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

A single Financial Requirement Paragraph, explaining I’m using category D: and Category E: as the means to satisfy that.  Without going into further details, but saying relevant supporting documents are included..

Well, you need to include the details, as you have to show how you meet the requirement.

So, you would say something like:
I am meeting the financial requirement using Category D: Cash Savings, and Category E: Pension Income. I have £X amount in total in cash savings, with £Y amount held in my UK bank account since [DATE] and £Z amount held in my US account since [DATE]. I also receive £A amount in pension income every month and have been receiving this since [DATE]. In total, the pension income plus my cash savings gives a total annual income of £B amount, which is more than £18,600 and therefore meet the requirements.

A single Accommodation Requirements Paragraph explaining how we’ll be living with our friend saying relevant supporting documents are included..

And this one will need to state:
- full address
- name of owner
- property details
- total bedrooms + living rooms and total occupants

A single Relationship Requirements paragraph, laid out as you described with all the Dates.. (when we met, when I travelled, with the comment,  “Unfortunately with limited supporting travel documents”. when we got engaged, when we got married etc etc

You'll want to be more specific than 'limited documents' - say which travel documents you do have and which you don't.

(1)  I suppose I will have to create another .pdf document, which will show, on the date we make my wife’s application, just how I’ve calculated my Financial Requirement..

No, not really. You should be entering the amount you are using for each requirement on the application form.

Because I’m declaring both my UK Lloyds ₤ funds and my US Barclays $ funds, I will have to convert the $ to ₤‘s using Oanda on the application date. I’m also declaring both my UK Pensions so that there’s potentially 3 ways I can qualify. 

You should only declare the income that you need to make up the £18,600 income.

If you can meet the income requirement, with only 1 pension, then ONLY mention that 1 pension, and ONLY include the documents from that 1 pension.

If you are having to use both Category D and E, there should be only 1 way you can apply:
- savings income PLUS pension income.

If you have £62,500 in savings at the time of application, you should not mention the pensions at all or include any pension documents.

If you have £18,600 in pension income, you should not be using cash savings or including any savings documents.

Do I need to present my calculations to them showing I have enough to qualify, one way or another, and present these calculations in a .pdf document..?

You should be able to put it into the application form and they will see that you meet the requirements.

I’ve read I do need to do the Oanda Calculation $ to ₤, and so I will at least need to write that down somewhere and present it to them..?

I would print off the Oanda exchange rate from that day to prove that the amount in USD on your bank statement is equivalent to the amount you enter on the form (with the UK account included).

(2). Another completely different question is when it comes to uploading documents, if for some reason you can’t do it all in the same day, can you logout out of uploading and continue later..?

You have until the day of your biometrics to upload, so I think you can do it in bits.

(3). I guess the post office closest to my friends house will be the one chosen for my wife’s BRP to be sent too.  At what stage or When do you get the choice or get informed which post office will be used..?

It should be part of the online application - I believe you select the Post Office that you will pick it up from.

Ahhh I see so its in your Sponsor’s Letter were you describe in more detail these financial details.. OK..

But what about the declaration of income credit sources in your bank accounts. I’ve listed these in a document on its own, which takes up about a page, I was going to submit this separately, if I could, but should this be included in the Sponsor’s letter too as part of the Financial Requirements paragraph(s)..?

Also something that is worrying me.

I’m worried that they won’t like the Barclays Statements from my online Savings account. All the 6 months statement’s I need are already online and in.pdf format, which can be copied directly as .pdf’s and saved on your PC.  Is it OK to use these .pdf’s directly from the website..?

The ONLY statements Barlcay’s US provide you with are literally Paper printouts of what you can see online. Literally copies you can easily take yourself. AND to be quite honest this is the worrying part, which is they might think I’ve printed them out myself, and not accept them, calling them copies with No Extra Bank Stamp on them giving them extra validity.  I phoned Barclays US to ask if they would stamp them, to which they simply said this is a service they do not provide.

