Spouse Visa Docs - Proof of relationship

Oh no... I answered 3.21 on my application originally, but when I was reviewing the information, I thought I had answered it by mistake so I printed off a new page and left it blank. Is that going to be a problem??

Honestly, I’m not sure, because 3.21 is asking if you meet the financial requirement for the visa.

Since you will have provided all the documents to show you do meet it, I would hope they would realise it’s just an oversight.


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Honestly, I’m not sure, because 3.21 is asking if you meet the financial requirement for the visa.

Since you will have provided all the documents to show you do meet it, I would hope they would realise it’s just an oversight.


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Thanks for the quick reply ksand! Yes, we've supplied everything and filled out the rest of the form correctly... surely they can't reject us for one small box left unticked!!  (although after reading here, it seems you never know with UKVI)

Thanks for the quick reply ksand! Yes, we've supplied everything and filled out the rest of the form correctly... surely they can't reject us for one small box left unticked!!  (although after reading here, it seems you never know with UKVI)

Going to bump this to ask if anyone else has made a mistake on Appendix 2 and what they did? I know it's probably not a big deal, but I'm nervous and wondering if I should send in the part of the appendix that I missed information on . 

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Hi ksand/larrabee,

So we are almost ready to press submit. My wife will be submitting her online application this Saturday (21/07).  I have sent her most of the documents via UPS which she received within 3 working days. Would you be able to arrange our document submission list in the recommended order.

- Online Application Form
- Appendix 2 (CAT 3A)
- Biometric Receipt Confirmation
- IHS Receipt
- Priority Receipt
- Return Shipping Labels
- Letter of Introduction (applicant)
- Current Passport and 1 photocopy (applicant)   
- 2 Passport-sized Photographs (applicant)
- Original and 1 photo copy of divorce decree (applicant)
-  Original and photocopy of extended marriage certificate (applicant )
- Letter of Introduction (sponsor)               
- Photocopy of Passport Bio Page certified by post office (sponsor)    
- 2 x Passport sized photographs (sponsor)
- Company letter to verify length and type of employment,  salary and verification of payslips + P60 (sponsor)
- 7 Months of Pay Slips - Certified   by HR manager (sponsor)         
- 8 Months Bank Statements – Stamped by bank on every page containing transactions (sponsor)      
- P60 - Certified by employer (sponsor)
- Original job offer and contract (sponsor)
- Tenancy Agreement (sponsor)                  
- Non objection letter from landlord (sponsor)
- Whats App Messages (4 pages )
- Face time call logs from June 18 - July 18 (1 page)
- Flight confirmation emails (holidays together; 12 pages)
- Photographs of Relationship (6 in total, 3 pages)
- 2 photographs from wedding printed on photo paper (in addition to 6 photos)            
- Train tickets through relationship (4 pages)
- Joint bank account confirmation (with overdraft/credit facility to show shared financial responsibilities)

Are we missing anything? I think this covers everything. We were thinking of putting post it notes on top of every little section e.g. letter of introduction, financial, accommodation , proof of relationship etc. Will this be okay?

Date check - I want to make sure that all financial and other documents cover the 6 months they ask for and are also within 28 days from date of online application submission.

1. Payslips - Run from 19/12/17 - 25/06/18 which is 6 months and 6 days. Technically it's a period of 7 months as the 19/12/17 payslips covers the month of December. However , on the top of the pay slip, it only says the issue date. As for the 28 day rule, we will be within 26 days of our submission date of 21/07/18.
2. Bank statements - Run from 21/11/17 - 20/06/18 covering a period of 7 months, 4 weeks and 1 day. This ensures that all 7 payslip deposits can be verified. 8 bank statements in total. No discrepancies in payslip and deposited salary. Last bank statement will be issued on 21/06/18 so on the date of online submission. This will be valid as it is on the day, and not after.
3. Letter from employer - Dated 26/06/18 . Within 25 days so no problem here.
4. Letter from landlord - Dated 03/07/18 . Within 18 days so okay here too.

These are the only things we had down for the 28 day rule. Could someone do a sanity check and make sure this adds up.

