# Successful Spouse Visa application from India



## dts0910 (Nov 7, 2015)

Visa details
Applying from: India/Cochin/Chennai
Visa: Settlement/Spouse
Online submission: 09/11/15
Planned arrival: 01/01/16 (working day 35)
Visa duration: 01/01/16 to 31/01/16
BRP pick-up date: after 08/01/16 (within 10 days of arriving)

Timeline in working days (d)
d00 Biometrics at VFS centre: 11/11/15
d00 Forwarded to UKVI office: 11/11/15
d04 Received at UKVI office: 17/11/15
d14 UKVI office closed due to floods: 01/12/15
d17 Status check - not yet assessed by ECO: 04/12/15
d19 UKVI office reopened: 08/12/15
d23 Processed/dispatched to VFS centre: 14/12/15
d25 Picked up passport/documents: 16/12/15

Documents organised in categories as below. Kept as loose sheets collated with paper clips. Took about 1 week to fully understand visa and immigration rules, read guidances available on Home Office website, and forums for people's experiences of successful and unsuccessful applications. 

Submitted documents list
1.	Applicant details
a.	Application forms – VAF4A, Appendix 2 (typed in pdf and printed)
b.	Passport photos x2 of approved size
c.	Passports – current and previous (in old name)
d.	TB test results from approved centre
e.	Covering letter (<2 sides) explaining how evidence meets criteria, timeline of relationship and plans for settling permanently. Also attached itemised list of all evidence submitted organised in similar headings as below.​2.	Evidence of sponsorship – covering letter, form SU07
3.	Evidence of sponsor’s right to reside in the UK – naturalised citizen
a.	Passport copies – front cover, photo page, visa pages, immigration stamps showing travel dates
b.	OCI copies – front cover, photo page​4.	Evidence of meeting financial requirement – salaried employment, 2 employers over last 6 months, hence evidence for last 12 months (Cat B)
a.	Employers 1 and 2 letters covering last 12 months
b.	Payslips – last 12 months; one missing replaced by signed copy accompanied by employer’s authentication letter
c.	Bank statements – last 12 months; mainly printed-out online statements accompanied by bank’s authentication letter. Last salary paid in after bank statement produced – hence printed out banking webpage of transactions showing salary - printout stamped and signed on all pages by branch (to fulfill rule of showing evidence of meeting financial requirements not older than 28 days before submission.)​5.	Evidence of accommodation – own house
a.	Council tax bill (one from last 6 months)
b.	Utility bills – water, gas, electricity (one each from last 12 months)
c.	Solicitor’s letter confirming house purchase (last 12 months)
d.	Mortgage lender’s letter confirming mortgage (last 12 months)
e.	Land registry – title register and plan
f.	House valuation report – showing number of rooms and general condition (obtained during purchase in last 12 months)​6.	Evidence of English language competence
a.	UK-NARIC English Language Assessment certificate
b.	UK-NARIC Statement of Comparability
c.	Degree certificate​7.	Evidence of genuine relationship
a.	Marriage certificate
b.	Engagement ring receipt 
c.	Letter from priest supporting marriage
d.	Communication – Skype subscription receipt, Skype phone logs (daily calls), emails, Whatsapp logs, birthday cards’ copies
e.	Travel – airline tickets at occasions of meeting, including that of immediate family’s, and sponsor’s airline ticket booked for planned date of travel to the UK. 
f.	Photos – 4 photos from each occasion of meeting​
Retrospective analysis
1.	Apply for UKNARIC certificates and TB test results at the earliest. (not earlier than 6 months for TB test) – UK NARIC was very slow in processing and sending certificates, which delayed the application
2.	Annotate photos – photos were kept inside an envelope without annotation
3.	Log Facetime calls time and duration manually – they are only shown for the last 7 days on the phone/computer, duration not shown either. Skype phone calls keeps details of all calls online. 
4.	Complete online form and book appointment after gathering all the evidence – e.g. sending couriered documents to applicant with necessary evidence. 
5.	Tick Cat B for two employers in the last 6 months, in which case, show financial evidence for 12 months – had wrongly ticked Cat A, but filled in all relevant sections for Cat B.
6.	Ensure original passport not required for any other things during application (e.g. IELTS).
7.	Ensure credit/debit card limits able to process large amounts for visa fees and IHS.
8.	Chose BRP collection location that has longer opening hours
9.	Tracking
a.	VFS India homepage - click on “How we are performing against our quality and timeline standards” to see weekly processing times
b.	UK Home Office visa processing times - monthly/2-monthly processing times
c.	UKVI contact us page - online form to submit request for tracking.​


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