UK Spouse Visa Questions

[CCity Rocker]

Hi guys

I am currently in the process of gathering the documents required to apply for a spouse visa and I would greatly appreciate some advice. I have a few specific questions, but first I think it would help if I provide some background information.

I have been with my girlfriend for 6 years and we shall be married in Thailand next month. We successfully obtained a visitor’s visa last year and she came to here to stay for 1 month at my parent’s house with me. I have spent 4 of the last 6 years living with her in Thailand and coming back to the UK to work on short term contracts. We satisfy all of the current visa requirements regarding finance, heath etc. and I will be coaching her for her English language test when I come back to get married.

We shall be living at my parents’ house initially until we get established and shall be looking to re-locate once we are sorted. I have the deeds, photos of the house, a letter confirming that the mortgage has been settled and a letter from the council confirming that the occupants including myself, are on the register of electors.

My questions are:

As we managed to satisfy the accommodation requirements for the visitor’s visa and the situation is exactly the same, should I be providing some sort of tenancy agreement or any other documents to satisfy the accommodation requirement?

Also when we made the application for the visitor’s visa, my parents and I provided notarised letters of invitation. Should we be providing similar notarised letters of support for the application this time?

I also provided signed copies of their passport pages along with 6 months bank statements. Should I provide these updated documents again?

Any advice would be gratefully received as I paid a considerable sum to a well-known agency in order to secure the visitor’s visa, but in reality we did virtually all of the work ourselves and I am reluctant to pay another agency for some fairly simple advice

.

I hope someone can help. Thanks in advance.

[7by7]

The accommodation requirements are applied a bit more rigorously in settlement applications than for visits; for the obvious reason. So your parents should write a letter inviting your both to live with them until you have arranged your own accommodation. They should include a brief description of the property and who lives there to show that there will be at least one room for your exclusive use. No need to have the letter notarised.

I always advise providing proof of ownership, a certified copy of the deeds is fine. Self certification of this copy is fine; along the lines of "I, full name, certify that this is a true copy of the deeds to, address. Signed and dated."

You do not need a formal tenancy agreement between you and your parents.

Third party financial support cannot be used for settlement applications, so there is no need to include their bank statements or any other details of their finances in the application.

Their passports were not needed for the visit application, and are not needed with this one.

I am concerned, though, when you say that you have lived for 4 out of the last 6 years in Thailand coming back to work in the UK for short term contracts.

This means that you may not satisfy the financial requirements, as they will basically take the lowest monthly income from the last 6 months and multiply that by 12 to see if you reach the minimum annual figure required.

I am going to ask a mod to move your post and this reply to a new topic where it stands more chance of being seen by those more expert in this requirement than I; such as TonyM.

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks for the reply 7by7, and for getting this post put in the right place. I am a newbie on here, but hope to get the hang of things quickly!

The answers you provided have helped already and I am relieved to learn that I will not need to get letters notarised, nor will I be required to submit a tenancy agreement. With regard to your concerns relating to finance, I am pretty sure that we will be ok, as even though I am not working currently I am lucky enough to have savings in excess of the £62,500 required where there is no income. I take on board your final comment and appreciate your honesty, therefore I shall hold back for a while before proceeding in the hope that TonyM or someone else may offer further information.

Many thanks again.

[Tony M]

Your savings of minimum 62,500 GBP must have been under your control for at least 6 months, and must be immediately available at the time the application is submitted. The guidance on cash savings is as follows :

7.2. Cash savings – further guidance

7.2.1. Savings must be held in cash in a personal bank/savings account in the name of the applicant, their partner or the couple jointly. The savings can be from any legal source, including a gift from a family member or other third party, provided the source of the cash savings is declared. The applicant and/or their partner must confirm that the money, which cannot be borrowed, is under their control and evidence that it has been held in their bank account for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application.

7.2.2. Funds held as cash savings by the applicant, their partner or both jointly at the date of application can have been transferred from investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds within the period of 6 months prior to the date of application, provided that:

(i) The funds have been in the ownership and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly for at least the period of 6 months prior to the date of application.

(ii) The ownership of the funds in the form of investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds; the cash value of the funds in that form at or before the beginning of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application; and the transfer of the funds into cash, are evidenced by a portfolio report or other relevant documentation from a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating. (iii) The requirements of Appendix FM-SE in respect of the cash savings held at the date of application are met, except that the period of at least 6 months prior to the date of application in paragraph 11(a) will be reduced by the amount of that period in which the relevant funds were held in the form of investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds.

