Help with spousal visa documents

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are just about to make the leap and hit apply for our spousal visa. Before we do, it would be really helpful to get some feedback on our document checklist as we've been stressing a lot about whether we have missed anything or if there is any additional evidence we could include!

Applicant Documents
Priority visa receipt
Printed online Visa Application Form
VAF4A form
Cover letter (from applicant)
Passport and passport photos
Biometric appointment confirmation letter
Immigration Health Surcharge receipt
Return shipping Label

Sponsor Documents
Cover letter from sponsor
Copy of sponsor's passport and photo

Financial Requirement
Letter from sponsor's employer
6 months of sponsor's payslips
Sponsor's employment contract
Letter from sponsor's bank
6 months of sponsor's bank statements

Accommodation
Letter from landlord
Tenancy agreement
Council Tax bill
Utility bill

Relationship Evidence
Marriage certificate
Annotated photographs
Cards (Christmas, etc)
Facebook relationship page
Flight receipts
PayPal receipts
Skype screenshots
Evidence of postage

Hi,

Just to clarify, the names of the forms you need are:

- online application
- VAF4a Appendix 2

VAF4a Appendix 2 is not the same as the VAF4a form... VAF4a is the paper version of the online application and is only accepted in North Korea.

Regarding your documents:
Applicant
- you also need to include all previous passports, if you have held any others in the past

Sponsor
- for the sponsor's passport you should only send a the copy of page which has their photo and details on it (I'm assuming that's what you meant, but just making sure)

Finances
Just to confirm:
- the latest payslip, bank statement and the employer letter are all dated within 28 days of submitting the online application?
- the payslips are either all originals printed and issued by the company, or the employer letter confirms their authenticity?
- the payslips and bank statements cover a full 6 months (not a day less)?
- all payslips show at least £1,550 before tax?
- all payslip deposits show on the bank statements?
- It's worth including the sponsor's latest P60, as Sheffield may ask for it

Accommodation
You DON'T need:
- Council Tax bill
- Utility bill

Relationship Evidence
- you only need 2 photos in total and they do not need to be annotated
You DON'T need:
-  Facebook relationship page
- PayPal receipts
- Evidence of postage (postage from what?)

So, a slightly revised list of documents (my comments in red):

Applicant Documents
Priority visa receipt
Printed online Visa Application Form
VAF4A Appendix 2 form
Cover letter (from applicant)
Passport and passport photos
Any previous expired passports
Biometric appointment confirmation letter
Immigration Health Surcharge receipt
Return shipping Label

Sponsor Documents
Cover letter from sponsor
Copy of sponsor's passport photo page

Financial Requirement
Letter from sponsor's employer
6 full months of sponsor's payslips
Sponsor's employment contract
Letter from sponsor's bank (I assume to confirm authenticity of statements?)
6 full months of sponsor's bank statements
Latest P60 (issued April 2017)

Accommodation
Letter from landlord
Tenancy agreement

Relationship Evidence
Marriage certificate
1-2 photos of you and your sponsor together (i.e. one at the wedding, one earlier in the relationship)
Cards (Christmas, etc)
Flight receipts
Skype screenshots (should be evenly spaced over the relationship - no message content, just a list of calls or messages on 1-2 sheets of paper)

Thank you for the fast reply 

I did mean the VAF4A Financial form, and have included this. The "Evidence of postage" is receipts from Royal Mail / USPS online accounts showing we send packages and letters to each other over the course of the relationship.

I do have a few more questions from the points you made:

We submitted the online application last night and we are going to send the documents to Sheffield on Friday. My latest payslip is from 31 December - so I assume that will be within the 28 day range (as its 28 days from the date of submitting the application online?).

As for the passports - my partner (the applicant) had two previous passports, however they are both lost.

He didn't know the passport numbers or dates of issue, so he contacted the Department of State who supplied him with the passport numbers and dates of issue in a certified letter. Should we include this letter with the application, or do you think just entering the passport number and date of issue onto the online form will be enough? The letter doesn't say the passports were lost, it just gives the document number and expiry dates.

Many thanks!

So, a slightly revised list of documents (my comments in red):

Applicant Documents
Priority visa receipt
Printed online Visa Application Form
VAF4A Appendix 2 form
Cover letter (from applicant)
Passport and passport photos
Any previous expired passports
Biometric appointment confirmation letter
Immigration Health Surcharge receipt
Return shipping Label

Sponsor Documents
Cover letter from sponsor
Copy of sponsor's passport photo page

Financial Requirement
Letter from sponsor's employer
6 full months of sponsor's payslips
Sponsor's employment contract
Letter from sponsor's bank (I assume to confirm authenticity of statements?)
6 full months of sponsor's bank statements
Latest P60 (issued April 2017)

Accommodation
Letter from landlord
Tenancy agreement

Relationship Evidence
Marriage certificate
1-2 photos of you and your sponsor together (i.e. one at the wedding, one earlier in the relationship)
Cards (Christmas, etc)
Flight receipts
Skype screenshots (should be evenly spaced over the relationship - no message content, just a list of calls or messages on 1-2 sheets of paper)

I did mean the VAF4A Financial form, and have included this.

Just checking... because VAF4a is not accepted in the US, but VAF4a Appendix 2 is mandatory !

The "Evidence of postage" is receipts from Royal Mail / USPS online accounts showing we send packages and letters to each other over the course of the relationship.

You don't need those so you can take them out.

What you need is the actual communication between you, rather than the packaging from said communication - flight boarding passes or etickets, the actual letters/cards you sent, evidence of emails/calls/messages.

We submitted the online application last night and we are going to send the documents to Sheffield on Friday. My latest payslip is from 31 December - so I assume that will be within the 28 day range (as its 28 days from the date of submitting the application online?).

Yes, no more than 28 days before your official application date, which is the date you submit the online application and pay for the visa.

As for the passports - my partner (the applicant) had two previous passports, however they are both lost.

He didn't know the passport numbers or dates of issue, so he contacted the Department of State who supplied him with the passport numbers and dates of issue in a certified letter. Should we include this letter with the application, or do you think just entering the passport number and date of issue onto the online form will be enough? The letter doesn't say the passports were lost, it just gives the document number and expiry dates.

No, the passport numbers just need to be listed on the application form, along with the reason why they aren't being included (because they were lost). No need to include the letter.

Thank you - this has been so much clearer than Gov.uk 

One last question - should we be writing the applicants name & date on the back of the passport photos or leaving them blank?

I thought we should, but we couldn't find any guidance saying this and my partner is of the view that we should leave the photos blank.

Thank you - this has been so much clearer than Gov.uk 

One last question - should we be writing the applicants name & date on the back of the passport photos or leaving them blank?

I thought we should, but we couldn't find any guidance saying this and my partner is of the view that we should leave the photos blank.

No, you don’t need to write anything on the photos for this visa - just leave them blank .


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