Spouse Visa Docs - Proof of relationship

Brilliant , thank you . All these small things coming up now as we gear up to submit our documents . On a different note , I want to ship all my documents next Tuesday to my wife in the US . I had a look at the shipping costs via UPS and it’s about £60. Is that normal or am I doing something wrong ? They will be in an envelope and weight approximately 0.5kgs !


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Yep, that’s pretty normal, though you could always see if the UPS store can give a better price (i.e. if it’s better value to use one of their boxes or something).

I remember being sent a single letter by FedEx from the US once (about 10 years ago) and it cost them around £40 or £50 to send it.


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Yep, that’s pretty normal, though you could always see if the UPS store can give a better price (i.e. if it’s better value to use one of their boxes or something).

I remember being sent a single letter by FedEx from the US once (about 10 years ago) and it cost them around £40 or £50 to send it.


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Alright , fair enough , thought I was doing something wrong , never sent anything to the states . Thanks


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These are all the documents we are sending . Would you be kind enough to have a quick look and make sure we have covered everything .


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Brilliant , thank you . All these small things coming up now as we gear up to submit our documents . On a different note , I want to ship all my documents next Tuesday to my wife in the US . I had a look at the shipping costs via UPS and it’s about £60. Is that normal or am I doing something wrong ? They will be in an envelope and weight approximately 0.5kgs !


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Check out transglobalexpress.co.uk

My husband sent me his bits using them and it only cost £18 I believe. He was able to send via UPS express. Transglobal express sorts air waybills and UPS offers free collection of your documents (or you can drop off if more convenient).

I on the other hand used them to send my package to Sheffield and it cost £28. Though I used DHL, they do offer a UPS Express rate.


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Check out transglobalexpress.co.uk

My husband sent me his bits using them and it only cost £18 I believe. He was able to send via UPS express. Transglobal express sorts air waybills and UPS offers free collection of your documents (or you can drop off if more convenient).

I on the other hand used them to send my package to Sheffield and it cost £28. Though I used DHL, they do offer a UPS Express rate.


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Thank you ! I will have a look into it . I am not sure if we would want to use it to ship documents to Sheffield given the significance of them , wouldn’t want to risk anything . Just for peace of mind , we will probably get the return shipping labels .


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Thank you ! I will have a look into it . I am not sure if we would want to use it to ship documents to Sheffield given the significance of them , wouldn’t want to risk anything . Just for peace of mind , we will probably get the return shipping labels .


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There are only 2 options to get your documents BACK from Sheffield:

1) Return shipping label from VFS

2) you set up an account with DHL/UPS and have home office charge your account when shipping back to USA

So you couldn’t use transglobal for returning your documents anyway. I totally get what you mean though. We used them to help bring down the costs. At the end of the day, it’s still UPS/DHL sending your package and you’re still going to get the same service no matter which you choose. It’s not like they use a different fleet to ship goods I was just sharing in case other people are concerned with shipping costs. There ARE cheaper options.


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There are only 2 options to get your documents BACK from Sheffield:

1) Return shipping label from VFS

2) you set up an account with DHL/UPS and have home office charge your account when shipping back to USA

So you couldn’t use transglobal for returning your documents anyway. I totally get what you mean though. We used them to help bring down the costs. At the end of the day, it’s still UPS/DHL sending your package and you’re still going to get the same service no matter which you choose. It’s not like they use a different fleet to ship goods I was just sharing in case other people are concerned with shipping costs. There ARE cheaper options.


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Yeah , that's why I wanted to look into it. The shipping alone will cost around £300. As you said, you can't do anything about the return shipment , but the other costs can be minimized. Just have to look at the risk against the benefits. I had a look on the website just now and the cheapest quote it has given me is £50, which is only £11 cheaper than the UPS website. I won't risk it for the sake of £11 !

These are all the documents we are sending . Would you be kind enough to have a quick look and make sure we have covered everything .

Okay, your documents list layout looks confusing to me, in terms of how you present it, I would put an underlined heading at the top of each section.