7.2.3. This means that, where the cash savings have previously been held as investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds that were owned by and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly, this ownership period can be counted towards the 6 month period. So money held as cash savings at the date of application can have been liquidated by the same owner(s) from investments and may have been held as investments for the first part of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application and as cash savings for the rest of that 6 month period. Evidence must be provided showing that:

 The investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds were in the ownership and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly for that part of the 6 month period prior to the date of application before they were liquidated into cash savings;

 The value of the investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds at or before the beginning of that 6 month period was at least equivalent to the amount of the cash savings relied upon in the application; and

 The cash savings meet the requirements of Appendix FM-SE.

If this evidence is not provided, the cash savings previously held as investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds cannot be counted towards the financial requirement.

7.2.4. Case study – Cash savings previously held as investments

(a) The applicant‟s partner has an investment portfolio worth approximately £1m, although this value fluctuates. In order to meet the financial requirement, she liquidates part of her investment 2 months prior to the date of application and transfers £62,500 in cash to her personal savings account. She is able to provide a portfolio report showing that the value of the liquidated assets was at least £62,500 7 months prior to the date of application. The cash savings meet the requirements of Appendix FM-SE at the date of application and, by combining the period the money was held as investments with the period the money has been held as cash savings, the funds have been owned by the applicant‟s partner and under their control for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application.

7.2.5. Appendix FM-SE specifies further requirements for cash savings:

11A. In respect of cash savings: (a) The savings may be held in any form of bank/savings account, provided that the account allows the savings to be accessed immediately (with or without a penalty for withdrawing funds without notice). This can include, for those of retirement age, savings held in a pension savings account which can be immediately withdrawn. (b ) Paid out competition winnings or a legacy which has been paid can contribute to cash savings.

7.3. Cash savings – specified evidence

7.3.1. The evidence required for cash savings is specified in Appendix FM-SE: 11. In respect of cash savings the following must be provided: (a) Personal bank statements showing the cash savings have been held in an account in the name of the person or of the person and their partner jointly for at least 6 months prior to the date of application. (b ) A declaration by the account holder(s) of the source(s) of the cash savings.

In addition, a recent change to the immigration rules says that, basically, cash savings can also come from the sale of property ( within the last 6 months) as long as the property was owned bu you or your wife, or both.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Tony M

[CCity Rocker]

Thank you Tony M,

I do have these savings instantly available and they have been in my accounts for over 2 years. However, please could you confirm if I am understanding the following statement correctly?

7.2.1. Savings must be held in cash in a personal bank/savings account in the name of the applicant, their partner or the couple jointly. The savings can be from any legal source, including a gift from a family member or other third party, provided the source of the cash savings is declared. The applicant and/or their partner must confirm that the money, which cannot be borrowed, is under their control and evidence that it has been held in their bank account for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application

​As the amounts in my accounts did not arrive from any of the sources specified above (One sum was an inheritance and the other was the equal division of a joint savings account held with my sister) do I still need to provide some form of approved documentary evidence to qualify the sources?

[Tony M]

If you have the evidence, then provide it. It will save time if the ECO decides that he wants to question the provenance of the funds. But, if the money has been in the account(s) that long then the ECO should accept that it has not just been put in to show "savings". Common sense should rule, but it doesn't always.

[Idler]

I have a UK Settlement Visa question.

I married my wife in the UK five years ago. We have been living in the UK continuously for 18 months now. In December she will apply for a ILR. I am self-employed and work when I need to. My wife is a physical therapist and has been working from home. My question is, can we combine our incomes to meet the financial threshold required?

Thanks.

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks again for the help so far, I do however have some more questions:-

I am looking to sort my visa out this week and will be booking a flight next week. My girlfriend suggested that she could get the TB check done before I arrive to save time and also she could take the BULATS test this week or the following week to allow us more time to concentrate our efforts on the marriage process. It occurred to me that as she will be changing her name once married and getting a new ID card and passport in her new name, then surely the TB check certificate and the BULATS certificate would be of no use for the submission of the visa application as they would both be issued in her current name?

Please could anyone advise on this matter? As I need to work out roughly how long I will need to spend in Thailand to get everything sorted and which visa I will need accordingly.

Thanks in advance.

