[bobsupp]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and hoping that someone has some helpful advice. I've been reading some posts and can see that there are other people with similar problems, but while I can see that they share my frustration I haven't seen any positive and promising anwsers.

I want to move [back] to the UK from Canada. We're (myself, the wife and two kids) gathering paperwork and making sure the supporting docs are coming together, but the problem I'm having is with our future home.

I am in Canada and don't really have the funds to take a recon trip to England to go looking for houses to rent (or buy - we could do either). Neither do I have anyone who loves me enough to do it for me. My family over there don't have room for us. So...

How (in the real world) do I "secure" accommodation in time for the Visa application? If I rent a house today (from here, trusting that photographs are an accurate representation and the owner/landlord is trust-worthy), and submit my Visa app, I could be paying rent while I am not there and waiting for the Visa to be granted.

Then, what if the Visa is not granted? That could be 3 months of rent wasted (more if I had to sign an agreement of six to twelve months)! No-one would ever hold a place for me and allow me to buy/rent in 3 months if the application is successful.

We want to apply in April and hope to move in July (timing it for the kids and school, etc). It wouldn't be realistic to look for places to rent/buy today that would be available to move into in three and a half months.

But, if I don't have a place sorted out, the application is refused because I haven't supplied sufficient evidence that I have the ability to house my family.

So, how do I show evidence that I CAN house my family without throwing money away?

All helpful advice is gratefully received.

 

[Joppa]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and hoping that someone has some helpful advice. I've been reading some posts and can see that there are other people with similar problems, but while I can see that they share my frustration I haven't seen any positive and promising anwsers.

I want to move [back] to the UK from Canada. We're (myself, the wife and two kids) gathering paperwork and making sure the supporting docs are coming together, but the problem I'm having is with our future home.

I am in Canada and don't really have the funds to take a recon trip to England to go looking for houses to rent (or buy - we could do either). Neither do I have anyone who loves me enough to do it for me. My family over there don't have room for us. So...

How (in the real world) do I "secure" accommodation in time for the Visa application? If I rent a house today (from here, trusting that photographs are an accurate representation and the owner/landlord is trust-worthy), and submit my Visa app, I could be paying rent while I am not there and waiting for the Visa to be granted.

Then, what if the Visa is not granted? That could be 3 months of rent wasted (more if I had to sign an agreement of six to twelve months)! No-one would ever hold a place for me and allow me to buy/rent in 3 months if the application is successful.

We want to apply in April and hope to move in July (timing it for the kids and school, etc). It wouldn't be realistic to look for places to rent/buy today that would be available to move into in three and a half months.

But, if I don't have a place sorted out, the application is refused because I haven't supplied sufficient evidence that I have the ability to house my family.

So, how do I show evidence that I CAN house my family without throwing money away?

In your situation, you don't need to secure your UK accommodation for your visa application. All they ask for is a firm indication of prospective housing for you and your family. What you can do is to send in rental particulars from letting agents, which you can download and print out, in areas you wish to move to, of adequate size and in your price range. There are many property portals, the best known being UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent and Primelocation: Homes & Houses For Sale, Estate Agents, Property Search.

You need to show that you have enough funds to rent a suitable property, and this will form the crucial part of your visa application. Provided funding is adequate, not having yet secured accommodation when applying for your visa isn't critical.

Having said that, it will be better if the UK partner can return home in advance and start actively looking for suitable accommodation. This saves time and also gives you a much better idea of a house or flat you really like.

 

[Green78]

Hi everyone,

I am in Canada and don't really have the funds to take a recon trip to England to go looking for houses to rent (or buy - we could do either). Neither do I have anyone who loves me enough to do it for me. My family over there don't have room for us. So...

All helpful advice is gratefully received.

I've been through this once (just the international relocation, not the VISA), luckily enough I didn't make the move at the end as I received a better offer elsewhere.
As I was trying to relocate from Italy to UK without a secured job, the landlord asked me to pay the deposit AND the whole 6 months of tenancy in advance (which is the minimum period of tenancy) as without a wage he couldn't be be sure I would have paid him.

Regarding to the "recon trip", I would rent a cottage for a couple of weeks, in order to have the time to actually see the house with my own eyes. There are many cottages in the countryside that would cost you 250-300 £ a week: they are often huge barn conversions 8with a lot of storage space), already furnished and they would allow you to cook your own food (saving some cash). Just make sure there are good bus connection if you don't have a car!

I wish you good luck!

Matt

 

[nyclon]

As I was trying to relocate from Italy to UK without a secured job, the landlord asked me to pay the deposit AND the whole 6 months of tenancy in advance (which is the minimum period of tenancy) as without a wage he couldn't be be sure I would have paid him.

