Post and Paperless Payslips

Hi there,

The Trust I work for only does paperless payslip. When I started working there I asked for paper for visa reasons and was told that no one was provided with physical payslips.

I will be submitting my application in the next few weeks and have asked for a letter verifying the authenticity of the electronic payslips, but am having some difficulties.

Since evidence is now all uploaded, is it acceptable to submit the pdf's of my payslips as I have them or do I need to twist some arms to get this letter of authenticity?

I have a gap in post which I have explained in my cover letter and have provided post to cover a longer period of time to compensate for the gap (covers 27 months rather than 24, is more or less even spaced, either has both our names or is two pieces of post separately addressed for the same month, and more than three places all on the approved list) . I want to confirm that that is sufficient.

Thank you!

Hi there,

The Trust I work for only does paperless payslip. When I started working there I asked for paper for visa reasons and was told that no one was provided with physical payslips.

I will be submitting my application in the next few weeks and have asked for a letter verifying the authenticity of the electronic payslips, but am having some difficulties.

Since evidence is now all uploaded, is it acceptable to submit the pdf's of my payslips as I have them or do I need to twist some arms to get this letter of authenticity?

I have a gap in post which I have explained in my cover letter and have provided post to cover a longer period of time to compensate for the gap (covers 27 months rather than 24, is more or less even spaced, either has both our names or is two pieces of post separately addressed for the same month, and more than three places all on the approved list) . I want to confirm that that is sufficient.

Thank you!

-You need the letter to verify the payslips.

-You have done all you can, it should be fine.

-You need the letter to verify the payslips.

-You have done all you can, it should be fine.

That's what I thought.

I have a similar question about bank statements.

3.3.4. Bank statements must be on official bank stationery. Alternatively, electronic bank statements can also be accepted for all bank accounts (the account itself does not have to be exclusively online) as long as they are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.

The guidance very clearly says it needs to be on official paper, but if we're uploading the evidence ourselves how is the electronic statement any different from the scanned paper one?

That's what I thought.

I have a similar question about bank statements.

3.3.4. Bank statements must be on official bank stationery. Alternatively, electronic bank statements can also be accepted for all bank accounts (the account itself does not have to be exclusively online) as long as they are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.

The guidance very clearly says it needs to be on official paper, but if we're uploading the evidence ourselves how is the electronic statement any different from the scanned paper one?

I think it's to try and mitigate fraudulent documents being provided. The reason behind this is it is a lot easier to edit and forge online documents than physical ones. Of course, I am not saying it's impossible, but it's just another step to try and mitigate these risks. That's why they require online bank statements to be stamped by the bank.

Also in regards to your question about payslips, the guidance states:

(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;

So if the payslip is online and it contains the employer's name then I am given to understand this should be fine without the letter of authenticity.

I have also provided my six online payslips but they have the company logo on the payslip and shows my employer's name.

Here's where the guidance says this: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

I think it's to try and mitigate fraudulent documents being provided. The reason behind this is it is a lot easier to edit and forge online documents than physical ones. Of course, I am not saying it's impossible, but it's just another step to try and mitigate these risks. That's why they require online bank statements to be stamped by the bank.

Yes, that's exactly it. They need to be sure that you haven't tampered with the statements and changed the figures on them, which is much easier to do with online statements than with ones posted to you.

(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;

So if the payslip is online and it contains the employer's name then I am given to understand this should be fine without the letter of authenticity.

I have also provided my six online payslips but they have the company logo on the payslip and shows my employer's name.

No, that's not true.

As it says above, the only payslips that are acceptable without a letter are ones that are formal... i.e. payslips that your company has printed on official company paper and either handed to you in person, or mailed to your house.

If the payslips are online, they are not considered official/formal and therefore, they MUST be accompanied by a letter from the employer, printed on company letterhead and signed by a senior official, confirming their authenticity.

This is for the same reason as you need the bank statements to be verified, because online payslips could easily have been tampered with, so each one must be authenticated by the employer in a letter.

Yes, that's exactly it. They need to be sure that you haven't tampered with the statements and changed the figures on them, which is much easier to do with online statements than with ones posted to you.

No, that's not true.

