unmarried partner visa-apply IN PERSON or via entrytotheuk??

[neilbittles]

Hi Guys,

i am in the process of applying for an "unmarried partner visa" for my fiance. We met in Australia in March 2009, then she arrived her in Belfast during Oct 2009. She has a UK Tier 5 youth and mobility visa which expires in October 2011. We plan to stay here in Belfast for a couple more years. I am UK citizen, born here in Belfast.
Is it better to make her application in person here in Belfast or send all the documents away?? we have been using a website, entrytotheuk.com. So far they have charged us 600pounds for just legal advice??
Any help will be much appreciated, thanks.

Neil

[Kitty]

Will you be able to provide evidence of having lived together for 2 years when you apply?

Is there anything particularly unusual about your case? While £600 isn't necessarily OTT in terms of legal fees in processing an application, I would think it a lot if you then have to pay more fees for the application. I had a look on their website, which says they are "no win no fee": what have you been told about that?

If your application is straightforward, then you can probably do it yourself, with a bit of guidance.

[neilbittles]

Will you be able to provide evidence of having lived together for 2 years when you apply?

Is there anything particularly unusual about your case? While £600 isn't necessarily OTT in terms of legal fees in processing an application, I would think it a lot if you then have to pay more fees for the application. I had a look on their website, which says they are "no win no fee": what have you been told about that?

If your application is straightforward, then you can probably do it yourself, with a bit of guidance.

Nothing unusual. I met my fiance in March 2009 in brisbane, australia. We lived together there for 4 months then i left to continue my travels. I arrived back in belfast Sept 2009 and she arrived Oct 2009. We lived together in my parents house the whole time up until Jan2011 when we moved out into our own rented apartment. We have had a joint bank account the whole time, and have our rental agreement in both our names etc. Also we have a lot of photographs from holidays around europe and i have proof of purchase of the engagement ring i got her. We got engaged in march 2011 in France.
I have paid the 600 pounds already and all they have sent me is the forms. Should I just fill them out myself and make the application in person? They want me to fill them out and send them all the evidence so they then make the application.
Im wondering will it look more professional if i go through them? or shall i just apply in person myself, the office is just two miles away in belfast from my apartment?
entrytotheuk expect me to pay them another 800pounds

[Kitty]

Just to be clear, is the £800 they want you to send them to cover the UKBA fee for your fiancée's application? Or is it towards their own fees (i.e. they are charging you a total of £1400 on top of the actual application fee)?

The main challenge with an unmarried partner application is to show a minimum of two years' cohabitation: as well as joint finances (very helpful), do you have enough official post addressed to you both at all the addresses where you have lived together (I would include stuff from your time together in Australia as well)? The general rule is that you must send at least 6 documents from at least 3 different sources.

Are you both over 21?

Having your application presented "professionally" should not make a difference to the outcome. What makes the difference is providing documentary evidence that shows how the applicant meets the requirements of the relevant bits of the Immigration Rules (in your case 295D.

[neilbittles]

Just to be clear, is the £8 they want you to send them to cover the UKBA fee for your fiancée's application? Or is it towards their own fees (i.e. they are charging you a total of £1400 on top of the actual application fee)?

The main challenge with an unmarried partner application is to show a minimum of two years' cohabitation: as well as joint finances (very helpful), do you have enough official post addressed to you both at all the addresses where you have lived together (I would include stuff from your time together in Australia as well)? The general rule is that you must send at least 6 documents from at least 3 different sources.

Are you both over 21?

Having your application presented "professionally" should not make a difference to the outcome. What makes the difference is providing documentary evidence that shows how the applicant meets the requirements of the relevant bits of the Immigration Rules (in your case 295D.

The total they will be charging me is 1400pounds, do you think that is over the top???
yes we are both over 21. I am 26, working full time and she is 25, working full time, both paying taxes and national insurance etc.
We have no evidence from our time living together in Australia but have photographs. We have a lot of evidence from when she arrived in Belfast as we both had mail going to my parents address with both our names on it, and we also both have mail coming to our new apartment since January this year with both our names on it. We have a joint current account and also have a savings account with both our names on it. It is our wedding fund that we are saving for. We also have all of our payslips since she arrived in the Uk and all of our bank statements from Oct 2009 when she first arrived.

We will have paper evidence of living together for two years in Oct 2011 which is when her visa expires. Should i leave it to the last minute to apply for her new unmarried partner visa?? is there anywhere you would recommend for good advice if we were to go ahead and make the application in person? Thanks

Neil