# UK Spouse Visa Success



## husseinfatal (Feb 16, 2013)

Hi, 

So got the call this morning to say visa approved! Very nervous wait as they sent the "decision has been made email" on Thursday. 

Bit of background on our situation, we met nearly 7 years ago and been back and forward to see each other many times, she came over for 6 weeks last year..and we were married Jan 2013. We aimed to do the visa process straight away, but had many complications along the way! 

A few points i would like to make about the process which i hope might help some people as they use the forums search box looking for answers (i did many times!)

*Financial *

I have been on a temporary contract for two years (weekly pay), but that didn't hinder me in any way. I used my last 26 weeks payslips, and sent them off to my agency and had each one stamped as they don't use the old 'tear off' style payslips (online issued). I also had an index page of each payslip so the ECO could work out my earnings easily without having to go through each one! Submitted official bank statements as well and highlighted each pay in of my weekly wage. 

I also did not submit a P60 as the period i started my 26 weeks was actually May. I thought this might be an issue but the guidelines were clear that i was to submit one if it was in the period required. Reason i didnt submit one was that my earnings before this period were a bit hit and miss due to being agency and not having paid days off for Christmas etc, and although i was over the 18.6k required...it was a bit disjointed and would have been confusing!

I also had a 1000 pound overdraft which i was in constant use of, but i submitted a letter from Natwest saying it was in good order etc. 

*Accommodation*

I live with my sister and she very kindly submitted all the ownership documents (land registy, council tax and utilty and mortgage statement). We did not submit housing inspection report...but what i did submit was actually the Zoopla website print out which had all the details of the house, and detailed all the rooms in a document with all the pictures. We actually stayed there with my wife on her holiday last year so that would have helped. 

*Communication*

We have been together for 7 years so i had mountains of paperwork, but submitted 20 pages of skype, 20 pages of facebook messenger and the screenshot of emails. We also submitted 30 photos of our time together (printed on A4 and indexed). Included a lot of pics outside London landmarks which i thought helped! 

*Putting it all together*

I used an A4 plastic binder which was not ring binded, but actually had 50 plastic wallets inside which meant the VFS couldn't take it apart and easily fitted into the jiffy bag they use. Each section was indexed with sticky labels and had a cover letter for each section so the ECO had easy access to anything they wanted and wouldn't miss anything. 

All in all i was pretty confident, but heard horror stories of things being missed so was very nervous the last few days!


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

husseinfatal said:


> Hi,
> 
> So got the call this morning to say visa approved! Very nervous wait as they sent the "decision has been made email" on Thursday.
> 
> ...


Congratulations!!!!! your paperwork seems simple yet detailed enough. 

well done & welcome to the UK (wife)


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## QBOY1 (Nov 29, 2013)

My problem was putting it all together making it perfect, did you also have a cover letter of sponsorship so where you met etc plans for the future. Another question is I use my overdraft too will my bank be able to give me a letter to.


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## husseinfatal (Feb 16, 2013)

Yes had a cover letter detailing where we met and future plans. 

Just call your bank and see what they say, mine was natwest and they were happy to send a letter detailing my overdraft. 

TBH i looked it like i was earning what the required and could prove it, so why is my overdraft relevant? If it was they should look at my mortgage, credit card loans, gym memberships etc as well!


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## QBOY1 (Nov 29, 2013)

Thank you for your swift reply. Very grateful


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## husseinfatal (Feb 16, 2013)

No worries, good luck with it all!


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## Messiah (Mar 21, 2013)

Thanks for your post. it's really helpful and Congrats! 

We are submitting our docs in 2 weeks time.

just waiting on this months bank statement to come through as i want the official posted one then we all good to submit.

In the meantime collating info of Skype , Facebook logs - what is the best way to do this?

Also we have been married 1.5 years so my wife has printed 1 email both way me and her each per every month. We got lots of pics submitted, wedding and also trip we took to Thailand etc.

Just trying to make everything solid!

the A4 folder? i thought they wouldn't accept anything in folders and it had to be loose.


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## husseinfatal (Feb 16, 2013)

Seco Oxo Bio Display Book, Blue, 40 Pocket | Staples.co.uk

This is the folder we used, it was to ensure that the VFS people couldn't take anything out and it got lost before it got to the ECO. I then labelled each section with stickers sticking out for ease of reference.

For facebook i copied all the conversations into an a4 document, and submitted 20 pages (deleted all conversations and private words!). 

Skype i exported the call data into excel and did a text->columns on it so it made sense in excel (was a bit tricky to do but got there in the end).


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## kecravi (Apr 7, 2014)

Congratulations!!!

Mine is also a long-term relationship (9 years) and got married 1 and half years back. So it would be a lots of documents if I submit proof from the beginning. Shall I submit most of relationship proof after I got married or do I need equal amount of proof before marriage too? Any suggestion?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

I don't advise using a folder of any kind. You were successful in spite of it not because of it. The established way of doing it to create two piles, for originals and copies, in the same logical order (financials together, accommodation together etc) and then hold each pile together with strings or ribbons. You can use sheets to separate each section, and smaller valuable items like payslips and passports can be placed inside zipped see-through wallet for protection.


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## steesh182 (Jul 24, 2014)

Hey, I realise this is a fairly old thread now but planning on applying for my wife in the autumn. We've lived together for coming up 5 years and been married the past 3 and have a 2 year old daughter (who has a British passport). We are based in China and will use the bank savings route to apply. 

Do we really need to provide that much "evidence" of being together? Surely our relationship should be beyond any doubt by now..... Also the proof of savings should be fairly straight forward too. What are the really complex parts of the application that we need to look out for. For something that should really be straight forward for the right people it sounds really daunting.


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