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Tedious Questions for Spousal Visa

2K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  Water Dragon 
#1 ·
Okay I suspect I'll be glued to this forum over the next couple weeks, despite the months of preparation I've already done for this application! Never seems enough, does it?

I'm American, applying to be with my British husband in England.

My first BIG question is probably stupid but anyway... Is it plausible to do the online application, biometrics, and pay for priority then not send my documents right away? I'm trying to get started, but my husband is waiting on one last piece of evidence before he sends me his documents - once you do biometrics/pay, is there a time limit you have to send in the documents? I will be paying for Priority as well, if that makes a difference.

Secondly, for accommodation, do we need pictures of the house and rooms? It's a two bedroom flat that only he lives in. He half rents, half owns. Are photos necessary if there isn't any chance of overcrowding? We have mortgage statements, letter from landlord, proof of purchase and rent, do we need a council tax/utilities bill as well? If he has one, I'll throw it in, but if not do I need to panic?

Thirdly, do I need his birth certificate? We got every non-blank page of his passport notarised - surely that's enough to prove birth and citizenship? I'm sending mine.

I know a lot of this is TEDIOUS and also "more is better", but if it's not readily available, I want to see if it's necessary.

Oh god. I think that's all for now. I swear I have been researching for MONTHS and still feel terrified!
 
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#2 ·
Okay I suspect I'll be glued to this forum over the next couple weeks, despite the months of preparation I've already done for this application! Never seems enough, does it?

I'm American, applying to be with my British husband in England.

My first BIG question is probably stupid but anyway... Is it plausible to do the online application, biometrics, and pay for priority then not send my documents right away? I'm trying to get started, but my husband is waiting on one last piece of evidence before he sends me his documents - once you do biometrics/pay, is there a time limit you have to send in the documents? I will be paying for Priority as well, if that makes a difference.
It's something like two months. There is little point in delaying sending in the documents, and as long as they back up the financial details in your application, there is no reason for waiting for the latest document. For example, if the income you rely on is April to October, there is no need to wait for November payslip.

Secondly, for accommodation, do we need pictures of the house and rooms? It's a two bedroom flat that only he lives in. He half rents, half owns. Are photos necessary if there isn't any chance of overcrowding? We have mortgage statements, letter from landlord, proof of purchase and rent, do we need a council tax/utilities bill as well? If he has one, I'll throw it in, but if not do I need to panic?
Photos aren't needed but a floor plan may be useful. Recent bills proving occupation should be attached.

Thirdly, do I need his birth certificate? We got every non-blank page of his passport notarised - surely that's enough to prove birth and citizenship? I'm sending mine.
Not needed.
 
#3 ·
Okay, thank you for the reply! I'm not delaying the documents for no reason - It's really just that he has ALL of the documents. In England. So he has to send them to me still. I don't physically have them. He's waiting on his landlord's letter. But it won't take 2 months to get them so I will go ahead and start the process!

And I'll make sure he grabs a recent bill then! Thank you again. :)
 
#4 ·
As far as I know, you can't split the biometrics and submitting documents... it's done on the same day... plus there is no benefit to doing it anyway as biometrics only takes 2 minutes.

You can pay online when you do the application on there then book the biometrics for whenever you have the documents. I waited about 3 weeks to do mine, mainly because we need one more document and there was a Chinese week long holiday going on...
 
#6 ·
Okay I have another tedious question if anyone reads this -

For the VAF4A appendix 2, do I have to print the entire 13 pages and submit those even if half of it is blank? My information is only required up to page 7, not including the very last box (Category A). But I know these processes are meticulous so I thought I'd ask...
 
#10 ·
I applied for a spousal visa in July 2011 from the states. Once I had my biometrics done I had to send everything, including the biometrics page, within two weeks from the biometric date. So there was, back then, a two week deadline for the application from the biometrics appointment. In case that information helps!
 
#15 ·
:) You're welcome. Yes, someone does sign for your packet if you check the box requesting a signature. Having the tracking numbers is the biggest advantage as you can watch it's journey going and coming. That helps quite a bit with the anxious waiting.

I used FedEx and while it wasn't cheap, I was happy to find out it wasn't quite as bad as I was afraid of. I didn't check the price of the return, but my shipping it out cost under $80. There was a poster here who had a nightmare with FedEx and a delayed delivery, but I didn't have any problems. I think it is unusual for them to drop the ball.

I'll look forward to seeing your timeline. :)
 
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