husseinfatal

Hi,

So got the call this morning to say visa approved! Very nervous wait as they sent the "decision has been made email" on Thursday.

Bit of background on our situation, we met nearly 7 years ago and been back and forward to see each other many times, she came over for 6 weeks last year..and we were married Jan 2013. We aimed to do the visa process straight away, but had many complications along the way!

This forum has been invaluable for me as we went through the tourist visa first, and now the spouse visa process. A few points i would like to make about the process which i hope might help some people as they use the forums search box looking for answers (i did many times!)

Financial

I have been on a temporary contract for two years (weekly pay), but that didn't hinder me in any way. I used my last 26 weeks payslips, and sent them off to my agency and had each one stamped as they don't use the old 'tear off' style payslips (online issued). I also had an index page of each payslip so the ECO could work out my earnings easily without having to go through each one! Submitted official bank statements as well and highlighted each pay in of my weekly wage.

I also did not submit a P60 as the period i started my 26 weeks was actually May. I thought this might be an issue but the guidelines were clear that i was to submit one if it was in the period required. Reason i didnt submit one was that my earnings before this period were a bit hit and miss due to being agency and not having paid days off for Christmas etc, and although i was over the 18.6k required...it was a bit disjointed and would have been confusing!

I also had a 1000 pound overdraft which i was in constant use of, but i submitted a letter from Natwest saying it was in good order etc.

Accommodation

I live with my sister and she very kindly submitted all the ownership documents (land registy, council tax and utilty and mortgage statement). We did not submit housing inspection report...but what i did submit was actually the Zoopla website print out which had all the details of the house, and detailed all the rooms in a document with all the pictures. We actually stayed there with my wife on her holiday last year so that would have helped.

Communication

We have been together for 7 years so i had mountains of paperwork, but submitted 20 pages of skype, 20 pages of facebook messenger and the screenshot of emails. We also submitted 30 photos of our time together (printed on A4 and indexed). Included a lot of pics outside London landmarks which i thought helped!

Putting it all together

I used an A4 plastic binder which was not ring binded, but actually had 50 plastic wallets inside which meant the VFS couldn't take it apart and easily fitted into the jiffy bag they use. Each section was indexed with sticky labels and had a cover letter for each section so the ECO had easy access to anything they wanted and wouldn't miss anything.

All in all i was pretty confident, but heard horror stories of things being missed so was very nervous the last few days!

I want to give a big thanks to everyone that has helped, particulary 7by7 and TonyM for their informative and very helpful advice. You are kings amongst men!

One quick question i have though is on the validity of the visa..Its valid from 29/1/14 until 29/10/16...but when is the latest she can enter the UK?

I am looking to go out there beginning of March and take two weeks holiday with my wife and we will return together after. Will this be ok? I read somewhere that she will have 3 months from the start date in which to come to England (so she can get her affairs sorted there). Is this true?

Booked for Wednesday!

Ended up just filling it out as if i was my wife. Worked ok on new website (slight glitch where the guide to help you answer the questions was in the wrong place a few times) but other than that ok.

In the spouse part it didnt give the option to mention yourself as a husband etc, so i put 'Other' and explained it in the notes.

Hi all!

Ok just going to fill out the VAF4a finally on their new upgraded website, and im presented the following 2 options...

"Please select Apply For Myself to start your visa application.

If you are applying on behalf of some one else please select Apply For Someone Else"

Last year i filled out the form online myself for the tourist visa, and my wife printed it out and signed it. In this case shall i follow that same route or shall i click 'apply for someone else'??

Can't remember getting that option on the old site last time around, and not sure if this means if i apply on my wifes behalf she will have to do anything else.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Hi 7by7!

Ok managed to get that last bit of post about an hour before DHL turned up! When i called DHL they said they would get it for Friday in Chiang Mai.

So hopefully will be ok! As soon as the visa site is back out of maintenance mode ill apply on-line and try and book an appointment for before next Thursday.

Hi all!

Just an update on my original post. Unfortunately a combination of my bank being late with statements, mortgage company being late sending latest statement and agency being late sending verified pay slips though...mean im now at risk of the 28 day documents rule!

My last pay slip and bank statement were on the 1st Nov, so i believe i have till the 28th Nov (Thursday) to get the documents in.

Last thing im waiting for in the post should be here tomorrow, and i was told by DHL that if i call them to book a courier pick-up by 2pm tomorrow (Wed 20th), then they can have the documents in Chiang Mai on Monday 25th. This means i can have my wife fly down on Tuesday 26th and will be no issue...unless the documents don't show up, in which case it will arrive in Chiang Mai on Tuesday!!!!

So my question is regarding the appointment system, i will do the online application for my wife tomorrow (if the upgrade to their site is back completed), but will i be able to have the appointment on the 28th or will this be too late? Obviously will aim for 26th or 27th but it depends on appointment availability and documents being there!

