Document checklist before submission (another one)

Man, proof of relationship going all the way back? Thats rough. My husband and I will have been together 15 years this year but we only got married last year.

Yes, you need to cover the entire relationship

In the past, his credit was bad so it was always my name on leases, bills, etc. Our taxes were done separately as well.  This year will be the first year we've filed jointly. We do have a joint bank account that we've shared for 10 years and our rental agreement from our current house which we've rented for 4 years but this is the first year we've filed taxes jointly.

You don’t need to show both names on the same mail, you just need to show you were both receiving mail at the same address as each other - it can be jointly or separately addressed.

So, you could send:
- address page of your tax returns from each year
- address page of his tax returns from each year
- one original (mailed) joint bank statement per year
- any rental agreements you have showing you both live there

Do you think they would accept things like notarized letters from his parents and my parents stating we have been together since April 2, 2005? Or maybe my health insurance from work can show that I've had him on as a domestic partner for the last 10 years.

Only official mail from companies/government agencies will work. However, if you send what I’ve suggested above, you should have more than enough.

The health insurance is another option though.

It really is frightening how little proof you can have of something when you are not consciously saving proof. haha

Sounds like you have plenty of proof .

As an FYI, when you get to the UK with the visa you’ll want to:
- get both your names on as many documents as possible
- turn off paperless bills so you receive a physical copy of everything
- save ALL your mail

As you will need to prove you have lived together for the next 5 years as well.


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Man, proof of relationship going all the way back? Thats rough. My husband and I will have been together 15 years this year but we only got married last year.

In the past, his credit was bad so it was always my name on leases, bills, etc. Our taxes were done separately as well.  This year will be the first year we've filed jointly. We do have a joint bank account that we've shared for 10 years and our rental agreement from our current house which we've rented for 4 years but this is the first year we've filed taxes jointly.

Do you think they would accept things like notarized letters from his parents and my parents stating we have been together since April 2, 2005? Or maybe my health insurance from work can show that I've had him on as a domestic partner for the last 10 years.

It really is frightening how little proof you can have of something when you are not consciously saving proof. haha

No, they won't take statements from people.

It's okay that you filed taxes individually.  You'll just show the front page of both to show you have been living at the same address.  Same for the rest of the stuff.  Just need items at the same address.

Yes, the health insurance will be good.

As an FYI, when you get to the UK with the visa you’ll want to:
- get both your names on as many documents as possible
- turn off paperless bills so you receive a physical copy of everything
- save ALL your mail

As you will need to prove you have lived together for the next 5 years as well.

This is really helpful, thanks.

It also made me wonder what documentation do I need to take from here when we make the move. Will it be enough to just take everything that was needed for the application or is there more that may be needed in the future. Let's assume for the sake of argument that we end up settling in the UK for good and my wife decides to pursue citizenship.

I'm glad this came up, because as we prepare to move we are in a purging state of mind and don't want to destroy something that we may need (like all those things that would have been useful to still have for the visa application )

This is really helpful, thanks.

It also made me wonder what documentation do I need to take from here when we make the move. Will it be enough to just take everything that was needed for the application or is there more that may be needed in the future. Let's assume for the sake of argument that we end up settling in the UK for good and my wife decides to pursue citizenship.

I'm glad this came up, because as we prepare to move we are in a purging state of mind and don't want to destroy something that we may need (like all those things that would have been useful to still have for the visa application )

Keep things like annual tax returns, mortgage documents, and any lein paperwork you may have.  Just wise to not purge those papers.

You won't need relationship proof from the start of the relationship for future applications, only since the previous application.

Yeah we are the same way. Each time we've moved, we've purged. Plus my husband didn't file tax returns for a number of years (don't get me started) so last year, since we knew he's be trying to get his US citizenship before we move, he filed 2013-2016.

