Can we apply for a Spouse Visa with No Current UK address.

I’ve recently noticed that VFS Global seems to be involved with making UK Visa applications..?

It looks like this a commercial company, setup to help you make your application.

Is it mandatory that such a service be used, or can you still independently make Visa Applications by going to https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/account/register

I also notice a statement on a VFS webpage that quote...

“ In light of the current Coronavirus alert, Department of Homeland Security Application Support Centers (ASCs) are closed”

Is this saying that its just the VFS Centre that’s currently closed or that even if I try and start my application on https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/account/register
 I will find this service closed too at the present..?

I’ve recently noticed that VFS Global seems to be involved with making UK Visa applications..?

It looks like this a commercial company, setup to help you make your application.

Is it mandatory that such a service be used, or can you still independently make Visa Applications by going to https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/account/register

VFS Global is UKVI's official partner. They oversee booking of biometrics appointments, additional services (like priority service), and the upload of your visa documents for processing.

However, you do not fill out your visa application through them.

The link you provided above is no longer used to make visa applications. Instead, you must apply online here:

https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/family-routes?_ga=2.199058415.1126002356.1584999857-1140672851.1579372608

Once you have gathered your documents, applied online and paid for the visa, you then go to the VFS Global website to book your biometrics appointment, purchase any additional services, and upload your documents.

I also notice a statement on a VFS webpage that quote...

“ In light of the current Coronavirus alert, Department of Homeland Security Application Support Centers (ASCs) are closed”

Is this saying that its just the VFS Centre that’s currently closed or that even if I try and start my application on https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/account/register
 I will find this service closed too at the present..?

Biometrics are taken at USCIS Application Support Centers (ASCs) on behalf of UKVI...they are run by US immigration.  Or, if you pay an extra $2000, you can apply in person at one of the 10 VFS Premium centres in major US cities

However, at the moment ALL biometrics centres in the US are closed due to COVID-19, which means that while you can still apply for your visa online (through this link ), you cannot actually make or attend a biometrics appointment at the moment.

Also, see this page for how you apply for a UK visa in the USA:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/usa-apply-for-a-uk-visa/apply-for-a-uk-visa-in-the-usa

Hi Ksand24

Are you sure your latest link is correct..?  As soon as you start the application form the page on this link, it asks if you are currently in the UK and if not tells you you need to apply elsewhere..?  As we are in the US right now this link doesn’t seem to be for us..?

 

Hi Ksand24

Are you sure your latest link is correct..?  As soon as you start the application form the page on this link, it asks if you are currently in the UK and if not tells you you need to apply elsewhere..?  As we are in the US right now this link doesn’t seem to be for us..?

 

Ah, sorry, I clicked on the wrong link from the Partner Visa page and sent you to the 'applying from inside the UK' application form. That's what I get for replying quickly.

This is the correct link for applying from outside the UK:
https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/apply-visa-type/appendixfm?_ga=2.190841578.1126002356.1584999857-1140672851.1579372608

I have an ‘Accomodation Requirement’ question.  Re Council Tax ..

I will soon need to be in two places at once, sorting out a UK Rental, adequate for myself, (The UK Citizen), and my wife, (The Entry and Leave to Stay Visa applicant), to reside in initially in the UK.

I understand  the Tenancy Agreement will need to be included in the Visa Application, together with a letter from the Landlord/Letting Agent stating my wife is entitled to reside in the rental, once she has her Visa.

I have enough pension income and savings to fulfill the financial requirements for entry BUT, will I also need to show a Council Tax Bill and/or show that rent and Council Tax is being taken from my bank account..?   

Just browsing Appendix FM 1.7A Adequate Maintenance & Accommodation has left me a little puzzled..? This seems to be looking into the amount of rent and Council Tax paid and requesting documentary proof of payment..?  OR maybe this section doesn’t apply to me..?

Even after getting a UK rental, I will need to be living in the US until all the loose ends at this side of the pond are sorted, so my UK rental may well have 2 to 3 months where no one is living there to start with.. Can The UK Council Tax paper bills for my UK rental be posted to my US address initially..?

I understand  the Tenancy Agreement will need to be included in the Visa Application, together with a letter from the Landlord/Letting Agent stating my wife is entitled to reside in the rental, once she has her Visa.

