Proof of Shared Financial Responsibilities - Fiancee Visa

[KristyB]

Hello there!

I'm currently in the process of collecting all the documents necessary for the fiancee visa application before I fly back to Canada in a week and a half (when my Youth Mobility visa expires) and officially submit my application.

I have printed out the required Appendix 2 form, however there is one bit that is causing me some confusion. Question 2.8 states, "Do you intent to work in the UK?" Now, the fiancee visa I am applying for is to then switch to the 5 year settlement route with my partner in the UK. Do I tick the "yes" box and state that I plan to work in the UK after my partner and I are married and have switched to a visa that grants me permission to work in the UK? Or do I tick the "no" box and state that I do not plan to work during the engagement in line with the visa terms and conditions, but hope to work once I switch to another visa after marriage?

I don't want to be refused for something so small as ticking the wrong box!

Thank you in advance! x

[Casa]

Safer to tick 'No'.

[KristyB]

Hello there!

I've been planning to take all my documents with me when I fly back to Canada in a week and a half, photocopy the documents in Canada, and then post everything once I've completed the online application and printed it to add to the documents as well as my biometric information once taken.

That being said, I've noticed a lot of people saying that they've had their sponsor send the documents to Sheffield from within the UK. Is this preferable? I thought it would possibly take longer to do it that way, as I'd have to send over my printed online application and biometric details to my fiancee and then he would have to post it to Sheffield rather than me posting everything to Sheffield all at once. I also don't see how this would work as I'd have to also send my passport to my fiancee?

Thoughts? What has everyone else done? x

[seagul]

Royal mail is the only way to send the documents to p.o. box addresses which the Sheffield address is and its only available for inside uk. Ideally you can send it to your close friend in uk who can send it to Sheffield from uk if you will be in Canada. Or you can try to find correct non pobox Sheffield address to send them through courier from Canada but more likely it will go to wrong address and may cause delay. Regarding British passport its notarized/certified copy should be fine.

[FXR_1340]

Our recent issue of a Spouse visa for my US wife was sent from NJ to Sheffield by courier.

AFAIK that was the only way to do it.

Completed the online form and paid the visa costs. Paid for courier for round trip.

Printed the Airway Labels. Affixed the NJ - Sheffield label to the box provided by the courier (UPS). Affixed the inbound label to a large return envelope and included this with my original docs.

Made an appointment at the local visa centre in Elizabeth NJ. Took a set of original documents and a set of duplicate docs. Reveived both sets back.

Once done at Elizabeth we went directly to UPS shop and posted original docs inc return envelope to Sheffield.

Waited 12 weeks for visa to be issued.

I have no idea if this is the process for Canada as it appears to differ depending on country of residence.

The courier details were in VFSGlobal

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk

[KristyB]

Royal mail is the only way to send the documents to p.o. box addresses which the Sheffield address is and its only available for inside uk. Ideally you can send it to your close friend in uk who can send it to Sheffield from uk if you will be in Canada. Or you can try to find correct non pobox Sheffield address to send them through courier from Canada but more likely it will go to wrong address and may cause delay. Regarding British passport its notarized/certified copy should be fine.

I'm Canadian, and therefore my passport is a Canadian passport. It needs to be sent with the application so that they can place the entry clearance in my passport. I'm just a bit nervous of sending my passport all over the place...

But I imagine that it's quite straight forward for the documents to be sent from within the UK if it's simply by Royal Mail?

[gimarwat]

Royal mail is the only way to send the documents to p.o. box addresses which the Sheffield address is and its only available for inside uk. Ideally you can send it to your close friend in uk who can send it to Sheffield from uk if you will be in Canada. Or you can try to find correct non pobox Sheffield address to send them through courier from Canada but more likely it will go to wrong address and may cause delay. Regarding British passport its notarized/certified copy should be fine.

I'm Canadian, and therefore my passport is a Canadian passport. It needs to be sent with the application so that they can place the entry clearance in my passport. I'm just a bit nervous of sending my passport all over the place...

But I imagine that it's quite straight forward for the documents to be sent from within the UK if it's simply by Royal Mail?

