Settlement visa for UK for my Thai wife

[billbenbob]

My wife and I are in the UK until the 29 th October she has a tourist visa .We have been married and lived in Thailand for 16 years we have a beautiful house and garden in Tak but I have had enough of Thailand do to bad neighbours that have arrived just recently I am very sad to leave . I understand most of the requirements to obtain a settlement visa for her but do to my age I get a little worried about dates on the documents required as I have said we will be travelling back to Thailand on the 29 th October with a view of applying for the visa in early January 2019 and all being well she will return to the UK after 3 months with her visa authorised.I will be returning to the UK on the 1st of December but I can change that date if I have to .What I want to know as her sponcer as I am renting in the UK and will be supplying 6 months bank statements  showing capital and also letters from my pension suppliers what worries me is will the immigration want these letters dated at a certain time I cannot find any information on this.

 

 

 

 

[7by7]

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 9:30 PM, billbenbob said:

What I want to know as her sponcer as I am renting in the UK and will be supplying 6 months bank statements  showing capital and also letters from my pension suppliers what worries me is will the immigration want these letters dated at a certain time I cannot find any information on this.

 All financial evidence must cover the period specified in the financial requirement appendix and Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence, dependent on how you are meeting the requirement and what documents you are producing.

 

However, the decision makers are aware that it takes time to gather evidence, so in most cases documents up to 28 days old are fine. For example, bank statements covering the 6 months up to 28 days before the application is submitted, letters dated within the previous 28 days etc..

[billbenbob]

Many thanks for your reply one more thing I have to clarify all these papers that I have to supply living accommodation,Bank statements showing saving and letters from the Bank ,and letters from my pension suppliers If my wife is in Thailand and i am in the UK can I send copies to her via email or do I have to send all papers by post hoping they will get to Thailand by a certain time less then 28 days


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[7by7]

Supporting documents go to Sheffield, where all UK settlement applications are now processed.

 

So you send your documents to Sheffield; details will be on the online form.

 

Your wife can submit her documents, TB certificate, language certificate, the signed hard copy of the application form etc., to VFS when she attends to have her biometrics taken, VFS will then forward them to Sheffield; or she can send them to you to include with yours.

 

 

[7by7]

@billbenbob

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 11:44 AM, 7by7 said:

Your wife can submit her documents, TB certificate, language certificate, the signed hard copy of the application form etc., to VFS when she attends to have her biometrics taken, VFS will then forward them to Sheffield...…..

Many apologies, i have now been informed that this is no longer the case for settlement applications.

 

Now, settlement applicants have to send their supporting documents direct to Sheffield; see Supporting documents for a visa application.

 

So she either sends them direct to Sheffield or sends them to you for you to include with yours. I'd suggest the latter to keep everything together.

 

[billbenbob]

7by7 I would like to thank you for your info and hope you do not mind me asking for more.My wife and I will be returning to Thailand on the 29 th October she has her A1 English test on the 4th November and her TB appointment on the 5th November .Including these certificates and her completed application and fees paid ,she will also take her passport,old passports,marriage cert,2 photos and then her biometrics done by VFS .I presume VFS will then give her back all these documents back in a sealed envelope and she will then give them to me.I will be travelling back to Uk in December or early January19 when I will get letters from my bank I have about £60,000 in savings letters from my pension providers £14,000pa letter regarding my accommodation here in UK .I rent an annex all bills paid in the rent gas,electricity,water ,and contribution to the council tax so I intend to get a letter from the letting agency on headed paper signed by them and the landlady stating I have a bedroom sitting room ,kitchen and toilet and she is happy for me and the wife to stay there I will also include the tenancy agreement.All My supporting letters must be less then 28days old by the time the whole file reaches Sheffield is all this about right do you think .The £60,000 I have in the bank is the remnants of the sale of my property in the UK i sold this property over seven years ago am I right that a signed statement from me that the monies came from this sale would be sufficient for immigration I look forward to your reply as am little bit confused at the moment.


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[7by7]

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 9:26 PM, billbenbob said:

.I presume VFS will then give her back all these documents back in a sealed envelope and she will then give them to me

Apart from her passport, which they will retain and send to the embassy so the visa vignette can be inserted once her application has been approved, I hope so. Indeed, to be honest, I'm not sure that VFS need to see them at all for settlement applications as the applicant and/or sponsor has to send them to Sheffield themselves.

