Please help me review my application

[Gompho]

I am going to be submitting an application for a visa for my spouse soon and would like to get a second opinion to see if I have everything I need in order.

First I'll explain my situation.

I am a UK and Canadian citizen
I will be marrying my spouse in a week who is a Canadian citizen
My 2 year old son is a Canadian and UK citizen

For this I will use the names John , Jane and Son for clarification.

I will be getting married on March 16. We have been living as common law status since my son was born.

I have been offered a job in the Uk and will be starting on May 14

From the UK boarder agency site this is what I have to prove for a spousal visa and this is what I am providing to support the requirements.

you are legally married to each other or have registered a civil partnership
* Official marriage certificate which I will get 2 days after we get married on March 16th showing John and Janes marriage.

you are both at least 18 years old on the date when you would arrive in the UK or when we would give you permission to remain
* Johns original birth certificate
* Janes original birth certificate
* Copy of Johns UK passport signed by notary public
* Sons original UK passport

you intend to live together permanently as husband and wife, or as civil partners
* Original copy of last years lease agreement for apartment that both John and Jane signed
* Signed letters from from Jane and John stating they intend to live together permanently
* Last years tax return that was files together by Jane and John as common law partners

you have met each other
* Sons original birth certificate show Janes and Johns full names
* Family photo of Jane John and Son

you meet our English language requirement, unless you can show that you qualify for an exemption
* Janes Canadian passport which is a majority speaking English country

you can support yourselves and any dependants without help from public funds
* Signed offer letter from Johns new place of work
* Bennefits booklet from Johns new place of work showing that Jane will also be covered as a dependant on a health care plan and that in case of sickness John will still receive pay.
* Stamped bank statements from past 4 months showing John and Janes savings. Also showing that they have a joint bank account together.

you have adequate accommodation where you and your dependants can live exclusively and without needing public funds
* Letter from family friend stating that John, Jane and Son can stay with them temporarily as well as a notarized copy of their deed showing that they own their own residence.

Also will include photo copies of all documents as well as 2 photos along with application. All this after making an appointment to get biometrics done.

If anyone can think of anything else I should include please let me know.

[DieselD]

I would submit photos of the wedding.

Also check that Canada is exempt from the English Language requirements.

Your employment in the Uk needs to be enough to show you can support yourselves in the future. If too low they may assume you will need public funds.

Since your spouse should be able to work in the UK try get a job offer for her or show emails with employment agencies. This will show she intends to also support financially.

Read through the forums on why others were rejected and those who were successful.

Good luck.

[pennylessinindia]

May want to show friends bank statements and if a mortgage that the payments uptodate .

[Gompho]

Thanks for the info,

I will include wedding photos as well.

I checked and yes Canada is exempt from the english language requirements.

My employment in the UK is 45k plus benefits and my savings are ~20k.

I'll see if I can get a mortgage statement too.

Anything else anyone can think of. To me it seems like a pretty clear cut case. Am I wrong in thinking this.

[Greenie]

May want to show friends bank statements and if a mortgage that the payments uptodate .

he doesn't need to submit the friend's bank statements - the friend is not offering financial support, just accomodation.

[Gompho]

Do you think I should also provide the receipts showing that my spouse has paid the difference in their tax return and that they don't owe anything to the government?

Will the UKBA check with the Canadian government to see if an outstanding balance on taxes is owed?

[MelC]

May want to show friends bank statements and if a mortgage that the payments uptodate .

he doesn't need to submit the friend's bank statements - the friend is not offering financial support, just accomodation.

the freind may not be providing financial support, but they are providing the accommoation, and need to show that there are no arrears, and that they can afford to continue paying, so their employment or other income and mortgage payments being up to date are VERY relevant

the application is likely to be refused on this point if they are not provided!

[Greenie]

May want to show friends bank statements and if a mortgage that the payments uptodate .

he doesn't need to submit the friend's bank statements - the friend is not offering financial support, just accomodation.

the freind may not be providing financial support, but they are providing the accommoation, and need to show that there are no arrears, and that they can afford to continue paying, so their employment or other income and mortgage payments being up to date are VERY relevant

the application is likely to be refused on this point if they are not provided!

a third part providing accomodation does not need to show their bank statement to show that they are not in arrears and neither do they need to show their income

[Gompho]

Do you think I should also provide the receipts showing that my spouse has paid the difference in their tax return and that they don't owe anything to the government?

Will the UKBA check with the Canadian government to see if an outstanding balance on taxes is owed?

It doesn't say anything on the UKBA website about tax documents from the country from which you are coming from but I would like to be sure.

[anniecc]

Will the UKBA check with the Canadian government to see if an outstanding balance on taxes is owed?

I'm no expert but I would say this is extremely unlikely.

First, It's hard enough for UK government departments to agree to share data with each other, yet alone bringing in data from other countries. There is a lot of bureaucracy and expense involved with this sort of thing.

Second, I'm not familiar with the legal situation in Canada, but I imagine the tax department would also need authorisation from your spouse for this type of personal data to be released. When you complete FLR(M) you sign a declaration agreeing that UKBA can verify the information you've provided - so in theory they might attempt to verify that your joint tax return was genuine, but I don't think they could ask for other personal information unrelated to your application.

Finally, I'm not sure why the UKBA would care if your spouse owed back taxes in Canada - ok, it would affect your financial position, but in that sense it's no difference to any other unpaid debt, which they don't ask about. If they did care about this sort of thing they would probably just ask your spouse to sign a declaration, the way they ask people to declare criminal convictions. From their perspective that would be simpler than attempting to contact the Canadian tax authorities.

[anniecc]

When you complete FLR(M)

Edit - I realise you're probably not applying on FLR(M) because it's an out-of-country application, but I imagine the declaration will be similar.

[pennylessinindia]

May want to show friends bank statements and if a mortgage that the payments uptodate .

he doesn't need to submit the friend's bank statements - the friend is not offering financial support, just accomodation.

the freind may not be providing financial support, but they are providing the accommoation, and need to show that there are no arrears, and that they can afford to continue paying, so their employment or other income and mortgage payments being up to date are VERY relevant

the application is likely to be refused on this point if they are not provided!

a third part providing accomodation does not need to show their bank statement to show that they are not in arrears and neither do they need to show their income

So if the friend is about to be evicted as he has not paid the mortgage that will show the accommodation is sound? No point in leaving any doubt that the friend is in a position genuinely offer the accomodation

[MelC]

May want to show friends bank statements and if a mortgage that the payments uptodate .

he doesn't need to submit the friend's bank statements - the friend is not offering financial support, just accomodation.

the freind may not be providing financial support, but they are providing the accommoation, and need to show that there are no arrears, and that they can afford to continue paying, so their employment or other income and mortgage payments being up to date are VERY relevant

the application is likely to be refused on this point if they are not provided!

a third part providing accomodation does not need to show their bank statement to show that they are not in arrears and neither do they need to show their income

there are refusals that i know of because these very reasons, what if the property is about to be repossessed? in arrears? the accommodation has to be adequate but it also has to be available for the long term?