documents for ILR

Hi,
 I posted this previously but i didnt get a real answer to my question bout the mortgage statement so was wndering if anyone knew?

im just putting together my husbands application for ILR...we've only  been in england for just over a year but are able to apply since we were married for 9 years in USA. i have a cuple of questions:
 do they really only want 6 documents of proof of address or is the more the better? several of the documents for address in america are only in one of our names since we didnt tend to have our utility bills joined, it was just whoever happened to ring and sort it out put it in their name!
 and, i cant find anything from halifax about how much our mortgage payments are, and i dont have any statements since its all online, is this something i need to send? and do i need to send any other proof that we own our house? it doesnt specifically ask about it but i know with the spouse visa when we sent that off, there were a lot of things here that people said we needed that the application didnt specifically ask for.

I'm not sure about your other questions (as I have never applied for a UK visa or ILR before) but:

do they really only want 6 documents of proof of address or is the more the better?

Yes, you only need 6 (I think someone else said the same on your other thread). Actually, it's a good thing that you only need 6 because a couple of years ago you needed no less than 20 documents of proof of address!! Thankfully they reduced the required number to 6 from 20, making the burden of gathering the documents much less. Remember that the 6 documents should be equally spread out over the 2-year period before applying (i.e. 3 from each year, dated at regular intervals) and that the documents must be from 3 different sources.

Actually, it's not so much 'proof of address' per se, but proof that the two of you live at the same address.  If you want to send more, you can, lots of people do send lots more, especially if they aren't addressed jointly...I sent exactly six because I had six things spread out over a two year period that happened to fit the bill and were addressed to us jointly.

As for the mortgage question, I don't own a house in the UK, we rent, but the only reason I provided a letter about our tenancy was because it was addressed to us...I didn't send any proof of how much rent we pay, but that was sort of obvious, if they were looking for it, in the bank statements - the monthly withdrawal of our rent payment.

Maybe someone else who has a mortgage and has applied for ILR can answer this better, but I don't see anywhere where it asks you to provide anything about 'proof' of rental agreement or owning your house...

On another thread from just a couple months ago, Vicky reccomended more than 6 documents if everything wasn't jointly addressed to both husband and wife.

If the evidence is not joint then you must supply more.  I always use a ratio of one item per person in lieu of one joint item, so if none are joint supply 6 each, a total of 12.

Vicky

I'll be applying for ILR in a couple of months and plan on taking Vicky's suggestion.  Better a bit more than not enough...

Yeah, we're going to send in more than the 6 joint and/or 6 a piece addressed individually.  We're not going to go crazy with it.  Maybe have what would equal 10-12 if they were done jointly.

Do they send the mail back?  We didn't get all of our documents back from the spousal visa, and I am planning on including a Special Delivery envelope to return our documents/passports in.  However, now I am a bit worried about providing proof of address for other purposes if we need to.

I swear, immigration has made me OCD about saving proof of everything.

I swear, immigration has made me OCD about saving proof of everything.

Same here.  I swear, they sure as heck better send everything back 'cause we'll need it for citizenship application not to long after.  I was *furious* when my fiancee visa stuff came back and not everything was returned--and I'm taking very important originals (of course) that I needed in just a few months' time for my FLR application. Idiots. 

They sent back everything I sent them...although I kept copies of EVERYTHING just in case.

And really, if you read the guidance notes for the SET (M), you'll see the requirements.  Nothing the matter with Vicky's advice! 

Don't you also have to provide all the original documents that you needed for the spouse visa? I read that you are supposed to present them with proof of accommodation, bank statements, proof of job, photos of the couple, for ILR. Unless it really is that simple to only provide proof of cohabitation.

WEB113 check out page 18 of the actual SET(M) application and you have your answer: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/settlement/formsetm042009.pdf