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Applying for Spouse Visa - A Few Questions

1080 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Bxdrugz, 
J
Hello All,

I am new to the forums. I have lurked a bit and gather information, but have only just signed up.

I am from the US and moving to be with my Wife in the UK. She is a British citizen from birth. We are applying for a Spouse Visa and she has been living in the UK and earning above the 18600gbp requirement since January of this year. We will not require any savings, etc.

I have a few of questions that I was hoping you guys could provide me with some guidance on. You might think some of these questions are a bit silly, but I'm trying to be as thorough as possible to avoid any issues. Information is so confusing for this process and it's so important to get everything right. I really appreciate any help we receive.

So here goes!

1) When I am listing my international travel dates, what should I do about layovers? Occasionally I've received passport stamps from countries that were only stops on the way to my final destination. I never even left the airport.

2) Do I need a separate authentication letter for each of my Wife's 6 payslips or just one letter listing each pay slip?

3) On the application, it asks how long I intend to stay? Currently, I have 'As long as permitted' but should it be the initial 2.5 year period instead?

4) How does the priority service work, and what is the cost? Everyone talks about using it, but I can't seem to find solid information on the process.

5) Do all spouse applications go through Visa4UK? I know there is a new visa site, but it doesnt seem to list the spouse visa? The priority service doesn't link to visa4uk when I visit their website though.

6) Should my wife forward me all appropriate documentation from the UK and then I should send it from the US in one large packet? She has the vast majority of our documentation over there, and I am just not sure the best way to handle the physical mailing.

7) So what exactly happens after I hit confirm application? Is it pretty much all instantaneous? How quickly can a Biometrics appointment typically be booked? The next steps on the website are Sign Declaration, BRP Collection Location, Book Appointment, Pay For IHS, Pay for Application, Print Application.

8) And finally, I don't think anyone can help me with this, but its worth asking... In 2008, I had a BUNAC Blue Card which allowed me to live and work in the UK for a period of 6 months. It was not a typical visa though. Nothing was printed in my passport. I just have a piece of blue card stock with my picture on it and a document number. I presented this to the immigration when I arrived, and he put a stamp in my passport which reads 'Leave to enter for SIX MONTHS to work with BUNAC SCHEME'. He wrote in 'six months' and bunac scheme' himself in blank spaces. It does not have a date of issue, date of expiry, or issuing authority listed which are all questions on the application. It was just 6 months from whenever I turned up.

Thank you all in advance! Again, any help is much appreciated!
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Joppa
#1 List only the main ones.
#2 Only for online payslips, and only one letter covering all.
#3 33 months.
#4 It costs around $700. No guarantee of any expedited processing, in practice it may shave a few weeks to a month.
#5 Yes. You must apply online.
#6 You send her your documents and she sends them all off in one parcel to Sheffield.
#7 You book your appointment while you are still logged in. You get confirmation straightaway. Nothing happens till you give biometrics and they receive your documents in Sheffield. Then the long wait begins. Currently several months.
#8 Yes I remember that. What do you want to know? Mention as part of your immigration/travel history.
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J
Thanks Joppa for the help. This really helps put my mind at ease a bit. What an incredibly stressful process. We've done it from UK>US previously. It was a pain, but much more approachable.

A couple of follow ups..

#5 I meant that there seem to be 2 visa application websites currently. It seems like Visa4UK is definitely the appropriate one though. Thank you!

#6 Wow, I should even send her my passport? That's kind of scary! I better pay for all the tracking and insurance I can!

#7 How long does it usually take to get in for biometrics? a few days? A couple weeks?

#8 My concern is that the Blue Card doesn't really fit the format that they request on the application. It has no specific expiry date (even though it did expire), and there isn't an issuing authority listed (maybe the issuing authority is BUNAC itself?)
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R
"#7 How long does it usually take to get in for biometrics? a few days? A couple weeks?"

I recently finished my online application, paid for it, and it took me two weeks to be able to get in for a biometrics appointment. That was the first one they had available. USA, Texas. It probably varies by location.
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Joppa said:
#6 You send her your documents and she sends them all off in one parcel to Sheffield.
Click to expand...
Hi Joppa, one additional question on point 6...

The UK Visa site says the following:
'Your biometric confirmation receipt will be stamped at your appointment. You then have 5 days to post this, your application form, your passport and supporting documents to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). All applications must be accompanied by a valid passport with at least one page without any endorsements. If the application arrives at the decision making centre without a passport the application will be refused.'

If I have to send my documents to England first, and then have my wife send the documents to sheffield, I'm afraid that it will take too long with international shipments and we will be past the '5' day period.

What do you think?
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Joppa
Don't worry about 5 days thing.
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jbrun85 said:
Hi Joppa, one additional question on point 6...

The UK Visa site says the following:
'Your biometric confirmation receipt will be stamped at your appointment. You then have 5 days to post this, your application form, your passport and supporting documents to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). All applications must be accompanied by a valid passport with at least one page without any endorsements. If the application arrives at the decision making centre without a passport the application will be refused.'

If I have to send my documents to England first, and then have my wife send the documents to sheffield, I'm afraid that it will take too long with international shipments and we will be past the '5' day period.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Most people have there UK spouse send their documents to the US and then once you have submitted biometrics you send everything to Sheffield. It's fine if you want to send your documents to the UK for your spouse to send but you should use one of the private couriers like FedEx or UPS to ensure that your documents arrive in time for a quick turnaround.

It doesn't have to arrive in 5 days, it has to be posted in 5 days.
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Joppa
One day, it is hoped US applicants will be able to scan their documents and send them electronically to Sheffield, as it's increasingly happening elsewhere to reduce the paperwork and sending of voluminous pile of documents internationally. The one problem they need to solve is how they can perform scanning while using USCIS's application support centers for biometrics.
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jbrun85 said:
Hi Joppa, one additional question on point 6...

The UK Visa site says the following:
'Your biometric confirmation receipt will be stamped at your appointment. You then have 5 days to post this, your application form, your passport and supporting documents to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). All applications must be accompanied by a valid passport with at least one page without any endorsements. If the application arrives at the decision making centre without a passport the application will be refused.'

If I have to send my documents to England first, and then have my wife send the documents to sheffield, I'm afraid that it will take too long with international shipments and we will be past the '5' day period.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Hi guys

First day, first post.

I'm in a similar situation to OP except my finacée claims that her Canadian passport is already a biometric (renewed last year). What does this means?
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clever-octopus
With respect to a visa application, it is irrelevant. She still needs to attend a biometrics appointment. Having a biometric passport means just biometric information is stored in a chip in the passport itself, it's not a substitute for the requirement to attend a biometrics appointment.
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clever-octopus said:
With respect to a visa application, it is irrelevant. She still needs to attend a biometrics appointment. Having a biometric passport means just biometric information is stored in a chip in the passport itself, it's not a substitute for the requirement to attend a biometrics appointment.
Click to expand...
Ah, makes sense! And of course, she will need to book this appointment and get her biometric stamped in her passport before we gather all the documents to submit at the application centre in Sheffield? If so, where does she book this appointment? Can you clear the fog for me? :confused:

FYI we are applying for a fiance/marriage visitor visa. We will have our civil marriage together in the UK once she gets her visa approved and then apply for her extension/indefinite and so on.

Am I on the right track??
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