Spouse Visa Questions - Can anybody help

[CharlieBrowne]

Hello

Sorry if i am posting this in the wrong area, Before I start rambling on, I apologize in advance for asking 700 questions, Ive worked myself up into a right tizzy, i have a few questions and i wondered if anyone could help, or if anyone has been in a similar situation?

My Fiance is from the Caribbean and i am from the UK, we have been together since 2006 ( 5 Years) since i met him through mutual friends on holiday. We have decided after all this time to get married when i visit the Caribbean this summer (In about 6 weeks ). After we are married we will then apply for a spouse visa maybe after i have returned to the UK. The only thing is that i do not have my own place to live at the moment i am living with my sister (She is renting, not a home owner and i have been living there for 4 years) my sister has agreed to let us stay there until we can find a place of our own, will this be accepted?

For my supporting documents, i will have photos (around 50) will that be enough? Starting from 2006 until 2011 and how should i present them?

My fiance has been to the UK 2 times on holiday to stay with me, staying 3 months the 1st time and 4 months the 2nd time, but i also travel over to his country to see him, i have dual nationality (US & UK) and traveled on my US passport so i have stamps to prove i have visited there over the past 6 summers, could i send photocopies of those as extra proof along with the other required documents (listed on the UK border agency site)?

Also i am so worried about the money side of things, do i need to have savings in the bank ( i have none) to show i am able to support him until he finds a job in the UK? i earn around an average a salary and i have a few debts that i am paying off which total to about just under £500 a month (these will show on my bank statements) CC Card, Loan etc . Does it matter if i have an overdraft facility, that i do go into, or is it best to pay this off first?
How much roughly do they need to see in your account every month to show i am able to support him?

Does the payment for the visa have to show on your bank statements, or does that not matter? (because you can pay by credit card) as long as you send the receipt.

Also when we communicate, it is usually on the internet, MSN, Skype etc as it is cheaper than calling, how will i prove this to show we have been communicating?

When we do call each other it is with phone cards, can i send copies of my phone bill with this number on it, even if it doesn't show his direct number?

Would engagement cards from my friends and family be good to send, along with plane ticket stubs etc etc?

My friend may have a part time offer job for my fiance when he comes to the UK as he owns his own business and will be able to provide an offer letter of employment, the only thing is the job is over an hour away from where i live, he would have to get there by public transport.I wonder if this would flag up as a problem ?


Finally he has to go to Barbados to have his biometrics taken, and immediatly after he will send the documentation. Where does it give you the option to send the documents by priority? Is it on the world bridge website?

I will appreciate all the help and advice possible as i want to increase the chance of the visa being approved. I'm very worried at the moment as there is so much to sort out.

Charlie ..xx

[anjum786mohammed]

Hello

Sorry if i am posting this in the wrong area, Before I start rambling on, I apologize in advance for asking 700 questions, Ive worked myself up into a right tizzy, i have a few questions and i wondered if anyone could help, or if anyone has been in a similar situation?

My Fiance is from the Caribbean and i am from the UK, we have been together since 2006 ( 5 Years) since i met him through mutual friends on holiday. We have decided after all this time to get married when i visit the Caribbean this summer (In about 6 weeks ). After we are married we will then apply for a spouse visa maybe after i have returned to the UK. The only thing is that i do not have my own place to live at the moment i am living with my sister (She is renting, not a home owner and i have been living there for 4 years) my sister has agreed to let us stay there until we can find a place of our own, will this be accepted?

You will need a letter from your sister stating that you can livee at her property.

For my supporting documents, i will have photos (around 50) will that be enough? Starting from 2006 until 2011 and how should i present them?

yes, put them in with the application, dont think it makes a difference how you submit them.

My fiance has been to the UK 2 times on holiday to stay with me, staying 3 months the 1st time and 4 months the 2nd time, but i also travel over to his country to see him, i have dual nationality (US & UK) and traveled on my US passport so i have stamps to prove i have visited there over the past 6 summers, could i send photocopies of those as extra proof along with the other required documents (listed on the UK border agency site)?

Yes submit photocopies of the stamps, also if u have copies of air tickets submit them. if u dont than no worries u do have stamps on your passport.

Also i am so worried about the money side of things, do i need to have savings in the bank ( i have none) to show i am able to support him until he finds a job in the UK? i earn around an average a salary and i have a few debts that i am paying off which total to about just under £500 a month (these will show on my bank statements) CC Card, Loan etc . Does it matter if i have an overdraft facility, that i do go into, or is it best to pay this off first?

You need to how that you are able to support your fiancée without public funds.
Savings are a good way of showing that u have money saved for a rainy day
How much roughly do they need to see in your account every month to show i am able to support him?

