Spouse Visa Questions

Thank you for the reply Larrabee 

Do you know where in the application I provide the number of rooms in my MIL's house? I just reviewed my saved application and couldn't find a space for that information in my application. The section for that information ("What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK?") doesn't have space for it. Should I put that information in the "Additional Information" section? Or is this something my MIL should simply state in her permission letter?

It goes in VAF4a Appendix 2, which is the second half of the application form and contains all the questions about how you meet the financial, accommodation and relationship requirements for the spousal visa:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270484/VAF4A-Appendix2.pdf

You'll need to print it and fill it out.

The online applications is just a generic form and is not the main bulk of the application.

One more question, in the application I am asked for my employment information (which is minimal income as I am primarily a SAHM) but they don't ask about my husband's employment at all. Is this correct? I am not misreading this am I? They are asking for MY information, not my sponsors when it comes to employment?

Your husband's employment details go in VAF4a Appendix 2.

Thank you for the reply Larrabee 

Do you know where in the application I provide the number of rooms in my MIL's house? I just reviewed my saved application and couldn't find a space for that information in my application. The section for that information ("What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK?") doesn't have space for it. Should I put that information in the "Additional Information" section? Or is this something my MIL should simply state in her permission letter?

It's in appendix 2.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270484/VAF4A-Appendix2.pdf

I do have cards that my husband I have given each other as we've lived together all these years.  But they are not dated--just Christmas, birthday cards, etc. Would that be useful? If so, I presume I need to make a copy of it and send that as well if I hope to get the card back?

I would include them because it seems to me that every time they refuse someone on relationship evidence, they bring that up. That doesn't mean to say that you'll be refused if you don't send cards, but if you have them, it certainly doesn't hurt to include two or three.

Technically, you should make a copy if you want to be sure of their return but it's highly unlikely that they would keep them if you didn't.

Thank you @ksand24 and @larrabee ! I have the appendix in my GIANT file of all my stuff but failed to check that for this info  Thank you for your expertise. 

And while I'm at it, I should NOT staple any of these documents correct? It goes against all my organizational urges to NOT staple it. 

Thank you @ksand24 and @larrabee ! I have the appendix in my GIANT file of all my stuff but failed to check that for this info  Thank you for your expertise. 

And while I'm at it, I should NOT staple any of these documents correct? It goes against all my organizational urges to NOT staple it. 

Yes, resist the urge to staple. A few paperclips are ok though! 

It's in appendix 2.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270484/VAF4A-Appendix2.pdf

I actually have a couple other questions about the Appendix.  1.27 asks if my sponsor has any children. He does they are OUR children.   Do I simply check "yes" and fill in the boys' names and info or should I also add that they are OUR children?

For 1.28 it asks how much is spent on each child each month. The questions seem phrased for someone who has children from a previous relationship and is paying child support. How do I answer the money spent question? I don't know how much we spend on the kids exclusively.

One additional question about our Financial evidence.  While we have enough money in our shared bank accounts to meet the savings in cash requirement does it benefit us in any way (other than if there should be an insane rise in the GBP  ) to offer more sources? My husband has another savings account that is only in his name still. Should I include it? I only hesitate because it means my husband traveling to get the forms stamped as there is not a branch near us and we don't get statements mailed to us.  I already have to have our shared bank to get the "official" statements stamped as they simply printed out copies that I could have printed at home and sent them to me via mail I could have done that. *sigh*

I actually have a couple other questions about the Appendix.  1.27 asks if my sponsor has any children. He does they are OUR children.   Do I simply check "yes" and fill in the boys' names and info or should I also add that they are OUR children?

The first one - just tick yes and fill out their details.

For 1.28 it asks how much is spent on each child each month. The questions seem phrased for someone who has children from a previous relationship and is paying child support. How do I answer the money spent question? I don't know how much we spend on the kids exclusively.

Nope, it's for any and all children he has, including any you have together.

Just estimate how much money each month gets spent on the kids in total (food, clothes, activities etc.) and divide by the number of kids.