You can read it everywhere just how pedantic the visa people can be over the validity of Bank Statements.

I’ve quite literally taken to photographing the envelope the statements came in just to show they’ve come through the post.

The quality of these printouts Barclay’s have been posting me are not the best to say the least, a little shabby and the last 2 copies were printed out in black and white, and so they don’t have the usual blue Barclays header at the top.

Now after having to scan these poor printouts into .pdf’s the quality is nothing like the .pdf’s which are present, (and obtainable),  on the Baclay’s Website.

What’s the likely hood of these statements being rejected. Which would be nightmare as I wouldn’t know what else to do..?

But what about the declaration of income credit sources in your bank accounts. I’ve listed these in a document on its own, which takes up about a page, I was going to submit this separately, if I could, but should this be included in the Sponsor’s letter too as part of the Financial Requirements paragraph(s)..?

The source of savings should be a one-sentence answer on the online application form.

For example:
‘Savings built up from income’

Or if it’s from something like the sale of a house, inheritance, a gift from family members etc., you write that on the online application and then include the any supporting documents (like a letter from the person who gifted it to you stating it is a gift and not to be repaid, or evidence of the house sale and cash deposit).

I’m worried that they won’t like the Barclays Statements from my online Savings account. All the 6 months statement’s I need are already online and in.pdf format, which can be copied directly as .pdf’s and saved on your PC.  Is it OK to use these .pdf’s directly from the website..?

No. If they are used from the website they MUST be stamped and signed by the bank branch on EVERY PAGE, then scanned and uploaded.

If they are paper printouts sent in the mail, they are considered original and do not need to be stamped/signed, so you just scan them and that’s it.

Basically you MUST use the mailed printed statements and NOT the online statements, because you are not in the U.K. to get the online ones stamped.

In short, just scan and upload the statements they have mailed to you... and don’t overthink it .


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OK but another problem with the Barclays statements is that it only show the last 4 digits of the account number with first few digits redacted with XXXX’s

Is this going to be a problem with the Visa People, not being able to see a full account number on the statements..?

OK but another problem with the Barclays statements is that it only show the last 4 digits of the account number with first few digits redacted with XXXX’s

Is this going to be a problem with the Visa People, not being able to see a full account number on the statements..?

As long as it's because that's how the statements are created and not because you have redacted the numbers yourself, it is not going to be a problem.

Ahh Thanks Larrabee

One final Frustration, that really is a thorn in the side is the slowness of the Lloyds Bank statements arriving in the Post.  If they come at all

The only thing holding us back from starting to apply online, right now,   is I’m waiting for Lloyds  May Statement, just hoping it can get here in the next few day’s, otherwise it will time out and be useless as part of the financial requirements assessment. As it will be out of date YET AGAIN..!! Beyond the 28 days allowed.

There’s 2 reasons I really need this Lloyds May Statement...

The first being so that I use my Lloyds account together with my Pensions, to satisfy the financial amount  required.

The Second Reason is My UK Pensions have just gone trough a pay rise, which has risen incrementally between March  and May.  March  was at my old pay  level,  April was at something in between and May is the first month my payments have settled down to its current level.

Sooooooo... Even if I was to just use my Pensions and Barclay’s Savings for the Financial Requirements calculations, which would be enough, I still need to show at least one Lloyds statement that shows my pensions going into my account at the levels  indicated on my recent P60, and DWP statements which state my current pensions pay level...

I bet you’ve already guessed, but YES the only Lloyds statement that shows this so far is this damned MAY statement I’m waiting for..  You Just Can’t win...

Even if it times out and the Lloyds statement comes a few days later, My latest Barclay’s statement will have timed out by then, and so I will at least have to wait for another Barclay’s statement coming in July, for June’s transactions..!!

Even before my latest Payrise I had sufficient pension funds plus the Barclay’s saving to pass the Financial Requirements test, so I’m wondering if I could declare my old pay level somehow, for which I’ve already got Lloyds statements within the last 6 months showing this old level of pay going int my account.

