# UK fiance visa: the definitive guide



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

I am not sure if I am being a bit over ambitious by calling this a “definitive guide”, but I thought that I should write about my experiences in our successful application for a UK fiancé visa. By fiancé visa I mean that you have to intend to marry IN THE UK within the permitted time (6 months from date of issue of the visa). You cannot get married in another country before you arrive and doing so causes a whole heap of problems.

Firstly, I should explain that I am the sponsor, but I was heavily involved in all of the completion of this application. In fact the only thing that I didn’t have a part in was the cover letter written by my fiancé. All of the information in this post is personal experience and knowledge gained from various forums and also from speaking to the UKBA directly. I couldn’t possibly provide you with the phone number for the office that takes care of these applications, because I shouldn’t have it and I wouldn’t want it to be abused. But I can assure you that I spoke to them on a number of occasions asking various questions that I couldn’t find answers to that were specific to my circumstances. I found that even the UKBA officers can be a little confused about things and some of them are better than others.

Although we managed to get the whole thing done in 20 days (from day of starting application to receiving the visa using Worldbridge) I would strongly recommend that you DO NOT LEAVE THIS UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE because it will save you a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Obviously, the UKBA don’t leave applicants much of a window by only allowing you to submit it within three months of the intended date of arrival in the UK. But you should take this into account and plan around that requirement.

One of my first questions at the start of this process was “What do I need to include in the application?” because the UKBA website is useless at explaining this. So here is what was in our application pack….

What you need to send:
•	Applicant Passport (original and photo copy of biometric page)
•	Application form (online)
•	Cover letters from applicant and sponsor (each written separately)
•	Sponsors declaration form
•	Appendix 2
•	Copy of sponsors passport
•	Decree absolute if applicable (original and photo copy)
•	Evidence of a lasting relationship
o Photos
o Air fares
o Emails
o Skype / Facetime history
o Phone bills
•	Evidence of wanting to get married
o Reservations
o Emails of enquiry
o Booking for wedding licence
o Photos / Receipts for rings
•	Sponsors financial evidence
o 6 months payslips (or a letter from employer)
o 6 months bank statements (include notes of explanation for large sums)
•	Sponsors evidence to provide accommodation
o Land registry print out
o Council tax bill
o Tenancy agreement if renting
•	Prepaid return envelope for return of original documents
•	Worldbridge receipt if applicable (put it on the very top)

Ok, so now you have the list. Please, if anyone spots any mistakes or anything glaringly obvious that I have left out, let me know and I will amend it.

Now let us look at some of those things in a little bit more detail…..

Applicant Passport: This need to be an original and in date document along with a couple of photo copies of the biometrics page and any existing visas etc. You don’t need to copy the whole thing cover to cover and it doesn’t need to be notarised. We did ours on a 3-in-1 inkjet printer/scanner. If you have more than one passport, send those too. The UKBA want to know where you have been and if you have declared travel that doesn’t show up on the passport that you sent to them, they will want to know about it and it could delay your application.

Application form: This was done online, paid for and then printed out to be sent to UKBA in Sheffield. Yes, Sheffield…. not New York.

Cover letters: These need to be written individually and independently. It doesn’t matter if they contain almost exactly the same information. That is expected and inevitable because after all you are both telling the same story. DO NOT look up examples online or you will fall into the trap of following its format which will be identified by the immigration officer and will make alarm bells go off. Make sure it is personal, not official/robotic and make sure you are honest with yourself (and talking more to the gentlemen here) make sure you talk about love and what you both hope for the future. Sponsors should also reiterate that they support the application and that they intend to support the applicant financially. A note for sponsors, I signed my letter, scanned it as a PDF and sent it for the applicant to print out and there were no issues with that.

The Sponsors declaration form and Appendix 2 are both self explanatory. You will be provided with links to them both upon completion of the online application. If you miss the links, they can both be found on the UKBA website. The sponsors declaration needs to be the original signed document.

to be continued.........


----------



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

Copy of sponsors passport: Cover to cover. That means every page, even if they are blank. I did mine in colour at a copy shop while I was in California. It wasn’t notarised and I only sent one copy. Obviously, this could make things infinitely easier because it could be scanned as a PDF and sent to the applicant instead of paying postage to send reams of documents to your fiancé. In fact, pretty much everything can be sent by email apart from the signed sponsors declaration and decree absolute if applicable.