This is one of those "good to know" for people thinking about moving over at some point. DON'T PURGE PAPERWORK! haha

I'm also glad we are dealing with this now (like a year 1/2 before we plan to move) so we'll have time to contact all these different places and get what we need instead of scrambling.

KFdancer and Ksand24, I wanted to get your opinion:

We went to our bank where we have had a joint bank account since 2009 in hopes that they could print out a statement from each year that we've had the account. They said they coudn't print it out like it would have been if it came in the mail but they would be able to print it out like it shows below.

What they gave me in the meantime is a statement showing when we opened the account, our current balance (showing its still an active account), and the average balance over the last 12 months as well as our names as the primary and joint account owners. I'm assuming how its printed meets the requirements of being on letterhead? The bank associate also signed the document to try and help prove authenticity.

I know when it comes time to actually submit my Visa application next year, we'll need to get an updated one less then 28 days old but I wanted to ask if, in your experience, would something like this work?

OR, if this specific doc wouldn't work, would a printed historic monthly statement (one from each year) printed in the same manner with Chase Bank logo at the top and signed by the bank rep meet the requirements?



We have also requested that they start sending us physical statements each month, which they said they will.

OH! And for other person's info, with help in setting up a new bank account in the UK, we asked Chase Bank if we can change our address and have our bank statements mailed to our new UK address (my husband's aunts and uncles address) several months before we move. We explained why. They said they can totally do that without a problem. We should just notify them so they can put a "travel notice" on our account so its clear why our statements are going to a UK address but there is still activity in the US. They said it takes about 30 days for the change to take effect.

This will make getting a new UK bank account much easier because once we get over there, we will already have had a couple months bank statements sent to our relatives home address in our name so we can take that into a UK bank with our passports and open a new account, presumably?

I know when it comes time to actually submit my Visa application next year, we'll need to get an updated one less then 28 days old but I wanted to ask if, in your experience, would something like this work?

OR, if this specific doc wouldn't work, would a printed historic monthly statement (one from each year) printed in the same manner with Chase Bank logo at the top and signed by the bank rep meet the requirements?

Are you trying to use it for the correspondence requirement or the financial requirement?

It's only the financial requirement that requires the latest documents to be less than 28 days old, namely, payslips, corresponding bank statements showing the payslip deposits and the letter from the employer.

And even then, you only need the latest 6 or 12 months of statements... and if you're not applying for another 1.5 years and you're switching to paperless now, then you can just provide the monthly mailed statements and you won't need a letter from the bank anyway.

In terms of showing correspondence at the same address for the relationship requirements, it sounds like you won't be able to use bank statements for previous years, because as they said, they can't print historical ones as if they were mailed.

So, instead, you just provide other items (you only need 1 or 2 per year):
- tax returns
- health insurance
- maybe utility bills (if you have any that you can use)

OH! And for other person's info, with help in setting up a new bank account in the UK, we asked Chase Bank if we can change our address and have our bank statements mailed to our new UK address (my husband's aunts and uncles address) several months before we move. We explained why. They said they can totally do that without a problem. We should just notify them so they can put a "travel notice" on our account so its clear why our statements are going to a UK address but there is still activity in the US. They said it takes about 30 days for the change to take effect.

While you can do that, I tried the same with my US bank account and because of the different address formats, half of my UK address got cut off in the address window on the envelopes which meant there was no country or postcode on the statements. After about a year of realising they were just getting lost in the mail, I changed my bank address to my aunt's in the US.

This will make getting a new UK bank account much easier because once we get over there, we will already have had a couple months bank statements sent to our relatives home address in our name so we can take that into a UK bank with our passports and open a new account, presumably?

I'm not sure if that will help or not, because the UK bank might require a utility bill or council tax statements in your name rather than a mailed US bank statement.

Sorry, I should have clarified.

I'm trying to dig up documents to try and prove my husband and my relationship. We've purged things over the years and in addition, pretty much all utility bills were in my name.

Let me ask this: While we have been together since 2005, if we cannot provide documentation going all the way back to then, would they still accept documents going back 5 years, for example?