[Tony M]

Thanks again for the help so far, I do however have some more questions:-

I am looking to sort my visa out this week and will be booking a flight next week. My girlfriend suggested that she could get the TB check done before I arrive to save time and also she could take the BULATS test this week or the following week to allow us more time to concentrate our efforts on the marriage process. It occurred to me that as she will be changing her name once married and getting a new ID card and passport in her new name, then surely the TB check certificate and the BULATS certificate would be of no use for the submission of the visa application as they would both be issued in her current name?

Please could anyone advise on this matter? As I need to work out roughly how long I will need to spend in Thailand to get everything sorted and which visa I will need accordingly.

Thanks in advance.

Don't worry about it. Changing name after marriage is not unusual and, as long as there is a "paper trail" showing the change from one name to another, there will be no problem about the applicant's maiden name being on any certificate..

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks for the advice Tony. Logical really I suppose, although that is not always the case in Thailand!

I now have visa and flight sorted, plus all the documents I can think of. I have taken electronic backups of everything and will be taking my laptop with me. I am concerned that I may have overlooked something and wish there was some kind of checklist I could refer to, as it will be a major hassle to try to get any missing documents sent over. I am assuming that I do not need anything notarised or certified by a legal entity, nor do I need letters from my bank certifying that the statements I am providing are legitimate? Should I be providing household bills, council tax payments etc?

Any advice regarding this or a source I can refer to alleviate my anxiety would be gratefully received.

Many thanks again.

[7by7]

I have a UK Settlement Visa question.

I married my wife in the UK five years ago. We have been living in the UK continuously for 18 months now. In December she will apply for a ILR. I am self-employed and work when I need to. My wife is a physical therapist and has been working from home. My question is, can we combine our incomes to meet the financial threshold required?

Thanks.

The simple answer is 'Yes.'

The more complicated answer is that as she applied for her initial settlement visa before July last year, she comes under the old rules, not the new. Therefore there is no set financial threshold you have to meet, but you do need to show that she can be adequately supported and accommodated without recourse to public funds.

[CCity Rocker]

Help anyone please?

I refer back to my last post and wondered if anyone could please confirm whether I should have any of the documents, statements, bills, letters etc. notarised or certified by a legal entity before I leave next Wednesday?

I am concerned that I am not 100% certain on this score as there seem to be some conflicting opinions.

Many thanks in advance.

[kunash]

Help anyone please?

I refer back to my last post and wondered if anyone could please confirm whether I should have any of the documents, statements, bills, letters etc. notarised or certified by a legal entity before I leave next Wednesday?

I am concerned that I am not 100% certain on this score as there seem to be some conflicting opinions.

Many thanks in advance.

no need to

[7by7]

If they are original documents, they are fine as is; but if copies then you should self certify that they are true copies.

nor do I need letters from my bank certifying that the statements I am providing are legitimate?

If paper bank statements etc., then no; but if printouts from online banking etc., then yes

[CCity Rocker]

Many thanks for clarification 7 by 7

[CCity Rocker]

I need to ask for further clarification here, I'm afraid

I have original paper bank statements for my current account and savings account, I have paper statements relating to two other online savings accounts. I have also got certified mini statements from all three bank/building societies showing today's date, as they will not provide letters certifying the authenticity of documents to be printed 'in the future'. As I am flying out on Wednesday and it will be at least 6 weeks before we make the application, my question is:-

I am assuming that I will need to print out pages from my online accounts the day before we make the application in order to give an accurate snapshot of my current financial position. I will not be able to get these certified or stamped for obvious reasons, and as I have been advised to blank out account numbers and sort codes how can I prove that these are legitimate documents? I can obviously self certify and logic would dictate that they must be linked but as this is an application of some magnitude can anyone advise how I can satisfy this requirement or am I just over thinking this?

PS. Should I be providing copies of electricity, council tax, gas water bills etc. even though they are not in my name and if so, how long back should I go?

Thanks in advance. Starting to get worn down with this now. I wish I could just pack my suitcase and relax!

[7by7]

You should provide as up to date bank statements as possible, and if they are not paper statements on the banks headed paper, e.g. computer print outs, then they should be certified as correct by the bank.

Yes, the printouts you produce will be linked to the certified ones you already have; but they will not be certified as authentic and you could have altered them (not saying you would do so, of course).

Why wait 6 weeks to submit the application? Processing times can be as long as 3 months. Submit it as soon as possible and then go and do whatever you have planned for the next 6 weeks while the application is being processed.

Whey remove the account number and sort code? These are part of the information which identifies the account as yours and the documents as legitimate. Ignore whoever advised you to remove them.

