Unmarried partner UK Visa

[ece]

Hi All,

Me and my girlfriend for 4 1/2 years are planning to apply for unmarried partner visa by April. Please give us any advise on how to strengthen our supports.

I was an artwork planner but I resigned my girlfriend received her offer to accompany her in all her paperworks. I am now helping my parents manage our bakery.

She is currently an employee in the UK. She started last January 4, 2016 and is currently receiving salary of £40,000 (per her job offer).

For the accommodation, she is living with 2 of her friends in a 3br flat. The flat is very spacious per her pictures that she sent me.

We have lived together for 2 1/2 years before she went to the UK. We lived in 4 different addresses for that span of time.
July 2014-July 2015- We don't have anything for support but we're sure that we will be able to obtain a letter from the landlord that we lived there and that we pay the rent and utilities. We don't have letters/bills/employment records in this house since we opted to use our provincial addresses and electricity and water are named after the landlord.

July 2015 - December 2015 - We transferred to my cousin's apartment. We also don't have any tenancy agreement since it was named after my cousin. We can also try to ask for a letter from the landlord or his cousin on how we divide the expenses. We were also able to buy things for the apartment that we both use. Still, we don't have letters/bills/employment records.

December 2015 - August 2015 - We transferred again (together with my cousin) to another apartment. There was no tenancy agreement provided to us, just receipts of our payments but the receipts are just plain writings on a piece of paper. Neither of our names were in any of the papers. We were able to buy appliances (tv, aircon) and bed and other things that we're thinking we can bring when we would have a house of our own. We had food delivery confirmations for that address and taxi cab confirmations with our names on it. That's all that we have. Still, we don't have letters/bills/employment records.

August 2015 - December 2015 - We transferred again to another apartment due to security reasons, still with my cousin. The receipts were under my name. My girlfriend's visa application documents were under this address. No tenancy agreement between our names.

Questions:
1) Since we really cannot find anything to support our co-habitation, would a letter from the landlord of the 1st apartment or retro tenancy agreements, letter from my cousin and letter from a friend who stayed with us for about 4months be sufficient? We're also asking my sister who lives in the province to write a letter about us. Can we just state in our application that the utilities are named after the landlord and the landlord will just tell us how much we're paying?
2) We also have a motorcycle that we're paying monthly. The motorcycle is under my girlfriend's father's name who is now deceased. But the motorcycle is definitely ours and that we share with the monthly amortization of the motorcycle. We don't have receipts, because we only deposit our payments so what we have are only deposits slips. Can a letter from the motorcycle dealer be enough? They know that the motorcycle is ours. The dealer is in the province and we are staying in Manila.

Other than the co-habitation requirement, we think that our supports are fine since she is earning £40,000/year, she will be asking for a letter from the landlord of where she stays a letter confirming that the flat can still accommodate 1 more person, loads of pictures together on different occassions, letters from way beyond, etc.

Hope you can give us advise on this.
Thank you all in advance.

[7by7]

I assume from what you say that it is you who is applying and your girlfriend who is the sponsor.

I also assume that you will be applying to join her with a view to living together indefinitely in the UK. (See Apply to join family living permanently in the UK)

The first thing to consider is the financial requirement.

She is working in the UK and earning well above the minimum requirement of £18,600 p.a., so it would appear that there is no problem there.

But when you apply in April she will only have been doing so for 4 months. What was she doing before moving back to the UK?

Unless she was working and meets the conditions of 5.2. Category A: With current employer for 6 months or more – overseas sponsor returning to the UK or 5.4. Category B: Less than 6 months with current employer or variable income – overseas sponsor returning to the UK then I'm afraid that she and you do not currently meet the requirement.

In which case you will have to wait until she has been in her current job in the UK for at least 6 months, i.e. until June, before she can sponsor you under 5.1. Category A: With current employer for 6 months or more – person residing in the UK.

Unless you and she can meet the requirement some other way, e.g. through cash savings.

You can always apply for a visit visa so you can be in the UK with her during this time, but if you do so you will have to return home and apply for settlement there; standard visit visas cannot be converted to settlement inside the UK.

Adequate accommodation seems ok. There is no objection to you both living with others in a shared household as long as there is at least one room for your exclusive use. A letter from the landlord confirming this, and that they have no objection to you living there, will suffice; no need for photographs.

You seem pretty clued up on the requirements for unmarried partners, but worth checking the immigration rules para 295AA to 295B.

The period you are living apart between her moving to the UK and you applying to join her wont be a problem. periods of up to 6 months apart are acceptable if there is a good reason for it. See SET5.12 Assessing whether the relationship has subsisted for two years

Your problem is proving that the two of you were living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years before she returned to the UK.

SET5.13 What types of evidence might demonstrate living together and a relationship akin to marriage / civil partnership? is fairly specific.

The applicant must provide six pieces of correspondence addressed to him / her and their partner at the same address as evidence that they have been living together during the past 2 years. The items of correspondence should be addressed to them jointly or in both their names. If they do not have enough items in their joint names, they may also provide items addressed to each of other individually if they show the same address for both of them. The documents provided must be originals and should be spread over the whole 2 years; they should also be from at least 3 different sources. Examples of what documentation the applicant could provide are listed below:

Unfortunately, from what you say you have very little, if any, of this type of evidence.

Her visas will show that she was living in the Philippines, but not that she was living with you.

Forget the motorcycle; unless you have an actual credit agreement in both your names with your address on it.

Do you not have any letters, bills etc. addressed to one or other or both of you at the same address at all?

Whether what you have plus letters from your various landlords confirming that you were both living at the same address during the period of the various leases will suffice, I simply cannot say.

Hopefully someone with more experience in this area, such as Tony M, will reply.