You don’t need to send your passport along with supporting documents. Passport should be submitted with biometric at your local Visa Application Centre in Canada . Most of VACs now offer documents scanning facilities and keep your passport option(this is paid service). Please do check this with VAC.

[KristyB]

Royal mail is the only way to send the documents to p.o. box addresses which the Sheffield address is and its only available for inside uk. Ideally you can send it to your close friend in uk who can send it to Sheffield from uk if you will be in Canada. Or you can try to find correct non pobox Sheffield address to send them through courier from Canada but more likely it will go to wrong address and may cause delay. Regarding British passport its notarized/certified copy should be fine.

I'm Canadian, and therefore my passport is a Canadian passport. It needs to be sent with the application so that they can place the entry clearance in my passport. I'm just a bit nervous of sending my passport all over the place...

But I imagine that it's quite straight forward for the documents to be sent from within the UK if it's simply by Royal Mail?

You don’t need to send your passport along with supporting documents. Passport should be submitted with biometric at your local Visa Application Centre in Canada . Most of VACs now offer documents scanning facilities and keep your passport option(this is paid service). Please do check this with VAC.

The visa that I am applying for technically falls under settlement. I'm 110% certain that my passport must be submitted. It even says so on the Gov.uk website followed by:
"You’ll need to have a blank page in your passport on which to put the visa if you’re applying outside the UK."
I also need to submit any previous passports, but those have always been kept by the office in Canada for them to destroy. I've never opted to keep my previous passports (I never had any issues with this for my Youth Mobility visa).
I also checked the VFSGlobal website, but again, because this falls under a settlement visa they will not scan the supporting documents. Instead, the applicant or sponsor must submit the documents directly to Sheffield.
From the VFSGlobal website:
"All documents submitted by customers applying for all categories of visas (except for settlement) will be scanned at the visa application centre and sent electronically to UK Visas and Immigration."
"You or your sponsor should send your settlement visa application along with supporting documents to the UK address below." It provides the Sheffield address.
It's also reassuring to see that is says that the applicant or sponsor should send the application along with the documents. From what I understand, that means I will be given my biometric information to add to my application, which I can then send to my partner in the UK to compile the entire parcel that needs to be sent.

[KristyB]

Hello there!

I'm currently putting together my application for a UK fiancee visa. In appendix 2, there is a place to mention all shared financial responsibilities. Is it sufficient enough for me to list these responsibilities here or do I also need to provide supporting documents? I've lived in the UK for the past 2 years, so we have leases and council taxes with both of our names. I've always sent my share of the rent (etc) to my partner's bank account, however I have not been working full-time over the past 5 months (due to quitting my job because of being uncomfortable with a statement/requirement my employer made), so we have not shared our financial responsibilities 50/50 as we did when I was working full-time. Should I include bank statements to demonstrate we have shared equal financial responsibility in the past and plan to resume this in the future. We also share financial responsibility of my two cats (I brought them with me from Canada when I moved - that was pricey!), but all the receipts given by the vet only have my partner's name, because he was the one who originally opened up an account. Should I print out bank statements and highlight payments we've both made to the vet? One of my cats has a bad allergy problem, so we literally go to the vet every month and have had to have major tests done, purchased medication, etc. Over £3000 for one cat and another £1000+ for my other cat who ended up getting sick and spending a week at the vet in December.

I don't want to bombard the person looking at my application with too much/unnecessary information. Should I simply fill in the bit in Appendix 2 and then provide evidence if they request this?

Thank you in advance. x

[KristyB]

Hello there!

I'm currently putting together my application for a UK fiancee visa. In appendix 2, there is a place to mention all shared financial responsibilities. Is it sufficient enough for me to list these responsibilities here or do I also need to provide supporting documents? I've lived in the UK for the past 2 years, so we have leases and council taxes with both of our names. I've always sent my share of the rent (etc) to my partner's bank account, however I have not been working full-time over the past 5 months (due to quitting my job because of being uncomfortable with a statement/requirement my employer made), so we have not shared our financial responsibilities 50/50 as we did when I was working full-time. Should I include bank statements to demonstrate we have shared equal financial responsibility in the past and plan to resume this in the future. We also share financial responsibility of my two cats (I brought them with me from Canada when I moved - that was pricey!), but all the receipts given by the vet only have my partner's name, because he was the one who originally opened up an account. Should I print out bank statements and highlight payments we've both made to the vet? One of my cats has a bad allergy problem, so we literally go to the vet every month and have had to have major tests done, purchased medication, etc. Over £3000 for one cat and another £1000+ for my other cat who ended up getting sick and spending a week at the vet in December.

