Unmarried partner evidence requirements... or Tier 1 renewal

[anniecc]

I am a New Zealand citizen, my partner is British. We met in NZ and moved to Britain together in 2009 – we have been living together since then. I’m currently on a Tier 1 (General), which expires in March 2012.

Although I meet the criteria to renew my Tier 1 visa, we are intending to apply for an unmarried partner visa instead as the fee is significantly less, and the route to ILR seems more certain given the various government changes and proposals.

However, reading the comments on this site, I am worried about our prospects of getting the unmarried partner visa. Although we have been living together for more than 2 years, we don’t have joint bank accounts, and most of our utility bills are in one name only. We do have a joint tenancy agreement, which was renewed during the two year period (so more than one associated document), and copies of a gas bill in both our names. If necessary we could also provide various other types of evidence, including letters and cards from family and friends, charity memberships in both our names, photos, boarding passes for holidays taken together, but my understanding of the FLR(M) guidance is that they’re only interested in ‘official’ evidence. I am interested to know people’s experiences as to whether it’s worth providing evidence that is over and above the FLR(M) guidelines, or evidence that doesn't meet their criteria for 'official' documents? If UKBA is not happy with the level of evidence provided will they come back and ask for more, or is it best to provide everything up front?

If the unmarried partner visa is hard to get I am now wondering whether it might be better to apply to renew my Tier 1 visa instead – any thoughts on this welcome.

[bred]

My partner and I are in a similar position. She is here on Tier 1 (General) with visa expiry in May 2012. In spite of eligibility for Tier 1 renewal, we are also probably going to go down the unmarried partner route as the fee is less (and Tier 1 is also now for 2 years instead of 3) and we have been living together the entire time she has been here. We will supply the evidence requested for the unmarried partner application but also highlight that her earnings, qualifications, etc. that mean she would also be eligible for Tier 1, in the effort to minimise any risk of rejection. I would also appreciate any other opinions on this.

[bred]

We also do not know what to do about the English language requirement, which is not an issue for you coming from a majority English speaking country. The documentation seems to indicate another IELTS test will be required as the prevous test was over 2 years ago, which is ridiculous when you think that my partner has been entirely fluent in English for years and has worked in a skilled job in the UK for nearly 3 years now. Emailed HMRC a couple of days ago but no response as yet.

[Greenie]

We also do not know what to do about the English language requirement, which is not an issue for you coming from a majority English speaking country. The documentation seems to indicate another IELTS test will be required as the prevous test was over 2 years ago, which is ridiculous when you think that my partner has been entirely fluent in English for years and has worked in a skilled job in the UK for nearly 3 years now. Emailed HMRC a couple of days ago but no response as yet.

why have you emailed hmrc. Working in the UK doesn't help her to meet the English language requirements. She will have to take another test assuming she does not have a degree taught in English.

[bred]

We also do not know what to do about the English language requirement, which is not an issue for you coming from a majority English speaking country. The documentation seems to indicate another IELTS test will be required as the prevous test was over 2 years ago, which is ridiculous when you think that my partner has been entirely fluent in English for years and has worked in a skilled job in the UK for nearly 3 years now. Emailed HMRC a couple of days ago but no response as yet.

why have you emailed hmrc. Working in the UK doesn't help her to meet the English language requirements. She will have to take another test assuming she does not have a degree taught in English.

I meant UKBA not HMRC.

The reason I ask is because in the Tier 1 (General) application form (she currently has a Tier 1 (General) visa) if you have passed the English language requirement in an earlier application then you are exempt. However, while I see no reason for a different policy, I cannot see any such sentence in the FLR(M) application form.

[Greenie]

there is no such sentence because the rules are not the same. She will have to take another test unfortunately.

[kunoichi.reni]

I was in the same situation, we didn't have enough documents with both names. We were told to collect all documents even if they were only on my name or his. Also, we asked his parents (who are British) to write a letter confirming that they knew me for over two years and that we were leaving together; these letters had to be singed in front of a solicitor and they put a special stamp. We also showed photos, emails, flight tickets from holidays, x-mas cards with our names from family and friends, b-days cards to me from his family and friends. Good luck

[anniecc]

I have just submitted the unmarried partner application this morning. We included a large folder of evidence - 15 items of formal correspondence (about half of it joint), plus a few letters and postcards from friends, including a thank you letter from some friends whose wedding we attended last year. That sort of thing seems to me to be better evidence that we're in a relationship than simply living at the same address - not sure if UKBA will agree but I figured it wouldn't hurt. I also included my expression of wish form for my pension scheme that names my partner as a beneficiary in the event of my death, and bank statements and payslips for both of us. I'm a bit worried about the fact that we don't have joint bank accounts, but hopefully UKBA understands that in this day and age not every couple does.

I'll post back here to let people know how I get on. No idea how long these applications usually take to process - I can't find any guidance on the UKBA website.

[Greenie]

do you have letters/evidence covering the whole two year period? Did you include your tenancy agreement?

[anniecc]

Yes, the letters are spread across the full period - actually a bit more than two years. We included the original tenancy agreement from Sept 2009 plus two letters from our landlord in Sept 2010 and Sept 2011 renewing the agreement.