Questions and Concerns about form VAF4A

Hi
I'm just planning on filing my paperwork for end of july. Basically my husband and I have been together since 2009 we were married in the USA in 2011 and filed for my husbands greencard here. After a few years and some issues we decided it would be best to be closer to my husbands family. So my husband and my daughters moved to the UK this year in january. I went to visit with them I had one prior refusal of entry and one prior visa refusal.
Refusal Entry: This was because I was heavily pregnant and my stay was for too long it would go over the 6 month limit. We were told by someone in immigration if this stay would be ok and they had said yes. It turned out it wasnt and I was refused I was only 18 at the time so I didn't fully understand the immigration rules. My husband then moved here where our daughter was born (USA) and she now has duel citizenship.
Refusal Visa: I applied for this visa in 2012 but unfortuantely was refused based on the fact that we submitted outdated paperwork since we had filed this weeks after the rules had changed and were unaware at the time.
Currently my husband is making the income limit and over my daughter is in school there my other daughter is being cared for by my in laws and husband and he has a rented house and pays all the bills in his name we planned on submitting these for proof of residence for me and to show hes supporting himself. I was hoping I could file this earlier in july as he will have his 6th paystub then but would of been working there for less than 6 months since he began at the end of january but his boss gave him an advance since he knows our situation. I wasn't sure if we had to wait till the end of july after the anniversary of his 6 months working there. Now I understand you file the VAF4A form online and pay for the visa then print it and have the appendix 2 form filled out and go to another site where you pay for the health fee (IHS) and whether you want priority and then return postage? Then you have your biometrics done and mail all of this off with your evidence receipts for everything and your passport. As for evidence I believe what I will need will be:
My husbands Bank statements
His pay stubs
A letter from his employer
A copy of his employment contract
A copy of his lease & bills
A letter from him?
My refusal paperwork
My paystubs
Our marriage certificate
Our daughters birth certificates
Previous lease or contracts with both names to prove prior living together
Photos
And my passport

for my visa refusal I no longer have that paperwork but there is a stamp in my current passport regarding that. That should give them the info they need right? I hope so.
Anyways if anyone has any advice comments information I need or can help that would be great.
Thank you

Hi
I'm just planning on filing my paperwork for end of july. Basically my husband and I have been together since 2009 we were married in the USA in 2011 and filed for my husbands greencard here. After a few years and some issues we decided it would be best to be closer to my husbands family. So my husband and my daughters moved to the UK this year in january. I went to visit with them I had one prior refusal of entry and one prior visa refusal.
Refusal Entry: This was because I was heavily pregnant and my stay was for too long it would go over the 6 month limit. We were told by someone in immigration if this stay would be ok and they had said yes. It turned out it wasnt and I was refused I was only 18 at the time so I didn't fully understand the immigration rules. My husband then moved here where our daughter was born (USA) and she now has duel citizenship.
Refusal Visa: I applied for this visa in 2012 but unfortuantely was refused based on the fact that we submitted outdated paperwork since we had filed this weeks after the rules had changed and were unaware at the time.
Currently my husband is making the income limit and over my daughter is in school there my other daughter is being cared for by my in laws and husband and he has a rented house and pays all the bills in his name we planned on submitting these for proof of residence for me and to show hes supporting himself. I was hoping I could file this earlier in july as he will have his 6th paystub then but would of been working there for less than 6 months since he began at the end of january but his boss gave him an advance since he knows our situation. I wasn't sure if we had to wait till the end of july after the anniversary of his 6 months working there. Now I understand you file the VAF4A form online and pay for the visa then print it and have the appendix 2 form filled out and go to another site where you pay for the health fee (IHS) and whether you want priority and then return postage? Then you have your biometrics done and mail all of this off with your evidence receipts for everything and your passport. As for evidence I believe what I will need will be:
My husbands Bank statements
His pay stubs
A letter from his employer
A copy of his employment contract
A copy of his lease & bills
A letter from him?
My refusal paperwork
My paystubs
Our marriage certificate
Our daughters birth certificates
Previous lease or contracts with both names to prove prior living together
Photos
And my passport

for my visa refusal I no longer have that paperwork but there is a stamp in my current passport regarding that. That should give them the info they need right? I hope so.
Anyways if anyone has any advice comments information I need or can help that would be great.
Thank you

The refusal should not be much of an issue - just provide the info that you have. Looks like you're going to need quite a lot more for your application - the requirements are SUPER specific. There is a thread just up the page where KSAND has posted a really comprehensive list of docs. While that thread is about the wife of a member of the armed services, it includes all the regular stuff as well.