One additional question about our Financial evidence.  While we have enough money in our shared bank accounts to meet the savings in cash requirement does it benefit us in any way (other than if there should be an insane rise in the GBP  ) to offer more sources? My husband has another savings account that is only in his name still. Should I include it?

No, it does not benefit to offer more sources, and it does not benefit to include an extra account if the other account has enough in it. Mentioning other sources will only confuse the ECO and complicate your application.

If your shared bank accounts meet the £62,500, then ONLY mention those account and ONLY include the amount of money in those accounts. If they meet the requirement, Sheffield will not even consider any other sources.

It's a tick-box visa. They just need to tick the box to say that you have shown evidence of £62,500. You don't get a bigger tick for more accounts or extra sources.

I already have to have our shared bank to get the "official" statements stamped as they simply printed out copies that I could have printed at home and sent them to me via mail I could have done that. *sigh*

If they printed them and mailed them to you, then they are official statements and do NOT need to be stamped.

The only statements that must be stamped are any you have printed yourself at home from online banking.

If they printed them and mailed them to you, then they are official statements and do NOT need to be stamped.

The only statements that must be stamped are any you have printed yourself at home from online banking.

Thanks for all the answers again.

I did see that the paperwork came with a VERY simply cover letter stating that they sent the documents I requested so I suppose that will differentiate the pages from home printed ones.

They only sent me the statements through February however, as I called in late March for the documents and the March statement wasn't yet available.  I will go into a local branch to have this last statement printed.  Will it matter that it is different from the rest? I can have the March statement "stamped" or signed (last time I asked about stamping they looked at me like I had 3 eyes, said they didn't have a stamp and thus signed the pages instead; this is why I sent away for "originals" in the first place) but will it matter that it is different than the other 5 months provided?

I did see that the paperwork came with a VERY simply cover letter stating that they sent the documents I requested so I suppose that will differentiate the pages from home printed ones.

Yeah, if you include that cover letter, it'll be fine .

Will it matter that it is different from the rest? I can have the March statement "stamped" or signed (last time I asked about stamping they looked at me like I had 3 eyes, said they didn't have a stamp and thus signed the pages instead; this is why I sent away for "originals" in the first place) but will it matter that it is different than the other 5 months provided?

No, that's not a problem.

The statements must either be:

A) printed on official bank stationery
OR
B)
either:
- bear the official stamp of the bank on EVERY page
or
- be accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming authenticity

Is there any reason we should explain why the deed that we have from my MIL is from July 2017? Or that the permission letter from them is dated March 13 2018?   We had gotten the deed last year when we were first planning to apply. And the permission letter from my MIL was from March because we initially intended to apply last month.  To wait for another letter or deed would delay our application and, as you wise sages have told me, only the financial documents need to be dated within the last 28 days prior to application so I did not ask for newer documents from my MIL.

thanks!

I'm planning to apply tonight or early tomorrow morning as I have a business trip (within the US) in 7 business days and want to be sure to get my biometrics done before then.

Thank you to all of you who so generously give your time for the rest of us that are trying to make our way through the mind field that is the UK Settlement Visa application process.  You and your efforts are truly invaluable.

I have studied your evidence/documents lists, have compiled several and have this list for my application as well as a few questions. Experienced peeps eg @ksand24 and @larrabee etc would you be so kind as to review my personal list for errors. We have decided not to use a VFS preparation package (eg Gold or Settlement package) and do it ourselves to save money but I also cannot afford to do this again if I screw up 

