UK Spousal Visa

Hi all,

My husband and I got married last week and he came over on a Marriage Visitor Visa. Originally we had planned to move to the US but we’ve been thinking more and more about it and would rather go the UK route - would this be allowed as we had stated before in the Visa our intention to file CR1 (for me to go to USA). He will apply outside of the U.K., when he goes back to USA as part of the requirements.

Also, is there a timeline we should wait before applying? I make the financial requirements necessary and have done for 7 months now. I just don’t know if it’s too soon since we only got married last week but we don’t want to be apart for a long period again, it was 11 months, which was awful! So we just want to get the process rolling when we can. We were looking at applying at the end of this month or so

Thank you

Hi all,

My husband and I got married last week and he came over on a Marriage Visitor Visa. Originally we had planned to move to the US but we’ve been thinking more and more about it and would rather go the UK route - would this be allowed as we had stated before in the Visa our intention to file CR1 (for me to go to USA). He will apply outside of the U.K., when he goes back to USA as part of the requirements.

Also, is there a timeline we should wait before applying? I make the financial requirements necessary and have done for 7 months now. I just don’t know if it’s too soon since we only got married last week but we don’t want to be apart for a long period again, it was 11 months, which was awful! So we just want to get the process rolling when we can. We were looking at applying at the end of this month or so

Thank you

Congratulations!
As long as he applies from the US it's fine.. plans change, you can mention that in your supporting letter. You can apply right away, no need to wait.

Congratulations!

No, you don't have to wait a certain amount of time to apply after marrying.  If you meet the requirements and have all necessary documents ready, you can apply as soon as you want to.

Congratulations on your wedding .

You can apply at any time once he is back the US and you have all the documents ready - there’s no minimum waiting period after marrying.

In the past, we’ve seen people prepare their entire application and documents before the wedding and then apply as soon as they’ve received their marriage certificate.


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Thank you so much everyone. Is there any guides on what all we need? We’ve done some Googling and I’ve made a list

Contents letter
Printed application
Biometrics confirmation sheet
IHS Surcharge Receipt
Two Passport Style Photos in Colour

Letter from my parents saying we will stay with them for the time being until we find a place of our own. Number of bedrooms, living rooms, who owns the property and confirmation that the home will not be overcrowded. Latest mortgage statement for the house

6 months of original payslips (can be printed off electronically and accompanied with an official letter)
6 months of bank statements with all pages stamped and signature confirming the copies are official
Letter from employer stating current role and salary, length of employment, length of time Ive been earning current salary

Copy of marriage certificate
Document with photos of us including wedding photos
WhatsApp & call logs (unsure if this is needed)
Boarding Passes from Trips to see each other (e-ticket emails)
Cards/letters sent to each other - scanned 

Does this sound okay? I still live with my parents at home and they are happy for us to stay with them til we are on our feet. I know it varies with Covid too but has anyone heard of any recent timelines for these and how long it typically takes?

Just going to rearrange your documents a little bit so that they are in the order of the different application/upload sections. Missing/changed documents are in red. Comments are in blue

Applicant Documents
- US passport
- All previous US passports
- Contents letter
- First page of application with barcode on it
- Biometrics confirmation sheet - stamped at appointment
- IHS Surcharge Receipt

Sponsor Documents
- Scan of photo/biometrics page of UK passport
- Mandatory sponsor letter of support for the visa containing the following:
Paragraph 1: how they qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how they meet the financial requirement, which financial category, employment details
Paragraph 3: where you will live together in the UK, including full address and property details
Paragraph 4: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and locations), how you keep in touch, when and where you got engaged/married, and why you are now choosing to settle in the UK together

Accommodation documents
- Parents' Land Registry document - MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT
- Latest mortgage statement for the house
- Letter from my parents saying we will stay with them for the time being until we find a place of our own. Number of bedrooms, living rooms, who owns the property and confirmation that the home will not be overcrowded.

