Query re:ILR with spouse visa

[thirdwave]

Hi,

With new immigration laws being thought up by the HO on a daily basis, I thought maybe I should get some advice on some aspects of my future ILR application..Better be safe than sorry,as they say

1) I understand that I need to produce 10 documents which prove that my wife & I have lived together for 2 years..Now do they have to be 10 documents in our joint names or could it be 10 documents each in both our names, sent to the same address?..I mean it would be ridiculous to ask every untility bill/ bank statement to be issued jointly in our names. Also, a lot of bills do not mention our full names but just our surnames & initials..Would the name need to be spelled out in full for the documents to be accepted as adequate proof?

2) My wife has taken on my surname after our marriage but still has her maiden surname on her passport. Would it need to be changed to my surname before I apply for ILR? I mean, would the HO allege that the marriage was a sham & that I have been living with a totally different person? ( Personally I wouldn`t put it past the HO, what with its increasingly paranoid attitude towards all 'non EU' immigrants)

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

[jeevan1000]

10 Documents???? where did you get this info from?? :?

[John]

Thirdwave, using your numbering :-

1. You are presumably looking at the form SET(M). I have to say that I think the guidance given on that form is pretty clear. I suggest you read it again.
2. No, there is no compulsion under UK law for a woman to change her name on marriage. It is merely a convention that most choose to follow. However if she is using your surname on a daily basis, it would probably be best to get the name in the passport changed as well.

[kairos]

I was in the same position as you when I applied for ILR a few months ago. It is sufficient to send in documents addressed to each of you seperately; they're simply looking for evidence that you live at the same address. My wife and I don't receive a single thing in both of our names and it was fine.

The form asks for her name before marriage so there will be no doubt that it is the same person. They'll also have the signed photographs and other evidence. So don't worry and good luck!

[meggles]

in an ideal world, you'd have (10) items over (24) months all in your joint names. barring that...

(10) items for each person, evenly spread over the (24) months

should be from official sources:
utilties
mortgage statements
NHS appointments
insurance letters
inland revenue
council tax
etc...

[thirdwave]

Thanks for the advice guys..I think this forum will put immigration lawyers out of business soon..(My wife wanted to train as one but I advised her against it )

[Liberal Immigrant]

thirdwave, do u mind briefly explaining wat process u have had2follow to change ur wife's name? did u have to go to the local council, how long did it take and have u changed her name on her passport and if so, how easy or difficult was that?

[John]

wat process u have had2follow to change ur wife's name?

On a board like this on the internet, there is no need to write in textspeak! No constraint on length of message!

In the UK, following a marriage, by convention a woman merely assumes her new surname, notifying all the organisations with which she has dealings ..... employer, bank, passport office, etc etc.. That is it! Some of those organisations might require to see the marriage certificate, but that is for them to say. But for the British Passport office, a new passport would have to be applied for, in the new surname.

But in fact this is merely a convention, and not a legal requirement, and the woman is perfectly entitled to continue to use her pre-marriage surname, if that is what she wants to do.