Spouse visa application (Settlement - Wife) checklist

Alright, I have gotten the relationship evidence down to 20 pages, including messages/emails, a photo from each trip we have taken together and flight/train/hotel reservations.

How does this look for a sponsor letter? We will print it off and sign it once my fiance is here in the States after the wedding.

To whom it may concern:

I, (Fiance), am writing to state that I qualify to sponsor (hatakemaara) because I am a British citizen from birth.
We meet the financial requirement of the family visa with my annual salary of £20,000 from my full-time employment with (employer). I was recently promoted, which increased my salary to £29,750. Evidence for my employment at (employer) can be found in the 7 months of payslips and bank statements, as well as in a letter from my employer included in this application. Also to note is the attached offer letter for my recent promotion.
We meet the accommodation requirements because my parents, (dad) and (mum), have welcomed us to reside in their 4 bedroom house at (address). Evidence of this is provided in the form of a letter from my parents, owners of the house, as shown by the included mortgage statement. I am also in the process of buying a 1 bedroom apartment close to my area of work, which we hope to move into later this year. We have included a reservation confirmation for this apartment.
(hatakemaara) and I met online in the summer of 2015, playing our favourite video game DotA 2. We then met in person a year later, when we both attended a tournament for Dota 2 in Seattle. (hatakemaara) came to (university) in the UK to study abroad in autumn of 2016, and we visited each other many times. After finishing her undergraduate degree, (hatakemaara) enrolled in a Master’s course at the (UK university). While she studied for this course, she lived with my family and I in my parents' house. Evidence for this is given in the letter from my parents. We have also included some of (hatakemaara’s) bank statements which are addressed to my parent’s house and span across the time she resided at my parent’s house during her Master’s course. I proposed to (hatakemaara) on the 24th of December 2018 during a trip to visit her extended family in (country). We later married on the 18th of May 2019 in (city in US).
We are choosing to settle in the UK as opposed to the US because of my stable employment here with (employer) and because we will soon have our own home to move into together in (uk city). My work experience is best suited for working in the UK, and (hatakemaara)’s career in (field) is more flexible due to her education and skills. It is therefore easiest for these reasons for us to live and work comfortably in the UK, whereas the US would be more of a risk. Lastly, my whole extended family resides in England, while only (hatakemaara)’s parents reside in the US. Living in the UK would mean being closer to more of our family.

Sincerely,

SIGNED

(Fiance)

Alright, I have gotten the relationship evidence down to 20 pages, including messages/emails, a photo from each trip we have taken together and flight/train/hotel reservations.

Still too many photos.

The photos are not needed for evidence of your relationship, they are needed to show you have met in person 1 time... to meet the requirement that you must have met before applying for the visa (to rule out sham or forced marriages).

You get a tick for including 1 photo. You don’t get a bigger or better tick for including more than 1 photo.

We do however, recommend sending 2 photos just to show progression:
- 1 from the beginning of the relationship
- 1 from your wedding


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Okay, the sponsor letter is way too long at the moment. It should be short and sweet, facts and dates only.

Suggestion:

To The Entry Clearance Office,

I am writing to confirm my support for [APPLICANT’s] settlement visa application to join me in the UK. I am a British citizen, and have lived in the UK since birth.

I have been employed as [JOB TITLE] with [COMPANY] on a [FULL-TIME, PERMANENT] contract since [DATE]. I was earning a salary of £20,000 since [DATE], but was recently promoted and have been earning £29,750 since [DATE]. Therefore I meet the financial requirement under Category A.

Once [APPLICANT’s] visa has even granted, we will live at [ADDRESS], which is owned by my parents. It is a 4-bedroom house with 1 living room and there will be a total of X people living in the property. I am including their Land Registry and a letter of permission from them.

[APPLICANT] and I met online in [EXACT DATE] 2015, playing our favourite video game DotA 2. We then met in person on [DATE] in Seattle and we entered into a relationship on [DATE]. [APPLICANT] studied abroad in the U.K. at [UNIVERSITY] on a Tier 4 visa from [DATES] and we visited each other many times during this time. After finishing her undergraduate degree, [APPLICANT] enrolled in a Master’s course at  [UNIVERSITY] from [DATES], During this time, she lived with my family and I in my parents' house, and we are including some of her bank statements, along with my mail, to show this. We are also including evidence of trips we have taken together and messages showing we have kept in contact while apart. We got engaged on 24th December 2018 while visiting her family in [CITY] and we married on the 18th May 2019 in (city in US).

We are choosing to settle in the UK as opposed to the US because of my stable employment here, while [APPLICANT’s] career is more flexible.

Yours Faithfully,

SIGNED

(Fiance)



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I am now married! Yay!
My husband brought over all the documents he had during his visit.