You have a few items there that you do not need, so you can take out the following:
- 1 of your passport photos (only 1 photo should be sent)
- 1 of your passport photocopies (only 1 copy needed)
-  both sponsor's passport photos (no photos should be sent)
- sponsor's original job offer... only the actual contract should be sent
- you don't really need the visa fee receipt - they will know you've paid because the application and biometrics have been submitted

There are my adjustments to your document list, in the order they should be organised (btw, it's helpful if you can actually type your documents list into the reply box rather than attaching a photo, because that way I can just quote it, instead of having to typing it all out myself, like I'm about to do):

Applicant Documents
- Settlement Priority Processing Receipt (must be on the very top)
- Return Shipping Label (should also be at the top, under the priority receipt)
- Cover letter from Applicant (contents list only, along with visa type applied for, date you want visa to start, plus explanations of anything unusual about the documents in the package (i.e. large bank transactions), or any criminal convictions/bad UK immigration history the applicant has. There should be nothing about your relationship)
- Online application Form
- VAF4a Appendix 2
- Stamped Biometrics Confirmation Sheet
- IHS surcharge receipt
- Current US passport
- All previous US passports
- 1 passport photo

Sponsor's Documents
- Sponsor letter of support for the visa (outlining how each requirement is met)
- Copy of passport photo page

Financial Documents
- 6 months sponsor's payslips
- 6 months sponsor's bank statements
- letter from employer
- Original job contract
- May 2018 P60

Accommodation Documents
- original tenancy agreement
- letter from landlord

Relationship Documents (in order of importance)
- Marriage Certificate
- Applicant's Divorce Decree
- 2 photos of applicant and sponsor together (1 from wedding and 1 from early in the relationship
- flight confirmations/boarding passes
- train tickets
- WhatsApp messages
- Joint bank account statement

Photocopies
- this is where you put the photocopies of any original documents you wish to be returned to you

Okay, your documents list layout looks confusing to me, in terms of how you present it, I would put an underlined heading at the top of each section.

You have a few items there that you do not need, so you can take out the following:
- 1 of your passport photos (only 1 photo should be sent)
- 1 of your passport photocopies (only 1 copy needed)
-  both sponsor's passport photos (no photos should be sent)
- sponsor's original job offer... only the actual contract should be sent
- you don't really need the visa fee receipt - they will know you've paid because the application and biometrics have been submitted

There are my adjustments to your document list, in the order they should be organised (btw, it's helpful if you can actually type your documents list into the reply box rather than attaching a photo, because that way I can just quote it, instead of having to typing it all out myself, like I'm about to do):

Applicant Documents
- Settlement Priority Processing Receipt (must be on the very top)
- Return Shipping Label (should also be at the top, under the priority receipt)
- Cover letter from Applicant (contents list only, along with visa type applied for, date you want visa to start, plus explanations of anything unusual about the documents in the package (i.e. large bank transactions), or any criminal convictions/bad UK immigration history the applicant has. There should be nothing about your relationship)
- Online application Form
- VAF4a Appendix 2
- Stamped Biometrics Confirmation Sheet
- IHS surcharge receipt
- Current US passport
- All previous US passports
- 1 passport photo

Sponsor's Documents
- Sponsor letter of support for the visa (outlining how each requirement is met)
- Copy of passport photo page

Financial Documents
- 6 months sponsor's payslips
- 6 months sponsor's bank statements
- letter from employer
- Original job contract
- May 2018 P60

Accommodation Documents
- original tenancy agreement
- letter from landlord

Relationship Documents (in order of importance)
- Marriage Certificate
- Applicant's Divorce Decree
- 2 photos of applicant and sponsor together (1 from wedding and 1 from early in the relationship
- flight confirmations/boarding passes
- train tickets
- WhatsApp messages
- Joint bank account statement

Photocopies
- this is where you put the photocopies of any original documents you wish to be returned to you

Hi ,

Sorry I just made this list as a check sheet to make sure I have got all bases covered . Bit jumbled up but I will arrange the documents in the order that you have put them . We will most likely not use priority so will not need that .

Also , my wife doesn’t have her expired US passport . She has tried looking everywhere but can not find it . Will this be a problem ?

Thanks


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Sorry I just made this list as a check sheet to make sure I have got all bases covered . Bit jumbled up but I will arrange the documents in the order that you have put them .

No problem - wasn't sure if that was the contents list you were using for the visa package or not.

We will most likely not use priority so will not need that .

Fair enough, although if you won't be using priority, what is the 'VFS receipt' on your list? The only VFS receipt you should have is the one for priority processing, which is why I assumed you were using it.

Also, are you aware that non-priority applications are taking a lot longer than non-priority at the moment? Based on previous summers, we expect the processing times over the next couple of months to be as follows:
- Priority applications = about 1.5-2 months
- Non-priority applications =3-6 months

So, if you want to have the visa earlier than about October or November, I would pay for priority processing. There have been a lot of people on the forum in the past who have not paid for priority and then regretted it afterwards, either because they didn't realise how long it would take, or because they hated the stress of the long wait.

