Hi there!
15 months after the coronavirus and an ill-timed pregnancy foiled our last attempt to apply for a spouse visa, my wife and I are trying again. Turns out that prepping the documents is much tougher with a baby in tow!
Would anyone be willing to check the list below? I think all is in order, but any advice would be great. For background, my wife had a spouse visa rejected on a technicality in 2015, but then had a second application approved three months later. She lived in the UK on that until 2018, then moved back to the USA for work. I was a long-term visitor in the USA (on a J visa) in 2019-20, that got extended by the emergency to 2021. So we have a mix of living together and separately.
Applicant Documents
- US passport
- Cover 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
- Sponsor letter of support for the visa containing the following:
Paragraph 1: how I qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and locations), how we have kept in touch, when and where we got married and had a child, explaining how our long distance relationship has worked, explaining why we are choosing to settle in the UK together x
Paragraph 3: how I meet the financial requirement, which financial category, employment details. Where we will live together in the UK, including full address and property details.
Paragraph 4: Note of previous visa that was refused due to technicality in 2015, and subsequent spouse visa that was received later that year.
Accommodation documents
- Land Registry document
- Latest mortgage statement for flat
Financial Documents
- 7 most recent months of original payslips, printed off electronically and accompanied with an official letter.
- 7 most recent months of bank statements, 5 months on official paper, and two most recent months printed at branch with all pages stamped as official
- Letter from employer (dated within 28 days of application date) stating:
i) current role and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time I’ve been earning current salary
iv) type of employment (full or part time, temporary or permanent
- Latest P60
Relationship Evidence
- Official marriage certificate, photo of wedding
- Evidence of long distance relationship 2012-2015 (emails, text messages, flight bookings)
- Evidence of living together in UK 2015-2018 (lease, bank statements, council tax, utility statements)
- Evidence of long distance relationship 2018-2019 (emails, text messages, flight bookings)
- Evidence of sponsor’s long-term visit to USA 2019-2021 (visa documents, emails, child’s birth certificate listing sponsor and applicant as parents, flights together)
- 2 photos of us
Cheers!
