# UK spouse visa approved! Here's how we did it.



## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

I promised myself that as soon as my UK Spouse Visa came through, I would put on here exactly how I did it to help any one in my position.

It was concluded in record time: 2 days; I am extremely grateful and know our prayers were heard.

My husband has 2 non-salaried jobs which together surpassed the required financial requirement. Therefore we applied solely under Category A. 
We met while on a trip overseas and were in a long distance relationship ever since. We met often and kept in touch - all of which we evidenced. 
This may not be your situation but I hope the way we arranged our documents and presented them would help you in your application. 

We used a large 2-ring plastic folder/binder filled with transparent poly-pockets into which we slipped in all relevant documents to that topic. I used tabbed cards in between each main section as well.

Contents

*1. My details*
a. Application (filled in online and printed and signed on both pages)
b. My particulars:
i. Passport (submitted my old passports too)
ii. Cover letter
iii. Passport and country of residence visa copy
iv. Original birth certificate and photocopy
v. IELTS original test results and photocopy
vi. Work details:
1. My resume
2. Employment letter from current workplace
3. Professional references
vii. Reserved travel ticket to the UK to be with my husband

*2. Sponsor details*
a. Cover letter from my husband (scanned and printed)
b. Sponsorship form SU07/12
c. Sponsor’s passport copy
d. Sponsor’s original birth certificate and copy
e. Reference letter in support of our application

*3. Appendix 2 form and supporting documents*
a. Appendix 2 (printed and filled out properly - for the second job, I answered all the questions they'd asked for the primary job in Part 5. Then I stated what the annual income from job #1 and job #2 were and added them to show the grand total)
b. Job 1 details
i. Contract 
ii. P60
iii. Payslips over a period of 6 months prior to date of application
c. Job 2 details
i. Contract
ii. P60
iii. Payslips over a period of 6 months prior to date of application
d. Sponsor’s financial information
i. Husband's saving's account e-statements (6 months with a bank stamp)
ii. Current account’s 6 month statement with incoming salary highlighted and a bank stamp
e. Applicant’s financial information (mine)
i. Savings account statement (6 months with bank stamp)
ii. Current account statement with incoming salary highlighted 
v. List of any money transfers between my husband and I - just a simple MsWord table with dates and what the transfer was for eg. wedding deposit, birthday gifts, rings etc.)


*4. Marriage details*
a. Civil ceremony
i. Original Marriage License
ii. Photocopy of marriage license
iii. Photos taken during registration 
b. Wedding ceremony
i. Original printed photos of wedding ceremony
ii. Wedding invitation
iii. Thank you note for our wedding guests and well wishers
c. Originals wedding cards we received for our wedding

*5. Accommodation*
a. Letter from landlord allowing me to reside with my husband
b. Tenancy agreement
c. Copies of rent payments 
d. Utility bill payment copy
e. Photos of residence
i. Living room
ii. Kitchen
iii. Master bedroom
iv. Spare bedroom
v. Bathroom

*6. Details of our meetings throughout our relationship*
a. Title with place and date (eg. Europe, August 2012)
i. Photos from the day we met
ii. Chat plans to meet up
iii.Ticket purchased for the trip (printed)
iv. Photos of the trip and time together with friends and family
v. Screenshots from our phones that show the location and date of when photos were taken (handy on the iPhone when you go into your Collections - this is to prove we made an effort to meet throughout our relationship)
*This section was repeated with all the trips we met up*
b. Scanned printouts of entry and exit stamps on our respective passports

*7. Communication details*
a. Logs of video calls:
i. Skype log of calls (screenshots taken from as far back as skype goes - it's not that hard and skype has a good log)
ii. Facetime logs from my phone (screenshots for over a few months as far as the memory went back - it wasn't too long)
iii. Screenshots of video calls
b. Email logs (Printscreen windows of emails we exchanged)
c. Chat logs 
i. Excerpts of Facebook chat messages (download via Facebook Archive)
ii. Screenshots of IMs - this one I went back as far as when we started using it, taking photos of every few days to show we are in constant communication. Better safe than sorry.
d. Timeline of our relationship printed from Facebook from beginning till present

That's all. 
When I went to submit my application, they removed the Application form, Appendix 2 and SU form from my carefully crafted folder and arranged them separately according to the Embassy requirements. 
Also I was asked to remove all originals that I wanted back and place them separately. This was ok because I had made photocopies of all the originals so they remained in their pre-arranged place in the giant folder.

I hope this helps anyone applying. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer to the best of my knowledge. 
Don't give up, keep the faith and you'll be writing a post like this in no time!


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## zakmuh (Aug 18, 2014)

Rain790 said:


> I promised myself that as soon as my UK Spouse Visa came through, I would put on here exactly how I did it to help any one in my position.
> 
> Don't give up, keep the faith and you'll be writing a post like this in no time!


Hi there,

Congrats! Very well organised and done application. Its a great relief eh! Could you also give us the following info, so that Indian subcontinent applicants get more clear idea on thier application. 

*Country applied from:
Date application submitted (online/ in person):
Date biometrics taken:
Date documentation was received by UK visa office:
Office location processing your visa:
Given visa processing timeline:
Date your visa was issued/received:*

Thanks


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## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

Thank you and yes of course! Such a huge relief, it was hard work. 

