Will I get denied for not having all the documents needed for ILR?

So my spousal visa expires on the the 29th of January. As usual, I'm doing every last minute because I am a pleb. 

Anyways here is the problem, My hubby and I have lived in a few places. Mostly shared houses. We lived with his parents from oct 2008-march 2009. We moved due to james' job relocation. We lived in a shared house from march till about september. We had to move beause the landlord wanted to sell the house. We then moved to a hotel. (it was a good monthly price!) We lived there till like june. The owner had to sell the hotel.

just our luck huh? lol.

We then moved to a shared flat. We've been here since.

So 4 places.    We never had to pay extra utility bills or anything because it was all included in the monthly rent. The only joint thing we have is a debit card. We use it for savings. We've had that since like june of this year.

I know this is long bear with me. 

I know I need 3 pieces of joint mail for each year. or 3 pieces of mail each for each year.

but I have lived in too many places. lol. Do I give 3 pieces of mail for each of us for each place we have lived?  Basically the only sources of mail that we get is:

vodaphone- adressed to hubby

halifax- joint card, my card, and his card

both of our pay slips

and then random junk.

 

I wish I was more prepared. What should I do?

and just to throw in there, we both have jobs. We live fine. I'm afraid of getting denied and then having to reapply and then pay that hefty visa price again. (which i'm still currently saving for)

any advice is needed and welcomed. please and thank you.

The form says that you can provide a letter of explanation for why you cannot provide the required documents.   Do you have any with just your name or his name on them?

Did you have the tenancy agreements that you signed for any of the these places?  These may be OK.

I lived in the same place since I moved here and I found it very hard to get my name on bank accounts and utility bills.
If they would take US Mail I have plenty of jointly addressed mail from The State of NJ.  They are like Columbia House.

I lived in the same place since I moved here and I found it very hard to get my name on bank accounts and utility bills.
If they would take US Mail I have plenty of jointly addressed mail from The State of NJ.  They are like Columbia House.

I wasn't on any utility bills (just my own bank account), and it was fine. In fact, we had NO jointly addressed mail. I just sent the stuff through with his name and other mail with my name and wrote a short note explaining why we didn't have anything jointly addressed. I did an in person app and no one blinked an eye.
I had stuff from a US bank account, a UK bank account, and official letters from my GP/DVLA etc. Everything more "typical" (council tax, utilities, etc) was in DH's name.

We've moved 3 times since I moved here in 2008 (so FOUR addresses). I thought it had to be 6 pieces from 3 different sources (at least) just COVERING the 2 year period.

Granted, I ended up sending 17 pieces in total, but I put 9 jointly/individually-addressed items in one protective sleeve and the rest were in another sleeve labelled "additional sources" just in case what I sent wasn't enough. Here are the items I sent...

* British Gas (joint) - address 1
* TV License (spouse) - address 1
* Council Tax (spouse) - address 2
* Letter from another Council inviting to interview (self) - address 2
* Tenancy Agreement (joint) - address 3
* Bank Statement (joint) - address 3
* HMRC (joint, but also showing tax credits awarded to spouse) - address 4
* NHS medical cards (self/spouse) - address 4

The additional items included Child Benefit award to spouse (HMRC), current tenancy agreement (joint), water bill (spouse), Royal Mail Redirection to current address (joint), payslip from another city council and letter from same council to request CRB (self), HMRC PAYE Coding notice (self), and DWP for my NIN.

All I did was try to make sure the items I had were spread across that period...so one or two things from every 3-4 months. I didn't include any letter to explain things not addressed jointly but only because I sent quite a few things that clearly proved we lived together.

I'd say just do your best and provide a letter of explanation if you're concerned, but the application does list the types of documents, so consider anything from government agencies like DWP, HMRC and even NHS...even if it's a reminder letter for an appointment, etc.

Ugh Im still confused. I also just realized that the bank got our address slightly wrong. We live in 16-17 and they put 14-16. We still get the mail so it's still right but it differs to the other mail.

I also don't know how much mail to send since we have lived in multiple places. grurhfhsmdjsdfnfmdjdjhf. I'm getting frustrated. plz help.

I'm sorry for being a pain. I just can't afford to be denied because there is no way I'll be able to save £900 again. It'll take a while.

I'm sure someone who knows more will come along soon, but just my 2p.

You need to show that you have lived WITH your DH over the two years. To do this, you just need to "chart" your progress with consistent and evenly spaced documentation. So, it's not so much that you need papers from every flat (although you should probably try) but that you need to show you were both there at the same time! So, in theory, you could have one set from one flat, two from another, and one from the next etc. As long as you can show you were both there at the same time, I think you should be fine. There is a place on the application itself for you to fill in all of your addresses, and room to explain, so they are used to this happening on occasion.

Just make sure they are evenly spaced and show you were both in the same place at the same time! Re-read the guidance that comes with the app (you can download it) as it lists exactly what you need and can use. Not that that stopped me from worrying, but you know!

From form SET(M) page 15:

Note 8

We need 6 letters or other documents addressed to you jointly or in both your names. If you do not have enough items in your joint names, you may also provide items addressed to each of you individually if they show the same address for both of you. Examples of acceptable letters and documents are listed below. They must be originals.

The dates of the letters or documents should spread over the whole 2 years. They should be from at least 3 different sources.

Please give an explanation on a separate sheet if you cannot provide 6 items; if the documents are not addressed to both of you; or if they do not cover the 2-year period. If you and your partner lived with relatives or friends for some or all of the 2-year period, please provide a letter from the relative(s) and/or friend(s) confirming this.

The section goes on to list what are acceptable documents. Have a good read over it and really don't stress. I'm sure that you can come up with 6 items and letters from those that you stayed with if you need to.

I also just wanted to add that one place we were only there 2-3 months and since it was council everything was in DH's name. The only things in my own were our Sky subscription and a letter from a neighbouring council inviting me for an interview for an activity leader vacancy. I just sent what I could, but everyone is right...try not to stress. Just look through the list of approved docs and send extra if you think it supports that you still lived together. Otherwise, you could also try getting letters from previous landlords, etc to state who was living in the property as well.

Thanks guys. I have letters. I could give a couple of letters for each place we lived.

The only thing is that they would all be from similar sources.

joint letters: joint debit card

that's it.

seperate: nhs, bank statement, boots card, asda online grocery thing, pay slips, my own card.

Alot of it will come frm one source. and that is halifax.


:/ I mean I guess I could explain in the letter that all the utilities are paid in our monthy rent. thus us not having any utility bills.

I'll try my best.

Oh and for the first few months of me ariving to england, we stayed with his parents for a while. Would we need a letter from them stating this?

For me, I had NO jointly addressed letters. None. Zip. And many of our separate ones came from HSBC (where we both bank). I did a genuine effort to get a variety of sources (I think they want three? I did four) and then I called it a day.
Just do your best with what you have!