lost passport/interview

I had my passport renewed in 2013.  My old, expired passport (2003-2013) has gotten lost. Will this affect my visa application?  My last entry to the UK was Oct. 2007, over ten years ago. 

My other question is, does every applicant have to attend an interview?

No, it won’t affect the application.

You just need to give the old passport details in your application form and explain why you cannot include it with your documents (because it’s lost).


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No, it won’t affect the application.

You just need to give the old passport details in your application form and explain why you cannot include it with your documents (because it’s lost).

By details, do you mean travel history, or passport number and all the stuff from the front page?

By details, do you mean travel history, or passport number and all the stuff from the front page?

The old VAF4a paper form (which isn't online anymore) just asked:

2.7 Please give details of any previous passports, covering the last 10 years, including where these passports are now.

and the guidance notes for that question said:

2.7 Please give details of any previous passports, covering the last 10 years, including where these passports are now.
Where the information is available, please provide full details for each. This should include travel document or passport number, issue and expiry dates and place of issue.
Please tell us where your previous passports are (for example if lost, stolen, expired or returned to the issuing authority and no longer with you).


Not sure what the online form asks for though.

My other question is, does every applicant have to attend an interview?

No, there are no interviews at all for UK visa applications made in the US. Biometrics are taken by US immigration on behalf of UKVI, so it only takes 5 minutes and they don't care what visa you are applying for, and then your application and documents are mailed to Sheffield for processing, so it's not physically possible for you to attend an interview anyway.

My basic timeline is:

1) Research the visa requirements and documents needed

2) Gather all the documents. Check and double-check you have everything to meet all of the requirements , making sure everything is in date and meets the formatting requirements

3) Print and fill out VAF4a Appendix 2 - this is the second half of the application form and contains all the questions relevant to applying for a spousal visa.

4) Start to complete the online application (which is generic information about you and doesn't actually ask any questions about how you qualify for the visa), but do not submit it until you are completely ready to mail all the documents to Sheffield for processing.

5) When ready to mail everything, submit the online application. You will be prompted to pay for the visa, pay the IHS surcharge and book a biometrics appointment at one of the 129 USCIS Application Support Centers across the US... DO NOT book at a premium centre as they cannot process your biometrics there unless you are purchasing the $1,700 Settlement Gold Premium Service (which is a waste of money anyway)

6) Print the online application and the biometrics confirmation sheet

7) Purchase settlement priority processing for $848 (if you are paying for priority) and shipping labels from VFS Global.

8 ) Print the priority receipt and shipping labels

9) Attend the biometrics appointment with US immigration (at the USCIS center), taking with you your passport and biometrics confirmation sheet. They will stamp the confirmation sheet, then take your fingerprints and photo and send you home... shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes

10) Place your passport and stamped biometrics confirmation with your documents in the package

11) Place the return shipping label in the package, with your Priority Processing receipt on the very top

12) Write 'Settlement Priority Service' in very large letters on the outermost packaging

13) Mail documents to Sheffield for processing... this must be done within 5 days of biometrics

14) Wait for visa to be processed and mailed back to you in the US

15) Book your flight to the UK and move within the 30 days allowed on your visa vignette in your passport

16) Within 10 days of arriving in the UK, pick up your BRP card (your actual visa) from a designated Post Office

No, there are no interviews at all for UK visa applications made in the US. Biometrics are taken by US immigration on behalf of UKVI, so it only takes 5 minutes and they don't care what visa you are applying for, and then your application and documents are mailed to Sheffield for processing, so it's not physically possible for you to attend an interview anyway.

My basic timeline is:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for that detailed response!  That is so, so helpful.  I'll defintely be referring back to it often!

When the visa4uk app asks "how long do you plan to stay in the UK," what should I answer?  Permanently? 

Also, it asks me when i plan to travel... should i just pick a random date, since i don't know how long the visa process will take?

When the visa4uk app asks "how long do you plan to stay in the UK," what should I answer?  Permanently? 

Yes, or ‘indefinitely’ - whichever you like.

The online form is generic and is used for all visa types so some of the questions may seem like they don’t apply... for example, a visitor would have to show they won’t stay more than 6 months, but for a spousal visa, you are moving permanently.

Also, it asks me when i plan to travel... should i just pick a random date, since i don't know how long the visa process will take?

This is your chance to specify when you want your visa to start.

Pick the earliest possible date you can travel to the U.K. and that you know you can travel within 30 days of. They are supposed to make your 30-day visa vignette valid from this date, though lately they have been making valid 7 days earlier than the date you put.

If the date has passed before the visa has been processed, it will just be made valid for 30 days from the time it is issued.

What you don’t want to happen is to put a date in, say, July, and then you get your visa in April or May, but it’s not valid until July, which means you can’t travel for 2 months.

In the last week or so, priority applications have been processed in about 20 working days (but it has been more like 30 before that), and non-priority have generally been processed in 3 months.


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Okay, that makes sense.  I'll just leave that part blank until I'm ready to actually finalize the online stuff. 

One more stupid question... how should I answer "Have you ever voluntarily elected to depart the UK?"  I've only been there on travel, and that was over 10 years ago. Does leaving at the end of your vacation count as "voluntarily departing?"  Or should my answer be no?

You are SO helpful!  Thank you!

Okay, that makes sense.  I'll just leave that part blank until I'm ready to actually finalize the online stuff. 

