HELP! Paid WorldPay but application not progressing?!

[OhDear]

Morning All,

I am completing the application for my spouse to join me here in the UK (application from outside the UK; I am a British citizen). I would greatly appreciate any insight on the following:

1)I receive a fixed base salary that meets the financial requirement, but also receive a variable quarterly bonus and have held this job for a number of years. On the form I responded that my wage varies and is above the financial requirement. A later page informed me that I would need to provide payslips and corresponding bank statements for the last twelve months.

Should I have responded that my wage does not vary by disregarding the bonus? I'm confused because the guidance advises that six months of financial evidence will be required and am not sure why there is a discrepancy. I can provide twelve months of payslips and banks statements in any case.

2) If there are significant savings relative to salary (say a few years' worth of salary) in my current account where I receive my wage (from employment only) would it worthwhile to show statements from even further back to to prove this? Is the ECO likely to be suspicious of the balance?

3) This was an arranged marriage and all happened in a short space of time. I have not been able to meet my spouse since I left their native country shortly after we got married due to the difficulties posed by Covid-19, nor was I able to extend my stay after our marriage. As a result, out relationship evidence will be mostly call logs supplemented by Whatsapp interactions (we don't actually exchange many messages, but speak to each other daily multiple times via voice and video calls). I have also sent my spouse some remittance on a couple of occasions and will be writing cover letter(s) to support our relationship. We of course have photos from the wedding and the days after. What else can I do to strengthen the case for a 'genuine and subsisting' relationship?

4) Self-uploading documents. I will be scanning most of the documents at home and uploading them myself. I have not yet accessed the portal (as the application is still a work in progress) but I take it it's as simple as uploading files in the appropriate format? That seems a little too easy?! What are the benefits of scanning them at VFS? After all if they make a mistake (and this sadly does appear to occur in some instances), the onus is still on the applicant to ensure that all evidence has been provided. Am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance.

[AmazonianX]

Morning All,

I am completing the application for my spouse to join me here in the UK (application from outside the UK; I am a British citizen). I would greatly appreciate any insight on the following:

1)I receive a fixed base salary that meets the financial requirement, but also receive a variable quarterly bonus and have held this job for a number of years. On the form I responded that my wage varies and is above the financial requirement. A later page informed me that I would need to provide payslips and corresponding bank statements for the last twelve months.

Should I have responded that my wage does not vary by disregarding the bonus? I'm confused because the guidance advises that six months of financial evidence will be required and am not sure why there is a discrepancy. I can provide twelve months of payslips and banks statements in any case. Your wage does not vary as you indicated fixed salary. Change the answer and see if it changes from 12 months payslips and statement. If not, it is a generic request or glitch, clarify in cover letter that you have fixed wage at or above the financial requirements.

2) If there are significant savings relative to salary (say a few years' worth of salary) in my current account where I receive my wage (from employment only) would it worthwhile to show statements from even further back to to prove this? Is the ECO likely to be suspicious of the balance? No, CW ECO should not look into your balances if you are using income to meet financial requirements.

3) This was an arranged marriage and all happened in a short space of time. I have not been able to meet my spouse since I left their native country shortly after we got married due to the difficulties posed by Covid-19, nor was I able to extend my stay after our marriage. As a result, out relationship evidence will be mostly call logs supplemented by Whatsapp interactions (we don't actually exchange many messages, but speak to each other daily multiple times via voice and video calls). I have also sent my spouse some remittance on a couple of occasions and will be writing cover letter(s) to support our relationship. We of course have photos from the wedding and the days after. What else can I do to strengthen the case for a 'genuine and subsisting' relationship? What you have indicated as available for evidence i.e. call logs, WhatsApp, photos, evidence of remittances should suffice.

4) Self-uploading documents. I will be scanning most of the documents at home and uploading them myself. I have not yet accessed the portal (as the application is still a work in progress) but I take it it's as simple as uploading files in the appropriate format? That seems a little too easy?! What are the benefits of scanning them at VFS? After all if they make a mistake (and this sadly does appear to occur in some instances), the onus is still on the applicant to ensure that all evidence has been provided. Am I missing something here? Self upload if more advantageous, you are in control of what is uploaded so far withing size limit and legible. As you rightly noted, if done st VFS and there is error they can not be held liable. Also, if handled by VFS, the amount of documents e.g. photos and or other relationship evidence they will upload will be limited (so far as I know). Better stick to self upload IMHO.

Thanks in advance.

[OhDear]

Yes, I thought the payslip thing could have been a glitch. I'll try changing it to no variation in salary and seeing if that's any different, looks like a cover letter will be the way to go with that one. Many thanks for your input!

[seagul]

Yes, I thought the payslip thing could have been a glitch. I'll try changing it to no variation in salary and seeing if that's any different, looks like a cover letter will be the way to go with that one. Many thanks for your input!