I am still waiting for my July bank statement which is the last piece of our puzzle. Once stamped by bank and sent out, I will post it to my wife and she will have the full set of documents. I know that you're always meant to have all documents to hand before applying but the way my statements work, it would have never worked out so we have decided to apply on 21/07 and book the bio metrics for 03/08(+/- 2 days). This gives me sufficient time to get the last statement stamped and posted to my wife.

Proof of relationship :

1. We are sending 8 photos in total. We have printed 2 photos from the actual wedding on photo paper and then 6 photos of us through the relationship and put them in a word document. I know this is excessive and will occupy a bit more time but it certainly should not be a reason for refusal.

2- What's app messages - We are sending messages covering the entire duration of our relationship, up until one week before application submission date. So for a total of 1 year and 9 months, we are sending approximately 80 screenshots, approximately 1 screenshot per 10 days. We haven't cropped out the message content. I have gone through every single message several times to make sure there is nothing in there that will jeopardize our application. The messages are almost all greetings or emojis. A reason for not hiding the content is , my wife lost her phone around July 2017 so her chat history only goes back to last year which means I have only sent messages from my side for the first 11 months. By not hiding the content, they can see the 2 way communication so it should not matter that they're all from my side. Just didn't want it to look strange if 70% of the screenshots were from my side. The screenshots also include messages from times where we were together (including weekends holidays etc)

3. Notes - Although, I don't think explanation is really need in most cases, I have added a few notes on certain documents. For the whats app messages, I have added notes on top of the word document to say that my wife had lost her phone , so messages prior to July 2017 can not be retrieved . This has been our only method of communication (no FB messenger etc).

We are submitting screenshots of train ticket receipts (from train line app). This is to show that we saw each other on the weekend when she was in the UK. I have added this as a note on top of the document.

I have also added a text box next to the photos of us together and made a comment to say when and where the photos were taken.

Signature - Only the following documents out of the list will have a wet signature:

- Letter of introduction (sponsor)
- Letter from employer (sponsor)
- Non objection letter from landlord (sponsor)
- Bank statements (sponsor). For the bank statements, I have them verified in 3 different sets. So I have November - April verified , then May , June verified , finally July verified. This means there will be 3 different sets of signatures on these. Shouldn't be a problem I hope. Also , the July statement won't be stamped until 24/07/18, 3 days after application submission date.

Apologies for the lengthy post but we are now 5 days away from submitting this and wanted to make sure we have covered all bases.

Thank you 

No, leave the ones that are stamped. And as long as the unstamped one was original and came through the mail that's fine too.
I always had my statements printed in branch but had them stamp them too. 

Hi Larrabee,

We are almost there with our application submission. I wanted to run the contents of some of the documents we are sending.

1. Letter of introduction from me

28/06/2018
To The Entry Clearance Officer,
Ref: Spouse Visa

I am writing to confirm my sponsorship of (wife’s name) for a spousal visa to join me in the UK. I am a British citizen and a permanent resident in the UK.

I am currently employed full-time at (company name) as a (job role) and have been employed here since 20th of November 2017. My current salary is (salary) and I have been earning this salary since 20th of November 2017. I will therefore be using this salary to meet the financial requirement under Category A and I am including the relevant supporting documents as evidence.

When (wife’s name) has been granted her visa, we plan to live at (address) which is a 4 bedroom house that I rent. I am including the most recent letting agreement statement and further supporting documents including a no objection letter from the landlord to meet the accommodation requirements.

(Wife’s name) and I first met in person at the (pub) in London on 29th of September 2016. We met during a product launch event for (previous company) where we were both employed. There was a clear spark between us and we started dating on the 30th of September 2016 and soon entered into a relationship in October 2016. We immediately found we had many things in common with shared interests in food and a passion for travelling. During the time that (wife) and I were working at (company), we were able to see each other on a daily basis. (Wife) was working at (company) on a Tier 2 visa whilst I was on a fixed term contract. Upon completion of my fixed term contract at (company), I relocated to Cambridge for a short while before permanently moving to (current location). During this time, (wife) and I visited each other on alternative weekends.