I stand to be corrected on this, but; as far as I'm aware without knowing your passwords, PIN, etc. the worst someone could do with just your account number and sort code is pay money into the account!

You do not need utility bills etc. for this application.

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks 7by7,

I am having a challenging morning here. I am arriving on Thursday and we are yet to be married, I know we can get the TB check and the Thai Police check sorted next week and the BULATS test will also be taken next week. We will be starting the marriage process first thing on Monday morning when we visit the embassy.

The worst case scenario here is that it takes us longer than anticipated to get these final documents (BULATS certificate?) ready, and I have to come back to the UK to get the printouts certified in person and sent by courier to Thailand. What would be considered 'as up to date as possible' taking the practicalities of the situation into account?

This is looking like we could fall at the final hurdle.

Really quite worried now. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[7by7]

As TonyM said earlier

Your savings of minimum 62,500 GBP must have been under your control for at least 6 months, and must be immediately available at the time the application is submitted.

Therefore, as I understand it, the statements you provide should be as current as possible.

How current is that? Good question; afraid I don't have the answer.

However, the ECOs do live in the real world and appreciate that applicant's and sponsors are often unable to provide completely up to date documents; but 6 weeks old may cause you a problem as it could be argued that this no longer shows the funds to be immediately available.

So I would suggest submitting what you have plus print out(s) bringing it all up to date together with an explanatory note explaining that you have been in Thailand for the last 6 weeks and so been unable to have the print out(s) authenticated by your bank(s).

This may prove acceptable, but if not then Para D of Appendix FM-SE allows the ECO to request the submission of additional or missing documents.

Alternatively, can you not contact your bank(s) and ask them to send updated statements to you in Thailand, or if they are unwilling to do this then as you live with your parents to your home address and your parents can then forward them to you.

You could have reduced the timescales if your girlfriend had taken her TB and English tests already. The TB certificate is valid for 6 months and the English pass for 2 years. As TonyM previously said, it doesn't matter if these are in her maiden name as your marriage certificate provides the link.

Also, as there is no compulsion under either Thai or UK law for a woman to take her husband's surname upon marriage she could keep her maiden name in her passport, saving the time to change it, and so make the visa application in her maiden name. (Which is what my wife did, changing the name in her Thai passport when she renewed it at the Thai embassy in London; which was after she had lived in the UK for over 3 years and been naturalised as British. Indeed, for a short period she had a Thai passport in her maiden name and a British passport in her married one. All perfectly legal.)

Obtaining your Affirmation of Freedom to Marry from the embassy, having it translated and the translation certified by the MFA and then registering the marriage should take 3 days maximum, so had she already obtained her TB certificate and English pass then you could have submitted her application within 3 to 4 days of your arrival in Thailand.

But it's too late for that, now.

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks 7by7

Yes it would have been much better to have got everything in place first, I agree. I thought we would be ok, as I provided self certified printouts before, along with copies of original paper statements and we were granted a tourist visa. We will have to do our best regarding timescales and see where we are once we have everything we need.

I think with a bit of luck we can still get this done in less than 2 weeks. She will pass the English test at the required level without a doubt. Does she have to submit the actual certificate or will the official printed confirmation of her pass mark be accepted? If so, then the time lapse could be less than 30 days which would surely be within reason?

I have contacted the banks concerned, they will issue statements on request but they will take between 7 to 10 days to arrive at my address in England and obviously, the date on the statements will be at the time of issue. These could then be forwarded on to me via a courier, but we are still looking at a time lapse of around 15 to 20 days! I think this could be the best solution to the problem and I am going to pre-order the statements next week to get the dates synced as closely as possible.

Thank you again for your excellent advice, I would not have got this far without it. I await your response regarding the English language certificate as this now appears to be the key document in this particular scenario. I will keep you posted on the progress.

Many thanks again.

[Tony M]

This is the answer to one of your questions :

(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.

By the way, your wife doesn't need a Thai Police check.

[7by7]

I thought we would be ok, as I provided self certified printouts before, along with copies of original paper statements and we were granted a tourist visa.

Unfortunately, as you have discovered, the evidential requirements for a settlement visa are somewhat stricter than those for a tourist one.

She will pass the English test at the required level without a doubt. Does she have to submit the actual certificate or will the official printed confirmation of her pass mark be accepted?

From UK Settlement Visa Basics

Even though the language requirement is just for speaking and listening, most, I think all, approved English test providers in Thailand insist on candidates taking, and paying for, the full test including reading and writing. You will not get a certificate unless you pass all 4 elements.