Until near past perhaps until to date, there are four options available and out of these only the first one prompt 6 months of financial documents. In that case adding a covering letter spotlighting your financial calculations is the most efficacious solution. Also, if someone is convenient in supplying the 12 months worth of documents then it would also cause no harm. Regarding your previous question about cash savings then be known that only 6 months of bank statements are required for it.

[OhDear]

Thank you for your response.

A couple more questions, as we will be relying heavily on Whatsapp call logs and chat screenshots for relationship evidence, what's the consensus regarding how many to include? I understand that these need to span the duration of the relationship. Would including screenshots of all calls and every message/picture exchanged be overkill?

My spouse's national ID card details have also been requested as part of the application - their name, DOB and ID number are in English/Roman transliteration on the card as well as the native language however other details (date of issue, parents' names) are in the native language only. Would a certified translation of the ID card be required?

[seagul]

Thank you for your response.

1. A couple more questions, as we will be relying heavily on Whatsapp call logs and chat screenshots for relationship evidence, what's the consensus regarding how many to include? I understand that these need to span the duration of the relationship. Would including screenshots of all calls and every message/picture exchanged be overkill?

2. My spouse's national ID card details have also been requested as part of the application - their name, DOB and ID number are in English/Roman transliteration on the card as well as the native language however other details (date of issue, parents' names) are in the native language only. Would a certified translation of the ID card be required?

1. A tested aphorism over it is that attach as much as possible and conversely attaching every single bit would also be implausible due to size constraints. Therefore, ideally select these with reasonable spans exhibiting the full consistency.

2. National identity card and its detail isn't needed for this type of application.

[OhDear]

Good afternoon everyone,

So I am ready to submit the application for FM spouse visa (spouse applying from outside the UK) and will be sending my documents to VFS via the self-upload option. Can anyone help with the following please?

1) The bank statement that will show my December wage will not be generated for another 1.5 weeks and will then be with me shortly after that (paper statement). Ideally, I'd like to submit my application form and pay in the next two days. Will the next statement being dated after my potential application date be a problem? Should I wait until the next statement issue date to submit my application? I'm very eager to move things along what with the uncertainty ahead with Brexit and to get a biometrics appointment secured. I get a payslip in the middle of the month and the statement that shows it three weeks after. That means there's a window of about a week each month where both my payslip and corresponding bank statement fulfil the requirement of being dated within the last 28 days .

2) Is there a limit regarding the number of documents that can be uploaded to VFS? I'm aware of the 10MB individual file size limit.

3) I have screenshots of WhatsApp call logs and chats. Is it worth submitting the WhatsApp chat export file as well?

Many thanks.

[OhDear]

Afternoon all,

So I have just paid for the IHS charge (successful with confirmation e-mail) and then went to pay for the application. I was redirected to WorldPay and selected PayPal - the transaction went through and the money has been taken (checked on app) but then returned me to the application payment screen and wants me to pay again?! I can't seem to progress and I have already paid, I don't know why it's not picking up the payment.

What do I do now?

Many thanks.

[srsw]

Just refresh page and it'll show everything ok. I had the same issue.

[OhDear]

Thank you for responding.

Unfortunately my application is still in limbo. I have both called and e-mailed UKVI today who have escalated the matter to a technical team who will respond within 15 working days, but that if the fault is not fixable then I will need to withdraw and start again.

I've been advised that that I could use another e-mail to submit a new application and then withdraw the original one which should result in a refund after some time for the first app, however the form no longer provides an option to withdraw the application either. Also, as my visa fee payment is effectively 'missing' it seems that it won't be as straightforward as withdrawing an application that wasn't affected by this issue.

There's also no telling if I will get the same tech issue again!

Question about the 28-day requirement for financial evidence. If my last payslip is dated 15/12/2020, would this be within the timescale to submit tomorrow (12/01/2021) or would the last valid date be today?

[srsw]

Did you try to access ukvcas website with same credentials?

If you apply again, make sure you disable any ad-blockers on your browser that you may have and allow all cookies, including third-party cookies on the UKVI website just on the safe side. Also, you could use a different browser if you think it's a browser issue.

Re the statement, it's the 1 calendar month I believe, so you should be OK to use the existing statement. If you submit a bit late and don't have latest statement, then add a cover letter and explain your situation and the reason for using last statement. Attach any emails you may have sent re the stuck application as well as proof.

[OhDear]

Just tried to log in to VFS - no joy!

Found another post here general-uk-immigration-forum/payment-pe ... l#p1754659 which appears to mirror my exact experience, the poster seems to have had success after a few days and escalating it with UKVI so there is a very small light shining for me at the the end of the tunnel right now.

Thanks for advising about the financial docs.