Decree absolute: This, apart from the applicant passport, is the only original document that we sent. With photocopies of course.

Evidence of a lasting relationship: You have to have met and be able to provide evidence of this with photos together, with friends, with family. Also, you should evidence in the way of e-tickets for flights to see each other. Any correspondence between each other is useful, such as hand written letters, or card, or receipts for gifts (we included email invoices for flowers that I sent and Amazon orders). For emails, we sent “print screens” of an inbox search for the other persons name. This saves printing out all of the emails but it shows that you have been emailing each other. Print screens for Skype or Facetime call history is good. Think about Facebook because it is open source information that the UKBA can check and nearly everyone uses it, so if you are shown as engaged to each other on there, provide that too.

Evidence of wanting to get married: I would like to dispel a myth that I found on a lot of forums… IT IS POSSIBLE TO BOOK A WEDDING LICENCE APPOINTMENT. It can be a real pain to do, but I managed it. You will have to contact a designated registry office for this, and some of them won’t let you. For instance, Leicester won’t, but Dartford will. Some counties require you to have a wedding venue booked already, but some venues won’t let you book a wedding until the wedding licence appointment is booked. The easiest thing to do is find a designated office that will let you make the booking for the licence and get married there too. They will provide you with an email with confirmation which is worth its weight in gold in your application. If you struggle with getting your wedding licence appointment, you can request a letter from the superintendent registrar which will prove that you have enquired but that they aren’t able to provide you with the appointment until the applicant arrives in the UK. Beyond this, include photos or receipts for rings, invoices for wedding receptions, wedding cakes, dresses, tuxedos, etc.

Sponsors financial evidence: 6 months of payslips and 6 months of bank statements. Mine were all available online in PDF format so I just emailed them to the applicant. I also included a P60, but it wasn’t required. Again, nothing was notarised, just printed on an inkjet printer. I was told by the UKBA that if I didn’t have 6 months of payslips that I could include a letter from my employer stating my terms of employment and my salary. I didn’t ask anything about that because it wasn’t applicable to me. Make sure you attach explanatory notes to the front of your bank statement to explain any unusual transactions or movements of large quantities of money. Do not worry if you go into your overdraft each month. I was doing this by up to £400 on some occasions, but as long as it is cleared each month when you get paid I think it will be ok.

Sponsors accommodation: I think this is simple enough. A land registry printout if you own your home, which is available on the land registry website and doesn’t cost much. Other forms of evidence would be a mortgage statement, council tax bill, or tenancy agreement if you are renting. There seems to be some debate over addresses being over crowded or not fit for purpose. If this is the case for you, I would suggest you have other issues and should look at other peoples’ posts about obtaining official reports about your accommodation.

Prepaid return envelope: Some people have run into problems doing this, being unable to find a service that provides this service. What I did was create an account on FedEx UK and paid for postage from UKBA Sheffield back to the applicant. I then saved the postage slip as a PDF and sent it to the applicant to print out and put on an envelope. FedEx don’t charge you until the postage slip is scanned on collection, which is great, because from what I have read of other peoples experience (now including my own) the UKBA just send it back using their own FedEx account. So I didn’t get charged!

Worldbridge: I used them and it meant the turn around on it was just 20 days. I have no idea if using worldbridge means that the application is put under any less scrutiny and I cannot tell you how long your application will take to process. All I can offer is my experience, what I did and that it led to a successful application.

Well that’s it….. I hope it will prove useful so at least one person can benefit from it.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome. If anyone has questions I will try my best to answer but pretty much all that I know about fiancé visa applications is written above.

Toodle pip.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

How did you meet financial requirement, and under which category?
While you were successful in your application, there is no 'definitive list' of documents as each case is unique and your documentation must answer situations peculiar to you. There are some common elements - but the rest is specific to individuals so nobody should just copy and paste your list as sufficient or appropriate.
Also you applied in US, and other countries have their own peculiarities.


----------



## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

Seems like there are a few important docs missing. Employment letter and contract would be the obvious. Not entirely sure why you've suggested photocopying your whole passport either. 

A useful example for sure though.