Even with a job you likely would have had to pay 6 months rent in advance as will anyone moving to the UK from another country (or moving back after an extended stay in another country) because you will have no credit credit history in the UK. Your credit history doesn't transfer so you are starting from scratch.

 

[Joppa]

Even with a job you likely would have had to pay 6 months rent in advance as will anyone moving to the UK from another country (or moving back after an extended stay in another country) because you will have no credit credit history in the UK. Your credit history doesn't transfer so you are starting from scratch.

Or they may accept a UK-based guarantor (usually a property owner with a steady income) who will take over the responsibility of paying your rent when you can't. They will do a credit check on him/her before accepting as guarantor. The undertaking is legally binding. Often young adult children with incomplete credit record ask their parents to be guarantors.

 

[rs1boy]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and hoping that someone has some helpful advice. I've been reading some posts and can see that there are other people with similar problems, but while I can see that they share my frustration I haven't seen any positive and promising anwsers.

I want to move [back] to the UK from Canada. We're (myself, the wife and two kids) gathering paperwork and making sure the supporting docs are coming together, but the problem I'm having is with our future home.

I am in Canada and don't really have the funds to take a recon trip to England to go looking for houses to rent (or buy - we could do either). Neither do I have anyone who loves me enough to do it for me. My family over there don't have room for us. So...

How (in the real world) do I "secure" accommodation in time for the Visa application? If I rent a house today (from here, trusting that photographs are an accurate representation and the owner/landlord is trust-worthy), and submit my Visa app, I could be paying rent while I am not there and waiting for the Visa to be granted.

Then, what if the Visa is not granted? That could be 3 months of rent wasted (more if I had to sign an agreement of six to twelve months)! No-one would ever hold a place for me and allow me to buy/rent in 3 months if the application is successful.

We want to apply in April and hope to move in July (timing it for the kids and school, etc). It wouldn't be realistic to look for places to rent/buy today that would be available to move into in three and a half months.

But, if I don't have a place sorted out, the application is refused because I haven't supplied sufficient evidence that I have the ability to house my family.

So, how do I show evidence that I CAN house my family without throwing money away?

All helpful advice is gratefully received.

it may be worth sitting up late one night and phoning an estate agent in the uk and getting thier perspective. who would know better?

 

[bobsupp]

In your situation, you don't need to secure your UK accommodation for your visa application. All they ask for is a firm indication of prospective housing for you and your family. What you can do is to send in rental particulars from letting agents, which you can download and print out, in areas you wish to move to, of adequate size and in your price range. There are many property portals, the best known being [REMOVED] [/url].

You need to show that you have enough funds to rent a suitable property, and this will form the crucial part of your visa application. Provided funding is adequate, not having yet secured accommodation when applying for your visa isn't critical.

Having said that, it will be better if the UK partner can return home in advance and start actively looking for suitable accommodation. This saves time and also gives you a much better idea of a house or flat you really like.

Thanks Joppa

To simply be able to show printouts of house sales/rentals would be a relief, for sure, but can we be certain that it would be sufficient?

My old boss used to say "I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?". We can't afford to mess up the application.

It seems that you are among the most active on here (and, indeed, sincere thanks to everyone for your help) but can I just ask you to tell me on a a scale of 1 to 10 how confident are you that this would work?

We have some cash saved ($35000 CAD) and so that would be enough for about 9 months of rent and typical living expenses (food etc). My Candaian credit history is good and my UK credit history used to be good when I was around.

This is by-no-means the only hurdle we have, but if we can be confident about this aspect, I'm sure we'll feel better about the whole application.

Thank you everyone

 

[bobsupp]

it may be worth sitting up late one night and phoning an estate agent in the uk and getting thier perspective. who would know better?

Yeah, thanks rs1boy,

I may do that. Thank you.

 

[nyclon]

My Candaian credit history is good and my UK credit history used to be good when I was around.

As I said, your Canadian history will not transfer to the UK and your former UK credit history is most likely no longer relevant either although I honestly don't know how long it might be kept for consideration.

it may be worth sitting up late one night and phoning an estate agent in the uk and getting thier perspective. who would know better?

To be honest, it's probably not worth it. Estate agents are unlikely to have much interest in you until you are in the UK.

 

[Joppa]

Thanks Joppa

To simply be able to show printouts of house sales/rentals would be a relief, for sure, but can we be certain that it would be sufficient?

My old boss used to say "I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?". We can't afford to mess up the application.

It seems that you are among the most active on here (and, indeed, sincere thanks to everyone for your help) but can I just ask you to tell me on a a scale of 1 to 10 how confident are you that this would work?