Over the last year and a half, we realised that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We held a civil ceremony and got married in New York under the presence of family and friends. We have made the decision to settle in the UK based on various factors. This includes the high quality of education, level of skilled jobs, excellent healthcare system and the safe environment that it provides , thus enabling us to start a family.

I am including the following documents to support the application:
•   Certified copy of my UK passport
•   2 x passport sized photographs
•   6 months of payslips – Certified by HR manager
•   6 months of bank statements showing deposits of each pay slip –Statements certified and stamped by bank
•   Original job contract and original job offer letter
•   P60
•   Detailed letter from employer including length of employment, current salary and type of employment
•   Current rental agreement
•   Non objection letter from landlord
•   Extended marriage certificate
•   Joint bank account details
•   Proof of relationship – photos from wedding, holidays , WhatsApp messages, train tickets and flight confirmations

Yours Sincerely,
(my name)

2. Letter from employer

26/06/2018
To The Entry Clearance Officer,
Ref: Employment confirmation (my name)

I am writing to confirm that (my name) is currently employed at (company) as (job title). (My name) has been employed on a permanent, full-time, salaried contract with us since 20/11/2017. The total length of employment till date is 7 months. (My name) current annual salary is (salary) and they have been earning this salary since 20/11/2017.

I can also confirm that the payslips and P60 provided with this application are authentic and correct, as follows:

December 2017 – Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 09 covering the month of December 2017.
January 2018 – Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 10 covering the month of January 2018.
February 2018 – Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 11 covering the month of February 2018.
March 2018 - Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 12 covering the month of March 2018.
April 2018 - Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 01 covering the month of April 2018.
May 2018 - Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 02 covering the month of May 2018.
June 2018 - Basic pre-tax salary of £(salary), tax month 03 covering the month of June 2018.

P60 – Total pre-tax income of (amount shown on P60) covering tax year to 5 April 2018.

If you require further information please contact (HR manager’s email address)


Sincerely,
(HR managers name)
Interim HR Manager

3. Non objection letter from landlord

(landlords name)
(Landlords address)
(Landlords mobile)
 
03/07/18
 
To the Entry Clearance Officer,
 
I can confirm that I am the landlord and owner of (address). This property has 4 bedrooms and two bathrooms. The property has been previously let for a number of years and is classed as a long term let property.

I can confirm that (my name) met our tenant application criteria and has resided at this property since 29th of January 2018 as the sole tenant. (My name) has been an ideal tenant and has never missed a month’s rent. He has also completed the assured shorthold period. Therefore, by agreement with both parties the tenancy has become periodic (rolling month-to-month).
 
I, (landlord’s name) am aware that (wife) would be moving into the property upon her arrival in the UK. I am happy for this to be the case and am giving my permission. Please also be notified that they will not break the Housing Overcrowding Act. The rental agreement will be amended to include (wife) name once she has been granted the relevant visa documentation from the UK home office.
 
If you would like to discuss the matter further please call me on (landlords mobile).
 
 
Yours sincerely
(Landlord)


I have also made my landlord and HR manager aware that although rare, they may get a phone call from UKVI.  How often does this happen? The HR manager at work is only there until October and I have only given her direct dial.

All three letter have been signed and dated (within 28 days). The company letter is on company letter headed paper.

Thank you

Yes, you leave 3.22 blank as it does not apply to you.

So, you fill out Part 3A as follows:
3.4 - Yes
3.5 - 3.10 - Your employment details
3.11 - Put the annual salary you are relying on, as listed on your employer letter
3.12 - Yes
Go to 3.21
3.21 - Yes
3.22 - leave blank



No, it doesn't need to be signed.

Hi ksand ,

Any advice on the topics posted above ?



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Hi ksand ,

Any advice on the topics posted above ?

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Your employer letter and landlord letter look fine - though all the letters should finish with 'Yours Faithfully', not 'Yours Sincerely'.

Sincerely is used if you know the person you are writing to
Faithfully is used when you don't know the person you are writing to

Your sponsor letter is a bit too detailed in some parts and not detailed enough in other parts. I would take out the 'of' from all your dates - it just looks weird and is too formal. You also don't need to include the list of documents you are including, because that will be in your wife's contents letter anyway.

