# Applying for American wife to move to UK



## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Hi

I already know we need to complete and submit the VAF4A.

My question is, the form seems a little confusing. I want to know if the form is to be filled in from her perspective or mine (me the UK citizen and sponsor). I guess it seems all fine and understandable that it is from her perspective until section 5 which baffled me because I'm unsure as to why they would want my wife's financial information when I am applying for her here?

Can someone please clear this up for me, I'd be ever so greatful.

Thank you


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## Liz in UK (Jul 31, 2011)

I believe it should be your wife filling it out, from her perspective. As for section 5, while it will primarily be the sponsor's income that the UKBA will be looking at for the funds needed to support the two of you, they ask about the applicant's finances as your spouses current income may give some indication as to how employable your spouse may be in the UK. Also, say your wife has $50,000 in a savings account. That will be enough to support her without recourse to public funds while she looks for a job in the UK, and at the moment (to my knowledge) the UKBA is still taking foreign savings into account when considering applications, though that may change in the coming months.

As a disclaimer though, I will say I am not an expert, and am just giving you information based on my experience. I'm sure someone else will be along shortly with a more definitive answer.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks very much Liz. I did assume it would be her filling it in, just seemed a bit irrelevant to me that she would need to complete the finances side if I am her sponsor. 

Onto the sponsor/section 5 side though. If her details are occupying the spaces on the online form, do you have any idea as to where I would put my sponsorship/financial infomation? 

I am trying to get this application through and acknowledged before the regulations change in April (as I understand)


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## Liz in UK (Jul 31, 2011)

To be perfectly honest, I don't remember. Looking back at my saved application from a year ago, I filled out my details in section 5 and then it asked for my sponsor's details in section 7. It may be an idea to print out the old paper format of the application form and have a look at it in its entirety then fill out the application online.


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## manny.j (Dec 4, 2011)

billybubba said:


> Thanks very much Liz. I did assume it would be her filling it in, just seemed a bit irrelevant to me that she would need to complete the finances side if I am her sponsor.
> 
> Onto the sponsor/section 5 side though. If her details are occupying the spaces on the online form, do you have any idea as to where I would put my sponsorship/financial infomation?
> 
> I am trying to get this application through and acknowledged before the regulations change in April (as I understand)


Don't worry, as Liz in the UK stated, when you come to Section 7 that is where you will include your Financial and Employment information. If your wife is not working, you can always comment in her section she is supported by you (spouse).


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Yes, she currently is not working and I do support her from the UK. We would like to mitigate costs hence the application to move here.

In terms of the documentation I need. What would I need? I know currently that we need to provide the marriage certificate, a sample of our conversation logs, telephone records, text message records (if possible). What else should I include? I have managed to dig out some ticket stubs from when I went to visit her in September. She has also found the two ticket stubs for the two occassions she came to visit me.

Can someone lay out for me...(I know I'm asking alot!) what else or everything I would need? Hiring someone to put information that I already have together seems quiet pointless to me. The application process seems to be quiet straighforward and honestly, with the 4k fees for her to bring her beloved cat I would prefer not to hire someone for this!

Thanks for everyone posting so far, I appreciate it so much.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Yes, she currently is not working and I do support her from the UK. We would like to mitigate costs hence the application to move here.
> 
> In terms of the documentation I need. What would I need? I know currently that we need to provide the marriage certificate, a sample of our conversation logs, telephone records, text message records (if possible). What else should I include? I have managed to dig out some ticket stubs from when I went to visit her in September. She has also found the two ticket stubs for the two occassions she came to visit me.
> 
> ...


You need evidence of your relationship, from your first contact and meeting to the present day, plus evidence of joint financial responsibility.
You have main ones already. Some photos would be useful, of you together, and with other recognisable people like parents, relatives and friends (annotate them), such as wedding photos. You both should write a brief letter setting out your relationship from your point of view, such as how you first got into contact, first met, growing feeling for each other, engagement and marriage and hope and plans for the future. You'll also need , if you have them, statement of joint bank account, joint tenancy/rental and insurance policy (health, accident, auto etc). Others enclose testimony from friends, parents etc.