----------



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

Joppa said:


> How did you meet financial requirement, and under which category?
> While you were successful in your application, there is no 'definitive list' of documents as each case is unique and your documentation must answer situations peculiar to you. There are some common elements - but the rest is specific to individuals so nobody should just copy and paste your list as sufficient or appropriate.
> Also you applied in US, and other countries have their own peculiarities.


Financial requirement through salaried employment.

I realise that there are peculiarities with all applications but there were some questions that I was unable to find answers for despite scouring the forums, for instance our issue with the applicant having two passports.

I started this post with the intention of sharing my experience and EXACTLY what I did in order to obtain a visa. I also said straight away that it was probably over ambitious of me by calling it a definitive guide. I didn't however call it a "definitive list".

I appreciate that you are very prominent on this forum Joppa, and a lot of the information I required was from posts made by you, and I thank you for that. I just thought it would be nice to have it all in one place along with some stuff I found out by myself through talking to the UKBA.

I would say that this is a pretty comprehensive guide for those who are full time employed, possibly divorced, possibly dual citizenship, and I thought it would cover the majority of cases.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.


----------



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

JrmHarding said:


> Seems like there are a few important docs missing. Employment letter and contract would be the obvious. Not entirely sure why you've suggested photocopying your whole passport either.
> 
> A useful example for sure though.


Photocopying of entire passport was one of the things I got from a forum. Granted that the UKBA didn't mention this. One of the occasions where I thought "better safe than sorry"

I called and spoke to UKBA and they said employment letter was not required as I had 6 months payslips and a P60. Also, my employer was not contacted as far as I know.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

I'm slightly surprised you were approved without employment letter. It isn't an alternative to pay slips and bank statement. Both the letter and payslips/statement are required. Again you may have been lucky or there were some peculiar situations (e.g. your payslips contained all the details required in an employment letter), but others looking at your guide shouldn't assume they can dispense with employment letter when complete payslips are supplied. Also a signed contract, when available, is required.


----------



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

I am just telling you what happened... If you want to change the title of the post, I don't care. I was offering what I thought was valuable information and insight and giving a little back to the forum on which I found many answers. But if all I am going to get in return is criticism and apparent disbelief, I will just take it elsewhere.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

There is no such thing as a definitive guide to settlement visa application. If there were, there would be no need for a forum like this. What we are here for is to offer general guidance, culled from official sources and practical experience, and then a forum for discussion on more obscure or unusual situations people encounter. Also there is no one 'right' way of applying for a visa. Provided you meet the basic requirements with required evidence, there is an element of choice in what else to include, and people with very similar circumstances choose different sorts of evidence and they are often equally successful. So your list of documents and explanation are an interesting and valuable snapshot of how one applicant successfully negotiated the visa business. Thank you.


----------



## WeWillGetThereOneDay (Nov 18, 2013)

Overdraft? Didn't think it came into account when they decide?


----------



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

WeWillGetThereOneDay said:


> Overdraft? Didn't think it came into account when they decide?


Some places I read about people getting all worried about this. And it worried me a little too when I started getting sucked into the panic.

From what other people seem to have experienced, overdraft is not a problem. I think I read someone talking about £1000+ overdraft that wasn't being cleared but instead was managed and their visa was passed.

Like I said, I was overdrawn on a number of the months that I supplied to the UKBA and I didn't have any issues.


----------



## tom83cat (Jan 22, 2014)

Joppa - I don't know if you are still following this post, but seeing as you are a moderator, do you mind changing the title of this post to "UK FIANCE VISA: Notes for guidance"?

I still feel that this is the most comprehensive single post I have ever seen on the subject, and I tried my best to cover everything, but granted, there are a few things that didn't apply to me such as the language test, letters from landlords, accomodation inspections etc.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

I will keep your original title, as I have commented on your choice.


----------



## thewordgirl (Dec 7, 2013)

Thank you for mentioning being ok with an overdraft! My fiance's bank statements show overdrafts, but they're always cleared by the direct deposit of his paycheck every time it comes in. That's one of the main things I was stressing over.


----------



## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

thewordgirl said:


> Thank you for mentioning being ok with an overdraft! My fiance's bank statements show overdrafts, but they're always cleared by the direct deposit of his paycheck every time it comes in. That's one of the main things I was stressing over.


