# ILR Set(M) cohabitation correspondence and other questions



## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

Hi everyone,

I plan to submit my ILR Set(M) (5-year route) application soon and have a few questions below. The main one is the 6 letters each to show my husband and I have been living together during the past 2.5 years, and the other 4 are quick questions. If you have any thoughts/answer to any question, please feel free to reply. Thanks very much in advance!

1) "6 letters and/or other documents addressed to you and your partner at the same address to show that you have been living together during the past 2.5 years?"

I suppose we ideally need to provide the following months?
Mar 2021, Sep 2020, Mar 2020, Sep 2019, Mar 2019, Sep 2018

-Do they have to be evenly spaced out? I'm worried that I'm really struggling to find letters from all those months, as my husband covers all bills and we only have joint bank accounts (which seemed to only send letters occasionally!). Those are everything we got:

Feb 2021: HMRC (wife)
Oct 2018: bank statement (wife)
_Apr 2020: HMRC (wife)_
Apr 2020: Nationwide (joint) about savings rate change - is it okay?
Oct 2019: HMRC (wife)
Sep 2019: Barclays joint statement (_it’s a bit odd that it was husband's name above the address but then on the right hand side it shows both our names_)
Aug 2019: NHS (wife) - doesn't fit the month required though
Apr 2019: NHS (wife)
Mar 2019: Nationwide (joint) a correspondence, not statement though
Sep or Oct 2018: bank statement (wife)

-Also, I understand they need to come from at least 3 sources. I only have 3 sources, but do they have to be 2 letters from each source? I have 2 letters from NHS but Aug 2019 doesn’t fit the month required









Feb or Mar 2021: bank statement (husband)
Sep 2020: Mortgage statement (husband)
Mar 2020: NHS (husband)
Oct 2019: Water bill (husband)
Apr 2019: HMRC (husband)
Sep or Oct 2018: NHS (husband)

-We may have other joint bank account statements but they are online only (not sent in post for some reason)! Could I print them off for use?

-For bank docs, do they have to be bank statements? Are correspondences regarding interest rate change or other info okay too?

2) "Are you part of any social groups or do you have other cultural ties in your country of birth, nationality or any other country where you have lived for more than 5 years?"

My parents are in my country of birth which I answered in an earlier question but I'm not sure about this one. Could I answer NO and explain the following:

"I have been living and working in the UK for over 10 years and all my social networks are now in the UK."

3) Regarding home details, my husband owns the property, which I answered under "Who provides you with accommodation?".
Later there's another question "Do you currently live with parents, friends or family rent-free?" Should I answer NO here? Otherwise it asks for the same documents for the property owner, and in the document list in the end it shows those twice.

4) For financial requirements, I have a job but it's not continuous for last 6 months. I think I'll remove it, as it's easier to solely use my husband's income which is sufficient. Is it ok?

5) Do you have any other reasons for wanting to stay in the UK?
I said yes:
"We will continue to stay in the UK as we both have been working and living here for over 10 years. Our social circle, career and properties are in the UK. It also has excellent education systems. In general, it is a great country to continue building our future.
"
Is it ok? Do we need to provide any further evidence?


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

Yes they need to be evenly spaced but it doesn't need to be perfect. Just try not to have gaps of more than 6 months (per addressee) in between documents. If you need to submit an extra document or two in order to cover large gaps that is OK as long as you don't go overboard. What matters is the source, not the content of the document (statement vs. informational letter). You also don't need to line up your individually-addressed documents to the same month. You are probably overthinking this requirement - Does your post (joint and individual) show that you've been living at the same address as one another consistently? That's the question it's answering.

2) That's fine. This question isn't even important unless you fail to meet the requirements.

3) This is answered several times a week on this forum and I would recommend you do a forums search. Answer as you feel it's best, honestly, it's difficult to answer "wrong". It's just really badly worded.

4) Yes. If your husband's income meets the financial requirement on its own, ONLY include answers and documentation regarding his employment income, don't provide your own.

5) You can say "no" and leave it blank. You've given a subjective answer and it's not what they are looking for. Other reasons would be things that would cause your application to be considered under human rights grounds (e.g.: your children are British and live in the UK, you are a caregiver for someone in the UK who has no other help, your home country is war-torn) See my response to 2), same thing. If you've been living in the UK for over 10 years, is there a reason you're not making an application based on long residence (SET(LR))? If you would also be eligible under SET(LR) then you SHOULD mention that here


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

clever-octopus said:


> Yes they need to be evenly spaced but it doesn't need to be perfect. Just try not to have gaps of more than 6 months (per addressee) in between documents. If you need to submit an extra document or two in order to cover large gaps that is OK as long as you don't go overboard. What matters is the source, not the content of the document (statement vs. informational letter). You also don't need to line up your individually-addressed documents to the same month. You are probably overthinking this requirement - Does your post (joint and individual) show that you've been living at the same address as one another consistently? That's the question it's answering.
> 
> 2) That's fine. This question isn't even important unless you fail to meet the requirements.
> 
> ...



Thanks very much @clever-octopus and also for helping me understand the intent of the questions!

1) That's reassuring on the cohabitation letters. I only have 3 sources. I suppose they don't have to be 2 letters from each source?

