UK Spouse Visa

Hello everyone

My wife and I are in going to submit the online application for the spouse visa. We are  just concerned about this. It’s in my wife’s words.

Hi everyone. We're in Category A, sponsored solely by my husband's salary and my British husband has worked for the same employer and the same gross salary in the UK over 6 months. We've finished filling the application form and we will pay the spouse visa fee. But I was bewildered as why under other documents were not listed in the bullet points. Just proof of relationship, English certificate, and my bio page of my passport as below. Does anyone have the same experience? Why doesn’t it ask for payslips, employer letter and bank statements? Thanks in advance.
Mandatory
●Applicant's Passport
●Sponsor's Passport

Other documents
●Proof of relationship (such as marriage certificate)
●Applicant's language certificate
●Proof of British citizen (such as passport)

This whole process is making us both super nervous and stressed.

Thank you

Welcome to the forum .

The application form itself is very vague and by no means lists all of the documents you need... so don't take it as gospel at all. It looks like that list is just a basic starter list that every person applying for a visa (work, student, spouse etc.) must provide, and then on top of that each specific type of application has its own document requirements that aren't listed.

So for the spousal visa, you definitely need all of the financial, accommodation and relationship documents, otherwise they cannot process the visa.

Also, the date you submit and pay for the visa application is your official application date, so DO NOT submit it until you have every single document ready to submit and have checked and double-checked that each document meets the requirements exactly.

Best thing to do before you submit the application is list here every document that you are including and we can check to make sure you have everything you need.

Welcome to the forum .

The application form itself is very vague and by no means lists all of the documents you need... so don't take it as gospel at all. It looks like that list is just a basic starter list that every person applying for a visa (work, student, spouse etc.) must provide, and then on top of that each specific type of application has its own document requirements that aren't listed.

So for the spousal visa, you definitely need all of the financial, accommodation and relationship documents, otherwise they cannot process the visa.

Also, the date you submit and pay for the visa application is your official application date, so DO NOT submit it until you have every single document ready to submit and have checked and double-checked that each document meets the requirements exactly.

Best thing to do before you submit the application is list here every document that you are including and we can check to make sure you have everything you need.

Thank you so much. Ok great. I was worried we may have made a mistake on the form. We made a costly mistake a few days ago after paying the fee and had to cancel and apply for a refund. Essentially we realised one of my payslips were dated after the date we completed the application and paid, then we found out we can’t submit any document dated after this.

Here are all the documents we’ll submit.

Oh I forgot to ask, for the question “What languages do you speak fluently?” her mother tongue is Vietnamese, English is also fluent, she knows another language fluently too. Should she just put English just to make it simple Or add Vietnamese and the other language?

Okay, there are quite a few of those documents that you do not need.

You can take out all of the following from your list as they are not required:
Electoral information letter
Poll card
Western Union, World Remit and credit card statements
Photos of the flat
Layout of the flat
Home check area report
Environmental search
Service Charges
Council tax bill
letter from council
Rent contract from Dream Home Luxury Apartment (unless you and your wife lived together there before applying for the visa? In which case it goes in the relationship evidence)

The documents you do need are:

Applicant Documents
- Current passport (which the visa will be put into)
- All previous passports she has held
- TB test
- IELTS UKVI/language certificate

Sponsor Documents
- copy of your UK passport photo page
- mandatory sponsor letter of support:
Paragraph 1: how you qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how you meet the financial requirement, employment details
Paragraph 3: where you will live in the UK, including full address, property details, who owns it, how many people will be living in the property in total
Paragraph 4: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and places - no personal feelings) and reasons why you are choosing to settle in the UK together

Financial Documents:
- 7 months of payslips (July 2021 to January 2022 - to cover every single day of the 6 months) showing at least £1550 before tax on each one (if salaried), the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- 7 months of bank statements (July 2021 to January 2022 - must cover every single day that the payslips cover) showing the deposit of every payslip, the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- employer letter dated no more than 28 days before the online application date stating ALL of the following:
i) employment and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time earning current salary
iv) type of employment
Plus verification of each payslip if they were issued online
Optional but recommended:
- latest P60
- job contract

