# UK Spouse Visa - Questions



## Xarain (Feb 15, 2012)

Hi all,

Hopefully this is the right place to post this. If not, I do apologise.

I'm a British Citizen myself, who was recently married to a US Citizen. We originally met online back in 2009, and began a relationship in 2010. We've met each other a few times in person, and eventually tied the knot last October whilst I visited her in the US. We're preparing to apply for the scary spouse visa to allow her to move in with me in the UK, but there's quite a few questions we'd like clearing up first to try ease our minds a bit. We're pretty new to this, so I apologise in advance if the questions seem a little silly.

1) Regarding finances, I can provide full detailed bank statements spanning back over the past 6 months, showing all money coming in and out of my account. However, my job doesn't actually provide me with payslips, they just pay in my salary straight into my bank. I do get letters from the bank now & again though (_which I guess you could consider being a payslip)_ confirming the payments made into my account from my job, but sadly I don't have 3-6 months worth of these, as I recently moved house and sadly lost some mail in the process. _(which can't be returned to me)_ 
All I can provide regarding work salary is some invoice documents which I submit to work, each showing how many hours/pay I've earned for each week. Also have a letter from work stating my position within the company, along with how many hours I work _(and pay I earn)_ each week. Would these be okay to submit for the visa application? Or would I somehow be required to get proper payslips?

2) I'm in the process of writing a cover letter confirming my support for the application. I heard somewhere that it may also be useful to have a parent write a supporting letter too. Is this true? If so, what would they write exactly?

3) As mentioned already, I originally met my wife over the internet a couple of years ago. Aside from a few face-to-face visits, we've mostly kept in contact via Skype, since it's much more efficient than paying a large amount of money to phone each other each night. Now, I know chatlogs can be submitted as part of an application, but the question is.. how much chatlogs should we provide? We have a LOT of chatlogs spanning over a period of near 2 years - To send all of those would require cutting down a forest to collect all the paper required for it. Should I just send pieces of random chatlogs? Or possibly chatlogs surrounding major events in our life?_ (ie. chat leading upto our visits, marriage.. etc)_ Or do I really have to send every piece of chatlog I possibly can?

4) My wife was unfortunately refused entry to the UK last year, due to lack of ties to the US, and lack of funds on her when she arrived. _(although she was granted temporary entry for a week)_ Of course, we never intended to break any immigration rules, but we're worried now that this refusal last year may hurt our chances in this application. My question here is, does previous immigration history impact the spouse visa application in any way? I've heard that it doesn't, but I'd at least like confirmation if that's the case.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advice. It'll be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,
- Xarain


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## Joanne_Manchester (Feb 18, 2011)

Hello

I believe that it is a legal requirement for your employer to give you payslips so the fact that you have to submit an "invoice" makes me think that you are self employed?
You should find out as soon as possible , you need to know if you have been paying tax or not. If they consider you self employment, you have to register yourself with the HM Revenue & Customs (you might need an accountant to sort out your tax). 
So you definately have to ask them for your payslips !!


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

Joanne_Manchester said:


> Hello
> 
> I believe that it is a legal requirement for your employer to give you payslips so the fact that you have to submit an "invoice" makes me think that you are self employed?
> You should find out as soon as possible , you need to know if you have been paying tax or not. If they consider you self employment, you have to register yourself with the HM Revenue & Customs (you might need an accountant to sort out your tax).
> So you definately have to ask them for your payslips !!


Or invoices if you are self employed.

One could correlate those invoices to your bank account.

The question would be if the original poster has done any tax returns (he would have to if self employed) those would be enough to probe income I guess...


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## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Re the Skype logs, my now-husband and I used emails primarily (and some phone calls, so I included the monthly phone bills with my supporting docs) during our courtship. We also met online, in Mar 2008, so by April 2011 there were a lot of emails! 

When I was preparing my supporting documents after the wedding, I decided not to burden the UKBA Entry Clearance Officer with the lot, lol, and chose to send a selection of one or two from each month we used email to communicate. It still formed quite a stack, fully two inches thick at least 

I chose the least mushy ones, btw, I figured they would appreciate not having to slog through all that, LOL!