Country applied from: *UAE*
Date application submitted (online):* 12th Oct 2014*
Date biometrics taken: *28th Oct 2014*
Date documentation was received by UK visa office: *28th Oct 2014*
Office location processing your visa: *Abu Dhabi, UAE*
Given visa processing timeline: *1 month (priority settlement)*
Date your visa was issued/received: *Issued 30th Oct 2014, received 1st Nov 2014 *


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## GA2Wales (Sep 6, 2014)

Way too much unnecessary stuff, but congrats!


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## zakmuh (Aug 18, 2014)

Thank you very much! A friendly piece of advice...from the date you join your hubby, keep everything (bills, receipts etc) filed. You'd need them for your visa extension (FLR) application. 

Ba-bye to United Emirates and welcome to United Kingdom.Happy reunion with your hubby


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Things you didn't need:

Birth certificates
Resume
Professional references
Reference letter in support of application (what is this?)
Savings statements from either of you since you were relying on Category A
Applicant's current account statements
List of money transfers
Wedding invitation
Thank you notes
Wedding cards
Photos of your accommodation
Way too much communication info-more is not better. All you needed was 1-2 log pages only for every 6 months of separation. 10-15 photos from throughout your relationship including the wedding is sufficient.
Facebook timeline

You should not have booked a ticket until your visa was issued. Instead you should have supplied a sample itinerary of when you'd like to travel.


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## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

nyclon said:


> Things you didn't need:
> 
> Birth certificates
> Resume
> ...


Either way - we got a speedy reply so I am glad I did what I did. 

-The requirements did ask us for birth certs. 
-Resume and refs were to show I was keen to contribute by getting a job and that I have a skill set.
- Communication - each log filled up a max of 2 pages worth so it was not pages and pages of exhaustive text. 
- Photos - I had a total of 15 photos for the entire relationship - not excessive for never having lived together.
- Ticket - didn't know that but it's just a reservation done via a travel agency.


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## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

zakmuh said:


> Thank you very much! A friendly piece of advice...from the date you join your hubby, keep everything (bills, receipts etc) filed. You'd need them for your visa extension (FLR) application.
> 
> Ba-bye to United Emirates and welcome to United Kingdom.Happy reunion with your hubby


Thank you, that's very good advice! I will keep that in mind. I appreciate your positive response very much


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## CEYLONEE (Apr 4, 2014)

Rain790 said:


> Either way - we got a speedy reply so I am glad I did what I did.
> 
> -The requirements did ask us for birth certs.
> -Resume and refs were to show I was keen to contribute by getting a job and that I have a skill set.
> ...


CONGRATULATIONS.. Really its a wonderful news . Hope you will join your hubby as soon as possible to start a new life in UK....

..Wish you all the best..


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## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

CEYLONEE said:


> CONGRATULATIONS.. Really its a wonderful news . Hope you will join your hubby as soon as possible to start a new life in UK....
> 
> ..Wish you all the best..


Thanks! I wish you well for your application too


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Please point out where exactly it asked for birth certificates.


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## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

nyclon said:


> Please point out where exactly it asked for birth certificates.


I read it somewhere while gathering documents and it was not a problem to provide them in our application so I didn't see why not. Better safe than sorry.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Rain790 said:


> I read it somewhere while gathering documents and it was not a problem to provide them in our application so I didn't see why not. Better safe than sorry.


Unless something has changed in the past couple of weeks, birth certificates are not required. Your passport proves your age. Cluttering your application with a lot of unnecessary documents just adds to the caseworker's job. More, is definitely not better and the risk is that something required is overlooked trying to wade through unnecessary documents.


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## Rain790 (Dec 19, 2012)

nyclon said:


> Unless something has changed in the past couple of weeks, birth certificates are not required. Your passport proves your age. Cluttering your application with a lot of unnecessary documents just adds to the caseworker's job. More, is definitely not better and the risk is that something required is overlooked trying to wade through unnecessary documents.


Fair enough. 

Please understand that I was only expressing what I did in my application and not advising anyone to do the same. 

We are very excited to have gotten our response so quick and indexes from previous applicants on this forum helped us tremendously. So I only wished to pay it forward with exactly what I did too.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Rain790 said:


> Fair enough.
> 
> Please understand that I was only expressing what I did in my application and not advising anyone to do the same.
> 
> We are very excited to have gotten our response so quick and indexes from previous applicants on this forum helped us tremendously. So I only wished to pay it forward with exactly what I did too.


I understand and I'm happy your application was successful. However, you included a lot of documents that had no bearing on your application and would not have been taken into consideration. You were successful in spite of including a lot of things that didn't need to be included. For the benefit of future readers I have pointed out unnecessary documents.


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## zuk (Oct 27, 2014)

how nice congrats. just want to know how did you apply. as the carers way or Â£18600?


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## armani08 (Jan 4, 2014)

Hi

I have a question. For your skype and other instant messengers, does your username have to be your exact name? The reason I'm asking is because I am using my nickname and other funny names (nothing rude) in skype, bbm etc. Only my Facebook has my correct name.

Thanks


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## zaeedh (May 22, 2014)

Hey Rain congratulations on getting your visa, my wife is going to apply from the UAE in a weeks time using priority. Can i just ask how long it took for your documents to reach the UAE and which company you used?


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