Accommodation Documents
- Land registry document
- latest mortgage statement (if they have a mortgage)
- letter from homeowner giving you both permission to live there and stating home will not be overcrowded
- photo page from MIL's passport

Relationship Documents
- marriage certificate
- any divorce decrees
- 1 or 2 photos of you together MAX - do not send more than 2 photos (they are literally just to confirm you have met in person one time)
For time you've spent apart:
- boarding passes/tickets from trips to see each other
- letters/cards sent to each other
- selection of text message logs... no message content, just dates/times (2-3 pages max)
- selection of call logs from the length of the relationship (2-3 pages max)
If you have ever legally lived together:
- evidence of living together for the entire period you did so, for example, rental agreements, utility bills etc.

Oh I forgot to ask, for the question “What languages do you speak fluently?” her mother tongue is Vietnamese, English is also fluent, she knows another language fluently too. Should she just put English just to make it simple Or add Vietnamese and the other language?

You should list every language that she speaks fluently.

Okay, there are quite a few of those documents that you do not need.

You can take out all of the following from your list as they are not required:
Electoral information letter
Poll card
Western Union, World Remit and credit card statements
Photos of the flat
Layout of the flat
Home check area report
Environmental search
Service Charges
Council tax bill
letter from council
Rent contract from Dream Home Luxury Apartment (unless you and your wife lived together there before applying for the visa? In which case it goes in the relationship evidence)

The documents you do need are:

Applicant Documents
- Current passport (which the visa will be put into)
- All previous passports she has held
- TB test
- IELTS UKVI/language certificate

Sponsor Documents
- copy of your UK passport photo page
- mandatory sponsor letter of support:
Paragraph 1: how you qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how you meet the financial requirement, employment details
Paragraph 3: where you will live in the UK, including full address, property details, who owns it, how many people will be living in the property in total
Paragraph 4: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and places - no personal feelings) and reasons why you are choosing to settle in the UK together

Financial Documents:
- 7 months of payslips (July 2021 to January 2022 - to cover every single day of the 6 months) showing at least £1550 before tax on each one (if salaried), the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- 7 months of bank statements (July 2021 to January 2022 - must cover every single day that the payslips cover) showing the deposit of every payslip, the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- employer letter dated no more than 28 days before the online application date stating ALL of the following:
i) employment and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time earning current salary
iv) type of employment
Plus verification of each payslip if they were issued online
Optional but recommended:
- latest P60
- job contract

Accommodation Documents
- Land registry document
- latest mortgage statement (if they have a mortgage)
- letter from homeowner giving you both permission to live there and stating home will not be overcrowded
- photo page from MIL's passport

Relationship Documents
- marriage certificate
- any divorce decrees
- 1 or 2 photos of you together MAX - do not send more than 2 photos (they are literally just to confirm you have met in person one time)
For time you've spent apart:
- boarding passes/tickets from trips to see each other
- letters/cards sent to each other
- selection of text message logs... no message content, just dates/times (2-3 pages max)
- selection of call logs from the length of the relationship (2-3 pages max)
If you have ever legally lived together:
- evidence of living together for the entire period you did so, for example, rental agreements, utility bills etc.

You should list every language that she speaks fluently.

Thank you very much for this. We lived for over a year at that apartment in Vietnam back in 2018/2019.

For the mortgage paper I was going to include it but it said some jargon about insurance, I was worried it would confuse the ECO. We do have adequate insurance through our housing association.

Thank you very much for this. We lived for over a year at that apartment in Vietnam back in 2018/2019.

Okay, cool - I wasn't sure from your document list whether some of the accommodation parts were for the UK address where you will live after she gets the visa, or if you had lived together previously and were using it for relationship evidence.