Any thoughts?

I actually have a letter confirming my hourly pay and how many hours i work from them already. So that leaves me with about 3 options i think:

I) Ask them to amend the letter and add that the payslips are only online.

II) Ask them to write a letter confirming that they don't issue payslips, but over the 26 period im providing statements for (3rd May - 1st) Nov i earned Gross (£10,807).

III) I track my gross and net pay totals in a spreadsheet which maybe i can get them to paste into a letter and confirm they match their totals?

I have amended my financial cover letter explaining that my payslips are online only, and that the totals in my net match my bank statements (highlighted in the bank statements).

I really appreciate all your help! Everything else is done and written now and ready to go, just got to get this letter done!

Spoke to my agency today they said they don't even produce paper pay slips!

I explained my situation, and they said for me to write what i want in a letter and they will put it on company paper and sign it!

Anything in particular i should write? I don't want to send all 26 payslips in for them to sign on, but thought maybe a letter confirming that they only use online payslips and that they were authentic?

I was wondering if they are not actually 'copies' anyway as they are the original that i receive, just that i have to print them? If they dont have paper copies it cant be a copy no?

Hey all!

Ok so now in the final stages of the spouse visa app for UK for my thai wife, and i have only one final issue i have just noticed. Apologies for the long post.

I work for an umbrella company as an agency employee for a company. I earn the minimum for the UK req and can show this on my bank statements which are on their way to me now.

I also have a letter from my agency confirming employment and my hourly rate, and how long i have been with the company etc.

My issue though is with the payslips. I am paid weekly and always print out the payslips as this is the only option i have (printed in colour headed with company details etc), and i have highlighted on it my gross weekly wage and the date so it corresponds with my bank statement. I have 26 in all to cover the 6 months required (all 26 weeks pay goes over the minimum req).

I have just spotted though that they have to be original payslips...but if my employer only submits them online what can i do? I submitted a tourist visa app for my wife last year using the same method and it went through no problem.

I read somewhere that i could have tried to get them to stamp the payslips or get them to write a letter, but they have already sent the letter to me, and im not sure how they could even stamp them as their office is so far from where i live!

Any thoughts? Kind of in a rush now as last payslip was dated 1st Nov...so need to have it all submitted my 28th!

I have the whole application sitting next to me done and just waiting to add in the bank statements when they come through the post so i can get it off to thailand....and now im worried!!

Yes have been doing this all today! Cant wait to get all this in finally!!!!!

Hi all,

Just a quick Q regarding the photocopies for the spouse visa application, is it only for the documents that i need returning?

So far i have done photocopies of my financials, tb and english test, marriage stuff and proof of ownership documents....but the rest i dont need to be sent back to me as i have only to print it out again if i need it (relationship proof and cover letters etc).

I will look to submit the photocopies in a separate folder, but didnt see the point in photopying all of my skype chat etc!

Thanks again for the great advice as always!

Hi,

Just a question if anyone has experience with the following and can help?

I’m looking to apply very soon for my wifes spouse visa application to UK. We have all the documents required all sorted already, but I'm waiting on bank statements to come through. They were meant to send them but the “Request was lost in the system with Natwest” so they have re-ordered them (they said between 5-7 days on Monday so hopefully soon!).

SO my question is regarding the below rule set out for submitting supporting documents:

(l) Where this Appendix requires the applicant to provide specified evidence relating to a period which ends with the date of application, that evidence, or the most recently dated part of it, must be dated no earlier than 28 days before the date of application.

Is this 28 day rule for submitting the application online, or paying and submitting documents in Bangkok?? My last pay slip was dated the 11^th Oct so I calculated that I had till the 7^th Nov in which to submit the online application. This would give me enough time to get the documents DHL’d over to Thailand after applying, but not enough time if the 28 day deadline is for date paying etc as my wife has to get down from Chiang Mai etc.

Anyone have any experience/knowledge of this for Bangkok?

Hi Tony,

Thanks so much for clarifying, really helpful!

I will do this and have a letter written up in the P60 if needed at a later date.

Thanks again!

Hi all!

Ok i have a question regarding the P60, basically im looking to apply under Cat A for my wifes spouse visa to England in about 2 weeks time.

I get paid hourly, and have a letter confirming how long i have been working for my company (since Oct '11) and my hourly wage (£11.26).

I will supply my last 26 weeks pay slips, which will total £10,400. This will take me back to 12th April...which is AFTER i was issued my P60 for FY12/13...so my question is do i need to submit the P60, as its not part of the 6 month period i am providing evidence for?

The reason im asking is on my P60 issued in April this year it will show only a total of 16k for FY12/13. The reason for this is that i am on non-salaried employment, and wasnt paid for holidays and bank holidays etc. Once i realised this might affect my application i have worked solidly and now have 6 months of salary to prove i earn over the £18600 minimum.

