Fiance visa application questions

It just needs a few tweaks - some parts are too detailed and some parts are not detailed enough. You don't really need to include the list of documents either - we used to advise it, but it seems silly to have two document lists (cover letter and sponsor letter).

For example:

To the Entry Clearance Officer,

I am writing to confirm my support of [his nam

Thank you so much!!!!! Re finances, I am under category A and regarding the visit visa thing - is it against the rules that he was visiting for 6 months and staying with me?? (he left for 4 days in between but it was essentially 6 months). Is it all about the wording or was this against the rules to do? Not sure what we would say if they probed this point :s  I assume also that i should take out the section of Appendix 2 where I said we’d lived together for 6 months...?!

Thank you so much!!!!! Re finances, I am under category A and regarding the visit visa thing - is it against the rules that he was visiting for 6 months and staying with me?? (he left for 4 days in between but it was essentially 6 months). Is it all about the wording or was this against the rules to do? Not sure what we would say if they probed this point :s  I assume also that i should take out the section of Appendix 2 where I said we’d lived together for 6 months...?!

It's about the wording. It's fine for him to visit for up to 6 months, but if he is in the UK on a visitor visa, he is VISITING the UK, he is not LIVING in the UK.

One of the things they have to check when you enter as a visitor is that you are not trying to use the visitor visa to LIVE with your partner in the UK. So while to you, that's what it felt like, for the purposes of UK immigration and visas, he is not LIVING with you, because that would be in breach of the visitor visa rules. As we say here on the forum, there's no 'Let's Shack Up' visa... there's no visa that allows you to try out living together for a few months to see if it works before you decide to get married/apply for a fiance/spousal visa.

So, on the application, where it asks if you have lived together in a relationship akin to marriage, the answer is No, because in order to do that, you both need to be legally living in the same country (i.e. one of you has a visa that allows you to live in that country), and you must be able to prove you lived together by way of tenancy agreements, bank accounts, bills, rent etc. in both names... none of which you can legally do as a visitor.

That question is mainly aimed at Unmarried Partner visa applications where they are not planning to marry, so instead they have to prove they have lived together for 24 consecutive months before applying.

From the visitor visa rules:

Frequent or successive visits: how to assess if an applicant is making the UK their main home or place of work
See: paragraph V 4.2(b) of appendix V: visitor rules.
You should check the applicant’s travel history, including how long they are spending in the UK and how frequently they are returning. You must assess if they are, in effect, making the UK their main home.

You should look at:
• the purpose of the visit and intended length of stay stated
• the number of visits made over the past 12 months, including the length of stay on each occasion, the time elapsed since the last visit, and if this amounts to the individual spending more time in the UK than in their home country
• the purpose of return trips to the visitor’s home country and if this is used only to seek re-entry to the UK
• the links they have with their home country - consider especially any long term commitments and where the applicant is registered for tax purposes
• evidence the UK is their main place of residence, for example:
o if they have registered with a general practitioner (GP)
o if they send their children to UK schools
• the history of previous applications, for example if the visitor has previously been refused under the family rules and subsequently wants to enter as a visitor you must assess if they are using the visitor route to avoid the rules in place for family migrants joining British or settled persons in the UK

There is no specified maximum period which an individual can spend in the UK in any period such as ‘6 months in 12 months’. However, if it is clear from an individual’s travel history that they are making the UK their home you should refuse their application.

It's about the wording. It's fine for him to visit for up to 6 months, but if he is in the UK on a visitor visa, he is VISITING the UK, he is not LIVING in the UK.

One of the things they have to check when you enter as a visitor is that you are not trying to use the visitor visa to LIVE with your partner in the UK. So while to you, that's what it felt like, for the purposes of UK immigration and visas, he is not LIVING with you, because that would be in breach of the visitor visa rules. As we say here on the forum, there's no 'Let's Shack Up' visa... there's no visa that allows you to try out living together for a few months to see if it works before you decide to get married/apply for a fiance/spousal visa.

So, on the application, where it asks if you have lived together in a relationship akin to marriage, the answer is No, because in order to do that, you both need to be legally living in the same country (i.e. one of you has a visa that allows you to live in that country), and you must be able to prove you lived together by way of tenancy agreements, bank accounts, bills, rent etc. in both names... none of which you can legally do as a visitor.

Thank you for this info! Makes sense, though classic wording over substance it seems...