Other documents relate to housing/accommodation - where you are going to live, rented/mortgaged/owned or living with relatives (in that case you need an offer letter), and your maintenance (finance), such as job contract, pay slips, bank statement (past 3-6 months), savings statement. Your wife's job prospect in UK, such as CV and sample job vacancy she can go for with salary offered.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks very much for clearing this up for me.

I just want to make sure that I have filled in the correct fields on the visa4uk site.

Type of Visa should be settlement.
Purpose of Application should be settlement
Type of application should be Husband or is it meant to be Wife since she is my wife joining me or is it that I am her husband she is joing (in context of the form...) sounds confusing sorry, maybe I am confusing myself

Someone kindly advise please?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Thanks very much for clearing this up for me.
> 
> I just want to make sure that I have filled in the correct fields on the visa4uk site.
> 
> ...


Type of application relates to the applicant's status. So if it's your wife's application to join you, her husband in UK, then it should be Wife.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Type of application relates to the applicant's status. So if it's your wife's application to join you, her husband in UK, then it should be Wife.


As I thought. Excellent stuff. Thanks very much. That is all for now!!

I can't thank you all for posting and clearing things up for me. You owe me nothing and yet you all helped out of the goodness of your hearts.

I cannot extend nor express my gratitude. For now I will focus on completing the online form. Afterwhich, I am sure I will be posting here more about my next steps.

Until then, farewell my friends!


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

OK

Application form now complete online. Fee has not been paid yet. We will once we have all our documentation together.

I have a list of what I think I will need. 

* Bank statements from me and her. Mine show me sending her money, hers show her receiving.
* Passports for both me and her, do I send my original to her to America? Does she send her original in?
* Marriage cerificate, do we send an original or a copy?
* Skype logs, does this have to be all of our skype conversation logs or can it be random snap shots? What's the recommendation? A document where we paste snapshots of convos from random days, maybe 3 days per week from last September to now? 
* Call logs - I've printed her verizon bill, it shows only the last 30 days unfortunately. Which sucks because if I want any further backwards I apparently have to subpoena verizon and take them to court (or well she has to). I am also requesting o2 to provide my full history log.
* A letter from my parents denoting she can stay at home 
* A letter from my brother denoting she can stay at home (parents and brother are on mortgage)
* Do I need to provide mortgage statements?

I was thinking my house is a little crowded and that I may just rent a house instead. Would it be best or ok if I went and got a tenancy agreement contract for April which is when we plan for her to move? Would it be sufficient to have a tenancy agreement or best to show my parent's house?

What else will we need in terms of documentation? We have a couple of pictures together...I'm not really a picturey person...I can count maybe 3/4 pictures of me and her....we didn't have a ceremony and I explained this on my letter of sponsor (due to financial reasons) however we do plan to have a full ceremony once she is here and once we have had a chance to save some money. We married at the registrar and had a couple pictures taken too although we weren't really dressed for the ocassion. My wife's mother did witness the marriage and also signed as a witness.

Would any of the above be an issue? Is there anything else I'll need? Do I need to have my statements stamped by the bank or will online statements do? I do have the printed statements they send to my home however I will need to dig these out. 

Please advise. I know my post has been a bit hay wire here there everywhere, I hope I didn't confuse anybody!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

> Do I need to have my statements stamped by the bank or will online statements do? I do have the printed statements they send to my home however I will need to dig these out.


Yes, they either need to be the originals sent to you at home, or they need to be officially stamped and signed by the bank if they are on-line statements.



> Does she send her original in?


Yes, she sends her passport in. This is where the the visa is attached.



> Bank statements from me and her. Mine show me sending her money, hers show her receiving.


I don't think anyone needs to know or will care if you send her money. It's important to show that you can support her once she's in the UK by showing that you have £105.95/week after paying rent and council tax.



> Skype logs, does this have to be all of our skype conversation logs or can it be random snap shots? What's the recommendation? A document where we paste snapshots of convos from random days, maybe 3 days per week from last September to now?


Don't go crazy. They don't need to know exact conversations, just that you keep in touch. They want to know that you have been maintaining regular contact so a few screen shots are fine.



> I can count maybe 3/4 pictures of me and her....we didn't have a ceremony and I explained this on my letter of sponsor (due to financial reasons) however we do plan to have a full ceremony once she is here and once we have had a chance to save some money. We married at the registrar and had a couple pictures taken too although we weren't really dressed for the ocassion.