It used to be possible to upgrade to priority after the fact, but Sheffield stopped allowing this about 1.5 years ago.

Also , my wife doesn’t have her expired US passport . She has tried looking everywhere but can not find it . Will this be a problem ?

She will need to list it on the application form, along with any details she remembers (valid from and valid to dates, passport number etc.), and she will need to explain why she cannot send it with her documents (the form should ask where the passport is now).

No problem - wasn't sure if that was the contents list you were using for the visa package or not.

Fair enough, although if you won't be using priority, what is the 'VFS receipt' on your list? The only VFS receipt you should have is the one for priority processing, which is why I assumed you were using it.

Might have been confused here but I just meant the receipt of payment for the application.

Also, are you aware that non-priority applications are taking a lot longer than non-priority at the moment? Based on previous summers, we expect the processing times over the next couple of months to be as follows:
- Priority applications = about 1.5-2 months
- Non-priority applications =3-6 months
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So, if you want to have the visa earlier than about October or November, I would pay for priority processing. There have been a lot of people on the forum in the past who have not paid for priority and then regretted it afterwards, either because they didn't realize how long it would take, or because they hated the stress of the long wait.

We have discussed this at length. Ideally, we would like to be together by mid October. It's a really tough one, we will be submitting our application on 6th of July (by the latest). Given that my wife can get her bio metrics done the following week, we will ship everything around mid July. So looking towards the end of July, when we receive the documents received email from Sheffield. We will be submitting our application in the middle of the "summer backlog storm". Not an ideal time.  My wife has a contract job at the moment which will finish in mid October, if needed, she can extend it for another 3/4 weeks. So we don't have a problem on that front. My only worry would be when those 3-4 months start stretching into 5-6.The reason being , obviously the longer the wait, the more stressed and worried we will be. Also, worst case scenario, for whatever reason, if we get a negative decision, then this really will be awful (although we are not thinking about that at all).

It used to be possible to upgrade to priority after the fact, but Sheffield stopped allowing this about 1.5 years ago.

She will need to list it on the application form, along with any details she remembers (valid from and valid to dates, passport number etc.), and she will need to explain why she cannot send it with her documents (the form should ask where the passport is now).

She is going to have another look over this weekend, if not, then she will write all the details in the application form. Hopefully, that should be sufficient. Any particular reason that they ask for expired passports?

Might have been confused here but I just meant the receipt of payment for the application.

Ah, okay - it was just that your list had the following:
- visa fee receipt (from the online application)
- IHS receipt (from your emails once you have paid the IHS fee)
- VFS receipt...? (I believe you'll get one from the shipping label purchase, but it doesn't need to be included - you only need to send the actual printed shipping label. The only VFS receipt that would need to be included is the priority processing receipt).

We have discussed this at length. Ideally, we would like to be together by mid October. It's a really tough one, we will be submitting our application on 6th of July (by the latest). Given that my wife can get her bio metrics done the following week, we will ship everything around mid July. So looking towards the end of July, when we receive the documents received email from Sheffield. We will be submitting our application in the middle of the "summer backlog storm". Not an ideal time.  My wife has a contract job at the moment which will finish in mid October, if needed, she can extend it for another 3/4 weeks. So we don't have a problem on that front. My only worry would be when those 3-4 months start stretching into 5-6.The reason being , obviously the longer the wait, the more stressed and worried we will be. Also, worst case scenario, for whatever reason, if we get a negative decision, then this really will be awful (although we are not thinking about that at all).

Yeah, it is a tough one. Personally, if you can afford priority, I always recommend going for it, if only for peace of mind. We've had quite a few people who have happily decided they will wait and go non-priority to save the money, because they are in no hurry to get to the UK, but then they get a few weeks in, the stress of waiting catches up to them and they start wishing they had paid for priority instead.

I'd estimate that if your documents arrive in Sheffield mid-July, if you pay for priority, you'll probably get the visa by about mid-September. If you go non-priority, I'd estimate mid-late October at the earliest.

She is going to have another look over this weekend, if not, then she will write all the details in the application form. Hopefully, that should be sufficient. Any particular reason that they ask for expired passports?

They ask for previous passports to check the applicant's travel history (if she had dual-nationality with any other country, she would also need to provide those passports as well).

If she really cannot find it, it's fine for her to give any details she can (if she has the passport number, that'll be helpful, but not a massive deal if she doesn't), and just state that it has been lost.

