Introduction and Spouse Visa Questions

[ssbib]

Hello everyone. I hope you are all well. My name is Phill and I've joined up for some advice. I have seen lots of helpful posts here after being directed via Google and thought it would be good to join up so that I can ask some questions that have been bothering me. I'll give you a little background of my situation first.

I live in England and in February this year I married the girl of my dreams. My wife is from the Philippines and as you can imagine we are eager to see each other again (we had to leave only a few days after our wedding) and we have been working tirelessly on her visa application since. Mainly it has been gathering documents and her passing her TB test and IELTS life skills exam. Finally we have all the documents needed so I sent my papers to her via UPS the other day. She now has them and so this morning we decided to finalise her online form, pay the fee and book her appointment.

OH. MY. GOD! What a nightmare that was. We used the same system last year for her visit visa and it wasn't as traumatic. The problem started when I went to pay her Immigration Health Surcharge payment. I completed the payment but I got an error message asking me to try again. When I checked my bank the amount had been taken from my account. There was a note on the website with a number telling you to call if there were any problems with the IHS payment. I called the number and just got passed around from pillar to post for 30 minutes. "Call back and press option x" they would say. I would do that and they would say the same thing but with a different option. Eventually I was told to "press option 2" and when I did I was told that I would be charged £1.95 to speak to someone on this line. Nobody else would help me. The only offer of help I got was an email address which I was told could take 10 working days to get a response from.

Anyway, I decided I might be best to just pay the IHS again and then chase a refund. When I clicked the section on the form once again I was given the IHS number automatically and I didn't have to pay again. I was allowed to continue on with the application, pay the visa fee and confirm my wife's appointment. All is well in the world again. However, somethings I was told while talking to some of the idiots on the "help" line has me concerned about a few things and so I thought I would ask them here as people seem to be very knowledgeable.

Any responses to the following questions would be greatly appreciated:

Why is the payment in US dollars for a UK visa??

Have the prices for the spouse visa gone up? When I looked a short while ago I thought it was £1200 but I have actually paid close to £1500 today.

Is it true that the documents I have just sent to the Philippines will be collected by VFS global and then sent to SHEFFIELD??? Then they will return them to the Philippines to be presented back to my wife? If so that is ridiculous.

It said that my wife will have to collect her BRP card "within 10 days of arrival in the UK". Well how will they know the date she arrives? I would've thought that when the visa is granted we would be free to decide the best day for her to leave between us. She will need to give notice at her job and set some things in order before she leaves.

I know I will have to pay another IHS payment when we extend my wife's visa in 2 and half years time...but do you need to pay again for Indefinite Leave to Remain??

Lastly, what do we do with the IHS number? The email we received said "add it to your application form" but the application form is finalised before you can even pay the IHS. Are we best just printing ths email and including it with all of our supporting documents?

Thanks a lot for reading my post and getting back to me.

[CR001]

Why is the payment in US dollars for a UK visa??

Have the prices for the spouse visa gone up? When I looked a short while ago I thought it was £1200 but I have actually paid close to £1500 today.

The fee is charged in either the local currency or USD if applying outside the UK. The fee is £1464, they went up on 6th April. See Fees (Click)

Is it true that the documents I have just sent to the Philippines will be collected by VFS global and then sent to SHEFFIELD??? Then they will return them to the Philippines to be presented back to my wife? If so that is ridiculous.

My understanding is they are scanned at the application centre and sent electronically to Sheffield. Not sure if originals need to be sent there or not but you would have to do this.

It said that my wife will have to collect her BRP card "within 10 days of arrival in the UK". Well how will they know the date she arrives? I would've thought that when the visa is granted we would be free to decide the best day for her to leave between us. She will need to give notice at her job and set some things in order before she leaves.

If you need her to travel at a certain date, you need to state this in the application and ask for the visa to be future dated. She will only get a 30 day visa and once she arrives in the UK, she has to collect her BRP within 10 days from the Post Office you were required to nominate in the application form.

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I know I will have to pay another IHS payment when we extend my wife's visa in 2 and half years time...but do you need to pay again for Indefinite Leave to Remain??