I have read somewhere that you need about £125 a week savings from your salary, not really sure if this is true, someone with more knowledge can correct this if this is false.

Does the payment for the visa have to show on your bank statements, or does that not matter? (because you can pay by credit card) as long as you send the receipt.

Dont think it makes a difference
Also when we communicate, it is usually on the internet, MSN, Skype etc as it is cheaper than calling, how will i prove this to show we have been communicating?

just show print screens of emails, go to your inbox and make a print screen. they dont want to know what you talk about so print screen will be enough. for skype print of your call records list

When we do call each other it is with phone cards, can i send copies of my phone bill with this number on it, even if it doesn't show his direct number?

No real point of phone cards as it does not show who you have been calling. if u have good contact through skype and that than you will be fine.

Would engagement cards from my friends and family be good to send, along with plane ticket stubs etc etc?

"yessssssssssssssss

My friend may have a part time offer job for my fiance when he comes to the UK as he owns his own business and will be able to provide an offer letter of employment, the only thing is the job is over an hour away from where i live, he would have to get there by public transport.I wonder if this would flag up as a problem ?

no, will show that you are looking at the future and that you will be unlikley to claim public funds


Finally he has to go to Barbados to have his biometrics taken, and immediatly after he will send the documentation. Where does it give you the option to send the documents by priority? Is it on the world bridge website?

Dont know about this, sorry

I will appreciate all the help and advice possible as i want to increase the chance of the visa being approved. I'm very worried at the moment as there is so much to sort out.

Charlie ..xx

SOMEONE PLEASE CORRECT ME IF ANY INFORMATION IS WRONG

[Casa]

I have read somewhere that you need about £125 a week savings from your salary, not really sure if this is true, someone with more knowledge can correct this if this is false.
Almost right. You need to have a minimum of £105.95 weekly remaining as a couple after rent or mortgage, council tax and any credit/loan repayments have been met.

[CharlieBrowne]

Thank you so much!! All the information you have given is great. There is just soo much to sort out, but fingers crossed will all be fine. You must have been through a similar situation i am guessing?

[mgsBoy86]

Having some savings in your account (no less than £1000 recommended), will show the ECO that you are capable of saving money.

The main purpose of the bank statements is to show that:

1. You have money immediately availble, in case of a rainy day or two (even more)
2. That you have a job with a weekly/monthly/annual salary
3. That you support yourself, rather than relying solely on 3rd party support.

I don't belive that the ECOs care about your monthly balance, they only care about the points I highlighted above. Occassionally, we all spend a lot of money, and the ECOs understand this.

[SoHopeful]

My husband is also in the Caribbean, and although we have been married 7 months now, i just dont feel our application will be strong enough while i am still a student.

Now with regards to savingd, i dont have any. But that cant be much of a surprise to rational ECOs as i have spent 1000s getting myself and my son to the Caribbean as much as possible in the last 2 years. I will be explaining that to them in my covering letter.

We also use various electronic means to contact each other, but just a tip, rather than using phone cards with no apparent evidence try Ringyard (Google). When you buy minutes through them, its registers the number called on your account. It can all be done online.

With regards to the accommodation, ensure the letter demonstrates that the home is big enough for you all.

I think the job letter will give your application a definitive boost, hoping to get one for hubby myself.

With regards to the photos, stick them on A4 and put the date or atleast the year below each one. If you have any with fam and friends include those to show that you have both met important people in each other's lives. Unfortunately my husband has yet to travel so he has only met one of my friends when she was on holiday at the same time, so i have even print screened things on Facebook to show that my friends are all aware and in support of our marriage.

It would also be good to have friends and family write supporting letters, especially any with professional jobs.

Best of luck!

[zakria]

Almost right. You need to have a minimum of £105.95 weekly remaining as a couple after rent or mortgage, council tax and any credit/loan repayments have been met.
is it announced by UKBA that £105.95 weekly remaining is sufficient for a couple ? i am gonna submit my case for spouse visa soon. my spouse has a weekly income of 130 pounds.no other expenses like house rent ,bills,council tax etc. she lives with parents. but every solicitor or advisor we have asked about weekly income said its not sufficient. they said it should be 180 to 200 pounds .
i am stressed about it. pleas guide me in . if you are sure and its (£105.95) on UKBA website pleas send the link.
thanks and regards

[vinny]

Amount is based on the income support level.

[geriatrix]

I just wanted to ask a question. I will be living with a family member when my husband applies for his spouse visa and we will be living with her for a while. The thing is i do not currently pay any rent or any bills apart from my mobile phone, loan repayments etc etc.
Because i do not contribute does this mean we will be recieving 3rd party financial support, i know this seems like a silly question but i hadnt even considered this may be an issue until i read about it on thisforum. Will this cause complication with our application?