Ah, okay - it was just that your list had the following:
- visa fee receipt (from the online application)
- IHS receipt (from your emails once you have paid the IHS fee)
- VFS receipt...? (I believe you'll get one from the shipping label purchase, but it doesn't need to be included - you only need to send the actual printed shipping label. The only VFS receipt that would need to be included is the priority processing receipt).

Yeah, it is a tough one. Personally, if you can afford priority, I always recommend going for it, if only for peace of mind. We've had quite a few people who have happily decided they will wait and go non-priority to save the money, because they are in no hurry to get to the UK, but then they get a few weeks in, the stress of waiting catches up to them and they start wishing they had paid for priority instead.

It's even more difficult for us as it's not a normal situation . It will save us approximately $850, which isn't a lot in the bigger scheme of things . That aside, we have a slightly different problem to most people I suppose. We want the visa to be approved as soon as possible , however, we don't want it too soon if that makes sense. (October would be perfect, November not so great ). My wife has been working in the UK for the last 3 years and she got really fed up with her job so resigned (Tier 2 was valid until 2020). She has been fortunate enough to secure a flexible, contract job and spend some time enjoying what she does before coming back. We know it will be a struggle to get a similar job in her field in the UK. So it will be good for her to spend as much time as realistically possible working on it. More exposure will increase likelihood of finding a similar job in UK.

It would have been perfect timing had we applied in this month, would have been just before the summer rush. However with me being in my current role for only 7 months, I didn't want us to take any risks on the documentation side. Having an extra month means I will be submitting 7 pay slips and 7 bank statements.(covering over 6 months). Anyway, before she submits her application, we will make a final call but as of now we are "happy" to apply through non priority.

I'd estimate that if your documents arrive in Sheffield mid-July, if you pay for priority, you'll probably get the visa by about mid-September. If you go non-priority, I'd estimate mid-late October at the earliest.

They ask for previous passports to check the applicant's travel history (if she had dual-nationality with any other country, she would also need to provide those passports as well).

If she really cannot find it, it's fine for her to give any details she can (if she has the passport number, that'll be helpful, but not a massive deal if she doesn't), and just state that it has been lost.

She has all her passport details saved from her previous visa applications ! Knew it would come in handy at some point.

It's even more difficult for us as it's not a normal situation . It will save us approximately $850, which isn't a lot in the bigger scheme of things . That aside, we have a slightly different problem to most people I suppose. We want the visa to be approved as soon as possible , however, we don't want it too soon if that makes sense. (October would be perfect, November not so great ). My wife has been working in the UK for the last 3 years and she got really fed up with her job so resigned (Tier 2 was valid until 2020). She has been fortunate enough to secure a flexible, contract job and spend some time enjoying what she does before coming back. We know it will be a struggle to get a similar job in her field in the UK. So it will be good for her to spend as much time as realistically possible working on it. More exposure will increase likelihood of finding a similar job in UK.

Actually you are in the same boat as many people here on the forum . A lot of people have to time their application so that they can move when they need to... and luckily the application form gives you the opportunity to determine what date your visa starts.

The 'Intended Travel Date' listed on the application form is the date that they are supposed make the visa valid from... although lately they have been making it valid starting from 7 days before the date. She will have 30 days to enter the UK from the date they put on the visa vignette.

So, if you need the visa to start on a particular date in October, then you should put that date as the Intended Travel Date on the online application, and then emphasis this explicitly in the applicant contents letter... in bold, highlighted and underlined!

If however, the date you request has passed before the visa is issued, instead, they will usually make the visa valid for 30 days either from the date the decision is made, or from about 7 days afterwards (to give time for you to receive the visa).

So, if you pay for priority and request a travel date of say, 15th October... if the visa is processed and issued in August, it shouldn't actually start until about 8th October. If you don't pay for priority and it is issued before 15th October, it should start either on 8th October, or as close to 15th October as they can get. If however, it is not issued by 15th October, it should start from a few days after the decision is made.

It would have been perfect timing had we applied in this month, would have been just before the summer rush. However with me being in my current role for only 7 months, I didn't want us to take any risks on the documentation side. Having an extra month means I will be submitting 7 pay slips and 7 bank statements.(covering over 6 months). Anyway, before she submits her application, we will make a final call but as of now we are "happy" to apply through non priority.

No, that's good - it's better to take your time and make sure you have everything sorted out than to rush and potentially miss something important .

She has all her passport details saved from her previous visa applications ! Knew it would come in handy at some point.

Ah, great .

Just a quick question about the sponsor letter since I am the sponsor. I was under the impression that my husband who is applying for the spouse visa was the one who writes a letter with his details and intention to move to the UK. Am I wrong?