IHS is NOT payable for ILR.

Lastly, what do we do with the IHS number? The email we received said "add it to your application form" but the application form is finalised before you can even pay the IHS. Are we best just printing ths email and including it with all of our supporting documents?

She needs the number, emails and payment receipt.

[ssbib]

Hi CR001, thanks for the reply. I have some more questions after reading that if you don't mind answering them for me.

With relation to the scanning of documents to be sent to Sheffield, I think this is only offered as an extra service by VFS global in the Philippines. This is what it says on their website:

This Service provides the applicant with an option to choose VFS Global to scan their documents and send electronically to Sheffield on their behalf. While opting for this service, applicants will need to pay an optional service fee to VFS Global, thereby ensuring that the original supporting documents are returned for their safe keeping, hence not required to be sent outside Philippines.

So I am assuming that if you don't pay for that then they send the originals to Sheffield on our behalf. They wouldn't expect my wife to send the papers back to me for me to send them to Sheffield would they? That just sounds stupid, I've only just sent them to the Philippines via courier in the first place. I thought that the sponsor is only required to submit their documents to Sheffield if their spouse is applying from Pakistan.

I'm so angry to hear that the prices have gone up, especially by so much. Are the prices increased every year or is it just bad luck that I applied when I did. To be honest I think the fact you have to pay for this service at all is ridiculous.

Regarding the BRP card again, I did put on the online form that our preferred date of travel would be 17th July. My wife wants to spend her birthday at home (6th July) but be with me in time for my birthday (22nd July) so that is why we chose that date. Ideally we would love the visa to come through in time for that but I suppose this is unlikely now. That being the case will they just randomly assign her a 30 day period?? How does this work exactly?

Thanks for the rest of the info. I'm glad to hear the IHS isn't payable for ILR. Also, I will get my wife to print off the emails and payment receipts for the IHS and include them in the pack when she goes for the appointment. This whole process is a complete nightmare. I think its designed to be hard so people just give up.

[CR001]

With relation to the scanning of documents to be sent to Sheffield, I think this is only offered as an extra service by VFS global in the Philippines. This is what it says on their website:

This Service provides the applicant with an option to choose VFS Global to scan their documents and send electronically to Sheffield on their behalf. While opting for this service, applicants will need to pay an optional service fee to VFS Global, thereby ensuring that the original supporting documents are returned for their safe keeping, hence not required to be sent outside Philippines.

So I am assuming that if you don't pay for that then they send the originals to Sheffield on our behalf. They wouldn't expect my wife to send the papers back to me for me to send them to Sheffield would they? That just sounds stupid, I've only just sent them to the Philippines via courier in the first place. I thought that the sponsor is only required to submit their documents to Sheffield if their spouse is applying from Pakistan.

No, if you don't pay the extra to scan them, then YOU/WIFE have to send them to Sheffield within the specified time, usually two weeks.

I'm so angry to hear that the prices have gone up, especially by so much. Are the prices increased every year or is it just bad luck that I applied when I did. To be honest I think the fact you have to pay for this service at all is ridiculous.

They go up every year in April. You will need to start saving as ILR is substantially more expensive, eg. £2297 postal and £2287. It increased by just over £500 this year.

Regarding the BRP card again, I did put on the online form that our preferred date of travel would be 17th July. My wife wants to spend her birthday at home (6th July) but be with me in time for my birthday (22nd July) so that is why we chose that date. Ideally we would love the visa to come through in time for that but I suppose this is unlikely now. That being the case will they just randomly assign her a 30 day period?? How does this work exactly?

They do sometimes issue it based on intended date of travel, but sometimes they don't then you will have to request a correction.

[ssbib]

So what exactly is the point of the appointment at VFS global? If we have to send them to sheffield then why don't we just send them straight to Sheffield? Also, when Sheffield are done with them what will happen to the documents then? Send them back to the philippines, and who would pay for that? I can't see that being right, are you 100% certain on this? When we had a visit visa last year we did not have to send anything to Sheffield VFS global handled everything.

Nice to know they will still bleed me dry for ILR. What is the second figure in your last post for? You said one was postal but what was the other one for?

