ILR Set(M) questions (Urgent)

[Snowynight]

Hi everyone,

I plan to submit my ILR Set(M) (5-year route) application by this weekend and have a few questions below. The main one is the 6 letters each to show my husband and I have been living together during the past 2.5 years. Thanks very much in advance!

1) "6 letters and/or other documents addressed to you and your partner at the same address to show that you have been living together during the past 2.5 years?"

I suppose we ideally need to provide the following months:
Mar 2021, Sep 2020, Mar 2020, Sep 2019, Mar 2019, Sep 2018

-Do they have to be evenly spaced out? I'm worried that I'm really struggling to find letters from all those months, as my husband covers all bills and we only have joint bank accounts (which seemed to only send letters occasionally!). Those are everything we got:

Feb 2021: HMRC (wife)
Oct 2018: bank statement (wife)
Apr 2020: HMRC (wife)
Apr 2020: Nationwide (joint) about savings rate change - is it okay?
Oct 2019: HMRC (wife)
Sep 2019: Barclays joint statement (it’s a bit odd that it was husband's name above the address but then on the right hand side it shows both our names)
Aug 2019: NHS (wife) - doesn't fit the month required though
Apr 2019: NHS (wife)
Mar 2019: Nationwide (joint) a correspondence, not statement though
Sep or Oct 2018: bank statement (wife)

Also, I understand they need to come from at least 3 sources. I only have 3 sources, but do they have to be 2 letters from each source? I have 2 letters from NHS but Aug 2019 doesn’t fit the month required

Feb or Mar 2021: bank statement (husband)
Sep 2020: Mortgage statement (husband)
Mar 2020: NHS (husband)
Oct 2019: Water bill (husband)
Apr 2019: HMRC (husband)
Sep or Oct 2018: NHS (husband)

-We may have other joint bank account statements but they are online only (not sent in post for some reason)! Could I print them off for use?

-For bank docs, do they have to be bank statements? Are correspondences regarding interest rate change or other info okay too?

2) "Are you part of any social groups or do you have other cultural ties in your country of birth, nationality or any other country where you have lived for more than 5 years?"

My parents are in China which I answered in an earlier question but I'm not sure about this one. Could I answer NO and explain the following:

"I have been living and working in the UK for over 10 years and all my social networks are now in the UK."

3) Regarding home details, my husband owns the property, which I answered under "Who provides you with accommodation?".
Later there's another question "Do you currently live with parents, friends or family rent-free?" Should I answer NO here? Otherwise it asks for the same documents for the property owner, and in the document list in the end it shows those twice.

4) For financial requirements, I have a job but it's not continuous for last 6 months. I think I'll remove it, as it's easier to solely use my husband's income which is sufficient. Is it ok?

5) Do you have any other reasons for wanting to stay in the UK?
I said yes:
"We will continue to stay in the UK as we both have been working and living here for over 10 years. Our social circle, career and properties are in the UK. It also has excellent education systems. In general, it is a great country to continue building our future.
"
Is it ok? Do we need to provide any further evidence?

[Snowynight]

Hi,

I know the question of 6-letters might be a long one, but if you have thoughts/answers on any other questions please feel free to reply too. Thank you!

[Khadaffi2002]

Hello Snownight,

I understand your question what they were looking for you guys to submit is 6 letters each in your name spread across 2.5years and you can’t send a correspondence letter from same company through the duration example below:

2019 2 corresponding letter in your wife name
2019 2 Corresponding letter in your name
2020 2 corresponding letter in your wife name
2020 2 corresponding letter in your name
2021 2 corresponding letter in your wife name
2021 2 corresponding letter in your wife name

Note: try not to repeat letter from the same company; in your name, you can submit bank statements from different banks in your 6 corresponding letter but not bank statements from the same bank repeated twice. You can submit HMRC letter in your name maybe for 2019 and still submit in your wife name for the same year but not you submitting it for 2019 in your name and still submit for 2020 in your name . If you and your wife have 2 joint bills or bank statements in your name then you only need to add 4 more corresponding letter each.

[Casa]

The proof of joint address should be from at least 3 different categories. Therefore, you can submit more than one document/bill etc., from the same source.

As a general guidance, you should be looking for 1 (or 2 if in single names) dated at 4-5 monthly intervals. Anything with your name/names, address and dates will be accepted.

[Casa]

The proof of joint address should be from at least 3 different categories. Therefore, you can submit more than one document/bill etc., from the same source.

As a general guidance, you should be looking for 1 (or 2 if in single names) dated at 4-5 monthly intervals over the qualifying period. Anything with your name/names, address and dates will be accepted.

[Snowynight]

Thanks a lot Casa!

The list is pretty much what I have. (My husband may have more.)

I thought if it's 6 letters over 2.5 years then it's about 6 monthly intervals?
9/2018
3/2019
9/2019
3/2020
9/2020
3/2021

If it's 5 monthly, then we're looking at 7 letters? And I don't think I can cover some of the months. I can cover more with 6-monthly intervals. Would that be ok?
9/2018
2/2019
7/2019
12/2020
5/2020
10/2020
3/2021

[Casa]

That's fine.

[Snowynight]

Great to hear, thanks very much for the swift response!

[Snowynight]

I'm preparing for the documents.
Quick questions:
-For bank statements, do I need to scan and upload the original paper statements or I can download from my online bank account and upload them (which are exactly the same as the paper ones)?
-Are photos taken by mobile acceptable?
-For payslips, they can be only downloaded from online for my partner's employer. Would that be okay?

[zimba]

All digital evidence is accepted

[Snowynight]

All digital evidence is accepted

Ah great, so documents downloaded from online account are acceptable. Thanks for the confirmation!