Yeah, i was stressed about this as well, but my fiance has just been successful in attaining her Visa. Providing your fiances bank statements show the agreed overdraft amount at the top of his statements, and he doesn't ever go over the agreed amount and get fined for doing so, he'll more than likely be fine!

I think it's seen as something of a trust between you and your bank, if your bank are willing to agree and overdraft then they are placing a trust within you. Since the change in rules its a good thing the UKBA recognize this!

Good luck with your application!


----------



## Gloryboy (Feb 3, 2014)

*Thanks*

Hi, 
I just wanted to say this is a really useful guide. Although, as you all said it isn't definitive, it's still really useful as it gives more of an overview as to what you need and also the process.
Thanks again


----------



## belmonte (Apr 4, 2014)

Joppa said:


> There is no such thing as a definitive guide to settlement visa application. If there were, there would be no need for a forum like this. What we are here for is to offer general guidance, culled from official sources and practical experience, and then a forum for discussion on more obscure or unusual situations people encounter. Also there is no one 'right' way of applying for a visa. Provided you meet the basic requirements with required evidence, there is an element of choice in what else to include, and people with very similar circumstances choose different sorts of evidence and they are often equally successful. So your list of documents and explanation are an interesting and valuable snapshot of how one applicant successfully negotiated the visa business. Thank you.


Hey Joppa!

not sure if this is the right place to ask you, but since I used this guide extensively for my application I figured to put it here. 

My fiancé and I sent in our application with all the supporting documents -- for our proof of intention to marry section, we supplied a receipt of the ceremony booking that was sent in an email from the superintendent at the town hall. is this documentation valid enough proof that we intend to get married? I didn't send documents for our wedding reception. We aren't exchanging rings or buying flowers (we're same-sex male marriage). 

what would you say?


----------



## suziechew (May 1, 2012)

i'd like to add that we have booked our wedding in a registry office ,i have a confirmation letter to send off and the people in truro office ,were brilliant ,as i explained to them my issues with travel and appointments and that i have panic attacks they were more than happy to help me ,but my bigger issue is that because of this, i too am not planning on a big wedding (having done that before and tbh hated all the fuss and cost).i just wanted a simple stress free ceremony ,and maybe a bbq at home with our kids ,do u think it would be wise to state this in my cover letter ,explaining why i dont ,cant and wont be having a all out wedding ?


----------



## Martin1965 (Aug 12, 2014)

Am looking for the tiniest of clues to my visa outcome. On returning documents. Does anyone know if the returning package has now halved in weight.... Is there a clue to the outcome


----------



## belmonte (Apr 4, 2014)

@Martin1965 sorry mate - like many others pointed out, there is really no way of knowing the outcome of your visa application until you have the package in your hands. Neither from the language in their emails to you nor the weight of the package (I'm sure technically you could weigh the package to find a difference in mass, but it would nearly be impossible as you don't have a reputable sample size with which to experiment).

hope you receive a favourable answer soon!


----------



## Martin1965 (Aug 12, 2014)

Ty...for reply.. Due to arrive Friday...so not to long.


----------



## Cici1977 (Sep 3, 2014)

Can anyone tell me if all the documents submitted with my visa application (including photocopies) need to be in A4 size paper or is 8 1/2 x 11 ok? I brought a lot of paperwork back to the US with me (A4) but have now had to print several things here in the US before I submit my application. I'm afraid to send things to Sheffield in two different sizes. Thank you!


----------



## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

You can buy A4 from Staples/OfficeMax/your local office supplies store. A ream is about $12.


----------



## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

8.5" x 11" is acceptable as well.

You might also want to inquire at Staples/Office Max and ask if they can cut a LEGAL size ream of paper down to A4 for you... it's easy enough to do as A4 is shorter and narrower than LEGAL and any good paper cutter should have the marking guide lines on it... it might be slightly cheaper than buying the pre-cut A4 size.


----------



## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

The VAF4A Application and Appendix 2 don't print completely on US letter size. People have reported having the bottom of the form cut off.

If you cut down legal size paper, you will either need to own it already or buy it. It may not play nice in a printer with those cut edges.

I just ordered a ream of A4... inspired by this post. I had it shipped to a local Staples store to save on shipping, which would have cost as much as the ream of A4.


----------