Applicant Documents:
•   Receipt for priority processing
•   Return shipping packaging/details (are you sure I don't need envelope?)
•   Cover letter/contents letter
•   Signed/Printed online application form [with IHS# written on top? Why?)
•   VAF4a Appendix 2 form
•   Stamped Biometrics Confirmation Sheet
•   IHS Payment receipt
•   my current US passport
•   all my previous US passports
•   -2(or 1?) passport photos (US or UK size) of visa applicant
-Sponsor’s Documents
•   Certified copy of Sponsor’s UK visa photo page
•   Sponsor letter
-Financial Evidence: Category D Cash Savings
•   6 months original bank statements showing balance of >£62,500 for the entire 6 months (? Online asks for ALL OUR cash savings. You sure I don’t need it all? eg my husband's savings with another US bank that is only in his name at present)
•   Statement of the source of funds (Letter from husband stating source as work and explaining that we have included 6 months of playslips as evidence of the savings' source).
-Accommodation evidence:
•   letter from MIL giving permission to live in here home indefinitely
•   MIL’s land registry document (deed)
-Relationship Evidence:
•   Original Marriage Certificate
•   several photos of us together (one of early dating, one of wedding but our son in photo—we have none alone from wedding, one from birthday 4 years ago, one form my birthday last month)
•   evidence of us living together in the US since 2006 (do I need proof of all the years? Are our tax returns from 2007-2016 and lease agreements from 2006-preetn [4 total] enough?)
o   tax returns in both our names
o   Allstate bill in both our names (both are newer as I don't have any left from our early relationship)
o   Bank accounts in both our names (provided in financial requirement section—do I need to provide a second copy for evidence of relationship section?)
o   2 Greeting cards to one another over the years (no stamps of dates just implied—I had hand written the dates on the back for posterity’s sake; one from him to me in 2010 and one from me to him in 2007 )

I will provide photo copies of all the items we wish to have returned for example my passport photo pages, our marriage license, my greeting cards, etc.

Do I also need to provide TWO copies of my application, biometrics, and Appendix 2? Some lists suggest 2 copies and some do not.

We do NOT have my MIL’s latest original mortgage statement. I know this is an example of evidence for accommodation but do I NEED it in addition to her deed and letter stating we can stay with them indefinitely.

Additionally, my MIL's letter does not explicitly state anything about overcrowding, only that we can stay indefinitely. In our Appendix 2 we provide the details of the house (eg 3 bedroom and 5 rooms total other than kitchen, toilet/bath room) which qualifies for NOT being overcrowded and my husband mentions that in his sponsor letter as well in his accommodation paragraph.  Do I NEED my MIL to ALSO address the overcrowding topic in her letter?

What is a "Sponsor's Decree Absolute" and do I need it?

I truly cannot thank you all enough and I would love to send you each some home made banana bread when we get to the UK It's good--America's Test Kitchen Recipe 

action=profile;u=11553]We have decided not to use a VFS preparation package (eg Gold or Settlement package) and do it ourselves to save money but I also cannot afford to do this again if I screw up 

I’m a little confused by this because you say you aren’t paying for any VFS Global services, but you have the Priority Processing receipt as the first documents on the list, which is one of the 2 VFS Global services you can purchase.

Settlement Priority Processing = $848 and gets your application put to the front of the line in Sheffield. If you are not planning to purchase this, then you can take it off your Applicant Documents list, but be prepared for the application to take at least 3 months for processing, possibly as much as 4-6 months if they get another summer backlog. If you do purchase it, you’ll likely be looking at 1-2 months for processing.

If regards to your comments and questions on the list:
- no, you do not need an envelope
- the IHS Number MUST be included in the application, so they know you have paid it. You can either include the email receipt with the number on, or write the number on the form (or both)
- only 1 passport photo is needed. It can be any size, as it will not be used and will likely be returned to you anyway

Finances
- only include the amount of savings on the application form that you are using to meet the requirement - so only include the statements that show £62,500 and ONLY mention that amount on the application form.
- if the savings come from income you had saved, you don’t a letter from your husband about the source, just write it on the application form

Accommodation
- the letter from MIL needs to confirm the size of the home (number of rooms) plus the total occupants and also confirm home will not be overcrowded... if it doesn’t state this, you’ll need to get her to mail you another letter before you submit the online application

Relationship Evidence:
- only include 2 photos together in total... one early, one from the wedding/recent
- you must include evidence of every single year of living together - someone was refused last year for not providing evidence of living together even though they had been married 20 years
- you only need to include greeting cards if you were not living together at the time of sending them (I.e. they are proving a long-distance relationship


You only need 1 copy of the application, biometrics and Appendix 2. But I would print 2 copies and keep one for reference for future visas

Your MIL’s mortgage statement is not required. It’s just optional.

