics enrolment form, and your supporting documents.  The only difference between the two methods is the speed in processing and the cost (since you have to pay the courier extra for the service.)

Thank you both VERY MUCH for the clarification! This is UBER helpful! Do you happen to know if there is much of a difference in processing time, other than the obvious time it takes to get from A to B via post as opposed to courier? Is it still the case with the courier (like when you could submit in person) that you can be approved and get your visa the same day? If I do it by post, will it be in a queue for months or something? Does anyone have experience with the courier services? Are they really expensive? By courier service do they mean like, send it to us via FedEx from wherever, or do they mean, like, dude on the street in NYC with dreadlocks & lots of piercings on a bike with a bag & a clipboard? :p

Sorry, I know I'm being a huge pain in the bum!

Julia...cool about Atlanta! *highfives* I have a friend that's an audio engineer at the CNN center!

Springhaze...is your name a reference to a Tori Amos song by chance?

as far as I know, courier service is same-day for the actual application (and of course if you're mailing docs back and forth you have to build in time for that as well.) if you send it in by post, they aim to process applications within 5 working days.  Not much difference, if you're not in a serious hurry it may not make sense to pay extra for a courier.

Springhaze...is your name a reference to a Tori Amos song by chance?

It is.

Wow, I'm so happy to have found this forum.  It will be such a help as I'm planning my move to the UK next year after my fiance and I get married here in the States.  We've been researching this for a while...even meeting with an immigration solicitor when I visited England in November, and until reading this, I never heard of processing the spouse visa application by courier??  What exactly is meant by this?  We just figured we'd go to NYC with required paperwork and marriage license in hand.  Can anyone elaborate for me??  Thanks so much!

Springhaze- thank you again! This may be a silly question, as I don't know exactly everything in the list of required documents, but they need my original birth certificate and passport (obviously) right? I'm totally terrified to stick those in the mail and hope they come back to me! 

Oh, and I LOVE Tori!!!

Rubygirl, the courier thing is quite new. You can no longer apply in person at a consulate...my fiance and I had the exact same plan as you did. You can take your application stuff to NYC, but cannot physically walk into the consulate. You have apply online, then print out you app, put it with all your supporting documents, and get it delivered there by a courier that's on some approved list they have. There's more info on that somewhere on here...I've only been here 2 days so I'm not sure where!

Springhaze- thank you again! This may be a silly question, as I don't know exactly everything in the list of required documents, but they need my original birth certificate and passport (obviously) right? I'm totally terrified to stick those in the mail and hope they come back to me! 

Oh, and I LOVE Tori!!!

Rubygirl, the courier thing is quite new. You can no longer apply in person at a consulate...my fiance and I had the exact same plan as you did. You can take your application stuff to NYC, but cannot physically walk into the consulate. You have apply online, then print out you app, put it with all your supporting documents, and get it delivered there by a courier that's on some approved list they have. There's more info on that somewhere on here...I've only been here 2 days so I'm not sure where!

I'm not sure how new the courier service option is. I think its been available for a while. It definitely was available while you could apply in person yourself.

Either way, mailing it in or courier, you have to trust someone else with your documents. I would only use a courier if speed is of the utmost importance. Otherwise I don't think you gain much. You can send your documents in via fedex with signature tracking etc. Take this from someone who has had a consulate lose her passport (not the british one though).

They had it when I was looking into getting a visa in '05.  People probably didn't use it because you could spend the money and go yourself, or do it cheaply (or cheaper anyway) just by mail.

Let's see if I have this process right...

Begin data collection...
- 6 months bank statements for both UK and US
- 6 months pay stubs for UK (DF)
- Letter of support from DF (DH by then presumably)
- Proof of relationship
  - Pictures, print of email, phone records, letters from friends and family
- Passport (you)
- Certified copy of UK-DF passport
- Birth Certificate (both???)
- Blueprint of UK residence (if children are involved)
- Copy of UK lease (or mortgage) agreement (with you added if leased)
- 6 month budget plan (including your salary if you have a position)
- Medical records (not sure if these are necessary or not)

If you have children, the following must be included...
- Child(rens) passports
- Birth certificate(s)
- Letter of permission to move the child(ren) - MUST be certified/notarized
- School transcripts (are these necessary or just helpful?)
- Child(rens) Medical records

Once married, you apply for your spousal Visa using the online VAF4 application. You then send the printed application, along with all of the documents listed above and a check for the Visa fee's via courier, or FedEx to the consulate nearest you.

As long as your budget shows that your DF can support you, pay the bills and have a little left over... you should be ok? I'm in the data collection mode...we're getting married in March 2008, and will apply for the Visa's as soon as we have the money saved for that and the airfare.

Once the consulate receives your application, you should receive an email stating that your application has been received and is being processed. Unlike applying for a US Visa, this process is rather quick? Do you have to send a self-addressed return envelope? Once your Visa is approved, you have to get to the UK within 28 days, or you will have to apply for an extension later...for the ILR process.

This sounds correct? It's hard to keep everything in mind, especially after reading sooooo many posts about the different aspects of it. Not to mention with the holidays and planning a wedding... the whole thing can be a bit daunting.

Forgive me if this post is out of place... I've been on here for a couple of months~ish, and everyone has been soooooo helpful, especially with the fact that I have kids involved... just thought it would be nice to return some of the help if possible.

Have a great holiday!

~Michigal~