Surely there’s a way, and if so I could just about start the online application right away, or at least in a weeks to 10 days time if I can see no sign of Lloyd’s May statement coming..

Frustration reigns..!!

There’s Got to be a way..?

Can anyone help me with this...

If its possible, I am wanting to use my Barclays savings and my ‘previous’ last years pension(s) pay level, before my April-May pay rise, to be used to calculate my Financial Requirements, as my old pension pay level plus my Barclay’s savings are adequate.

The pay was at its old level in March, then rose partly in April and to its current level in May.

I don’t want to use the higher pay level in the calculations as I don’t have the Lloyds May Statement yet showing it at this level, I do have the last 6 months statements for Lloyds up to April, which includes showing where my pension were and it starting to rise partially in April.

I have a full up to date 6 months worth of Barclay’s Statements

Besides having my 2020 P60 and DWP statements showing what my 2020 pension are now at, I still have my 2019 P60 and DWP statements showing what my 2019 pension has been.

So with the current Lloyds statements I have in hand, I could show my old pension levels entering my account up to April 2020.

What I’m saying is, if I could use my old pension level, I could Apply NOW, instead of having to wait another month, as I just know this Lloyds May Statement won’t arrive on time.

But how do I present this to the Visa People..?

I think we have all our supporting documents, we will need for my Wife’s spouse Visa application  (except that 1 Lloyds statement for May).  So we would be very grateful if someone could check my list to see if there’s anything we’ve forgotten

Supporting Documents

*** Relationship docs ***

GOT...  Sponsor’s Letter from myself

GOT... Myself the sponsor’s US Passport
GOT... Myself the sponsor’s UK Passport
GOT... Myself the sponsor’s birth certificate

GOT...  My wife, the applicant’s  US Passport
GOT...  My wife, the applicant’s  birth certificate

GOT...  My flight document emails between 2007 and 2009 covering 4 out of 6 flights I made between the US  and UK to visit my Intended, before she became my wife the applicant.  (2 out of 6 are now missing after all this time).

GOT...  Our Joint Special Warranty deed       (Relating to our US Home)
GOT...  Our Joint Survivorship Agreement    (Relating to our US Home)

GOT... Our current Marriage certificate
GOT... Our Previous marriage and/or death/divorce documents

GOT... Bills and/or WF Statements,  1 per annum, with either both names on or each with individual names.

GOT... 10 years Joint Property Tax bills in both names.  <<< **See Note 4 below**
GOT... 10 years Joint Income Tax bills in both names.

GOT... 1 Photo of myself and my wife on our 2010 wedding day.
GOT... 1 Photo of myself and my wife on today 2020


*** Accommodation docs ***

GOT... UK Friends’s Letter of Invitation
GOT... UK ₤3 Copy of Friend’s house Deeds with both his name and his deceased wife’s name on.
GOT... UK Friend’s wife’s Death Certificate


*** Financial docs ***

Almost GOT... 6 months Lloyds bank statements - including photo of envelope it came in.

GOT... 6 months Barclays bank statements - including photo of envelope it came in.
                 Use OANDA exchange rate used to calc Barclays $ savings in ₤’s on date of visa application. Just not sure where to state the date..?.

GOT... A single page declaration of my bank’s saving’s sources, from Pensions, Inheritance and 401k cash-in.
GOT... A copy of my Mother’s Will.
GOT... A statement from the Will Executor showing the net funds received.
GOT... A Statement showing the 401k funds received before and after tax.

GOT... My latest P60
GOT... My latest DWP State pension statement Showing my current ‘Weekly’ pension level for 2020  .....  Do I need to write in the Annual amount..?
GOT... My latest WYPF pension statement. Stating my current private ‘Annual’ pension level for 2020

****************. End of list ***************


I suppose there will be a question about employment.  As both myself and my wife are retired, how will I be able to let them know we are no-longer employed, but living on my Pensions..?