[geriatrix]

I will be living with a family member when my husband applies for his spouse visa and we will be living with her for a while. The thing is i do not currently pay any rent or any bills apart from my mobile phone, loan repayments etc etc.
Because i do not contribute does this mean we will be recieving 3rd party financial support,

Yes.

Will this cause complication with our application?

No, as 3rd party support is allowed (the various posts on the matter you have read would have indicated so).

[Destiny08]

My Fiance is from the Caribbean and i am from the UK, we have been together since 2006 ( 5 Years) since i met him through mutual friends on holiday. We have decided after all this time to get married when i visit the Caribbean this summer (In about 6 weeks ). After we are married we will then apply for a spouse visa maybe after i have returned to the UK. The only thing is that i do not have my own place to live at the moment i am living with my sister (She is renting, not a home owner and i have been living there for 4 years) my sister has agreed to let us stay there until we can find a place of our own, will this be accepted?

As someone above has said, you'll need a letter from your sister, and possibly from the landlord as she's renting. when we got ours from our landlord (living in a shared property) we were sure to say how many bedrooms are in the property, and how many people are living there - so they know its not overcrowded

For my supporting documents, i will have photos (around 50) will that be enough? Starting from 2006 until 2011 and how should i present them?

I simply printed off all the photos, and wrote on the back what they were of. when they were taken and where etc, although I also included emails, email inbox print screens, baggage tags from visiting each other etc

My fiance has been to the UK 2 times on holiday to stay with me, staying 3 months the 1st time and 4 months the 2nd time, but i also travel over to his country to see him, i have dual nationality (US & UK) and traveled on my US passport so i have stamps to prove i have visited there over the past 6 summers, could i send photocopies of those as extra proof along with the other required documents (listed on the UK border agency site)?

I would if you have anything like baggage tags/ticket stubs/receipts from while you were there, rubbish tickets - anything to prove you've been there a lot, I'd send those in too

Also i am so worried about the money side of things, do i need to have savings in the bank ( i have none) to show i am able to support him until he finds a job in the UK? i earn around an average a salary and i have a few debts that i am paying off which total to about just under £500 a month (these will show on my bank statements) CC Card, Loan etc . Does it matter if i have an overdraft facility, that i do go into, or is it best to pay this off first?
How much roughly do they need to see in your account every month to show i am able to support him?

I'd pay off all the debts you can. I wouldn't worry about the savings - my husband had around 250 pounds in his bank account when we sent in my application, and I got my visa Generally they want you to have around 105 pounds left over every week after paying rent/taxes etc for a couple

Does the payment for the visa have to show on your bank statements, or does that not matter? (because you can pay by credit card) as long as you send the receipt.

I don't think it matters at all - mine wasnt shown. My parents helped pay for the application, so it didn't show on our bank statements

Also when we communicate, it is usually on the internet, MSN, Skype etc as it is cheaper than calling, how will i prove this to show we have been communicating?

I sent print outs of a few emails, and my email inbox. the first page ever (with emails from the beginning of our relationship) and the most recent few. I didn't have anything else. but if you have msn chatlogs, I'd print out a few of those - and skype has a way of recording calls too right? i'd send those in with it

When we do call each other it is with phone cards, can i send copies of my phone bill with this number on it, even if it doesn't show his direct number?

I don't think it'll have any influence, but you can always send copies of it and explain

Would engagement cards from my friends and family be good to send, along with plane ticket stubs etc etc?

definitely anything you can attach that shows your family know about/accept the relationship, that you see each other often etc. anything to show you're in a valid relationship

My friend may have a part time offer job for my fiance when he comes to the UK as he owns his own business and will be able to provide an offer letter of employment, the only thing is the job is over an hour away from where i live, he would have to get there by public transport.I wonder if this would flag up as a problem ?

I dont think it will at all - I dont think they bother about what you do/how you go about it there. they didnt ask for drivers licenses or anything for myself/my husband (neither of us drive) but the employment letter would be a huge help to show that your fiance can help contribute financially

Finally he has to go to Barbados to have his biometrics taken, and immediatly after he will send the documentation. Where does it give you the option to send the documents by priority? Is it on the world bridge website?

sorry, can't help with this 1

[Destiny08]

Almost right. You need to have a minimum of £105.95 weekly remaining as a couple after rent or mortgage, council tax and any credit/loan repayments have been met.
is it announced by UKBA that £105.95 weekly remaining is sufficient for a couple ? i am gonna submit my case for spouse visa soon. my spouse has a weekly income of 130 pounds.no other expenses like house rent ,bills,council tax etc. she lives with parents. but every solicitor or advisor we have asked about weekly income said its not sufficient. they said it should be 180 to 200 pounds .
i am stressed about it. pleas guide me in . if you are sure and its (£105.95) on UKBA website pleas send the link.
thanks and regards

I don't know where the link is or anything. But my husband, who supports me! tends to have around 150 pounds left in his bank around each week after bills etc, and thats for myself, our 3 month old daughter and him and they gave me my visa, so I'm sure your spouse has enough income of course its always better to have more. but 130 sounds just fine to me

[CharlieBrowne]

WOW thank you all so much for all your help!! You have all helped my answer my questions. I am starting to feel a bit calmer now.

