FLR(M) - Correspondence Evidence Clarification Needed

Hello,

I and my partner recently got married in June this year. I'm in the process of preparing my application and the information surrounding the 2-year requirement is quite confusing.  If anyone could help me make sense of this I would be really grateful.
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1. My wife is a British Citizen
2. We officially started living together in October 2020
3. I am not on the council tax bill as I am still in full-time education and we have evidence from the council confirming as such.
4. We do not have any bills in joint names.

I have been told that in my case, the 2-year requirement is one of three that we would need to meet and that having proof of our marriage is enough. Is this true?

I still plan on providing proof of address for both me and my partner but if we have not lived together for 2 years, I'm I not able to apply?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Hello,

I and my partner recently got married in June this year. I'm in the process of preparing my application and the information surrounding the 2-year requirement is quite confusing.  If anyone could help me make sense of this I would be really grateful.
[
1. My wife is a British Citizen
2. We officially started living together in October 2020
3. I am not on the council tax bill as I am still in full-time education and we have evidence from the council confirming as such.
4. We do not have any bills in joint names.

I have been told that in my case, the 2-year requirement is one of three that we would need to meet and that having proof of our marriage is enough. Is this true?

I still plan on providing proof of address for both me and my partner but if we have not lived together for 2 years, I'm I not able to apply?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Welcome to the forum .

If you are applying for FLR(M) after getting married, then the cohabitation documents are an absolute requirement, but 2 years is just the maximum amount of time living together that you have to show. The actual requirement is ‘evidence of cohabitation for the length of time you have lived together, up to a maximum of 2 years’.

So, as you have only been living together since October 2020, you only need to show documents covering from October 2020 up to the date you apply for FLR(M) (so if you apply in August 2021, you just show 10 months of living together).

You need:
- 6 items of mail in each name (either jointly-addressed or individually-addressed... so that could be 6 joint items, 12 individual items or a combination of both making 6 each).
- spread evenly over the time you have lived together (so 10 months of living together since October 2020 means 1 item of mail in each name, dated every 6 weeks/1.5 months)
- from at least 3 different official sources
- they all must have been received in the mail in the months they are dated... online documents are not acceptable

If you do not have 6 items of mail each, or they are not evenly-spaced, or you do not have at least 3 sources, you just need to write a letter explaining why not, and you should still be granted the visa.

Examples of acceptable sources:
- bank statements
- tenancy agreements
- mortgage statements
- council tax bills
- letters from the council regarding council tax
- electricity bills
- gas bills
- water bills
- credit card bills
- phone bills
- TV licence
- letters from HMRC
- letters from DVLA
- letters from the NHS
- letters from the DWP
Etc.


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Okay, Thank you so much!

I just have one question regarding the evidence, it's very easy for me to gather evidence for my wife as she hasn't moved but as for myself, I want to use some bank letters and statements but one of my current banks(HSBC) won't stamp the statements to certify them.

Is it important to have bank statements certified?

Okay, Thank you so much!

I just have one question regarding the evidence, it's very easy for me to gather evidence for my wife as she hasn't moved but as for myself, I want to use some bank letters and statements but one of my current banks(HSBC) won't stamp the statements to certify them.

Is it important to have bank statements certified?

If you are using them for the cohabitation requirement, they do not need to be certified (but they must have been received in the post, delivered to the same address as your wife’s corresponding documents).


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Thank you! One final question, when the application asks do I own or rent my accommodation, should I tick yes since my wife owns her house with a mortgage or does that question apply to only myself?

Thank you! One final question, when the application asks do I own or rent my accommodation, should I tick yes since my wife owns her house with a mortgage or does that question apply to only myself?

You would tick yes.

Welcome!