A ‘decree absolute’ is a divorce decree. If either of you have been married before, you MUST include all divorce decrees from all marriage for every single visa... both yours and his.



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From the official guidance, for the accommodation, you need:

a letter from the owner of the property (which may be a housing authority, housing association, landlord or a building society). This should confirm particulars of tenure and occupation of the dwelling, together with a description of the accommodation and, if rented, a copy of the lease.
From:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintenance-and-accommodation-maa/maintenance-and-accommodation-maa--2#maa11-adequacy-of-accommodation


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I’m a little confused by this because you say you aren’t paying for any VFS Global services, but you have the Priority Processing receipt as the first documents on the list, which is one of the 2 VFS Global services you can purchase.

Settlement Priority Processing = $848 and gets your application put to the front of the line in Sheffield. If you are not planning to purchase this, then you can take it off your Applicant Documents list, but be prepared for the application to take at least 3 months for processing, possibly as much as 4-6 months if they get another summer backlog.


Accommodation
- the letter from MIL needs to confirm the size of the home (number of rooms) plus the total occupants and also confirm home will not be overcrowded... if it doesn’t state this, you’ll need to get her to mail you another letter before you submit the online application

- you must include evidence of every single year of living together - someone was refused last year for not providing evidence of living together even though they had been married 20 years

Thank you @ksand24  I know how late it is so thank you for the quick reply.

I meant we will not pay for the VFS premium package where they review your paperwork etc, which we had considered for fear of making a mistake. But we WILL be paying for priority processing as well as shipping through VFS.

Can the letter from my MIL be scanned or does it have to be an original? If original, any suggestions on expedited shipping from the UK to the US? Something that would take 3-5 days? They're not super savvy with this stuff.

Will the Leases and Tax Returns from I have evidence as follows: (We started dating in September 2006 and we moved in together in in his flat in April of 2007)
Lease agreements dated:September 2007 (or first lease together), July 2010, July 2011, October 2015, August 2017
2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Tax Returns (no 2010 Tax return because we were not married and I was not a dependent that year)
Bills: Allstate Car insurance with both our names on it June 2017 & March 2018

Is one piece of evidence enough for each year? If so, that would mean that I need to find evidence for 2008.

As far as 2006, we didn't live together so would need evidence of what? Communication? One of our photos is from 2006, is that sufficient?

Thank you!

I meant we will not pay for the VFS premium package where they review your paperwork etc, which we had considered for fear of making a mistake. But we WILL be paying for priority processing as well as shipping through VFS.

Great . Just wanted to check as your post sounded like you wouldn’t be paying for Gold Service or Settlement Priority Service.

Also, we do NOT recommend that anyone uses the Gold service anyway, because it’s a complete waste of money and those people who have used it have made complaints about it... one of them has received a partial refund (the difference between Gold and Priority)...  so if you had said you were going to use it, I would have advised you not to .

Can the letter from my MIL be scanned or does it have to be an original? If original, any suggestions on expedited shipping from the UK to the US? Something that would take 3-5 days? They're not super savvy with this stuff.

It must be an original with a wet signature.

You should only ever use a registered courier to ship important documents for your visa - I would have them go with either FedEx, UPS or DHL... which should do either overnight or 2-day shipping. They should NOT use ANY Royal Mail service, not even Parcel Force, as they are unreliable, and it could get stuck in customs and take weeks to arrive.

For the relationship evidence, as long as you have at least 1 document covering every single year you have lived together, you’ll be fine.

As far as 2006, we didn't live together so would need evidence of what? Communication? One of our photos is from 2006, is that sufficient?

It’s more important to show the time you have lived together, but for 2006, you can use the photo, plus some kind of communication if you have it (flight tickets, letters, emails/messages/call logs etc.).



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