They just need to see that you've actually met. They don't care how you're dressed or what kind of ceremony that you had or whether you'll be having some kind of blessing ceremony in the future (you're already married so you can't have another "full" ceremony).


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> * Passports for both me and her, do I send my original to her to America? Does she send her original in?


No. Just a black-and-white photocopy of the bio pages of your passport (no need to be certified etc). As stated, she has to send her original.



> * Marriage cerificate, do we send an original or a copy?


This has to be an original (i.e. certified by the state), plus photocopy if you want it back.



> * A letter from my parents denoting she can stay at home
> * A letter from my brother denoting she can stay at home (parents and brother are on mortgage)
> * Do I need to provide mortgage statements?


In the letters they need to state they are offering you accommodation in their property, free of rent, council tax and utility bills. Include the number of bedrooms and how many in total will be living. They need to attach a mortgage statement, council tax or utility bill.



> I was thinking my house is a little crowded and that I may just rent a house instead. Would it be best or ok if I went and got a tenancy agreement contract for April which is when we plan for her to move? Would it be sufficient to have a tenancy agreement or best to show my parent's house?


The house needs at least 3 bedrooms if your parents, your brother and you two will be living. You don't need to take out tenancy of a place of your own now, as you'll have to pay rent straightaway. You can send in details of the property you hope to rent, indicating size and amount of rent. Letting agent's particulars will be suitable. Remember you will need to show you have resources to pay rent and council tax on top of maintenance (£105.95/week). Perhaps you can say that you will be living with your parents to start with, and then move into your own place shortly after. I'm sure your wife would want to have a say about your new marital home.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

nyclon said:


> I don't think anyone needs to know or will care if you send her money. It's important to show that you can support her once she's in the UK by showing that you have £105.95/week after paying rent and council tax.


Sorry, I should have been a little more explanatory. The reason why I said I would show statements of sending her money is because she has been using that money to maintain and keep current her Student Loan and also her Car repayments. I thought it would be relevant under "joint finances" of some sort?


Thanks for your responses guys. Apart from what I've listed, would there need to be anything else I/we need to provide that I've missed? I want to make sure this application is approved first time rather than have a whole web of appeals etc or rejection.....

Thanks in advance


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Sorry, I should have been a little more explanatory. The reason why I said I would show statements of sending her money is because she has been using that money to maintain and keep current her Student Loan and also her Car repayments. I thought it would be relevant under "joint finances" of some sort?
> 
> 
> Thanks for your responses guys. Apart from what I've listed, would there need to be anything else I/we need to provide that I've missed? I want to make sure this application is approved first time rather than have a whole web of appeals etc or rejection.....


Enclose a letter written by both of you (one each) setting out your relationship from your standpoint from when you made the first contact, growing attraction to each other, engagement, marriage and hope and plan for the future (i.e. to settle permanently in UK). Keep it to the point and no longer than two pages of A4 or quarto.


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## lonscotgib (Feb 27, 2012)

*what are our chances*

Hi Everyone I have lived in the states for almost 8 years as and married my american born wife here in 2004 we started off in mass where we both had jobs then last september I lost my job as compnay closed down we moved to florida where we bought a mobile home together was not over expensive but we paid for it outright the thing is I am getting unemployment where my wife is not as she left her job to move here to florida we both have been looking for work but nothing has come up also I feel i want to return to uk as i am 59 and wife is 52 and I would like to get to know my grandkids and my kids again I miss them we have been offerd somewhere to stay in uk rent free until i can find somesort of work we have around $90'000 in cd and savings accounts also I downloaded the visa forms can i use these to send in with our paper work I dont want to leave my wife of almost 8 years behind why should I i was born in uk lived there till i moved here in 2004 I would just like to know what anyone thinks of my chances thank you all


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

lonscotgib said:


> Hi Everyone I have lived in the states for almost 8 years as and married my american born wife here in 2004 we started off in mass where we both had jobs then last september I lost my job as compnay closed down we moved to florida where we bought a mobile home together was not over expensive but we paid for it outright the thing is I am getting unemployment where my wife is not as she left her job to move here to florida we both have been looking for work but nothing has come up also I feel i want to return to uk as i am 59 and wife is 52 and I would like to get to know my grandkids and my kids again I miss them we have been offerd somewhere to stay in uk rent free until i can find somesort of work we have around $90'000 in cd and savings accounts also I downloaded the visa forms can i use these to send in with our paper work I dont want to leave my wife of almost 8 years behind why should I i was born in uk lived there till i moved here in 2004 I would just like to know what anyone thinks of my chances thank you all


With $90k in savings, you should stand a good chance of being approved for a visa even without current employment. Just collect correct documentation regarding your relationship, maintenance (funds) and accommodation (e.g. a letter of offer from householder). If you are due for a pension when you reach 65, include the details as well.