One more stupid question... how should I answer "Have you ever voluntarily elected to depart the UK?"  I've only been there on travel, and that was over 10 years ago. Does leaving at the end of your vacation count as "voluntarily departing?"  Or should my answer be no?

You are SO helpful!  Thank you!

Your answer is NO.

Voluntarily departing is in reference to being an illegal overstayer, where you have been caught by the authorities and detained and you have elected to leave the U.K. voluntarily instead of being physically removed/deported.


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Your answer is NO.

Voluntarily departing is in reference to being an illegal overstayer, where you have been caught by the authorities and detained and you have elected to leave the U.K. voluntarily instead of being physically removed/deported.


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Okay, that's a no, for sure then!

What about the "additional information" section?  What kind of things do people generally put there?  I'm sorry for all the questions... I just don't want to do anything wrong! 

Okay, that's a no, for sure then!

What about the "additional information" section?  What kind of things do people generally put there?  I'm sorry for all the questions... I just don't want to do anything wrong!

You can either leave the Additional Information section blank or you can use it to complete questions you didn’t have room for elsewhere in the application.

Remember that the online form is one of the last things to worry about and one of the last things you sort out. It’s more important to research the requirements and make sure you understand the documents needed and the exact formats required, and that you have them all ready, before you concentrate on the online form.

A lot of your documents will need to come from your U.K. sponsor... do you know which financial category he meets? Has he gathered all his required financial documents and mailed them to you? Where will you live in the U.K? Has he gathered the required accommodation documents and mailed them to you?


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A lot of your documents will need to come from your U.K. sponsor... do you know which financial category he meets? Has he gathered all his required financial documents and mailed them to you? Where will you live in the U.K? Has he gathered the required accommodation documents and mailed them to you?


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His salary isn't quite enough to meet the requirement.  We have over 62,500 pounds savings, in a UK account in his name.  The six-month period they require for bank statements has just passed. (I mean, he put the money into one account six months ago.) 

Actually, maybe you can give me advice... should we apply using the savings alone, since it's enough to meet the requirement, or go ahead and report his income as well, using the savings to make up the difference?  We would meet the requirement either way.  We were planning to use a mix of income and savings to meet the requirement, unless otherwise advised. 

We are in the process of gathering documents now. I have a few things I need to have translated from Japanese...  our tenancy agreements and bills from our time living together in Japan. Luckily, I had time to get our marriage certificate translated before we left. (Separate post with my questions about translations  coming soon, lol.) Once I've done this, he will get all his paperwork in order. (So as to have the most recent date on his income and savings paperwork.)

We will initially be living with his parents, in a house they own.  He will send me their land registery, etc. 

I've been looking at the online app today mostly to see what info I need from him for it.  And just to feel like I'm doing something towards this... feeling very restless, as I've just found out my position at work is being eliminated soon, so I need to get my app in ASAP!

His salary isn't quite enough to meet the requirement.  We have over 62,500 pounds savings, in a UK account in his name.  The six-month period they require for bank statements has just passed. (I mean, he put the money into one account six months ago.) 

Sounds good . Category D: Cash Savings is the easiest category to meet .

He’ll need to get 6 full months (not a day less) of original bank statements showing that the balance has not dipped below £62,500 for even 1 day during the 6 months. The latest statement must be dated within 28 days of the date you submit the online application.

Actually, maybe you can give me advice... should we apply using the savings alone, since it's enough to meet the requirement, or go ahead and report his income as well, using the savings to make up the difference? 

We would meet the requirement either way.  We were planning to use a mix of income and savings to meet the requirement, unless otherwise advised.

It would definitely NOT advise doing this.

By using his income when you don’t need to, you end up making things much more complicated for yourselves and also you give the ECO deciding your application a lot more work to do and more documents to filter out.

It’s much, much easier to just use savings and not mention his income at all.

The only time you should use both his income and savings is if you cannot meet the requirements using just one of them and you have no choice but to use both.

For just savings, you need to provide:
- 6 months of savings account bank statements

For savings and income you need:
- 6 months of savings account statements
- 6 months of payslips
- 6 months of current account statements showing the deposit of every single payslip
- a letter from his employer
- his original job contract
- his latest P60
 
And since you meet the requirements using savings anyway, they won’t even look at his employment income.

Separate post with my questions about translations  coming soon, lol.)

It’s actually much easier for us to keep track of your situation and what advice you’ve been given if you keep all your questions in one single thread/post instead of making multiple ones.

That way all we have to do is scroll up to check what has been said already, instead of having to trawl through dozens of topics to find yours.

We will initially be living with his parents, in a house they own.  He will send me their land registery, etc. 

You can download their Land Registry yourself from the website for £3. However, they will need to provide an original letter giving you permission to live there and stating the home is not overcrowded.

I've been looking at the online app today mostly to see what info I need from him for it.  And just to feel like I'm doing something towards this... feeling very restless, as I've just found out my position at work is being eliminated soon, so I need to get my app in ASAP!

Sorry to hear that .

If you haven’t already, I would spend time concentrating on filling out VAF4a Appendix 2 form first, as that is more detailed and more important to get right. The online form is pretty simple (just some questions about you), while Appendix 2 is all about your relationship, the financial requirements and your U.K. accommodation, and takes a lot more time to fill out.



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THANK YOU SO MUCH.  My husband had spoken with a lawyer, who gave him this huge list of documents he supposedly needed to provide.  But if we use only cash savings, it seems like most of what the lawyer said is moot. 

I've just posted my translation query, but I'll delete it and just add it on here.