I would suggest the following adjustments:

To The Entry Clearance Officer,

I am writing to confirm my sponsorship of (wife’s name) for a settlement visa to join me in the UK. I am a British citizen and have been resident in the UK since birth (assuming you have)
 
I am currently employed full-time at (company name) as a (job role). I have been employed here since 20th of November 2017 and earning a salary of (£salary) since this date. Therefore I meet the financial requirement under Category A and I am including the relevant supporting documents as evidence.

When (wife’s name) has been granted her visa, we plan to live at (address) which is a 4 bedroom house that I rent. I am including the most recent letting agreement statement and a letter from my landlord giving (wife) permission to live there with me.

(Wife’s name) and I first met in person in London at a work event on 29th September 2016and we entered into a relationship on (date) October 2016. We both worked at (company) and therefore saw each other daily until (date). I then temporarily relocated to Cambridge on (date) and then permanently to (city) on (date). During this time, (wife) and I visited each other on alternative weekends. We also communicated via WhatsApp/calls when we were apart. We got engaged on (date) and married in a civil ceremony in New York on (date). We have made the decision to settle in the UK because of the high quality of education, level of skilled jobs, excellent healthcare system and the safe environment that it provides , thus enabling us to start a family..

Yours Faithfully,
(Your Name)

Your employer letter and landlord letter look fine - though all the letters should finish with 'Yours Faithfully', not 'Yours Sincerely'.

Sincerely is used if you know the person you are writing to
Faithfully is used when you don't know the person you are writing to

Your sponsor letter is a bit too detailed in some parts and not detailed enough in other parts. I would take out the 'of' from all your dates - it just looks weird and is too formal. You also don't need to include the list of documents you are including, because that will be in your wife's contents letter anyway.

I would suggest the following adjustments:

To The Entry Clearance Officer,

I am writing to confirm my sponsorship of (wife’s name) for a settlement visa to join me in the UK. I am a British citizen and have been resident in the UK since birth (assuming you have)
 
I am currently employed full-time at (company name) as a (job role). I have been employed here since 20th of November 2017 and earning a salary of (£salary) since this date. Therefore I meet the financial requirement under Category A and I am including the relevant supporting documents as evidence.

When (wife’s name) has been granted her visa, we plan to live at (address) which is a 4 bedroom house that I rent. I am including the most recent letting agreement statement and a letter from my landlord giving (wife) permission to live there with me.

(Wife’s name) and I first met in person in London at a work event on 29th September 2016and we entered into a relationship on (date) October 2016. We both worked at (company) and therefore saw each other daily until (date). I then temporarily relocated to Cambridge on (date) and then permanently to (city) on (date). During this time, (wife) and I visited each other on alternative weekends. We also communicated via WhatsApp/calls when we were apart. We got engaged on (date) and married in a civil ceremony in New York on (date). We have made the decision to settle in the UK because of the high quality of education, level of skilled jobs, excellent healthcare system and the safe environment that it provides , thus enabling us to start a family..

Yours Faithfully,
(Your Name)

Excellent , thank you . I will amend my letter of introduction as per your suggestion . What about the post I posted before this one ? Sorry it’s a bit lengthy but we’re ready to push the button !

Thanks


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Excellent , thank you . I will amend my letter of introduction as per your suggestion . What about the post I posted before this one ? Sorry it’s a bit lengthy but we’re ready to push the button !

Thanks

Sorry, didn't realise there were two posts.

The recommended order for the documents would be:

Applicant's Documents
- Priority Receipt (must be on the very top so it is seen immediately)
- Return Shipping Labels
- Letter of Introduction (applicant)
- Online Application Form
- Appendix 2
- Biometric Receipt Confirmation
- IHS Receipt
- Current Passport
- 1 Passport-sized Photograph ... only 1 is needed

Sponsor's Documents
- Letter of Introduction (sponsor)               
- Photocopy of Passport Bio Page certified by post office (sponsor)    

