Spouse Visa Success!

[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?

[7by7]

Congratulations on the success.

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?

As you can see the visa is valid for 33 months and she can first use the visa anytime between it's start date, 29/1/14, and it's expiry date, 29/6/16.

But, to be time qualified for the next in UK application, Further Leave to Remain, she must have been resident in the UK for at least 30 months. As you say, the extra three months is to allow people to settle their affairs, arrange travel etc.

Therefore she should first enter the UK on or before 29/3/14 otherwise her current visa will expire before she is time qualified for FLR and she will have to make, and pay for, an additional FLR application to cover the missing time..

However, whilst she should be in possession of a valid visa or Leave to Remain when she submits her FLR application, she can actually submit it up to 28 days after her current visa/LTR has expired; which means she could leave it until 26/4/14 before she first enters. But rules like this are subject to change, so don't rely on that.

Edit: the dates I've given are based on a quick calculation; don't rely on me being correct; check them yourself.

Edited February 1, 2014 by 7by7

[David48]

Congratulations ...

We all like the good result.

Enjoy and I hope things work out well for you both ...