I do have a few more questions though i wondered if anyone could help?

Because i am recieving 3rd pary financial assistance, what documents will i need from my family member that is letting us live at her house? I dont pay rent but how will this have to be documented?

Also regarding my financial info, i have heard that 3 months bank statements is the minimum you can send, is this true? If so does the last statement have to be till the end of the month, or do they just want to check that wages have gone in on my payday?
Do you think 3 months bank statements will be ok, if i send 6-12 months of wages slips also ?

[Destiny08]

Because i am recieving 3rd pary financial assistance, what documents will i need from my family member that is letting us live at her house? I dont pay rent but how will this have to be documented?
If you have someone helping you financially, I'd imagine you'd need bank statements from them too, to show they can financially support you. If it's simply staying in their house and paying no rent, then you'll need a letter from her, stating that you pay no rent, how many people live at the property and how many bedrooms there are

Also regarding my financial info, i have heard that 3 months bank statements is the minimum you can send, is this true? If so does the last statement have to be till the end of the month, or do they just want to check that wages have gone in on my payday?
Do you think 3 months bank statements will be ok, if i send 6-12 months of wages slips also ?
I'd send in as many bank statements as you can. I think 3 months IS the least. I dont think it has to be till the end of the month - my husbands was up until mid August, and I only applied at the end of October. but the bank letter was up to date.

[geriatrix]

Hi All

I will be submitting my husbands spouse visa soon (On his behalf) and I was just wondering if anybody has had the experiance of applying for a spouse visa through the jamaica ukba. My husband is vincentian which means he will have to have his biometrics done in barbados and then send his visa application and supporting documents to jamaica. I have looked all over but i cannot find the amount of time that it takes for the application to be processed once it arrives in jamaica? (I have also been told they do not offer the fast track option).

Kind Regards

Charlie..xx

[geriatrix]

Visa processing times in Barbados

[SoHopeful]

WOW thank you all so much for all your help!! You have all helped my answer my questions. I am starting to feel a bit calmer now.

I do have a few more questions though i wondered if anyone could help?

Because i am recieving 3rd pary financial assistance, what documents will i need from my family member that is letting us live at her house? I dont pay rent but how will this have to be documented?

If the person owns the house, you need to provide the info proving this, then a letter confirming the size and occupants and your arrangement to be there rent free.

Also regarding my financial info, i have heard that 3 months bank statements is the minimum you can send, is this true? If so does the last statement have to be till the end of the month, or do they just want to check that wages have gone in on my payday?
Do you think 3 months bank statements will be ok, if i send 6-12 months of wages slips also ?

Could you include a letter from your employer and your employment contract?

[CharlieBrowne]

Yes thank you so hopeful i have included all my employer info also, these supporting documents will weigh a tun of bricks when i have finished.
My sister is renting and has agreed to let us stay rent free, i will contribute to food and such which will show on my bank statements.

Once again i have a question I wanted to check, if i have a letter from the landlord stating the size of the property and that they have no objection to my husband residing in the property with us (me and sis), including a letter from my sister saying that she is letting us live there rent free and maybe some photos of the property will be sufficient for the accomodation part of the application?

[toogrown4dat]

Once again i have a question I wanted to check, if i have a letter from the landlord stating the size of the property and that they have no objection to my husband residing in the property with us (me and sis), including a letter from my sister saying that she is letting us live there rent free and maybe some photos of the property will be sufficient for the accomodation part of the application?[/quote]

this is what i wanna know too i think you have to get somebody to come and view your house to say its not overcrowded but im not too sure this is the only thing im waiting to do everything else i already have

[SoHopeful]

When the property is rented, i know a letter from the landlord is sufficient, and any other letters from the named tenant if you are not the actual tenant on the agreement.

With an owned house, i am not sure if a letter from the owner is all you need.

[Casa]

If the property is owned you'll need to submit a copy of the mortgage agreement or if owned outright, a copy of the property deeds.

[CharlieBrowne]

Thanks again for all your answers, getting nervous now

[Tuffgyal]

Hi I was living with my cousin and she provided a letter stating its ok for us both to live at her house