Wife's visa from Pakistan - What I submitted

[spredders]

Having read useful information on this site, I thought I would detail my wife's visa application from Pakistan which today by the grace of Allah was granted first time.

I have listed the documents below all of which were sent to address below by Royal Mail Special Delivery:

Settlement Applications
International Operations and Visas
6 Millsands
Vulcan House
S3 8NH

(I didn't receive any acknowledgement saying that my documents were received but I checked the tracking reference the next day which showed the documents had been signed for)


# Covering letter from myself
- including a mention that it was an arranged marriage, that I have sufficient funds to support my wife without recourse to public funds and listing all the documents which I enclosed.

# Printed copy of the online application from http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk, signed by my wife.

# Appendix 2

# 2 passport sized photos of my wife

# IELTS Life Skills English - A1 Speaking and Listening Certificate.

# TB Certificate

# Printed copy of email confirming visa fee payment (not necessary but I thought to include)

# Printed copy of email confirming IHS fee payment (not necessary but I thought to include)

# Urdu nikah namah

# English translation of nikah namah, certified as a true copy by the Tehsil Court, Pir Mahal, Pakistan

# NADRA marriage certificate which shows Urdu and English, stamped and signed by the Secretary, Pakistan

# 6 photos, of my wife and I together, including the wedding and some also included the family

# Telephone call records printed online:
- before going to Pakistan (LycaMobile)
- whilst in Pakistan (Telenor)
- when I returned to England (LycaMobile)

# 12 Whatsapp screen shots from when I returned to England

# Baraat and Valima wedding cards

# Letter from my employer on company headed paper, signed by HR which stated:
- My name and address
- Start date
- Full time role
- Permanent role
- Gross salary
- That the enclosed 6 printed statements are genuine

# Last 6 months payslips were printed from my employers intranet by HR as they don't issue the old fashioned hard copies. All stamped and signed as genuine by HR.

# Letter from my bank First Direct confirming that I have hold the account with them. This cost £10

# Last 6 months bank statements from First Direct, showing all 6 months wages to match the payslips

# Letter from parents confirming they own the house and that my wife and I can stay there rent free indefinitely and enclosed:
- Official copy of ownership from Land Registry. This cost £7
- Housing inspection report from local council to confirm there's space for my wife without it being overcrowded. This was about 2 months old but within 3 months. This cost £75
- Last 6 months utility bills, some in my parents name, some in mine only and some in joint names (not necessary but I thought to include)

# Copy of my entire British passport, certified by solicitor in UK, to show My details and that I travelled to/from Pakistan (all pages not necessary but I thought to include)

# copies of every document/photos stated above so that they may return the originals to me (not received anything back as yet though)

# A stamped addressed envelope with Royal Mail Special Delivery so documents can be returned to me


I think if you cover all aspects that are required and put them in a suitable order, the ECO will find it easier and not overlook any document.

I didn't use a solicitor for the application other than to certify my passport as I felt they couldn't add anything to what I had researched mainly from the Gov.uk website but also this forum.


Timeline:

27/02/16 - Online application submitted and fees paid
03/03/16 - Biometrics in Lahore plus my wife's passport and 1 passport sized photo
14/03/16 - Posted documents to Sheffield
20/05/16 - Received 'not straightforward case' email advising they won't be able to assess with target of 12 weeks.
26/05/16 - 12 weeks elapsed
27/05/16 - Wife received call but it cut off whilst phone was being passed to her - assume it was regarding the visa. On calling the number it kept reaching an answer machine
29/05/16 - Email received advising application assessed and to collect passport during collection times
30/05/16 - Passport collected with visa granted, Alhamdulillah


May Allah help everyone with their visas and grant them soon.

If you have any questions please send me a message and I will be happy to answer as best I can.

[zk00023]

Hi
Many Congratulations on getting your wife visa.

I am the process of applying as well for my wife in Lahore. can you please guide me on one question please?

I need to get my Urdu Nikah Nama translated in English. can I get it done from Kachehry which will be attested by notary public? will this be acceptable? is this what you did to obtain English translated copy of Urdu Nikah Nama? can you guide me on this and tell me what is the procedure to get the English translated copy?

I already have Nadra marriage certificate.
once I get English copy of Nikah nama and original Urdu nikah nama- I then need to get both attested by foreign office affair in Lahore!?

Any help will be greatly appreciated

many thanks
Jazakallah

[Leo.Leo]

Thanks for sharing your documents list,I am just confuse about number of forms we have to submit for our spouse visa. And also which ones will be submitted in Pakistan and which one will b posted to Sheffield. As u mentioned form signed by your wife so once u applied online she printed it out signed it and send it to you here in uk so u can submit with other supporting documents? If you can also please tell step by step process of application process that would be soo nice of you. JazakAllah

[spredders]

Hi
Many Congratulations on getting your wife visa.

I am the process of applying as well for my wife in Lahore. can you please guide me on one question please?

I need to get my Urdu Nikah Nama translated in English. can I get it done from Kachehry which will be attested by notary public? will this be acceptable? is this what you did to obtain English translated copy of Urdu Nikah Nama? can you guide me on this and tell me what is the procedure to get the English translated copy?

I already have Nadra marriage certificate.
once I get English copy of Nikah nama and original Urdu nikah nama- I then need to get both attested by foreign office affair in Lahore!?

Any help will be greatly appreciated

many thanks
Jazakallah

I had the English translation itself done from a shop in the village which also does printing/posters.

I then took the translation with the original Urdu nikah nama to a Notary Public at Tehsil Court ie Kachery who stamped/signed/dated for 1,000 rupees. This was in the village where my wife lives, not Lahore.

Note the stamp did not state the Notary Public's contact details and address, which I believe the Gov.uk guidelines state need to be shown. I took the view that someone in the Court would be seen as genuine so I didn't worry about lack of contact details.

The NADRA marriage certificate was stamped and signed by a Secretary in the village when they issued it to me. I'm not sure what they call the Secretary in Urdu but that's what he has signed on the certificate.

I didn't get any other attestation done on the above two documents.

[spredders]

Thanks for sharing your documents list,I am just confuse about number of forms we have to submit for our spouse visa. And also which ones will be submitted in Pakistan and which one will b posted to Sheffield. As u mentioned form signed by your wife so once u applied online she printed it out signed it and send it to you here in uk so u can submit with other supporting documents? If you can also please tell step by step process of application process that would be soo nice of you. JazakAllah

For my wife's visa there was only 2 forms.

1 is from the visa4uk website which is the application form.
1 is from the Gov.uk website which is the Appendix 2. This is the form which asks for financial details etc

The application form was competed online in Pakistan by myself and printed but signed by my wife, after we got married there.

We took this application form to her appointment in Lahore although they returned it to her. So they only took her passport, passport sized photo and biometrics.

When I returned to England I submitted the application form and Appendix 2 and all other documents to Sheffield. I therefore didn't take any documents to Pakistan as I was to submit them to Sheffield

If you're not in Pakistan, you can complete the form online but your wife will need to print and sign the application form and post it to you in England.

Appendix 2 does not need to be signed so I hand filled this in myself in England.

[banksy169]

English translation of nikah namah, certified as a true copy by the Tehsil Court, Pir Mahal, Pakistan

Thanks for sharing all the information in such detail. It's really appreciated. Can you please tell me where in Pir Mahal you managed to find the notary public service?