I got my entry clearance visa and have been in the UK since mid-June 2011. The email stack certainly wasn't the only thing they used to determine we are a genuine couple but I think it helped.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Xarain said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Hopefully this is the right place to post this. If not, I do apologise.
> 
> ...


Sounds like you are a contract worker or self-employed. So as stated, send in copies of invoices and documents from your employer. Annual account prepared by you or your accountant for self-assessment, or self-assessment statement may be appropriate too.



> 2) I'm in the process of writing a cover letter confirming my support for the application. I heard somewhere that it may also be useful to have a parent write a supporting letter too. Is this true? If so, what would they write exactly?


If you think your finance isn't enough, you can ask your parents to support you. It can be something specific, such as living rent-free in their home, monetary contribution or a blanket 'we will support them when needed' sort of safety-net undertaking. You may ask them to complete and sign sponsorship undertaking form at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/visas/sponsorship-form.pdf. They need to send in suitable documentary evidence such as mortgage and bank statement.



> 3) As mentioned already, I originally met my wife over the internet a couple of years ago. Aside from a few face-to-face visits, we've mostly kept in contact via Skype, since it's much more efficient than paying a large amount of money to phone each other each night. Now, I know chatlogs can be submitted as part of an application, but the question is.. how much chatlogs should we provide? We have a LOT of chatlogs spanning over a period of near 2 years - To send all of those would require cutting down a forest to collect all the paper required for it. Should I just send pieces of random chatlogs? Or possibly chatlogs surrounding major events in our life?_ (ie. chat leading upto our visits, marriage.. etc)_ Or do I really have to send every piece of chatlog I possibly can?


Keep it reasonable. Just a representative sample each month will do. They want to see you did keep in touch while apart, not the actual content.



> 4) My wife was unfortunately refused entry to the UK last year, due to lack of ties to the US, and lack of funds on her when she arrived. _(although she was granted temporary entry for a week)_ Of course, we never intended to break any immigration rules, but we're worried now that this refusal last year may hurt our chances in this application. My question here is, does previous immigration history impact the spouse visa application in any way? I've heard that it doesn't, but I'd at least like confirmation if that's the case.


It does. Any recent immigration offence or incident will be looked at in detail, and it will almost certainly mean your application will take much longer to process than the standard 3 days currently being quoted. It's likely they will contact UKBA in London to investigate and go into the exact circumstances of her refused entry. While it doesn't in itself mean her visa application will fail, it will be a definite minus. What she must do is to own up under 'travel history' section of application and give full details of what happened. Never gloss over it or say it was a minor matter of misunderstanding etc. She should say she was in the wrong and regrets it. Provided that she acknowledges her mistake and has learnt from it, moves on and shows that she is meeting every condition for her spouse settlement visa, then that may be sufficient. But I don't make the decision. All you can do is to submit a first-class application and hope for the best.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Xarain said:


> 3) As mentioned already, I originally met my wife over the internet a couple of years ago. Aside from a few face-to-face visits, we've mostly kept in contact via Skype, since it's much more efficient than paying a large amount of money to phone each other each night. Now, I know chatlogs can be submitted as part of an application, but the question is.. how much chatlogs should we provide? We have a LOT of chatlogs spanning over a period of near 2 years - To send all of those would require cutting down a forest to collect all the paper required for it. Should I just send pieces of random chatlogs? Or possibly chatlogs surrounding major events in our life?_ (ie. chat leading upto our visits, marriage.. etc)_ Or do I really have to send every piece of chatlog I possibly can?


Same as you, me and my partner met over the internet, and we had some 18 months of chat logs on Skype. Our relationship started by using Skype's Instant Messaging, but by the end we were spending all day every day connected by Skype video.

Our chat log for the first year alone spanned almost 4500 pages(!) in a Word document - clearly, we couldn't send that! Instead we sent 12 screen samples. These included dated logs where the discussion was very evident that we were in a relationship, and a range of screens showing how we were spending nearly all hours connected by Skype video call on a daily basis. Given that we only had 4 photos, we felt this part of our evidence was pretty essential. Our application was successful, so I hope this helps.


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## Xarain (Feb 15, 2012)

Thanks all for the responses, very much appreciated!