In that case, you want to include evidence of living together in Vietnam in 2018/19, so rental agreement, utility bills or bank statements, things like that.

For the mortgage paper I was going to include it but it said some jargon about insurance, I was worried it would confuse the ECO. We do have adequate insurance through our housing association.

The insurance part is not relevant - they won't care about that.

You include the mortgage statement to show that:
1) your mother is the homeowner
2) she has been keeping up with her mortgage payments (i.e. to show she is not likely to default on the mortgage, leaving you homeless)

The reason you have to show accommodation evidence is to prove the visa applicant will have a roof over their head when they arrive, so that they won't attempt to claim government benefits for housing costs.

Okay, cool - I wasn't sure from your document list whether some of the accommodation parts were for the UK address where you will live after she gets the visa, or if you had lived together previously and were using it for relationship evidence.

In that case, you want to include evidence of living together in Vietnam in 2018/19, so rental agreement, utility bills or bank statements, things like that.

The insurance part is not relevant - they won't care about that.

You include the mortgage statement to show that:
1) your mother is the homeowner
2) she has been keeping up with her mortgage payments (i.e. to show she is not likely to default on the mortgage, leaving you homeless)

The reason you have to show accommodation evidence is to prove the visa applicant will have a roof over their head when they arrive, so that they won't attempt to claim government benefits for housing costs.

Ok brilliant. This is the latest statement.







Something like that would suffice? Thanks again

Something like that would suffice? Thanks again

Yep - whatever you received in the mail as the latest annual mortgage statement, that's what you include .

It's a tick-box visa... all they need to do is tick a box to say they have seen a mortgage statement for the property. That's it.

Yep - whatever you received in the mail as the latest annual mortgage statement, that's what you include .

It's a tick-box visa... all they need to do is tick a box to say they have seen a mortgage statement for the property. That's it.

That’s wonderful. This is very much appreciated 👍

Oh we didn’t include the mortgage statement listed in my mum’s cover letter. So we will just write it in extra information at the end of the form. Is that ok?
Thank you

Oh we didn’t include the mortgage statement listed in my mum’s cover letter. So we will just write it in extra information at the end of the form. Is that ok?
Thank you

It really should be in her cover letter, if she is listing everything that she is providing for the requirement - can it be edited and signed again?

It really should be in her cover letter, if she is listing everything that she is providing for the requirement - can it be edited and signed again?

Thank you for the great input, I found a version where I have included the mortgage too 👍

Thank you again for the kind help. We will be using the VFS Global scanning service at the Centre, would you know if we need the barcode partitions for each category and where we can find them please?

Also forgot to ask if we need to fill in the appendix 2 VAF4A and bring that to the appointment too? My wife is applying from outside the UK.

We’re Cat A, I got the same salary for more than 6 months, but got my pay rise in June 2021. I have no idea how to answer this.

Can the appendix be filled in on a device digitally or does it need to be handwritten?

5.1 Is there any other information you wish to be considered as part of your application?

Do we list out all the extra documents we will provide here or keep it blank?

And do we put the documents to scan at VFS global in the same order?

Applicant Documents
- Current passport (which the visa will be put into)
- All previous passports she has held
- TB test
- IELTS UKVI/language certificate

Sponsor Documents
- copy of your UK passport photo page
- mandatory sponsor letter of support:
Paragraph 1: how you qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how you meet the financial requirement, employment details
Paragraph 3: where you will live in the UK, including full address, property details, who owns it, how many people will be living in the property in total
Paragraph 4: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and places - no personal feelings) and reasons why you are choosing to settle in the UK together

Financial Documents:
- 7 months of payslips (July 2021 to January 2022 - to cover every single day of the 6 months) showing at least £1550 before tax on each one (if salaried), the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- 7 months of bank statements (July 2021 to January 2022 - must cover every single day that the payslips cover) showing the deposit of every payslip, the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- employer letter dated no more than 28 days before the online application date stating ALL of the following:
i) employment and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time earning current salary
iv) type of employment
Plus verification of each payslip if they were issued online
Optional but recommended:
- latest P60
- job contract