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## lonscotgib (Feb 27, 2012)

Thank You Joppa


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

lonscotgib said:


> Hi Everyone I have lived in the states for almost 8 years as and married my american born wife here in 2004 we started off in mass where we both had jobs then last september I lost my job as compnay closed down we moved to florida where we bought a mobile home together was not over expensive but we paid for it outright the thing is I am getting unemployment where my wife is not as she left her job to move here to florida we both have been looking for work but nothing has come up also I feel i want to return to uk as i am 59 and wife is 52 and I would like to get to know my grandkids and my kids again I miss them we have been offerd somewhere to stay in uk rent free until i can find somesort of work we have around $90'000 in cd and savings accounts also I downloaded the visa forms can i use these to send in with our paper work I dont want to leave my wife of almost 8 years behind why should I i was born in uk lived there till i moved here in 2004 I would just like to know what anyone thinks of my chances thank you all


Hi there, I know you are seeking help like I am. I don't want to seem rude however please make your own thread and do not hijack mine....

Thank you


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Ok, I am a little confused now.

On the ukvisa4u website, it says:
When you apply, please have the following information ready:

your passport
your address in the UK
your travel itinerary
a valid email address, for security reasons - we will contact you at this address regarding your online application.


Does this mean we need to have her travel booked? On the question where it asked "what date do you intend to travel" we entered 30th April as a ballpark date. However, we don't have anything booked.

Do we need something booked?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Ok, I am a little confused now.
> 
> On the ukvisa4u website, it says:
> When you apply, please have the following information ready:
> ...


No. Don't book anything yet till you get your visa. All they want is proposed travel plan - just print out the flight you'd like to take. 
As for travel date, if you want to fly out as soon as your visa is issued, put a date a few days from now and it will be valid from date of issue. But if you definitely can't leave before a certain date, put that down if it's within 3 months. Should you get your visa sooner than expected and you want to bring forward your travel plan, UKBA won't change the 'valid from' date, so be careful.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Joppa said:


> No. Don't book anything yet till you get your visa. All they want is proposed travel plan - just print out the flight you'd like to take.
> As for travel date, if you want to fly out as soon as your visa is issued, put a date a few days from now and it will be valid from date of issue. But if you definitely can't leave before a certain date, put that down if it's within 3 months. Should you get your visa sooner than expected and you want to bring forward your travel plan, UKBA won't change the 'valid from' date, so be careful.


Thanks Joppa. What you are saying essentially is the date we give as her date to travel, will be her "valid from date"? How many months after her visa approval/valid from date does she have to travel here on her Visa? 

Would it be best for us to enter a date soonest rather than later i.e. March 30th as opposed to April 30th?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Thanks Joppa. What you are saying essentially is the date we give as her date to travel, will be her "valid from date"? How many months after her visa approval/valid from date does she have to travel here on her Visa?
> 
> Would it be best for us to enter a date soonest rather than later i.e. March 30th as opposed to April 30th?


She can travel right till the 'valid until' date but that won't give her any time to stay. She should come over as soon as it is practical after buying ticket etc. Put an earlier date if she wants to come over as soon as possible, later date if she wants to or has to wait ( e.g. for business, sorting out personal affairs, packing and sending stuff).


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks ever so much Joppa. Can I also ask....how long from the "valid from" date do they usually allow for entry? Is it 3 or 6 months?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Thanks ever so much Joppa. Can I also ask....how long from the "valid from" date do they usually allow for entry? Is it 3 or 6 months?


