spouse visa, beijing, problems with evidence and finance

[baisui]

I have been preparing an application for a settlement visa for my wife for the last few months. I have found loads of really useful information on this forum and I would like to thank everyone who posts information and advice on here. Thanks to the forum I think I understand the basics about what information to provide, but there are a few special aspects of our case that raise questions that I can’t find an answer to in previous posts. I hope that some of you will be able to help me out.

On the face of it, I think we have quite a sound case to put, but some things about our history are a bit difficult to explain or to provide evidence for.

I am a British citizen, she is Chinese. I was doing research for a PhD in the north of China in 2004 when we met. We were together for about 6 months. Then, at the beginning of 2005 I had to return to the UK to complete my degree. We didn’t know how long this would take, I knew it would be a long time. As there was no immediate prospect of us being together, we split up. In August/September 2005 I had a chance to go back, we spent 3 or 4 weeks together, decided that we did want to try to be together after all.

I looked into getting a fiancée visa at that point, but found that it’s very difficult to get if you’re applying from China, and anyway I was surviving on a research grant, which left me in no position to sponsor her. So we planned that I would come back when I finished my thesis and that we would think about getting married. We separated again.

At that stage I thought it would take me about six months more to finish the thesis. In fact it took me more than a year. I left two days after I submitted the thesis. During that period we spoke every day. Finally, nearly two years after our initial separation in 2005, we met again in Beijing at the beginning of Feb 2007. We went to visit my wife’s family in N China and spent Chinese New Year with them. Then we returned to Beijing, found a flat here and I found a job. We have been living together in the flat since the beginning of March.

I have a job offer from an academic institution in the UK to begin in October this year, and the institution will provide accommodation (at a charge) for me and my wife.

As far as I have understood the immigration rules, this leaves us in a good position because:

• I have a job to go back to and the salary covers our rent

• We already have a one-bedroom flat arranged and guaranteed for us by an institutional landlord

• We are married and have been living together for 5 months, 4 of which in our own flat

The main points that I think are a bit problematic for the application:

1. Though we were in contact almost every day that I was away, there is hardly any evidence of this. At first I used those phone cards to call, then I used Skype. My wife didn’t have a computer, and in her city internet bars were always crowded with students playing games. Calling her phone was so cheap it always seemed more convenient. She lived in a shared room in a building with no safe place to send post – I did send post a few times through other people, but when I did I had to send them presents too, so I didn’t do it much. Anyway, there was nothing to put in a letter since we talked so much every day. I’m sure this must be a common problem. The only evidence I have is the email bills from Skype and Paypal that show when I began making payments to Skype for international calling. Of course if I had known about all this visa palaver back then, we would have done things differently.

2. My salary will be enough to maintain us in the UK, and it is guaranteed for three years, but my bank balance history is chaotic to say the least. For the last year of my studies I survived on a few small study grants, a couple of very small teaching jobs, and a big overdraft, and finally ended up sleeping on friends’ floors and even in my office on occasion! Just before I came back, I was lucky that my dad offered to lend me a large sum to help me sort out my life. This all happened on my bank statement for Dec-Jan. I immediately paid off my overdraft, credit cards, etc. I worried about whether I have to explain this, how I can explain it, what evidence I need to provide, etc. Am I right in (hopefully) thinking this will be less problematic because we have been spending this money liberally – first on paying off those debts, then on the wedding etc. – rather than letting it sit in the bank? When we make the application, in terms of savings, there will be about 4,000 in the bank in the UK, and maybe another 1,000gbp in China.

Many, many thanks to anyone who can help! Sorry for the long post - have tried to provide all relevant details.

[avjones]

don't panic. You are now married, so you don't need to worry too much about proving huge contact before you were married - you can show you have lived together in China for a period, that shows you are living together and intend to have a genuine and subsisting marriage. It might be a good idea to show evidence that you have been living together in China.

As for maintenance and accommodation, the important thing is the future. I suggest you write a letter setting out that previously you were a student, chaotic finances etc, and that now you have a job and a flat. Enclose evidence of the job and the salary and the flat.

[baisui]

Thanks Amanda - that's very reassuring. I'll press on with the application.

Thanks for taking the time to respond