I actually earned over the minimum anyway over the last 52 weeks, im just concerned that this P60 total will confuse my sponsorship application. I thought on providing the P60 and a letter explaining why my P60 total was lower, but then i came across the following extract from the UKBA website.

"In addition to the evidence listed above, P60(s) for the relevant period(s) of employment (if
issued) and a signed contract(s) of employment may also be submitted in respect of paid
employment in the UK. If they are not submitted, the decision-maker may grant the
application if otherwise satisfied that the requirements of Appendix FM-SE relating to that
employment are met, or they may ask for the documents to be submitted in accordance with
paragraph D of the Appendix"

So on one hand i wanted to follow the guidelines and only submit for the relevent periods (12th April-4th Oct) so not to confuse my application, but also i dont want it to look like im concealing anything (which im not!).

Any thoughts?

Hi thanks for the info, ima contractor with a firm paid weekly and it works out about 23k a year i earn. I have the updated payslips to prove this.

Do i need a letter from my employment if i have the payslips etc?

Also i have just seen this appendix 2 form....do i need to fill it out as well as the other application form needed?

Hi All,

Im in the final stages of putting together the application for my new wifes settlement visa to the UK. My wife is currently booking her A1 test and TB exam.

We had a succesful tourist application this summer, and my then girlfriend came over for 6 weeks. We were married in Chiang Mai this past January.

I was wondering....apart from the A1 & TB Exam, as well as the marriage certificates and different form to fill out.......is there anything in the paperwork that is so different from the paperwork i used for the tourist visa?

Below is the index i used for the tourist visa we had this summer.....i will update a lot of the information (new letters/forms, marriage docs, update the skype/facebook chat/photos etc), and with a bit of tweaking....is there anything glaring im missing?

1a Completed VAF1A

1b Applicant’s Statement

1c Applicant Passport Photocopy & Thai Identity Card

1d Employment Holiday Permission Letter

1e Divorce Document

2a Sponsor’s Statement

2b Sponsor’s Accommodation Invitation

2c Wedding Invitation

2d Sponsor’s Financial Information

2e Sponsor’s Pay Slips

3a List of Visits to Applicant

3b Photographic Evidence

3c Evidence of Shared Flights/Bookings

3d Skype/Mobile Calls

3e Facebook Messages

3f Email index

3g Received Package Scans

3h Skype Chat Transcript

3i Chiang Mai University Thai Language Certificates

I have checked a few lists from others and they all look similar, did other also re-use the tourist visa documents?

Many thanks for any advise!

Went down there this morning and i was the only one there which was a bit surprising.

They told me to come and pick up the document tomorrow morning and then i can get it translated.

There was no one in the shop next door, but i phoned the woman whos number was on the door and she said she would do it for me tomorrow all in for 1900 baht! Will obviously try and get a discount on that!

I actually know the other MFA building as i have driven past it a few times whilst out on my travels, so i might just do it myself once i get it translated....see how i get on tomorrow!

Very good staff in the consulate i must say!

Actually one last question if i may.....i have 2 address for where to get it done.

I have the Consul at 198 Bumrungran Road, and also the dept of consular affairs on chontana road, chang puek....which is the correct place?

Thank you for the great advice!

Will plan on heading down there tomorrow.

Hi All,

Im hoping i got the right forum for this (not sure if it should have gone in the chiang mai or visa forums).

I am starting to put together the spouse visa documents (upgrading from ta succesful tourist visa to the UK this summer).

I am currently in Chiang Mai and was wondering if it were possibe to do the affirmation of marriage in Chiang Mai, or do i have to go to Bangkok?

I believe the rest can be done here in Chiang Mai (GF is from here).

Thanks for any assistance provided!

Ahh excellent thanks for all the responses:D

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Thaivisa Connect App

Hi All,

Has anyone taken the new bus from the airport to Cha Am?

I'm not familiar with the area to be honest (mostly know Chiang Mai), and was planning initally on heading down to the victory monument to try and catch a minibus.

I checked the link posted, and the travel service (Bell) states the drop off point as Bus Stop in front of Bangkok Bank at Cha-am Intersection.and i was wondering if this is actually in or near cha am?

As long as its near i should be fine, just wanted to make sure before i book a ticket it wont be miles and miles off!!

Glad I could help. Out of interest mate how long did it take to ge the decision on the visa application from the time of her going to BKK to do her biometrics and submit supporting docs? I have just submitted an application for my Mrs this week and am hoping to get her here early Sep.

Visa submitted Monday 25th and 10 working days later they emailed to say it was returned by courier.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Thaivisa Connect App

Yes looks like BA have this option!

Many Thanks!