Accommodation Documents
- Land registry document
- latest mortgage statement (if they have a mortgage)
- letter from homeowner giving you both permission to live there and stating home will not be overcrowded
- photo page from MIL's passport

Relationship Documents
- marriage certificate
- any divorce decrees
- 1 or 2 photos of you together MAX - do not send more than 2 photos (they are literally just to confirm you have met in person one time)
For time you've spent apart:
- boarding passes/tickets from trips to see each other
- letters/cards sent to each other
- selection of text message logs... no message content, just dates/times (2-3 pages max)
- selection of call logs from the length of the relationship (2-3 pages max)
If you have ever legally lived together:
- evidence of living together for the entire period you did so, for example, rental agreements, utility bills etc.

Thank you

Thank you again for the kind help. We will be using the VFS Global scanning service at the Centre, would you know if we need the barcode partitions for each category and where we can find them please?

Also forgot to ask if we need to fill in the appendix 2 VAF4A and bring that to the appointment too? My wife is applying from outside the UK.

We’re Cat A, I got the same salary for more than 6 months, but got my pay rise in June 2021. I have no idea how to answer this.

Can the appendix be filled in on a device digitally or does it need to be handwritten?

5.1 Is there any other information you wish to be considered as part of your application?

Do we list out all the extra documents we will provide here or keep it blank?

And do we put the documents to scan at VFS global in the same order?

Applicant Documents
- Current passport (which the visa will be put into)
- All previous passports she has held
- TB test
- IELTS UKVI/language certificate

Sponsor Documents
- copy of your UK passport photo page
- mandatory sponsor letter of support:
Paragraph 1: how you qualify to be a sponsor (UK citizenship)
Paragraph 2: how you meet the financial requirement, employment details
Paragraph 3: where you will live in the UK, including full address, property details, who owns it, how many people will be living in the property in total
Paragraph 4: short, factual history of the relationship (dates and places - no personal feelings) and reasons why you are choosing to settle in the UK together

Financial Documents:
- 7 months of payslips (July 2021 to January 2022 - to cover every single day of the 6 months) showing at least £1550 before tax on each one (if salaried), the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- 7 months of bank statements (July 2021 to January 2022 - must cover every single day that the payslips cover) showing the deposit of every payslip, the latest dated no more than 28 days before the online application date
- employer letter dated no more than 28 days before the online application date stating ALL of the following:
i) employment and salary
ii) length of employment
iii) length of time earning current salary
iv) type of employment
Plus verification of each payslip if they were issued online
Optional but recommended:
- latest P60
- job contract

Accommodation Documents
- Land registry document
- latest mortgage statement (if they have a mortgage)
- letter from homeowner giving you both permission to live there and stating home will not be overcrowded
- photo page from MIL's passport

Relationship Documents
- marriage certificate
- any divorce decrees
- 1 or 2 photos of you together MAX - do not send more than 2 photos (they are literally just to confirm you have met in person one time)
For time you've spent apart:
- boarding passes/tickets from trips to see each other
- letters/cards sent to each other
- selection of text message logs... no message content, just dates/times (2-3 pages max)
- selection of call logs from the length of the relationship (2-3 pages max)
If you have ever legally lived together:
- evidence of living together for the entire period you did so, for example, rental agreements, utility bills etc.

Thank you

When applying from the US, there is no need to include appendix 2 as it's part of the online application now. I don't know though if she's applying from Vietnam.
The bar code separators should be available at some point in the application process, if they are still being used.
The list of documents if you want to include it is usually written by the applicant.
Any other information is more usually an explanation of something that needs more elaboration, it can also be left blank.

Hello

My wife just had scanned the documents at VFS biometric appointment, and forgot to include mum’s passport bio page. Is that a problem? Is there anything we can do? I’m worried because we said we’ll include it but forgot it. Now I’m crapping bricks.