Post
by gretnadawn » Mon May 31, 2010 11:28 am
Hi guys
firstly, a brief background
I am female British Citizen, met my husband 2 years ago in Egypt
applied for visit visa (he as friend), got refused, basically because I had nooooooooo idea of immigration, and so supplied NO evidence/docs
applied again, but got refused,my b/a was slightly overdrawn, but I think main thing on visit visa is to PROVE applicant will return...and how can you do this ???
anyway, friendship turned into relationship,and after a year of me travelling there every 3 months, we decided to marry, and apply spouse visa
The previous visit visa refusals, although wouldn't stop the spouse visa, could have caused concern, and also the fact that my husband is MUCH younger than me
I put together a file (lever arch) with an index, and clear sections
covering index in each section, listing all docs submitted...the actual file is still with my husband in Egypt, but as far as I remember,this is what we submitted:
sponsor letter from myself, briefly outlining our relationship,and how we had decided to apply for him to live with me in UK,rather than me live in Egypt-showed that we had discussed the concerns eg age,culture differences etc
SECTION 1- relationship
application
my sponsor letter
certified copy of EVERY PAGE of my passport-not just the biometric & visa stamped pages,but even the blank pages
original Arabic civil marriage certificate
translated to english copy
certified copy of my decree absolute from previous marriage
certified copy of my birth certificate
my husbands' passport
certified copy of his army discharge,(although I have been told this not really necessary for spouse visa)
copy of his qualifications
letter from his employers detailing his work history
copies of screen shots of all saved msn / yahoo conversations between us
copies of my mobile 'phone bill - all text's to hubby highlighted
copies of 3rd party telephone co. bill showing calls made to hubby
a few actual msn / yahoo conversations
only 3 photo's of us together (printed on plain paper)
copies of all my flight bookings for travel to Egypt over prev 2 years
SECTION 2- accomodation
brief letter outlining my accomodation
land registry download
mortgage statement
a couple of utility bills-gas,electric,council tax
letter from my step father as he named on land reg & mortgage,stating he doesn't live here, and has no objection to my husband living here
letter from local council housing dept stating accomodation is fine for spouse to live here
a (rough) scale plan of the house
some photos of the rooms in the house
SECTION 3 - maintenance
my last 3 p60's-original
my last 12 months wage slips-original
letter from employer showing recent pay rise (as only shown on last payslip)
my last 6 months bank statements-originals-I had taken great care to ensure that I didn't go overdarwn in this period..!!!!
brief income / expenditure sheet, showing net amount being more than £104.25 per week AFTER all ESSENTIAL EXPENDITURE (motgage,council tax)
my last statement from any savings - I had about £500 in an instant savings account, & about £7000 in an ISA-(although this is what I INTEND to pay my morgage with,I didn't state this,& it is NOT assigned to the mortgage,so technically it is savings)
I also outlined briefly that although I don't have loads of money, I DID MEET THE MAINTENNCE REQUIREMENT
I also stated that although the intention was for hubby to work eventually (he is a chef in Egypt),I knew that this would not happen straight away, so I had enough money to support him for several months
the file was as I say in a lever arch,seperated by coloured dividers,and all docs in plastic wallets-ALL original docs also had copies for ECO to keep.
because some VACS DON'T accept this type of presentation, check with them or on here first-(Pakistan I think don't accept plastic wallets for instance)
I think that is everything.......lol
if anyone needs any more info, I will happily reply
Good luck to EVERYONE who is in the 'waiting' game
ps, I earn about £1400 net per month