If you have to request a correction how easy is this? It would be great if they got it in time for the intended date of travel but I won't hold my breath.

[CR001]

So what exactly is the point of the appointment at VFS global? If we have to send them to sheffield then why don't we just send them straight to Sheffield? Also, when Sheffield are done with them what will happen to the documents then? Send them back to the philippines, and who would pay for that? I can't see that being right, are you 100% certain on this? When we had a visit visa last year we did not have to send anything to Sheffield VFS global handled everything.

Visit visa are a completely separate category with completely different rules. The VFS Appointment is for her to do her biometrics and submit the form and passport etc.

Nice to know they will still bleed me dry for ILR. What is the second figure in your last post for? You said one was postal but what was the other one for?

Sorry, the other higher one is for an in person same day decision appointment.

If you have to request a correction how easy is this? It would be great if they got it in time for the intended date of travel but I won't hold my breath.

If it is a UKVI error, it can take a few days to a couple of weeks. If it is NOT their error, you have to pay to change the date (£270 I think)

[Casa]

I believe CR001 intended to post: ILR £2,297 postal or £2,887 in person application.

FLR(M) for the first extension is currently £993 postal or £1583 in person + £500 NHS surcharge for both methods of application.

British citizenship £1,282

[ssbib]

So what exactly is the point of the appointment at VFS global? If we have to send them to sheffield then why don't we just send them straight to Sheffield? Also, when Sheffield are done with them what will happen to the documents then? Send them back to the philippines, and who would pay for that? I can't see that being right, are you 100% certain on this? When we had a visit visa last year we did not have to send anything to Sheffield VFS global handled everything.

Visit visa are a completely separate category with completely different rules. The VFS Appointment is for her to do her biometrics and submit the form and passport etc.

Nice to know they will still bleed me dry for ILR. What is the second figure in your last post for? You said one was postal but what was the other one for?

Sorry, the other higher one is for an in person same day decision appointment.

If you have to request a correction how easy is this? It would be great if they got it in time for the intended date of travel but I won't hold my breath.

If it is a UKVI error, it can take a few days to a couple of weeks. If it is NOT their error, you have to pay to change the date (£270 I think)

Not to doubt your knowledge but where does it say that the documents need to be sent to Sheffield by the applicant for the philippines? I can see a PDF document on VFS Global THAILAND that supports what you are saying but nothing on the Philippines website. It says on there that you hand the documents in to them so I'm confused as what to do to be honest. All I can see on VFS Philipines is they offer a scanning service "for your convenience to prevent your documents leaving the Philippines" Do I send my wife they money for the scanning service in case it is needed or do I wait and see what they say and just arrange a courier for the documents?? Either way I don't have a clue what to do. Getting some confirmation from VFS global would be helpful.

I believe CR001 intended to post: ILR £2,297 postal or £2,887 in person application.

FLR(M) for the first extension is currently £993 postal or £1583 in person + £500 NHS surcharge for both methods of application.

British citizenship £1,282

At least FLM isn't too expensive for postal votes. What exactly is the benefits of getting British citizenship. My knowledge is limited but all I can think of is you won't have to get a visa when holidaying in Europe, and to be honest by the time wy wife is able to go for citizenship that might not be the case anyway due to Brexit.

[CR001]

What exactly is the benefits of getting British citizenship. My knowledge is limited but all I can think of is you won't have to get a visa when holidaying in Europe, and to be honest by the time wy wife is able to go for citizenship that might not be the case anyway due to Brexit.

Besides the benefits of being allowed to vote, travel to many countries visa free, citizenship is not lost if absent from the UK whereas ILR can be lost if absent from 2 or more years and then she would have to start again from scratch with a spouse visa.

[ssbib]

What exactly is the benefits of getting British citizenship. My knowledge is limited but all I can think of is you won't have to get a visa when holidaying in Europe, and to be honest by the time wy wife is able to go for citizenship that might not be the case anyway due to Brexit.

Besides the benefits of being allowed to vote, travel to many countries visa free, citizenship is not lost if absent from the UK whereas ILR can be lost if absent from 2 or more years and then she would have to start again from scratch with a spouse visa.