3) I searched the forum and only found:
FLR(M) Online - Finacne - Home Details and








Property owner question re ILR Set M


Hi all, Just read another thread and I noticed I might made a huge mistake. The application is for my husband, and our flat is owned by me only. It was purchased before we got married. When we completed the application form, we chosed "own the property". Was this wrong? Will this cause the...




www.expatforum.com





I couldn't find how we answered it 2.5 years ago. So I plan to answer with: 
Q: Do you own or rent your home? A: Neither own nor rent. 
Q: Who provides you with accommodation? A: My husband who owns the property and covers all the costs.
And provide the property owner documents. Then on the next page:
Q: Do you currently live with parents, friends or family rent-free? A: No. (my husband is family but then this becomes a duplicate question as above).

5) Sounds like I'd better answer No then. I was thinking we need to provide strong reasons for wanting to stay. Our child is British and was born in the UK but is currently with grandparents in my country of birth (mainly stuck there due to the pandemic). I didn't apply for SET(LR) because it has a maximum days of absence and I think I'm just over that number.


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

Oh, another quick question:
Due to the pandemic, my husband's employer can't sign and post documents. The employment letter was digitally signed by DocuSign and the payslips can only be downloaded from online and can't be signed or stamped currently. Is that ok?


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

Digitally signed letter is OK, but if you can't get physical authentication of the payslips, the employer letter should ideally mention that they are authentic


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

Thanks very much again @clever-octopus! We'll ask.

About my earlier reply #3, do they make sense?


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

Yes and I think Crawford pointed this out to someone in a past post. The way you answer doesn't really matter, it's debatable if you should tick "own" vs "neither" and either choice is defensible since you'll provide evidence of your current accommodation (land registry and/or mortgage statement).


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

clever-octopus said:


> Yes and I think Crawford pointed this out to someone in a past post. The way you answer doesn't really matter, it's debatable if you should tick "own" vs "neither" and either choice is defensible since you'll provide evidence of your current accommodation (land registry and/or mortgage statement).


Thank you very much!

Last question, do I have to provide 2 letters each from my 3 sources?


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

No that's not a requirement.


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

Thanks so much @clever-octopus! 

I've now filled in the form and am preparing for the documents. In the "Other Documents", the second in the list is "Documents supporting my other reasons to stay in the UK". 

I'm a bit confused what it is about as I've changed my answer to Yes to the question "Could you and your partner live together outside the UK if necessary"? 

What documents do I need to provide here?


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

If you ticked "yes" to that question, then you need to decide yourself what documents support your claim to having other reasons to staying in the UK


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

clever-octopus said:


> If you ticked "yes" to that question, then you need to decide yourself what documents support your claim to having other reasons to staying in the UK


Thanks for the quick reply!

I must say something is odd or changed. I remember when I logged into my account the other day there was a message saying something like the application form has been updated, which I didn't pay attention to. There was a question like "Do you have any other reasons for wanting to stay in the UK?" but I don't seem to see it any more. 

There is only this question - "Could you and your partner live together outside the UK if necessary"? 
I answered yes, so I don't expect I need to provide documents supporting "other reasons to stay in the UK". But the document list page still shows "Documents supporting my other reasons to stay in the UK".
If I answered no, then it asked "Please explain why you and your partner cannot live together outside the UK".

It's confusing..


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

That's OK, if you didn't give other reasons for needing to stay in the UK, then you don't need extra evidence to show it. The document checklist is heavily flawed


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

clever-octopus said:


> That's OK, if you didn't give other reasons for needing to stay in the UK, then you don't need extra evidence to show it. The document checklist is heavily flawed


Thank you! 

I figured it out. The online summary doesn't show that second question "Do you have any other reasons for wanting to stay in the UK?" and you have to click "Back" on the Document list page to return to it. Now I answered no and that required document went away.

Back to the first question "Could you and your partner live together outside the UK if necessary", I just searched that people think it's ok to answer no and add a little explanation. So could I write something like:
"I have been working and living here for over 10 years. Our social circle, career and properties are in the UK. My partner is a UK citizen and will need a visa to work and live outside the UK. It will be very difficult for us to start a new life outside the UK."

I'm not sure what's the difference of intent on those 2 questions.


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## Snowynight (Mar 24, 2021)

-For the payslips, my partner asked if his company's HR can digitally sign them but hasn't heard back yet.

Quick question: 
-For bank statements, do I need to scan and upload the original paper statements or I can just download from my online bank account and upload them (which are exactly the same as the paper ones)?
-Are photos taken by mobile acceptable?


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## Heenal92 (11 mo ago)

Hi,
looking for advice, submitting my husbands ILR visa soon. Just looking for help on the cohabitation evidence. We bought of flat in June 2020 so we have documents for us together from 2020- present. However as they require evidence over the last 2.5 years. Can we use our precious address to cover the period 2019-2020.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Heenal92 said:


> Hi,
> looking for advice, submitting my husbands ILR visa soon. Just looking for help on the cohabitation evidence. We bought of flat in June 2020 so we have documents for us together from 2020- present. However as they require evidence over the last 2.5 years. Can we use our precious address to cover the period 2019-2020.


Yes ....


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## Heenal92 (11 mo ago)

Thank you.


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