Post
by FirangInIndia » Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:43 am
Hi there,
I saw your update and immediately took out pen and paper to take notes about what might and might not work in these applications. There is too little to go by online, even if you read the official rule book, and it seems that the powers that be take every case on its merits (according to their subjective reading of those merits) rather than there being hard-and-fast rules.
My partner (Indian) and I have been living together since June 2008, and we have been a couple since November 2007. We have been amassing documents to prove our cohabitation ever since we found a flat together where the landlord would allow a joint contract (November 2008). As you say, things are very different in this part of the world. It is impossible for me to have a joint bank account with my partner in India (it would still be so even if we were married), and it seems it is the same in Sri Lanka. It is also the same here as it is there as regards utility bills - ours are in our landlord's name.
However, we have come up with a solution for this latter problem. We will be presenting receipts from our landlord (actually his mother, with evidence that she has power of attorney) that he has received the sum of [abc] from [my name] and [her name] for payment to the local electricity / water authority for bill dated [ijk] for amount [pqr] as recorded by metre number [xyz]. Then we are attaching photocopies of each bill to each receipt, dating back to our move in date, with the landlord's signature on the receipt and across the bill's photocopy.
Another thing that we have done is register all our bills in my name, c/o her name (or her name, c/o my name). This is following advice read elsewhere on this forum. I appreciate that it is probably too late for you to do this stuff in your case, but hopefully it will help someone else who finds this reply. And if you are able to get receipts for all the bill payments from your landlord then s/he may be able to help you with what I said in the previous paragraph.
Regarding the urgency of your current situation, can I suggest that you apply for a Family Visit visa for your partner to come to the UK right now? My partner and I are in the process of putting an application together for her to come to the UK during the Christmas and New Year period. We will ask for six months for her, submit a letter from my parents stating that she has been invited such that she and they can finally meet each other, etc. We will then show my passport details and bank information (as I will be her sponsor) and give details of our relationship. Then, either your partner and you could return to Sri Lanka after the medical treatment is over and apply again from there. Or, if allowed (I suppose it should be but you should probably check the exact rules) you could apply from there for the Unmarried Partner Visa. The Family Visit visa is valid for at least six months (I think) and you can apply for more (though it may not be wise to apply for two long).
We were going to apply only for a Visitor's Visa and state tourist purposes, but then we realised that the guidance notes list 'spouse' - including unmarried partners - as 'family'. They do not state how long the relationship should have subsisted for, and I have searched extensively for the answer to this online without luck. I can only assume that the duration of the relationship does not matter to them in the case of family visits, as you are not trying to prove that you are a couple but more that you want to visit the UK and then go home.
So perhaps this would be less of a headache than an appeal? You could also appeal from the UK. Maybe you could make a Family Visa application, and in the sponsor letter you can say that you applied for the UPV but were refused for [xyz] reason, that you plan to appeal but in the meantime you want your partner to be by your side during this period of medical treatment and that you will re-focus on your case once this difficult time is over, either from the UK or Sri Lanka depending on the UKBA's instructions.
One question from me: at any point in this whole process, have you understood clearly how they decide what the commencement date for one's cohabitation should be taken as for the purposes of the application? I have read that you need five types of proof from a certain date onwards, others say three. Even if it is five, what date is taken? We can show our joint flat contract from 15th November 2008, and the electricity and water bills in our joint names from the same date. Then we have joint furniture rental bills from later that month. However, it took forever to get things like Internet connection, phone line, etc. set up owing to various reasons too tedious to go into here, which means that their first dates are only much later. I was only able to get a bank account in my name and c/o my partner's name THIS month itself. Do you think we can state 15th November 2008 as the start date of our subsistence, or do you think they will take a later date?
Best of luck to you - please post updates here!
Warm wishes,
FII