This is the thread that Physicskate was referring to, linking so that you know where to find it in future!.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=90714.0

ok so pretty much my husband and I have been living together for 6 years in the US before he moved back to the UK and I read you need to submit call logs now this year (2017) we have more of a call log history since I'm in the US and hes in the UK with our daughters so we speak every day and I have visited twice soon to be 3 times which I have all the flight stubs for. So would I have to print out call logs for all the years or would our lease agreements for the apartments we rented be proof and then submit logs for this year to show we were in contact?
Thanks

would I have to print out call logs for all the years or would our lease agreements for the apartments we rented be proof and then submit logs for this year to show we were in contact?
Thanks

No, you only include visits/call logs for time you've spent APART - to show that the relationship is still ongoing.

So, for the 6 years you lived together, you show evidence of living together, such as:
- rental agreements
- tax returns
- utility bills etc.

Then, for the time you've been apart since he returned to the UK, you provide:
- boarding passes from trips to visit him
- call logs (just a list of dates and times on 1-2 sheets of paper)
- and anything else you have, like cards/letters, or email inbox screenshots

for my visa refusal I no longer have that paperwork but there is a stamp in my current passport regarding that. That should give them the info they need right?

You should list the refused entry and refused visa on your application form, and then include any paperwork you do have (if you have it). If you don't have the paperwork, it's not an issue, but it could take a bit longer for the visa to be processed if they have to look up the refusal in their system.

In terms of the documents, you DO NOT need:

- your paystubs (cannot be considered)
- Our daughters birth certificates (not needed if they are UK citizens)
- your husband's bills (not relevant)


You DO need:

Applicant (US citizen)
- Printed online application form (don't submit until you have all the documents in your hands and are completely ready to mail the application package to Sheffield)
- Completed VAF4a Appendix 2 form
- Stamped Biometrics Confirmation Sheet (when you have attended the biometrics appointment)
- IHS number/receipt for IHS surcharge payment
- 2 passport photos (they can be US size (2 inches by 2 inches) or UK size (45 mm by 35 mm, which is 1.77 inches by 1.38 inches))
- Your passport
- All of your previous passports
- Refusal paperwork/details if you have them
- Optional cover letter (you can explain your refusals here)
- Proposed flight itinerary (optional)
- Receipt for priority processing (if paying for priority)
- Return shipping label/details
 
Sponsor (UK citizen)
- Certified copy of his UK passport photo page

- Sponsor letter of support for the visa, stating:
i) how he is eligible to sponsor the visa (his UK citizenship),
ii) how he meets the financial requirement (which category and details of current employment),
iii) where you will live in the UK (accommodation details),
iv) a brief history of your relationship (no more than 1 paragraph, where/how you met, if you visited each other, when you got engaged and married, and why you are choosing to settle in the UK and not the US)
v) a list of all the documents he is including in the application package to support the above requirements

Accommodation
- your husband's original rental agreement
- a letter from his landlord giving you permission to live in the property after you get your visa


Finances
Category A:
- 6 months of original payslips showing £1,550 per month before tax - the latest must be dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online
- 6 months of original bank statements showing the deposit of every payslip -  the latest must be dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online
- original letter from his employer (dated within 28 days of applying online) stating:
1) his job title and current salary
2) length of employment,
3) how long he's been earning his current salary (must be at least 6 months prior to the date of the letter)
4) the type of employment (permanent, temporary etc.)

Optional but recommended as the guidance says they may ask for them:
- his original job contract
- his latest P60 if he has it