Here is what I have gathered for the documentation, I just wanted to make sure I have ticked all the boxes

Identity
My current passport
Copy of my sponsor’s UK passport
Copies of my expired passport from the last 10 years including all the visas in it
Copy of my birth certificate
Copy of my sponsor’s English birth certificate

Finance
Appendix 2 with part 3A completed, other parts blank
7 months of my sponsor’s payslips
7 months of my sponsor’s bank statements showing deposit of salary
Letter from employer with all requirements
An offer letter of my sponsor’s recent promotion and salary increase, although we are using his old salary to apply anyway

Relationship
Sponsor letter
Marriage certificate
Residency permission for my sponsor and I at his parents’ house signed by his parents
A mortgage statement showing my sponsor’s parents’ names
Print-out of correspondence on Skype, WhatsApp and emails from 2015-2019 (Couldn’t get it for each month but there’s some from each year)
Details of our travels together (boarding passes, hotel and flight reservations)
2 pictures of us: when we first met and from our wedding

I have put post-it tabs to mark the beginning of each of the three sections and I have paper clipped all the relevant stuff together (like all the bank statements together and all the correspondence together).

How does it look? Also will I need to upload all the documents online as well for the biometrics appointment?

Apart from all the receipts-biometric receipt, stamped; IHS receipt; priority receipt; receipt for payment of application and return shipping info, you are also missing a copy of the online application and the land registry document for the parents' property. Land registry and letter of permission are accommodation evidence, not relationship evidence.

When you say you've only completed section 3A of Appendix 2, you are just referring to the particular financial category and have completed all the other info?

You don't need the birth certificates.

Congrats on the wedding! 

Apart from all the receipts-biometric receipt, stamped; IHS receipt; priority receipt; receipt for payment of application and return shipping info, you are also missing a copy of the online application and the land registry document for the parents' property. Land registry and letter of permission are accommodation evidence, not relationship evidence.

When you say you've only completed section 3A of Appendix 2, you are just referring to the particular financial category and have completed all the other info?

You don't need the birth certificates.

Congrats on the wedding! 

Yeah I’ve completed that financial category (3A) and have left the other financial sections blank. However I filled out all the other sections before the finance part

I don’t think a land registry exists. Is a mortgage not enough? It’s a semi-detached home.

I’ll take out the birth certificates and then print out the application tomorrow. I should probably set my biometrics appointment after I have printed the online application right?

Yeah I’ve completed that financial category (3A) and have left the other financial sections blank. However I filled out all the other sections before the finance part

I don’t think a land registry exists. Is a mortgage not enough? It’s a semi-detached home.

The land registry shows who the property is registered to (i.e. it's the deed to the house)... so you should have one for it. Only certain properties won't be registered.

It is more important to have the Land Registry than it is to have the mortgage statement.

The Land Registry is mandatory, but the mortgage statement is only optional, and is sent as an extra document in addition to the Land Registry.

You can check if the property is registered here:
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do?_ga=2.141867314.1818405939.1558989206-1135718877.1557921203

And if it is, you can download an official copy of the Land Registry for £3.

I’ll take out the birth certificates and then print out the application tomorrow. I should probably set my biometrics appointment after I have printed the online application right?

You will need to print the appointment confirmation sheet to take with you to the biometrics appointment (along with your passport), so you'll need to make sure you can print at least that sheet before you attend biometrics.

The land registry shows who the property is registered to (i.e. it's the deed to the house)... so you should have one for it. Only certain properties won't be registered.

It is more important to have the Land Registry than it is to have the mortgage statement.

The Land Registry is mandatory, but the mortgage statement is only optional, and is sent as an extra document in addition to the Land Registry.

You can check if the property is registered here:
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do?_ga=2.141867314.1818405939.1558989206-1135718877.1557921203

And if it is, you can download an official copy of the Land Registry for £3.

You will need to print the appointment confirmation sheet to take with you to the biometrics appointment (along with your passport), so you'll need to make sure you can print at least that sheet before you attend biometrics.

Alright sounds good, we will send the land registry plus mortage statements and I will update the residency approval letter to reflect this.

I am trying to make my biometrics appointment and I am a bit confused.
How do I get the priority visa service?
I have a premium service center within reasonable driving distance (Chicago).
Should I make my appointment there to get the priority service plus the courier and document/application checks?
It is $875 for the silver premium package there.

EDIT:
Okay I reread it and it seems the silver package cannot be used for family migration (settlement), which I assume my application counts as.
So on the VFS global website I will purchase the Priority Visa for settlement or migration service from the USA- Application Support Center for USD 772.
Should I purchase this after making my BRP appointment at a normal application location? Or before?

Thanks!

You should not be submitting the online application or booking biometrics until after you have sorted out all your documents and they are all in your package, ready to mail. So, I would wait until after you have the Land Registry document, and the new, signed accommodation letter, before you submit the application and book biometrics

Once you have everything, the order you do things is:

- submit the online application, pay for the visa, pay for IHS and book biometrics at a USCIS Application Supoort Centre.
DO NOT book at a Premium Centre unless you are willing to pay an extra $1900 on top of the visa fees for the Premium Service

- print application and biometrics confirmation sheet

- go to the VFS Global website and register an account with them, using your online application GWF reference number: https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/us/en

- if you will be scanning and uploading your documents, upload them to the website, and purchase Settlement Priority Service (and shipping labels if it will let you). You will need to select ‘USA Application Support Centre’ instead of a Premium Centre.

