Succesful Tier 4 to Spouse Visa Guidelines - Croydon Premium Service

[jazz101]

Hi Everyone,

I am a US citizen currently on a Tier 4 visa that expires in October. My fiance and I are getting married in late September as that was the next available date in my area. I am concerned about the accommodation requirement as my fiance and I don't live together currently but we want to get our own flat in mid-September before our premium service appointment. We want to start a lease as soon as we find the right apartment but I'm concerned that may not be enough to fulfill the accommodation requirement for the visa. I also don't want to be stuck in a lease in case the visa gets rejected.

Any thoughts on this?

[seagul]

For initial spouse visa the proof of cohabitation (living on same address) is not mandatory.

[jazz101]

Hi Everyone,

I am completely my spouse visa now and I am stuck on the financial requirement. My husband fulfills the financial requirement Category A with his income alone but I am also currently working part time. Do I need to declare my income as well?

I'm worried if I don't include it, it would be considered lying as Section 7.3A Income from salaried employment has a question that says (i) Are you/your sponsor currently employed?

If I don't enter my employment information would that be considered lying? Especially because some of the bills are in my name for our flat.

Let me know your thoughts!

[seagul]

Hi Everyone,

I am completely my spouse visa now and I am stuck on the financial requirement. My husband fulfills the financial requirement Category A with his income alone but I am also currently working part time. Do I need to declare my income as well?

I'm worried if I don't include it, it would be considered lying as Section 7.3A Income from salaried employment has a question that says (i) Are you/your sponsor currently employed?

If I don't enter my employment information would that be considered lying? Especially because some of the bills are in my name for our flat.

Let me know your thoughts!

Either of you alone can fulfill the financial requirement. Not mentioning the income of other is not lying.

[jazz101]

Hey everyone,

Thank you to this community for all the amazing information. I was successful in receiving my spouse visa at the Croydon Premium Service office and I could not be more excited! My advice is that if your application is straightforward there really is no need for professional help. But it's obviously up to your own discretion but this is what worked for me. I would also recommend including anything out of the ordinary in your cover letters so that the officer is aware. Nothing is guaranteed and every case is different so definitely research as much as possible!

My experience at the Croydon office was pleasant everyone was helpful and friendly. I went to the center with my husband. We first arrived and went through airport style security and then checked in at the reception desk on the 3rd floor. We received a ticket number and were told to wait in the cafe until it was called. We waited about 30 mins and met with our officer who gathered our paperwork. My biometrics were taken shortly after and we were told once again to wait in the cafe. We then decided to leave and go get some food at the shopping center across the street and came back in the building after an hour. We had to go through security again and waited in the cafe area. It took about another 1.5 hours to receive our decision. In total it took about 3 hours from the time of our appointment to receive our decision and I suspect this is because we had a later appointment time. I also overheard a solicitor saying that there is a huge influx of people at the premium service center trying to complete their visa's before brexit and that appointments are harder to come by, so take from that what you will.

Here are the documents I provided for each one of the requirements:

Application:
Paper FLR M visa application
IHS Fee printout
Premium service appointment confirmation printout

Relationship Requirement:
Wedding venue receipt
Original marriage certificate (handwritten one provided on the day of wedding)
Photographs (16) (Were told by the officer that this was not needed after all)
Facebook relationship screenshots (Were told by the officer that this was not needed after all)
Screenshot of messages from Facebook and Whatsapp

Personal Documents:
Spouse and applicant's passports (Can include previous passports if available or needed)
Applicants current BRP card (Previous Tier 4 Student Visa)
2 UK passport size pictures of applicant
1 UK passport size picture of sponsor
Sponsor's birth certificate
Sponsor's letter of support
Applicant's diploma (I referenced this in my letter so I included it)
Applicants CV (I referenced this in my letter so I included it)
Applicants letter of support

Accommodation Requirement:
Tenancy agreement (This was actually an electronic copy visa DocuSign and this was fine. I just included the summary pages to verfify the electronic signature and explained this in the letter)
Letter from owner of property to allow applicant to move in
Council tax (In both names)
Water bill (In both names)

Financial Requirement:
Payslips for 6 months of sponsor
Original job contract of sponsor
Letter from employer of sponsor
Bank statements of sponsor
Letter from bank to verify account (For some banks you really need to push them to do this)

[seagul]

Congratulations! Yes electronic tenancy agreement but having real signatures of both parties should be fine. How about your payslips, were they original or stamped on electronic payslips or you sent another letter of payslips authentication??