UK visa supporting documents - how recent must they be?

[fbf]

I will marry my Thai fiancée at the end of June and then we will almost immediately leave for a 1-week honeymoon (already booked). Because of this, for a quick visa application it will be difficult to get the latest bank statements and payslips.

My original plan was to prepare the online application and all documents in advance. Then just before the honeymoon (or during day one) it would be just a case of hitting the submit button and selecting an appointment around two weeks hence. On her return to Thailand a week later (and with me back in the UK) she would only have a few fairly straightforward tasks to turn around within one working week:

1. Print the application

2. Get the marriage certificate translated (if not already)

3. Get some wedding and honeymoon photos printed (up-to-date evidence of the relationship)

4. Attend the appointment

Anyway, I think my careful plan might be tripped up on something rather mundane - the dates/times of my bank statements and payslips. Both of these come at the end of the month, and as I'll be leaving the UK a week before the wedding, the latest documents I have will cover up to the end of May.

The visa application will be submitted on 28th or 29th June. At that point it might be argued that the June documents aren't available yet anyway, as maybe I don't get them for a couple more days. Yet, for a mid July appointment, might she be expected to be in possession of June documents by then?

I couldn't find any help in this official document: Guide to supporting documents: settlement.

A further point regarding payslips; by the end of June my employer is likely to have switched over to an electronic payroll system and will have ceased providing paper payslips. This could be a curse or a blessing. Will the visa application be harder to prove if they're electronic? My company have already said they're willing to provide a supporting letter. However, if such a letter is acceptable, then can I get the letter written in June, and get the electronic payslip printed in July?

Meanwhile my bank statements are still printed on dead trees, but online banking lets me download PDFs that look identical to the real thing (I used one out of the six in the last visit visa application I think - but then I was scanning all such documents and she was printing copies her side). But again, if I could get a letter from the bank, maybe an electronic bank statement is then easier.

I'm not sure where now, but I thought I'd read somewhere that the documents for the settlement visa need to be originals. If scans/copies are ok, then it's no problem.

Any thoughts or experience here please?

Edited February 11, 2015 by fbf