 

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 9:26 PM, billbenbob said:

I intend to get a letter from the letting agency on headed paper signed by them and the landlady stating I have a bedroom sitting room ,kitchen and toilet and she is happy for me and the wife to stay there I will also include the tenancy agreement

Good; although the tenancy agreement is not strictly necessary.

 

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 9:26 PM, billbenbob said:

am I right that a signed statement from me that the monies came from this sale would be sufficient for immigration

Yes. From Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence

Quote

11. In respect of cash savings the following must be provided:

( a ) personal bank statements showing that at least the level of cash savings relied upon in the application has been held in an account(s) in the name of the person or of the person and their partner jointly throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application.

( b ) A declaration by the account holder(s) of the source(s) of the cash savings.

See also para 11A. Note that para 11A( d ) says extra evidence is required if the funds came from the sale of property and that sale took place within the 6 months prior to the application; but as you sold the property over 7 years ago that is not relevant to you.

[billbenbob]

Thank you again for your help I am sure I will need it again nearer the time of applying.


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[nellyp]

Sorry to Hi-jack this, but is relevant. Do bank statements have to be stamped by the bank, or can I use downloaded PDF as they would be original format. To be honest I have had a lot of conflicting information regarding original documentation or copies.

 

Bilenbob, my wife is doing exactly what you plan at the moment, so if I can help in any way, please let me know

[rasg]

On 10/29/2018 at 9:23 AM, nellyp said:

Sorry to Hi-jack this, but is relevant. Do bank statements have to be stamped by the bank, or can I use downloaded PDF as they would be original format. To be honest I have had a lot of conflicting information regarding original documentation or copies.

 

Bilenbob, my wife is doing exactly what you plan at the moment, so if I can help in any way, please let me know

I am self employed so I had to supply a lot of bank statements. I stapled each month together and had Santander stamp the front page of each month. No problems.

[nellyp]

18 hours ago, rasg said:

I am self employed so I had to supply a lot of bank statements. I stapled each month together and had Santander stamp the front page of each month. No problems.

Decided to have them sent through the post now.

 

My wife sent all the docs (including internet statements) from Thailand last week, so I am hoping this doesn't hold things up too much as I am going to send them the bank statements from the UK. If they want them, at least I will have sent them already

 

Fingers crossed

[billbenbob]

Now I am getting very confused about the right way to go about the day my wife books an appointment with vfs. As I understood things she goes to vfs with just her application forms, her passport A1 English test cert, TB cert ,and any other of her supporting documents which I understand .Now I assumed from reading the posts I have received she will be able to give me all these papers back as I am in Thailand at the moment and when I get back to the Uk I would then attach my supporting documents to the file that being bank statements ,pension letters, and letters regarding where we are staying all these letters must not be more then. 28 days old before Sheffield receive them .Have I got this right .Is there any time limits between the time VFS do there part and me sending the whole file to Sheffield because I did not intend to go back to the UK until the 10 th of January .If everything was approved we wanted the visa to start in April would that be ok time wise. Help please



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[rasg]

Somebody else will confirm as it's a while since my wife applied for hers but I think you will be given a specific date by which you have to send the supporting documents.

[billbenbob]

Help please Appendix FM-SE 9 Information you must provide ---- You'll need to have information and some EVIDENCE ready when you make your application.DATE OF BIRTH does that mean a translation of birth certificate as evidence .Details of any criminal convictions does she need evidence a letter from police confirming no convictions translated of course.Parents date of birth again evidence required? I had thought her passport was evidence of date of birth but beginning to think I have not got things right.The Appendix you submit with the application for settlement visa I have completed Appendix 2 financial requirement form is that the correct one just making sure.


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[billbenbob]

Also what else do you need translated house book ,ID card.


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[rasg]

7 hours ago, billbenbob said:

Also what else do you need translated house book ,ID card.

Certainly not the ID card. Not sure about the house book.

 

Anything you rely on as proof or evidence that is in Thai will need to be translated.

 

8 hours ago, billbenbob said:

Help please Appendix FM-SE 9 Information you must provide ---- You'll need to have information and some EVIDENCE ready when you make your application.DATE OF BIRTH does that mean a translation of birth certificate as evidence .Details of any criminal convictions does she need evidence a letter from police confirming no convictions translated of course.Parents date of birth again evidence required? I had thought her passport was evidence of date of birth but beginning to think I have not got things right.The Appendix you submit with the application for settlement visa I have completed Appendix 2 financial requirement form is that the correct one just making sure.
 

