Spouse Visa Document Check Please!

Good Morning All,
My wife and her son will in a few days time be submitting their applications to join me here in the UK. I am serving in the military so we are applying under Appendix Armed Forces,if anyone could cast an eye over our prepared list of documents I would be very grateful!!

APPLICANT

Printed online application x2
Appendix armed forces x2
Visa fee receipt x2
IHS receipt x2
Biometrics receipt x2
VFS priority receipt x2 (all of the above once submitted)
Current & previous passports of both
2 Passport photos of each
Return shipping labels x2 ??

SPONSOR

Signed sponsorship letter
Copy of passport Bio page certified by Post Office

FINANCIAL

6 months original payslips
6 & 1/2 months original bank statements showing each pay deposit
Stamped and signed Letter from Unit HR Dept certifying service details length of service and pay etc.
Latest P60

ACCOMMODATION

Licence to occupy Service Families Housing (where I currently reside already with son)
Details of property  including floor plan
Signed letter from Unit welfare officer supporting the application

RELATIONSHIP

Marriage certificate
Divorce decree (sponsor)
1-2 photos together inc 1 from wedding day
Selection of boarding passes from trips to see each other
Screen shots of WhatsApp call log showing 1-2 calls per month throughout the relationship
Screen shots of WhatsApp messages from throughout the relationship (shows content but neither of us could work out how not to lol)

As mentioned earlier grateful for thoughts!!

Your document list looks pretty good, though you don't need the floor plan of the property.

- I believe you do need to purchase 2 return shipping labels.

- For the priority processing, just make sure you purchase the correct one... Settlement Priority Service for $771 (not regular Priority for about $189).

- There is a glitch with the IHS surcharge payment website where it says that children don't have to pay the £600 fee... this is incorrect, however, it may not let you pay it for the child. If this happens, you just need to send the application without the IHS payment for the child, and then Sheffield will contact you to ask for the payment when they are processing the application.

- For the biometrics, you print the appointment confirmation letters, and they are then stamped at the biometrics appointment.

Can I just check that you have Appendix 2 of the Armed Forces paper form?

There are two Armed Forces paper forms - one is the equivalent of the online form and the other is the financial requirement appendix. I'm not sure if you need to complete the main Armed Forces Appendix (VAF(AF)) as well as the online form, or if you only need to complete Appendix 2.

So, you definitely need:
- the online application form (selecting the correct HM Forces options)
AND
- Armed Forces Appendix 2 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/302241/Appendix2-AF.PDF)

And you may also need:
VAF(AF) form
(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/282196/vaf-af.pdf)

If you haven't seen it, there's a handy guide for applying for a UK visa in the USA - it's general, for all visa types, but is useful:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/usa-apply-for-a-uk-visa/apply-for-a-uk-visa-in-the-usa

Thanks for the quick response!!

We have filled in the online form settlement wife etc and printed off the 2 parted HM Forces form (application and appendix 2 financial) and filled that in also!

Thank you for the link, visited that early on and whilst straightforward and useful have found this site to be sooo much more informative!!

We have filled in the online form settlement wife etc and printed off the 2 parted HM Forces form (application and appendix 2 financial) and filled that in also!

Cool . I know you must include the paper Appendix 2 anyway, but for a non-Armed Forces application, you do not need the paper main form as well, because you send the online application instead.

But, since I'm not sure about the AF forms, it's probably a good idea to send the paper VAF(AF) as well .

When you get the visas, check that they have been made valid for longer than 33 months... as family members of an HM Forces member, their visas should be valid for either 5 years or until the end of your service, whichever is shorter, whereas non-HM Forces family members only get a standard 2 years and 9 months.

Thank you for the link, visited that early on and whilst straightforward and useful have found this site to be sooo much more informative!!

No problem - the link is handy to confirm the address in Sheffield and also the 5 days for mailing the documents to Sheffield (since the online application still seems to say 2 weeks, which hasn't been the case since Sept 2015).
.