Financial Documents
Mandatory
- 6 months of original payslips (can be printed off electronically and accompanied with an official letter) - the latest must be dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online. You are likely to need 7 months to cover every single day of the 6 months
- 6 months of bank statements with all pages stamped and signature confirming the copies are official - the latest must be dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online. You are likely to need 7 months to cover every single day of the 6 months
- Letter from employer (dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online) stating:
i) current role and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time Ive been earning current salary
iv) type of employment (full or part time, temporary or permanent
v) this letter can also include the verification of the payslips, so that you don't need to provide 2 letters
Optional but recommended as they may ask for them
- Original job contract
- Latest P60

Relationship Evidence
- Official marriage certificate
- 2 photos maximum of you and your spouse together, with no one else in the photo. This is to prove you have met in person 1 time. We recommend sending 1 photo from the beginning of the relationship and one recent photo from the wedding.
- WhatsApp & call logs (unsure if this is needed) Absolutely needed... you MUST show regular communication during the time you have been apart
- Boarding Passes from Trips to see each other (e-ticket emails)
- Cards/letters sent to each other - scanned 

I know it varies with Covid too but has anyone heard of any recent timelines for these and how long it typically takes?

Last I remember, someone got their visa in about 40 working days from biometrics appointment using Settlement Priority Processing (which is supposed to give a decision in 30 working days). Not sure how long non-priority applications are taking... could be anywhere from 3-6 months.

Just going to rearrange your documents a little bit so that they are in the order of the different application/upload sections. Missing/changed documents are in red. Comments are in blue

Applicant Documents
- US passport
- All previous US passports
- Contents letter
- First page of application with barcode on it
- Biometrics confirmation sheet - stamped at appointment
- IHS Surcharge Receipt

Sponsor Documents
- Scan of photo/biometrics page of UK passport
- Mandatory sponsor letter of support for the visa containing the following:
Paragraph 1: how they qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how they meet the financial requirement, which financial category, employment details
Paragraph 3: where you will live together in the UK, including full address and property details
Paragraph 4: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and locations), how you keep in touch, when and where you got engaged/married, and why you are now choosing to settle in the UK together

Accommodation documents
- Parents' Land Registry document - MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT
- Latest mortgage statement for the house
- Letter from my parents saying we will stay with them for the time being until we find a place of our own. Number of bedrooms, living rooms, who owns the property and confirmation that the home will not be overcrowded.

Financial Documents
Mandatory
- 6 months of original payslips (can be printed off electronically and accompanied with an official letter) - the latest must be dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online. You are likely to need 7 months to cover every single day of the 6 months
- 6 months of bank statements with all pages stamped and signature confirming the copies are official - the latest must be dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online. You are likely to need 7 months to cover every single day of the 6 months
- Letter from employer (dated no more than 28 days before the date you apply online) stating:
i) current role and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time Ive been earning current salary
iv) type of employment (full or part time, temporary or permanent
v) this letter can also include the verification of the payslips, so that you don't need to provide 2 letters
Optional but recommended as they may ask for them
- Original job contract
- Latest P60

Relationship Evidence
- Official marriage certificate
- 2 photos maximum of you and your spouse together, with no one else in the photo. This is to prove you have met in person 1 time. We recommend sending 1 photo from the beginning of the relationship and one recent photo from the wedding.
- WhatsApp & call logs (unsure if this is needed) Absolutely needed... you MUST show regular communication during the time you have been apart
- Boarding Passes from Trips to see each other (e-ticket emails)
- Cards/letters sent to each other - scanned 

Last I remember, someone got their visa in about 40 working days from biometrics appointment using Settlement Priority Processing (which is supposed to give a decision in 30 working days). Not sure how long non-priority applications are taking... could be anywhere from 3-6 months.

Wow this is amazing thank you so so much for this! It is so appreciated!

Re the land registry document, my parents have a mortgage and it isn’t fully paid off yet, so would it just be their mortgage payment I’d need to submit?

Wow this is amazing thank you so so much for this! It is so appreciated!

Re the land registry document, my parents have a mortgage and it isn’t fully paid off yet, so would it just be their mortgage payment I’d need to submit?