We have some cash saved ($35000 CAD) and so that would be enough for about 9 months of rent and typical living expenses (food etc). My Candaian credit history is good and my UK credit history used to be good when I was around.

This is by-no-means the only hurdle we have, but if we can be confident about this aspect, I'm sure we'll feel better about the whole application.

UKBA makes a distinction between fiancées and partners/spouses with regard to accommodation requirement. For the former, who haven't yet established lasting relationship through marriage, they accept that often your UK housing is prospective rather than actual, and will usually accept details of housing you hope to get. With spouse or partner, they expect you to have quite firm plans, and while they don't expect you to have a definite place lined up prior to moving, you need to show some commitment. That's why many UK spouse/partner travels to UK ahead of their family to find and put a deposit down on a property, whose details can then be put on the visa application. Or they stay with family or relatives until they find a place of their own. You said you have nobody you can lodge with, but this is often a shrewed move and give you a chance to find the place you both like, as well as having a secure accommodation on landing. So I suggest you take the bull by the horn and book yourself a two-week trip to UK to do the groundwork and have some definite options lined up.

As for on a scale of one to ten, provided you have enough financial resources to secure a suitable housing in UK (taking account of your savings), I'd say around 7 with prospective housing, and 8-9 if you have definite accommodation already. Your chances will improve if you can show you are already in touch with letting agent or landlord and negotiating tenancy.

Read UK Border Agency | Maintenance and accommodation (MAA)

 

[MLH]

I have no interest in hijacking this thread, but wondered the same things.

The online application asks for an address, if my sponsor owns the property, how many rooms it has, if anyone other than my sponsor lives there etc

I wonder how a married couple can get around this without having a specific address to enter? It doesn't look like providing these details is an option. When I enter "no" to the question "does your sponsor own this property" it prompts me to provide details on what basis my sponsor occupies this property e.g. rented, owned by parent etc. Also says I would be required to provide documentary evidence to support this.

I assumed that it would act as an immediate strike against us not to list an address...looks like I may have been wrong?

With employment-it was worded a little differently...asks about "intent" which meant I could safely print off employment ads with what I would hope to do when I arrived and show where my skills might take me.

I didn't think it was possible with accommodation and have tried to find the answer through other posts.

As a side note for the purposes of dealing with letting agents (this isn't an issue for ukba):

My husband has ongoing (UK) credit and bank transactions-shouldn't that be considered relevant as it is recent/current credit activity? I can understand why Canadian credit wouldn't mean very much because we have already done that in reverse and he had to rebuild here.

He has had a mortgage, etc in the UK (only sold approx. 5 years ago) and doesn't have any other bills to pay, so would this be a sufficient way to maintain credit history?

We want to apply soon because we know that it might be as straightforward as it is with others (the sole responsibility determination), but wouldn't want to be leaving the country until school is out at the end of June.

My experiences in Canada lead me to believe that starting to look for a place to live in March/April for a July/August vacancy would be really difficult and a waste of time. I can't imagine my husband flying over to look for a place this soon...see how this would be a catch 22 in our case?

As always, I appreciate the input! x

 

[BCCanuck]

The catch 22 thing worried me for a while as well. I was applying last October and spent many hours trying to find a solution. None of the various forums offered a concrete solution so I went back to the UKBA site. There it was right in front of me. They state that accommodation is often "prospective".

As we would be selling our home here and buying over there I simply told them we would be at a hotel whilst we search for a home. I included an email from an estate agent who said they would help and some printouts from Rightmove.

We had the visa within a week.

Bought a home in Deal two weeks ago and move for good at the end of the month.

 

[MLH]

The catch 22 thing worried me for a while as well. I was applying last October and spent many hours trying to find a solution. None of the various forums offered a concrete solution so I went back to the UKBA site. There it was right in front of me. They state that accommodation is often "prospective".

As we would be selling our home here and buying over there I simply told them we would be at a hotel whilst we search for a home. I included an email from an estate agent who said they would help and some printouts from Rightmove.

We had the visa within a week.

Bought a home in Deal two weeks ago and move for good at the end of the month.

This is all very encouraging. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences with us! Congrats on your settlement and house purchase!

 

[bobsupp]

The catch 22 thing worried me for a while as well. I was applying last October and spent many hours trying to find a solution. None of the various forums offered a concrete solution so I went back to the UKBA site. There it was right in front of me. They state that accommodation is often "prospective".

As we would be selling our home here and buying over there I simply told them we would be at a hotel whilst we search for a home. I included an email from an estate agent who said they would help and some printouts from Rightmove.

We had the visa within a week.

Bought a home in Deal two weeks ago and move for good at the end of the month.

Yeah, and big thanks from me too. Glad for you and hoping that it goes as well for me. Good luck BCCanuck.