If she is not British or living in the UK without any time limit but a Philippine, or other, national in the UK on a work permit or similar and you want to apply to join her during her stay then different rules and requirements will apply. Although you will still have to prove that you have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least the last two years to qualify as her unmarried partner.

[Tony M]

If you are applying as the dependant of a Tier 2 ( General work permit holder) then the requirements are quite different from the Family Migration requirements. Have a look at the attached for PBS ( Points Based System) dependants), and then maybe you will have some more questions :

PBS_dependant_guidance_11-15.pdf

If she is a British citizen, then you will need to meet the requirements as given above by 7x7.

You will need to provide strong evidence of the unmarried partnership, as it is an area that can be open to abuse fairly easily.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Tony M

[Tony M]

You might find a part of this very recent Tribunal JR decision relevant :

R (on the application of Bhudia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (para 284(iv) and (ix)) IJR [2016] UKUT 25 (IAC)

The relevant section deals with the "Six Items of Correspondence Issue" in a UK Judicial Review application ( paragraphs 11 - 17). It's obviously written from a "legal" perspective, but it will give you an idea of how seriously the matter of proving the relationship is taken.

[7by7]

Click here to see the judgement in full.

Tony, I agree that case officers do take this issue seriously and apply the "six documents" requirement fairly rigidly; because, as you have already said, of the ease with which this category could be abused if all that was required was a simple statement by applicant and sponsor that they were unmarried partners. Not that I am suggesting that the OP and his girlfriend are not genuine; I'm sure they are.

This case was appealing the refusal of FLR, one reason for which was the lack of 6 items of correspondence addressed to her and her husband covering the period since her initial visa was issued and she moved to the UK as evidence of their continued cohabitation.

If I have interpreted the legalese correctly, the judgement covering this issue being that it does not say anywhere in the immigration rules that these items are required, it is only mentioned on the FLR(M) form. Therefore in the opinion of the tribunal it is not a rule and so not a legal requirement

Our primary conclusion, expressed above, is that this is not a legally effective requirement

and so is not grounds for refusal. They go on to say

If this conclusion is wrong, we consider, in the alternative, that the impugned decision is vitiated on the ground that, at its height, the "six items" requirement did not prescribe an inflexible condition but was, rather, an expression of policy guidance to caseworkers.

I can see the relevance of this to those applying to move to the UK with a view to settlement as unmarried partners because, likewise, all the immigration rules say on the matter is

295A (i) (a)(i) the applicant is the unmarried or same-sex partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom or who is on the same occasion being admitted for settlement and the parties have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership which has subsisted for two years or more

It does not say anywhere in the rules what evidence is required to prove this; it is only stated in the ECGs linked to in my previous.

I can also find no mention of this "six documents" requirement for the unmarried partner applicants under the PBS.

I would value your opinion on how this successful FLR appeal may effect initial visa applications from unmarried partners, whether applying under the family migration rules or the PBS.

Anyone else's opinion is, of course, just as welcome.

Having said that, I believe that at present the OP would be well advised to produce as much evidence as he can that he and his girlfriend were living together for at least two years before she moved to the UK; whichever category he will be applying under.

[Tony M]

I agree with your view. I would think that, although the decision relates to an FLR application, the principle must extend to all areas of immigration legislation. The requirement for 6 pieces of evidence is not written into Appendix FM, or FM-SE. UKVI will, quite rightly, still insist that the relationship be proved, but they will have to, I think, bear in mind that they cannot insist on their own stipulated 6 pieces of evidence. UKVI will need to compromise, and make a decision on the balance of probabilities if necessary. So, applicants should make their evidence as strong as possible.

[ece]

Hi!

Thank you for your replies. These are very helpful.

Just to clarify, if we were to push through unmarried partner visa, she needs to be there for 6mos before I can apply for a visa?

For our supports of cohabitation, we could only have tenancy agreements from our landlords, food delivery confirmations, letters from friends. Utilities were still named after our landlords, we just pay them. Other than that, we don't have any other supports.

Are there other ways on how to expdite my visa application?

If we were to take the visitor-settlement visa route, will that be easier and faster?
What are the requirements? I haven't read anything about this visa since we're really looking at unmarried partner only, but as of the moment, it seems that we don't have enough proof.

Or it will be easier if I apply under Tier2 Dependent visa?

Thank you!

[Tony M]

Hi!

Thank you for your replies. These are very helpful.

Just to clarify, if we were to push through unmarried partner visa, she needs to be there for 6mos before I can apply for a visa?

For our supports of cohabitation, we could only have tenancy agreements from our landlords, food delivery confirmations, letters from friends. Utilities were still named after our landlords, we just pay them. Other than that, we don't have any other supports.

Are there other ways on how to expdite my visa application?

If we were to take the visitor-settlement visa route, will that be easier and faster?

What are the requirements? I haven't read anything about this visa since we're really looking at unmarried partner only, but as of the moment, it seems that we don't have enough proof.

Or it will be easier if I apply under Tier2 Dependent visa?

Thank you!

What nationality is your girlfriend ?

Edited February 12, 2016 by Tony M

[7by7]

Indeed.

The visa you apply for depends upon her status in the UK.

Is she a British citizen?

If she is not British, what type of UK visa or leave to remain does she hold?

[ece]

She has a Tier 2 Visa.

[7by7]

In which case you apply as the family member of a Tier 2 visa holder.

The requirements are more or less the same whichever type of Tier 2 visa she holds: but for the details for the one she holds check under 'family' in the appropriate one from this list.

Whichever one it is, you will still have to satisfy the entry clearance officer that on the balance of probabilities you and she are, and have been for at least two years, unmarried partners.