Re the letter, you mentioned that I should write out the dates and locations of all our visits - this is about 25 visits over 4 years (with the last visit being the 6 month one) and adds a whole page to the letter, is this ok? Also, should we be providing the airline itineraries for all these, or will just a few suffice?

Re the letter, you mentioned that I should write out the dates and locations of all our visits - this is about 25 visits over 4 years (with the last visit being the 6 month one) and adds a whole page to the letter, is this ok? Also, should we be providing the airline itineraries for all these, or will just a few suffice?

You should provide the boarding passes (or e-tickets if you no longer have the boarding passes) for every trip. These will be the strongest evidence of your relationship.

However, with 25 visits in 4 years, you don't need to list each one in the letter. I normally recommend listing them when there are maybe 5 or so visits, but 25 is too many to list each one. The section about your relationship should not be longer than 1 paragraph.

So, I would say something more like:

Over the last 4 years, we have visited each other X number of times, for between Y and Z weeks/months each time (you could put a bit of detail in, like 3 trips to [country] of X weeks, 1 trip to [country] of Y months, etc.), and I am providing our boarding passes from these trips.

You should provide the boarding passes (or e-tickets if you no longer have the boarding passes) for every trip. These will be the strongest evidence of your relationship.

However, with 25 visits in 4 years, you don't need to list each one in the letter. I normally recommend listing them when there are maybe 5 or so visits, but 25 is too many to list each one. The section about your relationship should not be longer than 1 paragraph.

So, I would say something more like:

Over the last 4 years, we have visited each other X number of times, for between Y and Z weeks/months each time (you could put a bit of detail in, like 3 trips to [country] of X weeks, 1 trip to [country] of Y months, etc.), and I am providing our boarding passes from these trips.

Ok, can do! And e-tickets are the itinerary/confirmation email sent by the airline with the flight details? We definitely don't have most of the boarding passes anymore as they would have been paper ones that we chucked!

Ok, can do! And e-tickets are the itinerary/confirmation email sent by the airline with the flight details? We definitely don't have most of the boarding passes anymore as they would have been paper ones that we chucked!

Yeah, the e-tickets are what you print and take to the airport for check-in (if you haven't checked in online).

The boarding passes are best, because they show you actually got on the flight, whereas the e-ticket only proves you booked the flight, and not that you travelled anywhere. But, if e-tickets are all you have, then they're the next best thing.

Yeah, the e-tickets are what you print and take to the airport for check-in (if you haven't checked in online).

The boarding passes are best, because they show you actually got on the flight, whereas the e-ticket only proves you booked the flight, and not that you travelled anywhere. But, if e-tickets are all you have, then they're the next best thing.

Awesome, thank you so much Here's hoping that the entry clearance officer doesn't think we've spent thousands on flights that we didn't board!!!

Hi again, I have a question:

 I am filling out Appendix 2 and have got to the finances part. My unsalaried contracted earnings are 13.46/hours, min 36 hours per week, which makes around £24,000, and this is what my employer has stated in their letter.

However: in the last 6 months I've had a large tax refund, and in September I also got paid a bunch of unused annual leave from the previous year. Thus my payslips are pretty skewed up and when I calculate my gross annual income using the calculation in the guidance, it comes to £28,000!

So my question is - do I not count the extra PAL days/tax refunds? If I do, the amount I'm writing in the appendix is much higher than the min salary quoted by my employer - I don't want the ECO to get confused?


Also: If we've noted my fiance's Canadian work visa in the application, should we send that with the supporting documents as evidence?

Hi again, I have a question:

 I am filling out Appendix 2 and have got to the finances part. My unsalaried contracted earnings are 13.46/hours, min 36 hours per week, which makes around £24,000, and this is what my employer has stated in their letter.

However: in the last 6 months I've had a large tax refund, and in September I also got paid a bunch of unused annual leave from the previous year. Thus my payslips are pretty skewed up and when I calculate my gross annual income using the calculation in the guidance, it comes to £28,000!

So my question is - do I not count the extra PAL days/tax refunds? If I do, the amount I'm writing in the appendix is much higher than the min salary quoted by my employer - I don't want the ECO to get confused?


Also: If we've noted my fiance's Canadian work visa in the application, should we send that with the supporting documents as evidence?

I would use your salary number for the form.  In a cover letter, you may want to mention the unusual deposits just for transparency.

No, the Canadian work visa will have no bearing on the application.  No need to send.  (unless she is applying from Canada and needs to prove that she has the legal right to live there).