Q1. I am in receipt of an Armed Forces Pension, which more than covers the requirement and is payable for life. Having read the Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: Family Members Specified, it looks like I have to provide my annual pension statement which is provided by the company managing Armed Forces Pensions and '(ii) At least one personal bank statement in the 12-month period prior to the date of application showing payment of the pension into the person's account'. Seems too easy. Can this bank statement be outside the 28 days and should I provide more than one bank statement??? Also, is it acceptable to redact other entires on the bank statement?
Ah, if you are using pension income, then just ignore my post above about payslips
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Don't redact ANYTHING on the bank statements - they cannot be altered or changed in any way, or they may not be considered original. The only thing they will check on the bank statements is the deposit of your pension income - they will not look at any other transactions.
Not sure on the date of the bank statement, because the rule is that if you are providing bank statements for a period ending on the date of application, the most recent bank statement must be dated within the last 28 days before applying.
Personally, I would include at least your most recent bank statement showing the pension income. If you wanted to be safe, you could include all 12 months of statements, but I would at least send maybe 2 or 3 months, if not more.
Q2. As an additional level of proof, should I also include my latest P60, which shows las years income which was solely my pension???
You don't have to, as the only documents they need are the bank statement and the confirmation of your entitlement to the pension.
Lynn has competed but not submitted all sections of the online visa application and is now busy putting together word documents with proof of text messages (screen shots), correspondence, emails and time spent together (a cruise and time spent in the UK/USA etc) covering the entire period of our relationship.
For the relationship evidence, she will want to send:
- your marriage certificate
- 1 or 2 photos of you together
- boarding passes or etickets from flights to see each other
- any letters/cards mailed to each other
- no more than 2-3 pages of correspondence screenshots for each communication type. No message content should be included, just a list of dates/names/times covering the length of time you communicated using each method (i.e. email, text, IM, calls)
However, we have a question about the website route for completing the online application. Lynn has used the visa4uk website and as I said she has completed and saved all sections ready to go. That said, she has also looked at the visas-immigration.service.gov.uk website, which seems clearer to follow and, having answered the first few questions, she arrived at the 'register your email' page. So to my 3rd question:
Q3. Which website should Lynn use???
Honestly, I'm not sure anymore - they are in the process of changing from the visa4UK form plus Appendix 2, to the new online application which I believe has Appendix 2 included in it, but at the moment, I think both can still be used.
Most people here on the forum have applied using the visa4UK site and the paper Appendix 2, because the new form was only made available in the last few weeks. A couple of people have used the new online form though, so I think it's up to you, really.
Two final questions (sorry to be a pain):
Q4. Does Lynn need a copy of the photo page of my (UK) passport to submit with the application?
Yes, that is a requirement. Only the photo page is needed and it can either be a photocopy or a certified copy.
You also need to write a sponsor letter of support for the visa, addressing how you meet each requirement (your UK citizenship, the financial requirement, UK accommodation), a short history of your relationship and why you want to settle in the UK together.
Q5. Do I need to complete a sponsor’s covering letter given that I can easily meet the financial requirement and own outright my property?
As I just mentioned above (before I read this question), yes, the sponsor letter is a requirement. The visa can be refused without it, because they need written confirmation from you that you are in support of the application and you can meet the requirements to get the visa.
It should include:
Paragraph 1: how you qualify to be a sponsor (your UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how you meet the financial requirement and which category you are using
Paragraph 3: where you will live together in the UK, including property details (you will need to send your Land Registry document)
Paragraph 4: short history of the relationship - no emotions, just dates and facts (where/when you met, how often you see each other, how you keep in touch, where/when you got engaged and married), and the reason you are choosing to settle in the UK together instead of the US or another country
