A few questions on spouse visa application

[PLA]

My Husband and I are applying for a spouse visa in a couple of months, He is is Israeli and I'm from London. We are putting together all of our documents and had a few questions regarding what is actually required in the application.



1) I have 4 payslips so far that meet the financial requirement. The first one however is not a "full" paycheck as I had only just started with the company. At the bottom of this first pay slip (and all the payslips after that) it does say my annual income which is above the required amount. Can we still use this pay slip? Or is it better to wait an extra month and have 6 full pay payslips?

I have read in a few places that they take the 6 pay checks and calculate an average based on the lowest earning pay check, However as my annual income is printed on the bottom and I have been making more than enough since then can we use it as part of the application?

Also does "London weighting" count towards my annual income? Without it my annual salary is just under £21,000 but with it I make £24,000, Does it count towards my annual income or will they just take my basic salary into consideration?


2) Certifying documents: Do I need to have my passport legally certified? As I will not be putting the original copy in to the application.
Who can certify the document? I am finding it hard to find a solicitor who will do it for a reasonable fee. I have found that the post office offers a certification service and wondered if that would be acceptable?

We want to include copies of everything in the application, even with the originals already there just in case they want to keep copies for their records, this will make the whole process run a lot smoother (We think). Do these need to be legally certified? Or because they have the originals to compare to themselves is the certification not necessary? Also how many copies would they need?

3) Is the Pearson Academic language test still accepted in the application? It was taken on the 15th of August 2014 and have been reading mixed reports on when tests are still valid until. Is it November 2015 as the test was taken before the changes take place? Or only until April 6th?

4) In regards to the application form, I understand this needs to be completed online? Is it something that can be edited over time or do we need to do everything in one sitting?

Thank you for any advice offered, We really appreciate the time and effort put in by everyone on the forum answering questions.

[i.need.help]

What's 'London weighting'??

2) If you're British, you don't need your passport certified. Why won't you include a copy? An original is not a copy. You need to include a copy of your passport. When my wife applied, we both didn't certify any document.

If your bank statements are online, then you will need to get them either stamped by your bank or get your bank to write a cover letter which states the printed statements are genuine.

[glitter]

A letter from your employer that states that you are employed with the company, type of contract, start date and annual income
UK citizens are allowed to send copy of the passport with the application (all pages including blank)
Print bank statements and get them signed and stamped in the bank

[PLA]

London weighting is an extra some companies will pay to employees working in London. My company just happens to pay it which boosts my salary slightly, just not sure if it will count towards to base salary or not.

I have bank statements, only one of them is online but only the first so if I can't use the first pay check I wont be using that bank statement anyway.

Does anyone know if I can use the first pay slip or not? It will change how soon my husband and I can apply for the visa

[Casa]

If you submit the first payslip the Entry Officer will make the annual calculation based on this, as the lowest payslip in the 6 months period is taken and then multiplied by 12.
London weighting should be included.
Don't consider submitting a copy of your passport without having the pages legally certified. All copies of legal documents should be certified.

[PLA]

Thanks Casa!

definitely won't be putting in that first pay slip then.

any ideas if the post office certification service is accepted??

[Casa]

There have certainly been threads on the forum that confirm they are. I believe that only certain Post Offices offer the service.