My spousal visa application questions

Going to use this thread to post any questions I have on my application, and hopefully one of the resident experts can chime in with their much appreciated advice.

Really want to analyze everything properly and make sure I have no small mistakes.

So starting off....

for family name, would that be current surname or maiden name? example: the accommodation information requires my mother in laws family name. Would this be her married name (although she is now divorced) or would this be her maiden name?

2nd, my wife works for HMRC, when it asks for the address of her workplace, would this be the physical address she goes to every day for work, or would this be the HMRC corporate/main office address? there is an address on her payslip that is NOT the address she goes to every day for work. Just want to make sure everything is correct here.

I applied for and was granted a fiance visa in 2012, but we felt we weren't really ready when the time got closer and decided to hold off and postpone for a while. I was going through a lot of personal stuff at home here in the USA with family being sick etc. We didn't want to marry just for the sake of a visa, even though we knew the rules were changing and going to be more difficult in the future.

I would think that having been granted a fiance visa previously, it should be an easy case as I've clearly satisfied them as far as being in a genuine relationship goes, but I do not want to assume anything and want to be very thorough with my application now.


Thank you again for anyone who stops in and offers advice and answers to any of the questions I have or may have going forward!

Your family name is your surname. 

Use the work address that she physically goes to each day.

And your previous visa will have no bearing, either positively or negatively on your new application.  You will still need to dot all the i's and cross the t's for this application to be successful.  The process will be nothing like what you went through before, it changes all the time and is *very* different now to it was then. 

ok my second question so far.

my wife currently works at HMRC (until September 9th)

she was given an offer and accepted a job at Home Office and her start date is September 9th.

what am I best off doing as far as my application goes? should I proceed with the application now and list her current job, even though she will only be there a few more weeks, or should I wait and apply once she is at her new job?

if I do not wait, is it advisable to include that she will changing jobs in a few weeks in a letter or no?

would I need a copy of her contract or anything at the new job/old job to support the application? I have her payslips and bank statements and was under the impression that is enough.

ok my second question so far.

my wife currently works at HMRC (until September 9th)

she was given an offer and accepted a job at Home Office and her start date is September 9th.

what am I best off doing as far as my application goes? should I proceed with the application now and list her current job, even though she will only be there a few more weeks, or should I wait and apply once she is at her new job?

if I do not wait, is it advisable to include that she will changing jobs in a few weeks in a letter or no?

would I need a copy of her contract or anything at the new job/old job to support the application? I have her payslips and bank statements and was under the impression that is enough.

If you apply now:

1.  Include bank statements, payslip, and letter from current employer, plus new contract for new job (as current employer’s letter should mention how much longer she will be employed).

2.  Wait until she starts her new job, apply under category B, and include bank statements, payslips, and letter from new employer and new job contract.

finally able to apply now as the last 12 months meet the financial requirements.

Filling out my application and running into this, which might be another headache.....


A letter from _______ employer(s) who issued the payslips confirming
1. the employment;
2. the gross annual salary;
3. how long the employment has been/was held;
4. the period over which the person has been paid the level of salary stated in their application; and
5. the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term contract or agency)



There is no issue getting this from her current employer, but we are having to use wage slips from 2 additional employers aside from her current one to make up the 12 months of wages.

She worked in a chemist from 2011 to December 24th of 2018

Then she started working at HMRC on January 8th of 2019

She left HMRC on September 6th because she was given and offer for a job with Home Office that she applied for.

She started at Home Office on September 9th.

There are no gaps in employment, but of the last 12 months we are using 2 months from the Chemist, 8 months from HMRC, and 2 months from Home Office.


Does she need letters from all 3 employers or will the letter from Home Office (current employer) suffice?

Only a letter from the current employer is needed because they have to confirm your current and future annual earnings.

However, if any of the payslips from the previous employers are not originals (I.e. are printed from the internet), you will need a letter from the employer(s) confirming their authenticity.


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Only a letter from the current employer is needed because they have to confirm your current and future annual earnings.

However, if any of the payslips from the previous employers are not originals (I.e. are printed from the internet), you will need a letter from the employer(s) confirming their authenticity.


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Thank you very much.

I was a bit confused about this because it requires you to "tick the boxes" that you will provide the required evidence for each employment, and one of the boxes is this letter.

Only a letter from the current employer is needed because they have to confirm your current and future annual earnings.

However, if any of the payslips from the previous employers are not originals (I.e. are printed from the internet), you will need a letter from the employer(s) confirming their authenticity.


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I know she didn't leave on the best of terms with her chemist employer even though she had been there for 8 years. It is unlikely they'd be willing to accommodate her by providing the letter needed.

That job is only being used for 2 months of the 12 month employment record, November and December of 2018.

She has wage slips for those 2 months but they are issued by email, the company doesn't and didn't issue physical paperwork for wage slips. Would I be alright with the printed wage slips she got via email and no letter from that company for those 2 months? We can't see a way that they'd be at all helpful and provide the letter we need.

Thank you very much.

I was a bit confused about this because it requires you to "tick the boxes" that you will provide the required evidence for each employment, and one of the boxes is this letter.

The online form seems a bit glitchy in that respect. Even if you are Category A, if you tick one of the options, it tells you that you have to send 12 months of payslips/bank statements, even though you don't.