- attend biometrics with your passport and biometrics confirmation sheet. They will stamp this sheet at the appointment.

- within 5 days of biometrics, you need to mail your passport, application, stamped biometrics sheet and supporting documents to New York for processing


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Okay I have been a busy bee sorting all my documents and now I am at a road block.

I have been trying to pay for the priority on the global website and it has declined my credit card twice and my debit card once. I have tried the payment on three different computers. All declined.
I am now waiting the 30mins to try again, I’ll try another credit card this time.

Has anyone experienced this? I’m thinking I should just call my bank but I’ve tried cards from two banks so what’s the deal.

So frustrating:(

Don't try another card.

You'll need to call the bank, because they have likely put a fraud block on the transactions on all the cards, and you'll need to get the block removed before you try again. Also if you're going to try a different card, again, call the bank first, before you attempt the transaction.

A lot of people have this problem, and ideally, you should call the bank before you attempt to purchase priority (or pay for the visa), to inform them of the expected charges so they won't block them.

Having said that, some people have found their card has still been declined even after they've called the bank, so if that happens, you'll need to contact the bank again, until the payment goes through.

Don't try another card.

You'll need to call the bank, because they have likely put a fraud block on the transactions on all the cards, and you'll need to get the block removed before you try again. Also if you're going to try a different card, again, call the bank first, before you attempt the transaction.

A lot of people have this problem, and ideally, you should call the bank before you attempt to purchase priority (or pay for the visa), to inform them of the expected charges so they won't block them.

Having said that, some people have found their card has still been declined even after they've called the bank, so if that happens, you'll need to contact the bank again, until the payment goes through.

Okay good to know I’m not alone.
I’ve never ever had any payment declined so I was not expecting it.
Apparently my bank’s system is having an update so they are a bit useless as the moment.
I’m going to have my husband try his card, this time calling the bank beforehand to let them know about the charge. Fingers crossed!
EDIT: The payment was accepted
——————

My biometrics appointment is tomorrow so I’ve printed off everything and here is the final list of documents I plan to send:

(Appointment confirmation letter - will be replaced with the receipt I get tomorrow)
Printout of application
IHS receipt
Visa payment receipt
Priority payment confirmation
(Return postage which I will purchase directly at a UPS Store)

Identity
My passport
Copy of sponsor’s passport
Copy of my past passport + the visas on it

Finance
Appendix 2
Employers’ letters
7 mo of payslips
7 mo of bank statements with salary
Promotion offer letter

Accommodation
Residency permission from home owners
Land registry
2 mortgage statements

Relationship
Sponsor’s letter
Marriage certificate
2 photos of us
Correspondence on Skype gmail hangouts and discord
Details of our travels
2 proofs of address for me for the time I lived with my sponsor

UPDATE:
Biometrics went well but the employee there let me know that I had forgotten to include my middle name in the given name box. He said he added it for me, but now I am freaking out because I can’t edit my forename on the online application and when I called the UKVI center it would hang up after I gave my credit card info.

So I added a post it onto my biometrics receipt saying that I thought “forename” didn’t include “middle name” and so I omitted it and to please contact me if it was an issue so I could resolve it.
My name isn’t different just missing my middle name.

So I have seen that people send a passport photo in with the spouse application.
I had a picture taken at my biometrics app, and I also didn't see that a passport photo was required anywhere in the documents (I triple checked everything).
I also seem to remember that when I applied and was granted my tier 4 visa I sent in a passport photo but they just sent it back with the visa.

Is it really required and if it is, will they email me to ask for additional documents (the photo)?
My documents were delivered Friday to New York so I guess it might just be a waiting game as well.

Basically, we don’t think passport photos are required anymore, because they use the biometrics photo for the visa instead, and usually just send back the passport photo you provide.

However, the supporting documents guidance file still lists a passport photo in the required docs list, so we usually recommend sending one just in case.


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Okay, you want:
- no more than 2 photos total
- no captions
- no more than 2-3 pages of messages from each type of communication, covering the entire relationship
- for the messages, you just want a list of dates/times/names, and no message content... nothing more than what you would see on an itemised phone bill

So, take a screenshot, paste into a Word doc and crop out all but the name and date.

As an example, you want no more than 40-80 messages total, from the whole relationship, and you should be able to get 20-30 messages on 1 sheet of paper

For emails, just filter your inbox to show a list of messages (name, date and subject line online) from your partner and take a screenshot




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Hi all, want to ask a question regarding the evidence of relationship.

So, my wife and I have been married for 13 years. We don't have our old email accounts, and our phones were much newer than our email accounts.
We bought our first home in 2005, we married in 2006, had our daughter in 2008, and our son in 2010. We have been living together through all of this. We have shown all our house deeds through the years, and photos. We also have tax returns, but only starting in 2011(not even the IRS can provide the older ones) and don't really have much in the way of other communication before that.. even looking through the last few years, we don't really email each other much, we call.. or talk in person.

I mean, who keeps stuff past 7 years? back then...

Anyone else gone through this?

Thanks.