Relationship evidence (in order of importance)
- marriage certificate
- 1 or 2 photos of you together (i.e. one at the wedding and one earlier in the relationship)
- evidence of living together in the US (rental agreements, tax returns, utility bills etc.)
- evidence of regular communication since he returned to the UK:
   - (boarding passes from trips to see each other
   - any physical letters and cards sent to each other
   - screenshots of  call logs/email inbox showing a selection of emails (subject line
     and date only)

ok so the proposed flight itinerary is that when I would like to leave for england or an actual booked flight because I wasn't going to book a flight till after i received everything.
Also for the IHS fee do you pay that on the website when you fill out the form VAF4A? Because I saw another website you need to pay for the priority and return mail slip on like UKIV or something like that and I was told you pay for the health care thing there but you book your Biometrics appointment on the visa site so how do you pay for the visa and healthcare fee before making the biometrics appointment if the healthcare fee is on another site after you've submitted the form online and made the biometrics appointment? Sorry that has just confused me.
Also for my husbands pay slips he would of been employed on july 23rd for 6 months but his last paystub would of been given in june on the last friday i dont know what day that is so would that mean that we would need his july paystub in order for it to be within the 28 day time limit for recent documents?
Thanks

ok so the proposed flight itinerary is that when I would like to leave for england or an actual booked flight because I wasn't going to book a flight till after i received everything.

Yeah, DO NOT book any flights until you have the visa.

For the proposed itinerary, you will be asked to enter an 'intended travel date' on the online application - this is the date your visa will be made valid from... and you will have 30 days to enter the UK from the date it starts.

So what you can do is search online for a flight you might like to book, then print out the itinerary as an example. This part is optional though.

Also for the IHS fee do you pay that on the website when you fill out the form VAF4A?

You will be directed to pay it online when you submit the online application

Because I saw another website you need to pay for the priority and return mail slip on like UKIV or something like that

Yes, that is a separate website where you can purchase priority processing and shipping labels.

and I was told you pay for the health care thing there but you book your Biometrics appointment on the visa site so how do you pay for the visa and healthcare fee before making the biometrics appointment if the healthcare fee is on another site after you've submitted the form online and made the biometrics appointment?

When you submit the online application, you will be directed to:
- pay for the visa
- pay the IHS fee (it will link to the other site)
- book your biometrics appointment
 

Also for my husbands pay slips he would of been employed on july 23rd for 6 months but his last paystub would of been given in june on the last friday i dont know what day that is so would that mean that we would need his july paystub in order for it to be within the 28 day time limit for recent documents?
Thanks

If he won't reach 6 months until July 23rd you will have to wait until the July payslip ad bank statement have been issued before you apply for the visa.

If you apply with the latest payslip dated before July 23rd your visa will be refused.

So your payslips and bank statements must cover the ENTIRE period from January 23rd to July 23rd... so you may need to send bank statements covering January 1st to July 31st, depending on when they are issued. Thy must show EVERY SINGLE payslip deposit on them for the entire 6 months.

If, for example, your bank statement showing the July 23rd payslip is not issued until sometime in August, you will need to wait until August to apply online.

For the 28 days, I would get the July payslip, bank statement and employer letter in hand and then make sure you submit the online application within 28 days of the earliest dated of the three.

Thank you ksand24 you have been a great help

I have one more question how long does the visa last? You file the set(M) form a couple years later right?

I have one more question how long does the visa last? You file the set(M) form a couple years later right?

Not quite - as the rules changed in 2012 (when you filed your first application).

You will need 3 visas in total:

- Spousal visa, valid 33 months
- FLR(M) visa extension, valid 30 months (applied for up to 28 days before you reach 30 months in the UK)
- ILR (SET(M) form) after 5 years in the UK

The visa prices are constantly rising, so for all three visas, plus citizenship, I would budget about £10,000 over the next 5-6 years (including this first spousal visa).

Is the ILR(SET(M)FORM) for citizenship because you can gain citizenship after 5 years right? And that should be the last form you would need to file?

Is the ILR(SET(M)FORM) for citizenship because you can gain citizenship after 5 years right? And that should be the last form you would need to file?

Yes, you use SET(M) for ILR.

Form AN to apply for citizenship, then you're done!

Is the ILR(SET(M)FORM) for citizenship because you can gain citizenship after 5 years right? And that should be the last form you would need to file?

It's not for citizenship, it's for ILR, which is permanent residence.

Once you have ILR, you can then apply for citizenship, providing you meet all the requirements for it.

So, your visa journey will be:

Spousal visa = £1,464 + £600 IHS surcharge = £2,064
FLR(M) visa after 2.5 years in the UK = currently £993 + £500 IHS surcharge = £1,493
ILR visa after 5 years in the UK = currently £2,297 (no IHS surcharge)
Citizenship after ILR = currently £1,282

Total to citizenship based on current prices = £7,136

But this may well have increased a lot by the time you get to ILR and citizenship.