However, the embassy has confirmed that as long as the applicant has a test report showing that they scored the equivalent of A1 or better in speaking and listening then it does not matter what they scored in the reading and writing elements. Even if they failed these and so did not receive a test pass certificate. See this post from Visa Plus.

So the test report should be sufficient, as long as it shows she has achieved at least A1 in speaking and listening.

[CCity Rocker]

Thank you both so much for your replies,

It looks like we may have our 'get out of jail free' option if we can get it submitted by the 9th of November, if that is not achievable then the couriered documents is our plan B. At least this way I will not be forced to make a sharp exit home as I hoped to stay in Thailand until just after the new year.

I will keep you posted on progress, although I'm certain there will be further questions.

Many thanks again, massively appreciated.

[CCity Rocker]

Guys,

I thought an update would be in order as it's been some time and I feel I should be putting something back into this forum. I arrived in Thailand as planned in October, we crammed the BULATS test and passed, we got the TB check done, got the Affirmation of Freedom to Marry from the embassy, had it translated and the translation certified by the MFA and then my wife fell sick. She was admitted to hospital on 29th of October and remained there for one week with a viral kidney infection which was very nasty. Ten days of daily outpatient treatment followed and she was advised to take it easy for another ten days. We eventually married on 28th of November and went on honeymoon for 2 weeks.

Thankfully, she is now fully recovered, but obviously this knocked our time-scales out of the window. I now have fully updated sets of official bank statements and the appointment at the VFS is on Tuesday 7th January. We are well within the 28 day limit on the bank statements, which arrived from the UK in 5 days via post office recorded delivery! I will make a further posting when I have done my final, final, final check of the supporting documents. I will inform of progress and obviously the outcome in due course.

Once again, huge thanks and appreciation for the excellent advice provided by 7by7 and Tony M, ect. Without this forum I would have been completely lost at times.

Thank you.

[CCity Rocker]

Gentlemen

I am sorry to have to ask for assistance in this manner, but my wife's interview at the VFS is on Tuesday and she has a major hospital appointment tomorrow, hence time is limited and we desperately need some advice.

We now have every document in place signed, certified, translated, copied etc. and we are ready to go. There is one problem; I completed the the on-line uk spouse visa application form on the visa4uk.fco.gov.uk website, checked the final version about 20 times, signed the declaration, made the appointment, paid for it and printed the .pdf version as instructed.

The printed version of the form contains the following errors:

Page 1. The applicants land-line number is displaying my home number in the uk, the applicants mobile number is now displaying mine in the uk.

Page 2 and page 9 are identical, they are both the same declaration, which is to be signed.

Ministry Of Foreign Affairs appears through out the document as Ministry Of Foreign, because there is not sufficient space on the on-line input fields.

Question 80; WHEN DID THEY ARRIVE IN THE UK? I have entered 01 JAN 1900 as instructed on the ukba website.

The relationship of the sponsor to you; appears as OTHER RELATIVE, as there is no option for husband/wife

I have worked as a software tester in the UK for over 20 years and know exactly what is wrong with this form. My question therefore is, how am I to 'correct' these errors prior to my wife making the submission at the VFS, so that the form is acceptable and we are not penalised or the application rejected for errors on the application which are not of our making?

The ukba website offers the following guidance:

You must write all dates in the format DD MMM YYYY (for example, 21 Aug 1956).

If there is not enough space to write on the online form, please enter the most recent and relevant information in the allocated space. You should then add any further information, in writing, on the printout of your submitted form.

Some questions are mandatory - this means that you must give an answer. If the question is not relevant to you, please enter 'not applicable' or 'not known' or '01 Jan 1900' if a date is required.

On your printed application form, you should explain in writing why you had to do this.

Do not leave mandatory questions blank.

I understand all of the the above which allows some scope for correction, however I feel it does not clarify how to deal with the errors described as a result of software bugs. I would appreciate your advice hugely as my wife and I are hanging by a thread currently.

Many thanks in advance.

[bifftastic]

Hand write the corrections on the paper print out of the form, initial the corrections. The paper form is the actual application form, not the online version.

You seem to have everything you need for a successful application, but I will wish you good luck anyway

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks bifftastic,

Today has been tough, I'm worn out and my wife is getting very anxious about this application. I appreciate the advice and your kind words.

[marty175]

I had the same mistakes you mentioned when we printed out our form but i just submitted it anyway. VFS centre looked through everything so I hope all will be fine.