# Settlement visa application worries



## VisaAnxiety

Hello Expatforum,

I am posting here in this forum with the hope that someone will be kind enough to advise on how best to approach the UK settlement visa process.

Here are the facts:

-	I'm a British citizen
-	Have lived and worked in China for 7 years. Currently live in China
-	Got married to a Beijing lady 6 years ago, lived together as a family every day since
-	My wife holds a Chinese passport. Fluent English, runs her own small business
-	Our young child is approaching school age. Holds a British passport
-	We plan to relocate to the UK this summer so our child can start school there this Autumn
-	I have been employed full-time in China for 7 years within Chinese companies
-	Salary paid monthly
-	I have seldom received pay slips from employer, but have received Chinese income tax report accounting for the last 6 months
-	I recently changed jobs in China (in June). My new job is by contract. My previous China employer did not give me an employment contract
-	My new China employer would be happy for me to work from the UK (from home) and work from the China office for about 2 weeks every 2 months
-	Have rented a UK property. Tenancy begins end of August. Have tenancy agreement. First rent payment not yet due
-	I am not employed in the UK since I am still working in China, on a decent salary
-	I would be willing to work for my current China employer until, having arrived in the UK, I then look for and secure similar work in the UK

The UKBA supporting documents list for the settlement visa (VAF4A) requires me to supply many documents as Sponsor.

I will have trouble supplying a P60 form and up to 6 months’ pay slips as proof I can support my family without recourse to public funds however, since I have not lived or worked in the UK for a number of years. 

The UKBA specifically ask for 'Evidence of sponsor's employment in the UK'. This worries me. I am thinking my itemised Chinese bank statements which show regular monthly credit of my salary would be a good alternative. I am perfectly capable of supporting my family on my current salary.

I have savings in a UK bank account which I estimate would last us for approximately 6 months if I wasn't working.

My wife has savings in a Chinese bank account which will last us a further 3 months without working.

My questions are:

1.	What alternatives could I supply to the UKBA instead of a P60 or pay slips?
2.	Is my current employment going to be of any worth to this application as Sponsor?
3.	Is it better to just write I’m ‘_unemployed in the UK_’ and don't have a job at all, but that I’ll find full-time work as quickly as possible?
4.	Since we are renting a UK property, proof rent has been paid is required by the UKBA. However, I have _just _signed the tenancy agreement, so it is still too early to pay any rent yet. Will this be a problem?
5. The UKBA also ask for 'Utility Bills', something else I don't have for the new rented property yet. Is this going to be a problem?

We worried to waste time or money by sending the wrong documents. We don’t want to end up spending weeks or months apart. 

In fact, different Chinese staff at the UK Visa Application Office in Beijing have given us slightly different answers to our questions on different days, depending on whether we call their telephone helpline, or visit their offices in person, so we’re rather confused to say the least!  

Any advice or thoughts would be really appreciated. 

Thank you!

James


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## GrahamWeifang

Hi James,

Did you make any progress on the settlement visa ?

Gra.


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## VisaAnxiety

The Entry Clearance visa was granted for my wife after just 10 working days of applying and waiting for the British Consulate to issue it in Beijing. It was issued as a visa in her Chinese passport and gave her permission to enter the UK as long as she applied for ILR status after she arrived in the UK.

So we returned to the UK permanently with the Entry Clearance around 3 weeks after her visa was issued and then applied from within the UK for an ILR status for my wife in the form of a Biometric Residents Permit. We basically waited patiently for it to be approved and issued, and ultimately it _was _approved, after an 11 week wait.

The UKBA didnt ask for any further documents during the BRP application process; however, I needed to get my own UK passport back (which was a supporting document) since I had to use it for a business trip. I called the UKBA on their 0870 number and explained and they sent it back to me after 12 working days. My wife's BRP application was not affected by this.

My wife has used her BRP since May 2012 to travel to China and back to the UK, and there was no problem with returning to the UK, as you would expect.

Thank you to everyone on this forum for the help and support!


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## sabs

VisaAnxiety said:


> The Entry Clearance visa was granted for my wife after just 10 working days of applying and waiting for the British Consulate to issue it in Beijing. It was issued as a visa in her Chinese passport and gave her permission to enter the UK as long as she applied for ILR status after she arrived in the UK.
> 
> So we returned to the UK permanently with the Entry Clearance around 3 weeks after her visa was issued and then applied from within the UK for an ILR status for my wife in the form of a Biometric Residents Permit. We basically waited patiently for it to be approved and issued, and ultimately it _was _approved, after an 11 week wait.
> 
> The UKBA didnt ask for any further documents during the BRP application process; however, I needed to get my own UK passport back (which was a supporting document) since I had to use it for a business trip. I called the UKBA on their 0870 number and explained and they sent it back to me after 12 working days. My wife's BRP application was not affected by this.
> 
> My wife has used her BRP since May 2012 to travel to China and back to the UK, and there was no problem with returning to the UK, as you would expect.
> 
> Thank you to everyone on this forum for the help and support!


You guys were under the old rules. So lucky.


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## cschrd2

Guys, if its a ligid move you can get any visa fixed, even for countries that put large barriers. Also understand you are one of the few that request ligid visa with these departments. I had very serous issues with shengen immigration but got it worked out. It takes time, but that's only because too many people use fake relations etc to get visa..... Hang in there!


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