 

Unless things have changed you don't need a birth certificate. My wife provided her passport and ID card but I also gave them photo copies of both. No evidence needed for her parents DOB. Assuming she doesn’t have a criminal record you don't need any paperwork. If she has she will need to document it on the application.

[7by7]

She does not need a police certificate, merely say on the form that she has no convictions.

 

Any documents she supplies which are not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation (any reputable translation agency will know what to do).

 

If she is unable to provide a requested document for any reason, say why.

 

As for the actual procedure I'm afraid I'm unable to advise as i have no experience of the new system other than what has been posted here.

[billbenbob]

HI 7by7 To keep you up to date regarding my wife's settlement visa bit of a disaster really I thought I had everything sorted and felt confident it would be all OK .Made an appointment with VFS on the 11 th December at 9am they took my wife's application form and passport as they are the only documents they need at this stage,they keep her passport and when the bio metrics are done give you back the application form to send with all other papers to Sheffield .Now I am in Thailand at present and intend to fly back to the UK on 10th January when I would have included all my supporting documents to the file now if you look on VFS website it states that the application and all supporting docs should be sent to Sheffield as SOON AS POSSIBLE but here is the big but when you get into the VFS office they hand you some more paper work which states that all the file must be in Sheffield within 20 days but if you read on they contradict that and it states that the file must be in Sheffield as soon as possible I pointed out to the manager that it would be impossible to get the file to Sheffield within 20 days as I do not fly back to the UK until the 10 January what there website stated was as soon as possible he then phoned his boss and stated that the website would be changed and big apologies but I would have to cancel this application and get a refund of fees and start again unbelievable and I am sure I will not be refunded the£70 the bank charges for converting the fee from dollars to GBH. Anyway end of rant I want to ask you one more question you might know the answer to will send you soon


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[billbenbob]

I started reading the UK Boarder Agency guide to supporting documents again and am wondering if I have got things right it states you must complete an additional appendix depending on what application you are submitting so I have completed Appendix 2(VAF 4A. August 2018) which I assume is correct for a spouse visa ,but then it states you must attach this to the VAF 4A Personal Details form and submit with other documents When I look this form up VAF 4A it states for North Korea only .I just want some reassurance that I do not have to fill this form in it's confusing the way they word all this on there guide .I will be making another appointment with VFS on the 7 Th January just before my flight home to the UK.


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[Bardeh]

Hi all, thanks for this thread as it's been really informative. I'm coming to the end of getting everything ready for my wife's application but it's a complete logistical nightmare and is giving me real headaches.

 

So, assuming that I have all of the documents that we need (I have been using https://www.migrate.org.uk/spouse-visa-uk-2018/ which has been really useful) what are the next steps I should take?

 

I am currently here in the UK. My wife is in Thailand. She has her English Language test certificate, our translated marriage certificate, her TB certificate, our son's translated birth certificate. I will also have her print the completed application form from https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

 

My question is - everything else (financial docs, supporting letters, accommodation docs etc) are currently with me. I had been planning on sending them to her to take with her to her appointment with VFS, but reading here it looks like that's not needed, and all she'll need at that appointment is her passport and the application form? It would be much easier for me personally for her to send everything she has over to me so that I can check it's all correct, put it in a nice, ordered binder, and then send it to Sheffield myself. I really want to have this all straight in my mind before we submit this online application form and pay the stonking great fee.

 

Am I right in thinking that I won't need to send any of this over to her?

[Bardeh]

4 hours ago, billbenbob said:

I started reading the UK Boarder Agency guide to supporting documents again and am wondering if I have got things right it states you must complete an additional appendix depending on what application you are submitting so I have completed Appendix 2(VAF 4A. August 2018) which I assume is correct for a spouse visa ,but then it states you must attach this to the VAF 4A Personal Details form and submit with other documents When I look this form up VAF 4A it states for North Korea only .I just want some reassurance that I do not have to fill this form in it's confusing the way they word all this on there guide .I will be making another appointment with VFS on the 7 Th January just before my flight home to the UK.


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The form you need is here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733638/VAF4A-Appendix2-08-18.pdf

 

It's confusing the way the website is laid out, but this one is the one for everyone except North Korea. Don't ask me why they thought putting the North Korea one most prominently on that page was a good idea, because it's really bloody silly.

[billbenbob]

You are correct you can send everything from the UK but it all has to be in Sheffields hands app and all docs within 20 days of your wife submitting her app at VSF in Thailand


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