Below is an extract from a government website queries sending council tax statements, but I want to use our joint US Property Tax statements to show we’ve lived at our current address for 10 years..?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visitor-visa-guide-to-supporting-documents/guide-to-supporting-documents-visiting-the-uk#section-2

4. Documents you should not send unless specifically requested

This section provides guidance on the types of documents that are not required to consider your application.
* if you are applying as a family/group you do not need to provide multiple copies of the same documents
* bank statements or letters issued more than 1 year before the date of application
* credit card statements
* driving licence
* photographs (passport photographs required in section 1)
* notarial certificates
* business cards
* hotel bookings
* flight bookings
* photocopies of bank cards
* certificates relating to leisure activities
* evidence of car ownership
* travel insurance
* sponsor’s utility bills
* sponsor’s council tax bills.    <<< What about my US Property Tax**
* educational certificates (unless specifically listed in section 3)

Looks like they are making allowances for meeting the requirements for spousal visas because of Covid-19, and now it is okay if you have to apply without all the documents, because you cannot get them.

See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents

If you’re unable to provide specified documents
In some cases, we will be able to decide your application without seeing certain specified documents if you cannot get them due to coronavirus. Otherwise, you may be asked to submit the specified documents after the date of application.

So, what you could do is use the online Lloyd's bank statement for the application, including a note to explain that you are unable to get the paper copy because of Covid, and then you won't have to keep waiting for it to arrive before you apply.

Your documents look pretty good to me.

However, you do NOT need any birth certificates, so you can take them out - your passports are proof of identity, so birth certificates are not required at all (unless you do not have a valid UK passport and have to use your birth certificate to prove your citizenship instead).

I suppose there will be a question about employment.  As both myself and my wife are retired, how will I be able to let them know we are no-longer employed, but living on my Pensions..?

When it asks if you are employed, you tick No, and move on to the next question.

Below is an extract from a government website queries sending council tax statements, but I want to use our joint US Property Tax statements to show we’ve lived at our current address for 10 years..?

That list does not apply to a spousal visa... it is a list for people applying for VISITOR VISAS for the UK.

They are saying that the person who the visitor will be staying with does not need to provide utility bills or council tax statements in support of their ability to accommodate a visitor in their home.

That does not apply to you in the slightest because a spousal visa application DOES require a number of those documents listed.

Your situation is completely different. You are supplying your property tax statements as evidence of a genuine relationship, in order to prove that you have been living together for 10 years. It is a REQUIREMENT for you to provide things like property tax statements and utility bills in order to meet the relationship section.

Well we started our application today. We registered to get initial access by putting in an email address and a password.

We then filled out all the details  and have paid our fees before being passed over to the VFS Global website.

Once in the VFS website we were asked to register with them too by again putting in a password.

Once we were in and were perusing the VFS pages we got side tracked for just a very short while, before we could book the Biometric Centre, only to find the VFS website had timed out and wanted to log back in..

We then had problems saying that we were already logged in on another browser, and wouldn’t let us in..I believe it asked for the GWF number on that occasion..? 

So we rebooted the computer to be sure nothing was logged into their website, only to find its not now accepting our login email address and password, when we try to login from the VFSglobal.com website.. We Now can’t find a login page that asks Us for our GWF number either..?

How on earth do we get back it so we can book my wife’s Biometrics and start uploading our documents..?

I’m not sure what’s happening with your logging in problems, but you can’t book biometrics or upload any documents at the moment anyway... because all the biometrics centres have been closed since March due to Covid, so no appointments can be made, and no visa applications can be processed.

All you can do is wait until they announce that the USCIS ASCs will be opening up again and then when you are allowed to, you can book your appointment/upload documents at that point.

See:
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/us/en/news/important-information-regarding-visa-application-centres-in-usa

And
https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-response-covid-19


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We have 2 Dallas USCIS Centres temporarily closed, (Dallas North, and Dallas South),  but DFW (Dallas-Fortworth), is opening up again and so hopefully we will be able to choose this location. 