Your wife's settlement visa is valid 27 months. She can travel at any time during this period. But she needs to be in UK for 2 years before she can apply for her indefinite leave to remain (ILR). So don't delay her travel so as not to cut too much into the 3 months' leeway. If she books her ticket to travel about a couple of weeks after getting her visa, that will be fine and hopefully there are still competitive fares available.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Your wife's settlement visa is valid 27 months. She can travel at any time during this period. But she needs to be in UK for 2 years before she can apply for her indefinite leave to remain (ILR). So don't delay her travel so as not to cut too much into the 3 months' leeway. If she books her ticket to travel about a couple of weeks after getting her visa, that will be fine and hopefully there are still competitive fares available.


Thanks for your post Joppa. Yes, the competitive part my be an issue especially with Olympics coming up soon. At the moment the market seems surprisingly competitive, 565£ return.

I am very concious and unsure about the date of intent to travel. We don't envisage her travelling before then as we need to save some money but I don't want them delaying or taking time with the application because we don't intend to until then. Will that be the case?


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Ok I think this will be my final question...thanks for persevering...

With regards to criminal convictions. What does she need to submit? She's not a jailbird or anything but she has some traffic violations like speeding and also a misdemeanour for disturbing the peace. These were really long ago. 

Do we need to obtian the records from the police or the courthouse or can we enter them as rough dates?

Also, she has had numerous "speeding" tickets mostly 5miles p/h over the limit or so. Do we need to get each individual instance and list?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

billybubba said:


> Thanks for your post Joppa. Yes, the competitive part my be an issue especially with Olympics coming up soon. At the moment the market seems surprisingly competitive, 565£ return.
> 
> I am very concious and unsure about the date of intent to travel. We don't envisage her travelling before then as we need to save some money but I don't want them delaying or taking time with the application because we don't intend to until then. Will that be the case?


No. Provided you put the travel date within 3 months.



> With regards to criminal convictions. What does she need to submit? She's not a jailbird or anything but she has some traffic violations like speeding and also a misdemeanour for disturbing the peace. These were really long ago.
> 
> Do we need to obtian the records from the police or the courthouse or can we enter them as rough dates?
> 
> Also, she has had numerous "speeding" tickets mostly 5miles p/h over the limit or so. Do we need to get each individual instance and list?


Normally you disclose all convictions, unless they would be regarded as spent if the convictions were in UK. You don't need to disclose speeding fines unless you actually had to appear in court. If they were simply paper exercises - you received a ticket and you paid the fine, then no. 

Thing like disturbing peace should be disclosed unless it happened, say, more than around 5 years ago and didn't result in jail sentence. I'd err on the side of caution and disclose it, and UKBA can either ignore it or note it. Better to be seen as scrupulously honest than dishonest.

When disclosing, unless it was a serious conviction with jail term etc, just enter date, nature of offence and sentence/outcome. Don't mention anything which was thrown out by the court.

People have been denied settlement because of recent drink-drive (DUI) conviction, so they do take note of more serious offences.


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks again Joppa.

The fines were just paper fines, I guess we could include a few of the "more" recents as opposed to any of the old. Nothing serious like drink driving though. As to disturbing the peace, it happened when she was 15/17 and she is now 21, 22 in September. Her sentence was Anger Management and Community Service which she was relieved of after one attendance by the probation officer.

Should we note she was relieved or assessed as not required to be attending or should we just include the sentence and leave it at that?


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Another thing to add. Do I need to enclose my work contract? Will payslips and bank statements be suffice? I ask because I had a rummage round for my contract last night and I couldn't find it. Asking HR will take ages for them to provide me with a copy and if it's OK to submit without my contract it would be great. Otherwise, I guess I could obtain a letter headed paper of job offer signed by my manager in order to get around it? Please advise...


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## billybubba (Feb 23, 2012)

Anyone kind enough to help? These really are my final questions...

I am really confused and would appreciate it...

I am currently unsure about the above and now additionally the following:

160	How much of your sponsor's total monthly income is given to their family members and other dependants? 

For 160, I don't give any money to family members. However, shall I include any money I send her? Earlier in the application I noted and mentioned that I do send her money and that some of her bills are covered by myself as she has an "as needed" job and no guaranteed hours. Shall we leave this out and mark it 0 and not mention that I send her money? Will it make the application easier? I can see for / againsts for both scenarios where for would be I send her money and it shows commitment and proof of "real" relationship and that I can prove the transactions. However, it could also put a damper because it would show that I have less money available for while she is here?


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