Regarding my finances question, yes I am a contract worker for an online American-based company. I was only hired in recent months, so I do not have a self-assessment form to present yet. (I will look into this though) I do however, have the following; 

The invoices available
My work contract
A recent note from my boss stating the amount of hours I'm contracted to work each week & how much pay I receive.
A couple of notices from the bank stating that my account has been credited with my salary, stating how much was paid in and the name of the company which paid it in. (although the first few of these have been lost)
A large collection of utility bills, along with various other bills such as shopping lists (I order food shopping weekly online), showing clearly how much expenses I pay out each month.
6 months worth of bank statements, which clearly show payments coming in from my workplace, and that I'm clearly earning enough to support two people without having to rely on benefits.
Just to confirm, will the above documentation be enough to cover the financial aspect of the application? Or should I somehow try get some of those bank notices that I've lost? (Sorry for asking this again, I'm just wanting to be 110% sure with this application)

Regarding the chatlog question, thanks for all the advice here. I'll have a long look through the chatlogs later, and pick out segments from each month to present. 



> It does. Any recent immigration offence or incident will be looked at in detail, and it will almost certainly mean your application will take much longer to process than the standard 3 days currently being quoted. It's likely they will contact UKBA in London to investigate and go into the exact circumstances of her refused entry. While it doesn't in itself mean her visa application will fail, it will be a definite minus. What she must do is to own up under 'travel history' section of application and give full details of what happened. Never gloss over it or say it was a minor matter of misunderstanding etc. She should say she was in the wrong and regrets it. Provided that she acknowledges her mistake and has learnt from it, moves on and shows that she is meeting every condition for her spouse settlement visa, then that may be sufficient. But I don't make the decision. All you can do is to submit a first-class application and hope for the best.


Thanks for the honest answer, Joppa. Unfortunately, I'm now very worried about her chances. We figured it would be okay for her to visit for a couple of months last April, but she was denied entry as she hadn't bought documentation with her to prove ties back to the US, along with lack of funds. Furthermore, I had a look around today, and have discovered quite a few people having their spouse visa applications refused simply because they haven't been married too long. (ie. less than 2 years) We were only married in October last year, which was only 5 months ago..
Will there be a section on the application to declare previous refusals, or should we draft up a note to submit with the application to explain the reasoning behind it? Either way, I'll take note of your advice, and admit we were in the wrong. (which is true really, we didn't do enough research at the time)
On that note, she recently received a new passport due to her change in surname. Most notably, the new passport has no refusal stamp in it, or any mention of previous refusals in it. Is this normal? I would assume though that the UKBA will still have a record of the refusal, which will show up when she submits her passport with the application.

I'm trying hard to be positive about the application. I have plenty of documentation for each of the points the UKBA are requesting, but I can't help but feel deflated about our chances now. Do we still stand a decent chance? Have there been others in a similar position to ours who did get a positive outcome? It's killing me to me apart from her.. all we want is to simply be together on a permanent basis.

Thanks for the advice so far, you guys have been great.  I apologise for the overload of questions.

-X.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Xarain said:


> Thanks all for the responses, very much appreciated!
> 
> Regarding my finances question, yes I am a contract worker for an online American-based company. I was only hired in recent months, so I do not have a self-assessment form to present yet. (I will look into this though) I do however, have the following;
> 
> ...


I think you have sufficient documents to prove your finances. Just invoices, work contract and bank statement (highlight payments received) should do. 



> Regarding the chatlog question, thanks for all the advice here. I'll have a long look through the chatlogs later, and pick out segments from each month to present.
> 
> Thanks for the honest answer, Joppa. Unfortunately, I'm now very worried about her chances. We figured it would be okay for her to visit for a couple of months last April, but she was denied entry as she hadn't bought documentation with her to prove ties back to the US, along with lack of funds. Furthermore, I had a look around today, and have discovered quite a few people having their spouse visa applications refused simply because they haven't been married too long. (ie. less than 2 years) We were only married in October last year, which was only 5 months ago.


It's not so much how long you've been married as the quality of your relationship. So enclose evidence of deep, enduring relationship leading up to your marriage. 