Financial Requirement Documents
- 7 Months of Pay Slips - Certified   by HR manager (sponsor)         
- 8 Months Bank Statements – Stamped by bank on every page containing transactions (sponsor)      
- Employer letter
- Original job offer and contract (sponsor)
- P60 - Certified by employer (sponsor)

Accommodation Documents
- Tenancy Agreement (sponsor)                  
- Non objection letter from landlord (sponsor)

Relationship Documents
- Original marriage certificate
- Original divorce decree
- 2 photos maximum, printed on proper photo paper... one from wedding, one from beginning of relationship
- Flight confirmation emails (holidays together; 12 pages)
- Train tickets through relationship (4 pages)
- Whats App Messages (4 pages )
- Face time call logs from June 18 - July 18 (1 page)         
- Joint bank account confirmation (with overdraft/credit facility to show shared financial responsibilities)

Photocopies of all original documents

Are we missing anything? I think this covers everything. We were thinking of putting post it notes on top of every little section e.g. letter of introduction, financial, accommodation , proof of relationship etc. Will this be okay?

You can do. Or you can secure each section with a rubber band or paperclips

Date check - I want to make sure that all financial and other documents cover the 6 months they ask for and are also within 28 days from date of online application submission.

1. Payslip dates look good

2. Bank statements.... at the moment, they don't meet the requirements (as they have to cover up to 25th June), but they will as long as you can get the latest statement to her in time

3. Letter from employer is fine

4. Date of landlord letter is not relevant and doesn't have to be within 28 days.

Proof of relationship :
1. Only send 2 photos maximum. One from the wedding. One from early in the relationship. You don't need to add any notes about the photos, and they really need to be printed on proper photo paper. The ONLY reason for sending 1 photo is to prove you have met once in person. That's it. They are not supposed to document the relationship... the ECO just needs to tick a box to say they have seen 1 photo of you together.

3. I would take out the notes/reprint them without the notes. They are not needed. Any explanation about messages being lost should be in your wife's contents letter or in your sponsor letter. We don't recommend sending anything from FB anyway, so not having messages is not an issue at all.

Sorry, didn't realise there were two posts.

The recommended order for the documents would be:

Applicant's Documents
- Priority Receipt (must be on the very top so it is seen immediately)
- Return Shipping Labels
- Letter of Introduction (applicant)
- Online Application Form
- Appendix 2
- Biometric Receipt Confirmation
- IHS Receipt
- Current Passport
- 1 Passport-sized Photograph ... only 1 is needed

Sponsor's Documents
- Letter of Introduction (sponsor)               
- Photocopy of Passport Bio Page certified by post office (sponsor)    

Financial Requirement Documents
- 7 Months of Pay Slips - Certified   by HR manager (sponsor)         
- 8 Months Bank Statements – Stamped by bank on every page containing transactions (sponsor)      
- Employer letter
- Original job offer and contract (sponsor)
- P60 - Certified by employer (sponsor)

Accommodation Documents
- Tenancy Agreement (sponsor)                  
- Non objection letter from landlord (sponsor)

Relationship Documents
- Original marriage certificate
- Original divorce decree
- 2 photos maximum, printed on proper photo paper... one from wedding, one from beginning of relationship
- Flight confirmation emails (holidays together; 12 pages)
- Train tickets through relationship (4 pages)
- Whats App Messages (4 pages )
- Face time call logs from June 18 - July 18 (1 page)         
- Joint bank account confirmation (with overdraft/credit facility to show shared financial responsibilities)

Photocopies of all original documents

You can do. Or you can secure each section with a rubber band or paperclips

1. Payslip dates look good

2. Bank statements.... at the moment, they don't meet the requirements (as they have to cover up to 25th June), but they will as long as you can get the latest statement to her in time

3. Letter from employer is fine

4. Date of landlord letter is not relevant and doesn't have to be within 28 days.

Proof of relationship :
1. Only send 2 photos maximum. One from the wedding. One from early in the relationship. You don't need to add any notes about the photos, and they really need to be printed on proper photo paper. The ONLY reason for sending 1 photo is to prove you have met once in person. That's it. They are not supposed to document the relationship... the ECO just needs to tick a box to say they have seen 1 photo of you together.