As it says above, the only payslips that are acceptable without a letter are ones that are formal... i.e. payslips that your company has printed on official company paper and either handed to you in person, or mailed to your house.

If the payslips are online, they are not considered official/formal and therefore, they MUST be accompanied by a letter from the employer, printed on company letterhead and signed by a senior official, confirming their authenticity.

This is for the same reason as you need the bank statements to be verified, because online payslips could easily have been tampered with, so each one must be authenticated by the employer in a letter.

Oh I did not know that. I haven't included a letter from my employer confirming the authenticity of my payslips, but maybe I should. I applied in March 2020 you see, but if I get a letter from my employer now stating they're authentic the letter is going to be dated in June 2020. Not sure if that'll be an issue. Plus if I can get the letter to confirm their authenticity it will be done by a different person than who did my other employer's letter!

Oh I did not know that. I haven't included a letter from my employer, but maybe I should. I applied in March 2020 you see, but if I get a letter from my employer now stating they're authentic the letter is going to be dated in June 2020. Not sure if that'll be an issue. Plus if I can get the letter to confirm their authenticity it will be done by a different person than who did my employer's letter!

I'm afraid there's nothing you can do now, but wait and see, because only evidence that was issued and dated before you applied online will be accepted.

Fingers crossed you will be okay with what you included... it's just that in the 8 years since these payslip and bank statements requirements were put in place (which was in July 2012), I don't know of anyone on the forum who submitted online payslips without also including a letter of authenticity.

I'm afraid there's nothing you can do now, but wait and see, because only evidence that was issued and dated before you applied online will be accepted.

Fingers crossed you will be okay with what you included... it's just that in the 8 years since these payslip and bank statements requirements were put in place (which was in July 2012), I don't know of anyone on the forum who submitted online payslips without also including a letter of authenticity.

Uh oh... now I am worried.

Uh oh... now I am worried.

As I said, you might be okay and they may not question it... or they might contact you to ask for a letter of authenticity. But, there's nothing you can do now, since you have already applied and submitted the documents.

You could always get a letter written anyway, just in case (it doesn't matter if it's written by someone else).

As I said, you might be okay and they may not question it... or they might contact you to ask for a letter of authenticity. But, there's nothing you can do now, since you have already applied and submitted the documents.

You could always get a letter written anyway, just in case (it doesn't matter if it's written by someone else).

Thanks. I'm going to get a letter written by my manager (she wasn't the one who done my employer's letter though) and upload it.

Strangely enough, I spoke with UKVI on the phone today and they told me that they would accept online bank statements so long as they were in .pdf format.


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Strangely enough, I spoke with UKVI on the phone today and they told me that they would accept online bank statements so long as they were in .pdf format.


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UKVI's so-called 'helpline' is known for giving incorrect and inaccurate advice. They don't seem to know their own immigration rules and in the past have even advised people to apply for visas they don't actually qualify for! Personally, I would take anything they say with a pinch of salt.

The rules for payslips and bank statements have not changed since 2012, and the official rules for bank statements clearly state that online statements are not acceptable unless they are stamped/signed by the bank on every page or accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming their authenticity.

This is clearly stated in:
Appendix FM 1.7: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826340/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1.pdf
and
Appendix FM-SE:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

From Appendix FM 1.7:

3.3.4. Bank statements must be on official bank stationery. Alternatively, electronic bank statements can also be accepted for all bank accounts (the account itself does not have to be exclusively online) as long as they are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.

From Appendix FM-SE:

(a) Bank statements must:
.
.
(v) be:
(1) on official bank stationery; or
(2) electronic bank statements which are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.

Hi Ksand

I don’t doubt for one minute that they are giving incorrect information.

The guys reasoning that pdf format was okay is because it cannot be tampered with but you can edit PDF files with Adobe. He also said they wanted to move to digital only.

Oh well.


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Golly Pete.

So I've just submit my applications and gone onto the UKVCAS website.

And after asking for everything on original colour letterhead

They want it all scanned black and white???

What a nonsense 

I think you may be allowed to submit the documents in colour so long as they do not go over 6MB each.

I think they are asking for black and white to help keep the file size down. But I can’t see anyone being penalised for scanning things in colour so long as the file size is met.

We have done the same, by the way. Everything is scanned in colour.


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