> Will there be a section on the application to declare previous refusals, or should we draft up a note to submit with the application to explain the reasoning behind it? Either way, I'll take note of your advice, and admit we were in the wrong. (which is true really, we didn't do enough research at the time)
> On that note, she recently received a new passport due to her change in surname. Most notably, the new passport has no refusal stamp in it, or any mention of previous refusals in it. Is this normal? I would assume though that the UKBA will still have a record of the refusal, which will show up when she submits her passport with the application.


There is a question, 'Have you ever been refused entry...?' under Travel History so you declare it there. Having new passport won't help - they look up their database using previous surname and DOB. Omitting to own up to your immigration offence means 100% rejected application for dishonesty.
Say it was an honest mistake/oversight and you regret it in a covering letter. As I said, while it will be a negative factor, it should not mean rejection provided you own up and you meet all the conditions for spouse visa. Three main things are: accommodation, finance and genuine, durable relationship. I think you have a chance but you won't know until you apply. I'd say go for it!


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## Xarain (Feb 15, 2012)

Thank you so much for all the advice/help, I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it!

Finances - Yeah, I was thinking of adding a quick note to highlight the payments on my statements. Thankfully, the statement clearly shows the name of the company who credited my account, so that'll hopefully be a plus.

Regarding the quality of the relationship, we're a very close, affectionate couple. (sickeningly close to most people, heh) Despite the fact a lot of our relationship has been long-distance/online, I believe we have plenty of evidence to prove how deep our relationship is. Thanks for mentioning this, it's eased my mind quite a bit.



> There is a question, 'Have you ever been refused entry...?' under Travel History so you declare it there. Having new passport won't help - they look up their database using previous surname and DOB. Omitting to own up to your immigration offence means 100% rejected application for dishonesty.
> Say it was an honest mistake/oversight and you regret it in a covering letter. As I said, while it will be a negative factor, it should not mean rejection provided you own up and you meet all the conditions for spouse visa. Three main things are: accommodation, finance and genuine, durable relationship. I think you have a chance but you won't know until you apply. I'd say go for it!


I had a feeling it'd be in their database, otherwise it'd be too easy to erase ones immigration history. The fact is though, it really was an honest mistake/oversight, we had no intention of having her overstay her visit here. We sadly just didn't do enough research into how to prepare properly to pass through border control on a slightly lengthy visit. It definitely is a major regret for both of us, and we've definitely learnt our lesson from it. (the fact I'm asking around for questions here is evidence alone that we're researching more this time! heh)
Based on your advice, we'll just be completely honest and put together a cover letter to explain the matter in further detail.

Regarding the rest of the application, I'm fairly confident we have all the required documents now. (I'd only had concerns with the finance part, which has now been cleared up) Just one more question though; As part of the application to prove my own identity as the sponsor, and the fact I'm a UK citizen, would I be required to send over my UK passport as part of my wife's application? Or would a photocopy of the photograph pages from my passport be sufficient? Is there anything else I'd need beside this, and my original birth certificate to fully prove my identity?

While I know now that her negative immigration history will count against us, we will definitely be attempting this visa application still, just as long as we still have a chance of it being successful. 

Thanks for everything so far, your advice really is much appreciated.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Xarain said:


> As part of the application to prove my own identity as the sponsor, and the fact I'm a UK citizen, would I be required to send over my UK passport as part of my wife's application? Or would a photocopy of the photograph pages from my passport be sufficient? Is there anything else I'd need beside this, and my original birth certificate to fully prove my identity?


Just a photocopy of the bio (photograph) pages is needed, because the UKBA will already have your passport details on file. For our application (I too was sponsor), I also sent my birth certificate and everything else pertaining to any past name changes I'd had. The latter were probably unnecessary as I used these same documents when applying for my passport, but I included them as a failsafe.


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## Xarain (Feb 15, 2012)

> Just a photocopy of the bio (photograph) pages is needed, because the UKBA will already have your passport details on file. For our application (I too was sponsor), I also sent my birth certificate and everything else pertaining to any past name changes I'd had. The latter were probably unnecessary as I used these same documents when applying for my passport, but I included them as a failsafe.


Thanks! That's just what I was hoping. 

I think that's all the questions I have for now, we'll be spending the weekend going through all of our documentation, and will hopefully get started on the application itself before the month is out. Still a tad worried though regarding her immigration history, as mentioned in earlier posts, but we'll give it our best shot.

Thanks to all who've taken the time to answer my questions.


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