My thought is, what about a couple who have been married 30 years. Are they really going to ask that couple to supply documents going back to 1988 or... would that last 5 years be proof enough that this is indeed a relationship/marriage and not just a couple people marrying for the sake of the visa?

We will be able to provide:

1.) Joint tax returns from this year and next year
2.) Single filed tax returns from 2012-2016 showing we live at the same address
3.) Bank statements printed by the bank on their letter head and signed by the bank showing we lived at the same address
4.) Joint Cellphone bill showing both our names/numbers from years past (but probably only going back 5 years - will check with Verizon)
5.) Rental Lease for the past 5 years with both our names on it

We've been together since 2005 but there is no way I'll be able to get "proof" going all the way back to 2005. But do you think the above would satisfy their request?

Let me ask this: While we have been together since 2005, if we cannot provide documentation going all the way back to then, would they still accept documents going back 5 years, for example?

Basically, you have to prove you have been together for the entire length of your relationship. If you only send 5 years' worth but you are claiming a 13-year relationship, there's a possibility that the visa might be refused.

So, you really need to show you have been in a relationship since 2005. If you don't have mail from some years, maybe include something else that shows you were in a relationship instead.

My thought is, what about a couple who have been married 30 years. Are they really going to ask that couple to supply documents going back to 1988 or... would that last 5 years be proof enough that this is indeed a relationship/marriage and not just a couple people marrying for the sake of the visa?

They would need documents going back to 1988. Even if they didn't have something from every year, they would need enough documents to show they have been in a relationship for 30 years.

Someone here on the forum last year had been married and living with her husband in California for 20 years. They were refused because UKVI did not believe they were in a genuine relationship. The reason? They didn't send enough evidence that they had been together for the last 20 years.

So, they scraped together as much evidence as they could from the last 20 years and reapplied for the visa. It was approved this time and they are now living in the UK together.

We've been together since 2005 but there is no way I'll be able to get "proof" going all the way back to 2005. But do you think the above would satisfy their request?

What about photos? Plane tickets? Letters/cards? Emails? Anything you have to prove you were in a relationship between 2005 and 2012.

This is what they consider when determining a genuine and subsisting relationship:

3.1 Factors which may be associated with a genuine and subsisting relationship
(i) The couple are in a current, long-term relationship and are able to provide satisfactory evidence of this.

(ii) The couple have been or are co-habiting and are able to provide satisfactory evidence of this.

(iii) The couple have children together (biological, adopted or step-children) and shared responsibility for them.

(iv) The couple share financial responsibilities, e.g. a joint mortgage/tenancy
agreement, a joint bank account and/or joint savings, utility bills in both their names.

(v) The partner and/or applicant have visited the other’s home country and family and are able to provide evidence of this. (The fact that an applicant has never visited the UK must not be regarded as a negative factor, but it is a requirement of the Immigration Rules that the couple have met in person).

(vi) The couple, or their families acting on their behalf, have made definite plans concerning the practicalities of the couple living together in the UK. In the case of an arranged marriage, the couple both consent to the marriage and agree with the plans made by their families.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263237/section-FM2.1.pdf)

OH! If photos and tickets to concerts and emails and the such as acceptable, yes we have those.  We had started a scrap book when we first got together and kept some concert tickets and tickets to a baseball game where we actually have our first photos as a "couple" taken at, tickets for a train ride for our first anniversary (and a picture ON that train).

I thought it had to be official documents for every year. If the official docs that we have can be supplemented by other things such as above, then I think we can manage that. I thought I read that all that type of stuff was fluff and NOT accepted. Whew. I was getting scared.

Do they accept things like printed out screen shots from Facebook with use wishing each other a Happy Anniversary over the years?

Do they accept things like printed out screen shots from Facebook with use wishing each other a Happy Anniversary over the years?