I don't want to bombard the person looking at my application with too much/unnecessary information. Should I simply fill in the bit in Appendix 2 and then provide evidence if they request this?

Thank you in advance. x

I should also mention that the leases and council tax bills, along with additional documents, are obviously being included in regards to proof of our relationship.

[CR001]

Topics Merged - please keep ALL questions on the same application in ONE thread (click)

[CR001]

If you have lived with your partner for the last two years, why are you not applying for an unmarried partner visa within the UK???

[KristyB]

If you have lived with your partner for the last two years, why are you not applying for an unmarried partner visa within the UK???

Because my partner and I are now engaged and plan to get married in Scotland in late October. I am not able to switch from my Youth Mobility visa (expires June 7th) to a fiancee visa from within the UK, therefore I am returning to Canada to submit my application for the fiancee visa. During this time, I also plan to visit with my family who I haven't seen in 2 years and to work at a summer day camp while my partner and I wait for a decision to be made regarding the visa. My desired timeline to travel back to the UK will be late August or early September.

[CR001]

I am not able to switch from my Youth Mobility visa (expires June 7th) to a fiancee visa from within the UK

You can't switch to a 6 month fiance visa no, but you can switch to the unmarried partner visa which is a 2.5 year visa and in the same category as spouse visa.

You can then still get married and continue on the unmarried partner visa.

[KristyB]

I am not able to switch from my Youth Mobility visa (expires June 7th) to a fiancee visa from within the UK

You can't switch to a 6 month fiance visa no, but you can switch to the unmarried partner visa which is a 2.5 year visa and in the same category as spouse visa.

You can then still get married and continue on the unmarried partner visa.

When we spoke to the registry office in Scotland, as we had been thinking of getting married while I am was still on my Youth Mobility visa, they stated that marriage laws in Scotland (which are different from the rest of the UK) require you to have a visa for the specific intention of marriage (Fiancee Visa). It is my understanding that even if we had switched to a unmarried partner visa then I would not be able to get married on that visa or there would have been a higher likelihood that our 28 day registry would be delayed because we would not have the appropriate visa.

Nevertheless, it doesn't matter much now. It's too late for us to change our plans as I am only here in Scotland for just over a week now & have a summer job in Canada that I have already accepted.

It seemed like a more straightforward, proper way to go about things by applying for the fiancee visa.

[CR001]

Unmarried partner visa, fiance visa and spouse visa are all the same category visa.

You are permitted to marry on the unmarried partner visa, there is no restriction.

By applying for a fiance visa, you won't be allowed to work or use NHS and you will have to pay 3 x visa fees of £1,500 odd, but your choice at the end of day.

[KristyB]

Unmarried partner visa, fiance visa and spouse visa are all the same category visa.

You are permitted to marry on the unmarried partner visa, there is no restriction.

By applying for a fiance visa, you won't be allowed to work or use NHS and you will have to pay 3 x visa fees of £1,500 odd, but your choice at the end of day.

My Youth Mobility visa is only valid for 2 years. I flew over here on June 13th, 2016 (entry clearance valid from June 7th, 2016) and am returning to Canada when my visa expires on June 7th, 2018. Therefore, technically speaking, we will have lived together for a week less than 2 years. I've head about the home office being very strict with the accommodation dates, so we did not want to risk being refused because of one week. This is especially true because we would have had to apply earlier than the 7th, and would have been anywhere from a couple of week to a month less than 2 years. My partner lived with me in Canada for several months before I moved here, but we sadly did not keep any documentation from that period so have no proof that we thought would be satisfactory. However we are more than confident with the documentation we have for the fiancee visa application.