I know she didn't leave on the best of terms with her chemist employer even though she had been there for 8 years. It is unlikely they'd be willing to accommodate her by providing the letter needed.

That job is only being used for 2 months of the 12 month employment record, November and December of 2018.

She has wage slips for those 2 months but they are issued by email, the company doesn't and didn't issue physical paperwork for wage slips. Would I be alright with the printed wage slips she got via email and no letter from that company for those 2 months? We can't see a way that they'd be at all helpful and provide the letter we need.

Printed, non-verified wage slips are not acceptable and the visa may be refused if they are not verified by the company.

Can she just contact HR and ask them to send a verification letter, or even ask if they would be able to print and mail the payslips for her? If it's a big company, she might not even have to go through anyone who knows her personally.

The requirements for the payslips are very specific:

(bb) Payslips must be:
(i) formal payslips issued by the employer and showing the employer’s name;
or
(ii) accompanied by a letter from the employer, on the employer’s headed paper and signed by a senior official, confirming the payslips are authentic;

From: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

The online form seems a bit glitchy in that respect. Even if you are Category A, if you tick one of the options, it tells you that you have to send 12 months of payslips/bank statements, even though you don't.

Printed, non-verified wage slips are not acceptable and the visa may be refused if they are not verified by the company.

Can she just contact HR and ask them to send a verification letter, or even ask if they would be able to print and mail the payslips for her? If it's a big company, she might not even have to go through anyone who knows her personally.

The requirements for the payslips are very specific:

From: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Thank you.

"(i) formal payslips issued by the employer and showing the employer’s name;"

I am quite sure these fall under that category. They say OFFICIAL at the top, have the employers name and details and even have Issued by: and gives the details of the HMRC office that issued it.

They just issue the wage slips via email instead of in post. She was posted 1 payslip because she had left and couldn't access her work email, and it is the exact same as the other wage slips that were printed off that we have.

I am starting my Appendix 2 form now....we are using her salary to meet he financial requirement of 18,600

Am I correct in assuming that I fill out part 3A category A only?

Leaving the other parts blank?

It also says if she held more than one job I must provide those details in part 5, but part 5 is just a big empty box, so I just put her place of employment and start and end dates in there? All of that is already on the main application as well?

disregard above....

apparently I've made a terrible miscalculation. I didn't realize this until filling out the Appendix 2.

I've paid for and submitted my application, along with my IHS surcharge.

The issue is we will have to wait until her November wage slip now to meet the requirement, when before we thought the October one would do it.

Should I cancel and refund my application or can I leave it paid for and just upload everything when we have the November wage slip in a few weeks?

You must meet all the financial requirements on the date you submit and pay for the online application (your 6 or 12 months must end on or up to 28 days BEFORE you pay for the visa), as that is your official application date... so if you won't meet them until you have the November payslip, the application you have just submitted will be refused.

But, as long as you have not yet attended your biometrics appointment, you can cancel the application and request a refund.

It can take several weeks to get the refund though, so you will need to make sure you have enough money available to pay for the visa and IHS again when you have the November payslip and bank statement, as you may not have received the money back from this application by that point.

the only thing that could potentially save us is we may meet Category A unknowingly?

basically as is right now, we are using the 12 months of wages to meet Category B since shes not been in her current role for 6 months.



HOWEVER, she is in the Civil Service and has been for over 6 months.

She started with HMRC in January, and then applied for and was given a role with Home Office which she started in September.

We have a letter with her job offer from Home Office which states the following....

"Continuity of Employment

Your previous employment within the Civil Service will count as part of your continuous period of employment which therefore began on 07-JAN-2019 for the purpose of employment protection legislation"


to me, and I am no expert, this would seem like it falls under Category A?

her wage is not the same, it has gone up since she moved into Home Office.

her annual salary at HMRC was greater than 18,600 and her annual salary now at Home Office is greater than 18,600.....but in the past 12 months we would not meet the requirement based on November and December from last year

I am far from an expert but I would think maybe this does qualify for category A since there is a letter plainly stating it is considered one continuous period of employment, even though the wage has increased and role has changed?

ok so I have finally applied for my spousal visa, after needing to wait until the end of November.

have some questions on the basic process now.

I paid for the 2830 premium service application.

I have uploaded all my documents, and my biometrics appointment is on Monday the 9th.


couple of questions, as I have never done this sort of visa before and have only applied for visitor visas in the pass....

at the biometrics appointment, do I need to bring any of my documents that I've uploaded? previously when doing visitor visas, all I needed was my biometrics sheet and I would go and get fingerprinted and a picture and that was it. I have a multi page "document checklist" document where at the bottom it asks for a signature and to only sign this at my appointment. do I need to bring this? was unsure because all this seems to be is a checklist but it does have a place for me to sign....

secondly, am I also sending all of my physical documents to the address in New York? I don't really understand the purpose of uploading them AND sending them to the physical address in New York? I was never able to upload documents for a visitor visa and always sent my documents and passport to New York where it was reviewed and sent back to me with a sticker in it for my visitor visa.

and about my passport....do I send my passport to the address in New York? do I need to upload a scanned copy of the front page of my passport? I am unsure of the specifics here because I think I read somewhere that once I enter the UK I have to or may have to pick up something from a post office within 10 days, which I am assuming goes in my passport?

thats all I can really think of right now....might have some other questions later....lol