Thank You!

Looks like we're all good to go then, now for the next anxious wait!!!

Good Morning All,
My wife and her son will in a few days time be submitting their applications to join me here in the UK. I am serving in the military so we are applying under Appendix Armed Forces,

'''''''''''''''''''''''

IHS receipt x2

Your dependants do not have to pay for an IHS number as the government were quite clear that dependants of UK armed forces can still use the NHS bill free just as a resident Brit can. They are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and from the rules of the IHS.

Who doesn’t need to pay or get an IHS reference number

You’ll be able to use the NHS without paying the surcharge or getting a reference number if:

   '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
    you’re a dependant of a member of the UK’s armed forces

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/who-needs-pay



Both your wife and her son age under 18, are dependants of a member of the UK's armed forces.

Your dependants do not have to pay for an IHS number as the government were quite clear that dependants of UK armed forces can still use the NHS bill free just as a resident Brit can. They are exempt from having to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and from the rules of the IHS.

Who doesn’t need to pay or get an IHS reference number

You’ll be able to use the NHS without paying the surcharge or getting a reference number if:

   '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
    you’re a dependant of a member of the UK’s armed forces

https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/who-needs-pay

Ah, yes - thanks, Sirius... I completely forgot that Armed Forces spouses and dependants don't have to pay the IHS surcharge.

Ah, yes - thanks, Sirius... I completely forgot that Armed Forces spouses and dependants don't have to pay the IHS surcharge.

It looks like it might still be buggy if a dependant/s of our Armed Forces are still be asked to pay the IHS? This was not something that was changed at a later date as the government was alway clear that our AFs won't have to pay.

Hi
Thanks for the input, i believe from info via the Army Families Federation that we pay the IHS and then write and ask to be refunded at a later date, as you’re probably aware the website does not cater for the Armed Forces option as yet.

Our package as of today was received in Sheffield, priority processing was paid for, does anybody have any clue on current timescale expectation other than what’s stated on the YouGov site?

TIA

Processing times for priority in November were generally between about 15 and 20 working days but I think it may have slowed down a bit over the holidays.


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So shouldn’t expect anything too spectacularly quick then lol, honestly thought now would have been a good time for it to hit the desks but maybe not. 

So shouldn’t expect anything too spectacularly quick then lol, honestly thought now would have been a good time for it to hit the desks but maybe not. 

Usually Jan/Feb is the best time to apply because it's a quiet period after the holidays.

However, a few months ago, Sheffield started processing applications from many more countries than they used to, so processing times in general have been a bit slower in 2017 than in previous years (i.e. usually in Oct/Nov and Jan/Feb, it's only 2-5 working days for a priority visa, but lately it's been closer to a month).

Thank you, so fingers crossed about 4 working weeks or less hopefully. As my wife is submitting an application for dependant son at the same time would that have an effect on the timescale or should it in theory as long as all paperwork is in order (which it is!) be no longer as a result?

TIA

As my wife is submitting an application for dependant son at the same time would that have an effect on the timescale or should it in theory as long as all paperwork is in order (which it is!) be no longer as a result?

No, it won't make any difference to the decision time - as you submit the applications together, with just one set of documents, it's just a case of checking a few extra pieces of paper. The actual decisions only take 1-2 hours... all the rest of the processing time is the applications sitting in line waiting for someone to pick them up.

The only thing that might take a bit of extra time is that there's a glitch with the IHS surcharge payment site for childrens' applications - it says that child dependants don't have to pay the surcharge and therefore won't let you make the payment for it. So, you have to wait for Sheffield to contact you asking you to pay it - they usually do this when they are ready to make a decision, they just need the IHS payment first.

Just a question... Since Southernboy123 is Armed Forces, which makes us exempt from the NHS fee, do you think they will ask for the fee since we filed under the Armed Forced appendix?
Thanks so much!