3. I would take out the notes/reprint them without the notes. They are not needed. Any explanation about messages being lost should be in your wife's contents letter or in your sponsor letter. We don't recommend sending anything from FB anyway, so not having messages is not an issue at all.

Thanks for the response . I will print off another photo of us from earlier on in the relationship on proper photograph paper .

The bank statements as mentioned will be sent out ASAP to cover up until 25/06.

How should we address the missing messages from her side then ? Extra paragraph in her / mine letter of introduction ? Wouldn’t this look a bit odd ?

Also , do you know what is the likelihood that they may call my employer ? I see no reason if the application is straightforward and everything adds up . I have put the telephone number for the interim HR manager in Appendix 2 form but she may be gone in the next 6 weeks . Wondering if I change it to my managers mobile but he too is on holiday for three weeks in August :/

Thanks


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How should we address the missing messages from her side then ? Extra paragraph in her / mine letter of introduction ? Wouldn’t this look a bit odd ?

Why would it look odd?

The purpose of her contents letter is to:
- state the visa type and start date
- explain anything unusual about the documents (i.e. why you are missing some things)
- explain any complicated circumstances, such as refused visas, criminal convictions etc.
- list the documents included

It can just be added as a sentence or two. For example,
'we have included screenshots of WhatsApp messages as part of our relationship proof, however, the screenshots only show my sponsor's side of the conversation because (give your reason)'

Or, if it's in the sponsor letter, you can just say something like:
'we have kept in contact through daily WhatsApp messages and I am including screenshots showing a selection of my side of the conversations'

Also , do you know what is the likelihood that they may call my employer ? I see no reason if the application is straightforward and everything adds up . I have put the telephone number for the interim HR manager in Appendix 2 form but she may be gone in the next 6 weeks . Wondering if I change it to my managers mobile but he too is on holiday for three weeks in August :/

It is extremely unlikely that they will call your employer. I've only heard of it happening maybe once or twice in over 11 years (and thats out of thousands of applications).

I believe the only reason they would call is if they don't believe the employment is genuine or that the company really exists... which rarely happens with US applications, as the US is considered a low-risk country for immigration applications.

Why would it look odd?

The purpose of her contents letter is to:
- state the visa type and start date
- explain anything unusual about the documents (i.e. why you are missing some things)
- explain any complicated circumstances, such as refused visas, criminal convictions etc.
- list the documents included

It can just be added as a sentence or two. For example,
'we have included screenshots of WhatsApp messages as part of our relationship proof, however, the screenshots only show my sponsor's side of the conversation because (give your reason)'

Or, if it's in the sponsor letter, you can just say something like:
'we have kept in contact through daily WhatsApp messages and I am including screenshots showing a selection of my side of the conversations'

It is extremely unlikely that they will call your employer. I've only heard of it happening maybe once or twice in over 11 years (and thats out of thousands of applications).

I believe the only reason they would call is if they don't believe the employment is genuine or that the company really exists... which rarely happens with US applications, as the US is considered a low-risk country for immigration applications.

I will get my wife to just copy those notes and include that as part of her introduction letter .

Brilliant that’s fine . Was wondering if I needed to change contact details on there just in case .



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I believe the only reason they would call is if they don't believe the employment is genuine or that the company really exists... which rarely happens with US applications, as the US is considered a low-risk country for immigration applications.

Hi,

With regards to payment for the visa application, my wife has a UK bank account. Will it make a significant difference if she pays with that rather than US account? Talking about conversion rates and other transactions etc. After doing a quick calculation, it looks like we are looking at $4,000 for the entire visa costs including priority and shipping. I don't know how much she would be charged on top of this. Financially, if it works out better then I could transfer money into her UK account and she could pay using the debit card. Alternatively, she can transfer money from her US to UK account as the exchange rate will be much better and then pay in £'s.

Thanks

She will be charged in US dollars so it will be cheaper/better to use a US card because if she pays with a U.K. card, she will be charged currency conversion and foreign transaction fees.


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She will be charged in US dollars so it will be cheaper/better to use a US card because if she pays with a U.K. card, she will be charged currency conversion and foreign transaction fees.


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Aah okay never mind then


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