Yes. That’s correct.

You need the tenancy agreement and a letter of permission from the landlord.

I have enough pension income and savings to fulfill the financial requirements for entry BUT, will I also need to show a Council Tax Bill and/or show that rent and Council Tax is being taken from my bank account..?   

No, you do not need to show a council tax bill, or that rent and bills are coming out of the account.

All you need to show is:
- pension statement showing your monthly pension income
- bank statement(s) showing pension being paid in
- 6 full months of bank statements showing your savings have been in the account in full for at least 6 months

And you need to prove that your annual Pension income + (Total Savings - £16,000)/2.5 = £18,600 or more.

Just browsing Appendix FM 1.7A Adequate Maintenance & Accommodation has left me a little puzzled..? This seems to be looking into the amount of rent and Council Tax paid and requesting documentary proof of payment..?  OR maybe this section doesn’t apply to me..?

Even after getting a UK rental, I will need to be living in the US until all the loose ends at this side of the pond are sorted, so my UK rental may well have 2 to 3 months where no one is living there to start with.. Can The UK Council Tax paper bills for my UK rental be posted to my US address initially..?

You should not be looking at that document because it does not apply to you.

Adequate Maintenance is only for people who are exempt from meeting the financial requirement because they are relieving certain U.K. benefits.

Assuming you do not current receive any of the qualifying UK government benefits, you are not exempt from meeting the financial requirement

So, if you are using Pension and Savings to meet the financial requirement (Categories D and E) and you have enough to meet the financial requirement then the Adequate Maintenance document does not apply to you and you should not be reading it.

You should be looking at Category D and E of this document:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826340/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1.pdf


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Many Thanks, Ksand24.

I’m trying to revise everything I’ve studied previously, and with the deluge of documents, and appendices that you can soon, unwittingly browse onto, it’s all too easy to get lost..!!

I’m just trying to put together, a ‘Must Include List’ for all the necessary documents, I have to provide in the Visa application process to cover the Financial, Accommodation, Relationship and Any Other Category that I might have missed.. 

I’m also concerned over the US Biometric Centres being closed because of Covid-19. I believe there’s a time limit between starting your application and getting the Biometic’s done. So what happens if these centers are closed..?

I can sleep again..

I’m trying to revise everything I’ve studied previously, and with the deluge of documents, and appendices that you can soon, unwittingly browse onto, it’s all too easy to get lost..!!

The key is not to overthink things (for example, don’t start looking at documentation that has nothing to do with your financial situation)

It sounds like you’ve got the accommodation and financial sections worked out, so the only other thing to sort out is your relationship evidence.

I’m also concerned over the US Biometric Centres being closed because of Covid-19. I believe there’s a time limit between starting your application and getting the Biometic’s done. So what happens if these centers are closed..

Nothing happens. You won’t be penalised for not being able to book an appointment, so you don’t need to be concerned.

The only deadline is the one between attending biometrics and mailing your documents to New York (which is 5 days)... but since you cannot attend biometrics, that deadline won’t apply until after you the centres have reopened and you can attend your appointment.

So either you can submit the online application and then wait until the biometrics centres have reopened in order to book your biometrics. Or you can wait to apply online until the centres are open again, and submit the online application and book biometrics then.


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Once again Ksand24, Many Thanks...

Here’s an interesting question on ‘Original Bank Statements’.   

If I understand the rules correctly,  you can only send original bank statements in with your application.  I’m guessing a printout on your own printer from the .pdf file statement that appears online, won’t be allowed.

BUT, on a recent phone call to my US Barclay’s ONLINE Savings Account, where I asked what I would receive from them if I requested paper statements from them, was that all they do is printout the Very same online .pdf statements for you and post them to you.  This being no more ‘Authentic ’ than if I’d printed them out myself. They would look exactly the same.

 I asked if they could put an official stamp on each page, but this isn’t a service they provide..!! What they do offer, ONLINE, is a Form you can print out which gives you a more official looking statement about your Account number and  Balance TODAY, which has a signature of some bank official with a contact phone number.  BUT that’s just a statement for TODAY and not for a period going back 6 months.

They tell me this is good enough to satisfy a US bank, if for example you were seeking a Mortgage, BUT will it satisfy the UK Visa People..?