Thanks for that information. I'm surprised that she would not be allowed to vote on any other visa. Seems unfair to me if she is working and living here, she should have her vote heard.

[CR001]

Only citizens from commonwealth countries (as foreigners) are entitled to vote while on a limited leave to remain visa.

[ssbib]

Only citizens from commonwealth countries (as foreigners) are entitled to vote while on a limited leave to remain visa.

Thats stupid. I don't understand the rationale behind that...but there is nothing I can do about it. Also, I have since found out you are correct about the scanning of documents. I have just found this webpage:

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/philippines ... center.pdf

I guess I will have to pay for the scan and send service. UPS have not been entirely reliable in the Philippines so don't want to have to rely on them in picking up the documents and sending them to Sheffield. I will send the money for this service to my wife before the appointment on 1st June. I was hoping to pay online so I could use my credit card but that option is not available for that service yet. Maybe next week it will as I think at the moment this service is free until 21st May.

I thank you for all your input but I have to say I am thoroughly depressed tonight. I read up about the entire process in March after I returned from our wedding and to find out so much has change is really disheartnening.

[ssbib]

One last question: do you think that my application will be effected by using the VFS scan and send service? The UKVI won't get to see my original bank statements or original payslips etc as those will be in the Philippines?

[ssbib]

Hello all. As I'm sure you will know UKVI have changed the process for the settlement visa and now all supporting documents must be sent to UKVI in Sheffield. I've just found this out yesterday after I already sent all my documents to my wife in the Philippines. She has her appointment on 1st June with VFS Global for her biometrics and so on. We are a little worried about what we should do with all our supporting documents and we could use your help.

VFS Global offer a "scanning service" where they will scan all your documents and email them to UKVI in Sheffield. Info on this can be found here:

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/philippines/
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/philippines ... center.pdf

This sounds ideal but my wife has spoken to someone in the Philippines yesterday who had their appointment on 12th May and apparantly she was told it is better to send the original papers via courier rather than the scan and send service. Would you agree or is it safe to use the scanning service offered by VFS Global? This would be much easier for us and cost about the same as using a courier but would involve a lot less work for my wife and we wouldn't have the hassle of waiting for them to be returned to us.

Also, am I right in believing that the process for documents originally was that VFS Global scanned and sent them to UKVI anyway??The only difference being is now you pay for that or have to send them yourself?

We just don't want this to effect our application. On the link above it does say originals are better but I assume that means having the original birth certificate rather than sending a photocopy to VFS to be scanned. Wherever I used photocopies for my documents (passport, birth certificate etc.) I had them notified by a solicitor so I dont think this will be a problem. All my wifes documents will be the originals.

Thanks for reading.

[CR001]

Topics Merged (click)

[ssbib]

Also, will the scanning service be extended to my documents too or is this just for my wife's documents? If yo read the second link I provided above it makes it sound like my documents (bank statements etc) MUST be sent to Sheffield and applicants documents (IELTS certificate etc) are eligible for the scanning service, if she already has all my documents in her hand then surely they will scan and send them for us as part of the scanning service?

[Mouludmiah85]

Hi,
My husband was in the same situation as your wife, he had an appointment on the 12th April and had his documents scanned at the application centre. We had also sent all tue documents to Sheffield via the courier service. So we actually did both as we didn't want our application to be affected by this confusion. Better safe than sorry. Inahd the documents sent back to me the week after Sheffield had received it.
However, we received a confirmation email stating that they hd received the scanned documents and that we did not need to send the documents by post. Its all very confusing but if i were you i would hve them scanned as well as sent to Sheffield, even though its very costly. Im still waiting for the decision of the application and it hs bee over 30 days since the biometrics. Hope you the very best!

[ssbib]

Thanks for that reply, it's a big weight off my mind. If they received bob the scanned and the originals and they sent the originals back then it would appear like they would prefer to have them scanned. We will continue with our plan to use the scanning service, it's a lot less hassle for us and would probably cost the same as a courier anyway.

Good luck with your application too, I hope everything is ok. Did you use the regular service? Have you been effected by all this "on hold" business a lot of people here are talking about?