Normally the ways you prove a genuine relationship:

If you live together:
- evidence of living together by way of bills, rental agreements, tax returns etc. for the length of time you have lived together

If you are in a long-distance relationship and have not been able to live together:
- evidence of regular contact with each other, such as plane tickets, letters and cards sent to each other, screenshots of message logs, email inboxes, call logs etc.

So, to answer your question... yes, those things are accepted, but they are not usually used as evidence if you live together, because you prove you have been living together instead. For example, if you live in the same house, you don't need to send each other cards or communicate by email, or buy plane tickets for visits, because you see each other every day.

I'm just wondering whether, if you can't prove you were living together at all between 2005 and 2012, you might be able to use some of those other things instead.

Do you seriously not have ANY evidence at all of where you lived between 2005 and 2012? Not even anything in electronic form (as a last resort)?

2005-2006 - We met April 2005, moved in together (and with a couple other friends) in 2006. We lived in that apartment for 1 year. That lease agreement is long gone. I had no reason to keep it. We were not on each others bills at that time. That was long before Facebook as well although I have tickets to a baseball game we went to and a photo of us together at that game our friend took of us.

2007 - 2010 - I bought a house and it was in my name. He didnt have good credit so all the bills were in my name. We may be able to find old pay stubs of his though with that address on it which we can use to show we lived in the same house.

2010-2015 - We rented a house with a friend. Again, since my partners credit was bad, he couldn't be on the lease so just myself and our friend are named on it although we have an email from the landlord that shows he sent it to me, my partner and our roommate AND the landlord wrote both mine and my partners name (handwritten) on the front of the paperwork even though my partner is not named as one of the tenants.  Again, we should have some paystubs for my partner showing he lived at the address though.

2015- current - He and I are both on our current lease so thats not a problem.

Taxes and W2s: We will be able to find his tax paperwork that will show the address he has down is the same address I have down for those years (although there are a couple years he didnt file but we should still be able to get or have his W2's).

Married: We didn't get married until 2017 but I have all that paperwork.

Travel: We traveled a lot the entire time we have been together but no, we never kept any plane tickets because to us they were just trash after the trip. BUT we have tons of photos throughout the years showing us together, showing us on vacation. I can provide photos of use for every year we've been together. Many of them. haha

Joint bank account: We have had the joint bank account since 2009 which we will be able to get statements from the bank printed and signed by the bank.

Verizon cellphone: We have had a joint account since 2012 but I was only able to print out statements online from 2016-2018. Called customer service and even they said they couldn't go back that far and they recommended me going into a store to see if the store could. (sigh)

Work Insurance/Beneficiary: I contacted our HR department. They are seeing if there is anyway the can print something official that states that my husband has been on my insurance and has been a named beneficiary since I started with the company in 2008.

Other:  Dont know if it helps or not but, he is in a band and I've helped him manage the band and run sound for it since early on. All the way back to their first album, he's put me in their liner notes so I have 3 CD's since 2007 where he thanks me in the liner notes if that will help. haha

Facebook: Someone also recommended going to Facebook and clicking on his and my friendship history where it shows you all of the posts together and printing out pages from that to show all the stuff we've done together. Do you think thats usable or a waste of paper?  That would at least show stuff we've done together all the way back to 2009 when we joined Facebook.

As an FYI, when you get to the UK with the visa you’ll want to:
- get both your names on as many documents as possible
- turn off paperless bills so you receive a physical copy of everything
- save ALL your mail

I've always been a paperless person. In fact my old desk at work looked like nobody sat there because I just didn't like the "paper mess". I think that will change since going through this whole UK visa ordeal 

In the refusal letter from our first application as unmarried partners (then), the clearance officer stated, "I am satisfied that your relationship with your sponsor is genuine and subsisting...." However, we were given a refusal because we didn't provide enough proof of "living together akin to marriage" which was the requirement for unmarried partners.

Can I include the refusal letter as evidence our relationship is genuine and subsisting? Highlighting that sentence. Hahaha