There are NO Barclay’s Banks in the US that I can walk into to get some kind of extra verification..!!

So I’m having to rely on UK savings alone, incase my US savings don’t cut it..!! 

The rules for bank statements are that they must either be:

- official statements sent to you in the mail by the bank
Or
- printed online statements that either have been stamped by the bank branch on every single page or accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the bank

So, if you order the statements online and they mail them to you, those are considered original.

If you just print them from online banking, they are not acceptable unless they are accompanied by a letter from the bank or are stamped on every page.

So, it sounds like your only option will be to request paper statements from the US bank, even if they are the same as the online statements.


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Thanks Ksand24

I suppose I could request, (and pay for),  the last 6 months statements from the bank, albeit they won’t look any more authentic than printouts I could have taken myself, but also keep them in, (and include in the application), the envelope in which they came from the bank, just to show I received these through the post from the bank.

I can’t think of any other way of showing originality..!!

Thanks Ksand24

I suppose I could request, (and pay for),  the last 6 months statements from the bank, albeit they won’t look any more authentic than printouts I could have taken myself, but also keep them in, (and include in the application), the envelope in which they came from the bank, just to show I received these through the post from the bank.

I can’t think of any other way of showing originality..!!

All documents are uploaded to the VFS website now (unless you pay about £100 extra for New York to upload them for you, or $2,000 extra for a Premium appointment), so you would simply upload the mailed statements. If the bank sends an acknowledgment letter with the statements, you could upload that too.


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Now this is something that has changed..? Since I Started my Chat in UK Yankee.. 

So exactly what needs uploading to VFS..?   Would this mean I need to make  .pdf scans of...

my Bank Statements..?    Once I’ve scanned them the originality is gone..?

Surely NOT my Marriage Certificate..?   

It Can’t be my wife’s Passport.., they need that to put the Vignette in..?

Now I’m really lost..?

OR do I go to a VFS centre where they do the scanning/uploading of the Originals..?

Now this is something that has changed..? Since I Started my Chat in UK Yankee.. 

It came in maybe a year or so ago. I can’t remember the exact date.

So exactly what needs uploading to VFS..?   Would this mean I need to make  .pdf scans of...

my Bank Statements..?    Once I’ve scanned them the originality is gone..?

Surely NOT my Marriage Certificate..?   

It Can’t be my wife’s Passport.., they need that to put the Vignette in..?

Now I’m really lost..?

OR do I go to a VFS centre where they do the scanning/uploading of the Originals..?

EVERYTHING is uploaded at home. All your documents... absolutely everything.

The only things you mail to New York are:
- wife’s passport (for the visa to be attached to)
- first page of online application form with barcode on it
- stamped biometrics sheet
- return packaging and shipping label

The only way to go in person to a VFS centre is to pay $2000 extra for the Premium Settlement Service, but it’s a complete waste of money.

Alternatively, you can pay for New York to upload the documents, but this costs about £100 extra and means mailing everything to New York.

See here for more information (under the Settlement Supporting Documents section) about scanning documents:
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/us/en/vacs/supporting-documents


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Now this is something that has changed..? Since I Started my Chat in UK Yankee.. 

It came in maybe a year or so ago. I can’t remember the exact date.

So exactly what needs uploading to VFS..?   Would this mean I need to make  .pdf scans of...

my Bank Statements..?    Once I’ve scanned them the originality is gone..?

Surely NOT my Marriage Certificate..?   

It Can’t be my wife’s Passport.., they need that to put the Vignette in..?

Now I’m really lost..?

OR do I go to a VFS centre where they do the scanning/uploading of the Originals..?

EVERYTHING is uploaded at home. All your documents... absolutely everything.

The only things you mail to New York are:
- wife’s passport (for the visa to be attached to)
- first page of online application form with barcode on it
- stamped biometrics sheet
- return packaging and shipping label

The only way to go in person to a VFS centre is to pay $2000 extra for the Premium Settlement Service, but it’s a complete waste of money.

Alternatively, you can pay for New York to upload the documents, but this costs about £100 extra and means mailing everything to New York.

See here for more information (under the Settlement Supporting Documents section) about scanning documents:
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/us/en/vacs/supporting-documents


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