No, you MUST include the Land Registry document, as it’s the document that actually proves that they own the home.

- The Land Registry document is mandatory.

- The mortgage statement is only optional (as not everyone has a mortgage).

If they don’t have a copy of their Land Registry that you can use, you can download an official copy of it from the Land Registry website for £3 here:
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do?_ga=2.253235023.772254199.1610363163-2074224573.1608443038


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Thank you, I’ll get that from them!

And for the payslips, I get these online, would the 28 days be from when it entered my bank? I was last paid 23 December so I’d we applied in the next couple of days that would be okay? Sorry for all the questions!

Thank you, I’ll get that from them!

And for the payslips, I get these online, would the 28 days be from when it entered my bank? I was last paid 23 December so I’d we applied in the next couple of days that would be okay? Sorry for all the questions!

Is your husband back in the US yet?

You cannot submit the online application until he is back in the US, as he must be physically present in his country of residence on the day he applies online.

Both the last payslip and bank statement showing the pay deposit must be dated no more than 28 days before the date the online application is submitted.

So if you were paid on 23rd December, you have until January 20th for him to return to the US and to submit the online application.

And the 6 months you must cover for the payslips and bank statements will be

23rd June to 23rd December

Which likely means submitting all your payslips and bank statements from May to December (to cover 23rd to 30th June).

If he can’t get back to the US and/or submit the online application by 20th January, you’ll need to wait until February to apply, once you have your January payslip and bank statement.


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Thank you, I’ll get that from them!

And for the payslips, I get these online, would the 28 days be from when it entered my bank? I was last paid 23 December so I’d we applied in the next couple of days that would be okay? Sorry for all the questions!

Online payslips need to be accompanied by a letter to verify their authenticity.

Have a read of this, it's very helpful.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Is your husband back in the US yet?

You cannot submit the online application until he is back in the US, as he must be physically present in his country of residence on the day he applies online.

Both the last payslip and bank statement showing the pay deposit must be dated no more than 28 days before the date the online application is submitted.

So if you were paid on 23rd December, you have until January 20th for him to return to the US and to submit the online application.

And the 6 months you must cover for the payslips and bank statements will be

23rd June to 23rd December

Which likely means submitting all your payslips and bank statements from May to December (to cover 23rd to 30th June).

If he can’t get back to the US and/or submit the online application by 20th January, you’ll need to wait until February to apply, once you have your January payslip and bank statement.


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Yes he went back this morning I think it was the 27 June I moved up to the amount needed for sponsoring as Ive been there for 3 years in my job but we move up in increments yearly and I’ve made enough since then, so May I’d have my lower amount on it, so would they still be okay?

Online payslips need to be accompanied by a letter to verify their authenticity.

Have a read of this, it's very helpful.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Thank you!!

Yes he went back this morning I think it was the 27 June I moved up to the amount needed for sponsoring as Ive been there for 3 years in my job but we move up in increments yearly and I’ve made enough since then, so May I’d have my lower amount on it, so would they still be okay?

You need a full 6 months of payslips showing a salary above £18,600... so to qualify for the visa you MUST have been earning over £18,600 on 23rd June.

They will take your lowest payslip and multiply it by 12 to get the annual salary that can be counted towards the requirements, so if your June payslip (and possibly the May one too) is below £1550 before tax, the visa will be refused.

Personally, I would play it safe and wait to apply until all your payslips are above £1550 before tax.


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You need a full 6 months of payslips showing a salary above £18,600... so to qualify for the visa you MUST have been earning over £18,600 on 23rd June.

They will take your lowest payslip and multiply it by 12 to get the annual salary that can be counted towards the requirements, so if your June payslip (and possibly the May one too) is below £1550 before tax, the visa will be refused.

Personally, I would play it safe and wait to apply until all your payslips are above £1550 before tax.


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I’ve just had a look at my electronic payslips and the June one was £1509 so just under. So July-December will show the £1600, so if we applied after the 27 January, would that be okay to show July-January?

Thank you for your help! Oh and also the letter confirming my payslips are genuine.. should this come from a manager there?