When we go to the VFSGlobal webpage links and put in our zip code, it automatically picks out this location for us, although we’ve not tried this yet while logged in.

The Covid-19 warning at the DFW location is the same as your 2nd link above saying its slowly opening back up.

As for the logging in problem I managed to get back in using VFSGlobal.co.uk which gets you back to a screen that asks for your GWF number..

But, that’s enough for today, its surprising just how long it took us on the UKVI website.. More tomorrow with VFS...

Thanks Ksand24 for that link on being able to delay certain documents due to COVID-19, I’m taking advantage of this so we can get started applying at least

Well, after a big struggle I did manage to upload all my documents, onto this ultra sensitive website..!!  I selected the $45 return postage option and $5 SMS Option, but, you were right, I couldn’t progress further, when it came to trying to book a Biometric Appointment..

I just assume now that everything goes on hold until the USCIS centres start up fully once again.. I have since noticed the comment on the USCIS website does say..

June 4 Reopening

Beginning June 4, 2020, certain USCIS field offices and asylum offices will resume non-emergency face-to-face services to the public. Application support centers will resume services later. USCIS has enacted precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in reopened facilities:

I must have skipped over this, (In bold), when I first read it, but I guess this applies to us right now..

At least, while we’re waiting it gives that damned June 1st Lloyds Statement time to come, which I guess I can now get uploaded before the ‘Vetting Process’ begins, as I hope everything ‘timing wise’ now should be related to the June 15th Application Date stated on the Application form..?

One other Odd thing we did get from GOV.UK was a Checklist of 12 documents to be sure to include on the uploads, which we have done. BUT this checklist is part of a 6 page document that needs ticks from us, I assume confirming we’s sent them, also Tick Boxes for official use only, and it needs a signature from my wife on this document too..?   

Is my wife, (the applicant),  suppose to Sign it, scan it then upload it or what..? As I can’t find any info On what to do with it..?

Well, after a big struggle I did manage to upload all my documents, onto this ultra sensitive website..!!  I selected the $45 return postage option and $5 SMS Option, but, you were right, I couldn’t progress further, when it came to trying to book a Biometric Appointment..

Ah, okay - I didn't realise you could actually upload documents at the moment.

I just assume now that everything goes on hold until the USCIS centres start up fully once again.. I have since noticed the comment on the USCIS website does say..

June 4 Reopening

Beginning June 4, 2020, certain USCIS field offices and asylum offices will resume non-emergency face-to-face services to the public. Application support centers will resume services later. USCIS has enacted precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in reopened facilities:

I must have skipped over this, (In bold), when I first read it, but I guess this applies to us right now..

Yeah, originally it said that the Application Support Centers would also start opening from June 4th, but they changed it and now it just says 'will resume services later'.

At least, while we’re waiting it gives that damned June 1st Lloyds Statement time to come, which I guess I can now get uploaded before the ‘Vetting Process’ begins, as I hope everything ‘timing wise’ now should be related to the June 15th Application Date stated on the Application form..?

Not quite sure what you mean by the 'before the 'Vetting Process' begins. Nothing will happen now until you have given your biometrics, because your documents will not be looked at until after you have given biometrics and you have mailed her passport to New York.

Timing-wise, all your documents must be dated on or before the date you submitted and paid for the visa (which I assume i today), as that is your official application date.

One other Odd thing we did get from GOV.UK was a Checklist of 12 documents to be sure to include on the uploads, which we have done. BUT this checklist is part of a 6 page document that needs ticks from us, I assume confirming we’s sent them, also Tick Boxes for official use only, and it needs a signature from my wife on this document too..?   

Is my wife, (the applicant),  suppose to Sign it, scan it then upload it or what..? As I can’t find any info On what to do with it..?

I believe you fill out the checklist and upload it with the rest of the documents.