Self employed bank statements in different currencies

Hi,

I am in the process of helping my wife apply for an out of country Spouse Visa (Settlement Marriage).

Previously, before we were married, we had applied for a Unmarried Partner Spouse Visa but were rejected due to not living together long enough (regrettably, we went against our instincts and the guidance notes and took the advice of Immigration Contact Center to "apply anyway and just prove your relationship is subsisting and genuine"). We attempted to appeal it but our appeal was dismissed.

My wife is from the USA and I am a recently naturalized British Citizen, originally from New Zealand.

I have two limited company registered businesses in the UK, one of which I have 100% shares and the other 40%.

As the sponsor, I have read through Appendix FM 1.7 (Financial Requirements) and Appendix FM-SE (Family members specified evidence).

Below I have a list of all the supporting documents we will be submitting.

I have labelled "Primary Company" as the sole company I am paying myself both dividends and a salary from, during the financial year. Previously, I had paid myself a salary from the “Secondary Company”.

-----------------------------------------------------
1. Cover pages
- Table of Contents
- Cover letter

2. Relationship Witness Statements
- Sponsor's statement
- Applicant's statement
- Applicant's parents statement
- Sponsor's parents statement
- Friend's statements

3. Marriage Documents
- Referral of proposed marriage for Applicant
- Referral of proposed marriage for Sponsor
- Home Office marriage acceptance notification letter
- Marriage certificate

4. Applicant's Identification Documents
- Passport
- 2017 BRP (based on Tier 4 student visa)
- 2018 BRP (based on Tier 4 student visa)
- National Insurance number

5. Sponsor's Identification Documents
- British Passport scan
- New Zealand Passport scan
- Naturalization certificate scan
- National insurance card scan
- Appendix 2 VAF 4a Financial Requirements Form
- Sponsorship Undertaking Form SU07/12

6. Sponsor's Personal Finances
- Last 12 months bank statements (covering the last Financial year September 2018 to August 2019)
- Self assessment 2018-2019
- P60 2018-2019

7. Primary Company documentation
- Appointment report from Companies house
- Corporate Tax for 2018-2019
- Business bank statements covering the same 12-month period as Corporate Tax
- Evidence of registration with Companies house
- Unaudited accounts for last financial year
- Accountants certificate of confirmation
- Certification of VAT registration
- VAT return for last FULL financial year confirming VAT registration number
- Last 12 months payslips (covering the last Financial year September 2018 to August 2019)
- Last 12 months dividends (covering the last Financial year September 2018 to August 2019)

8. Secondary Company documentation
- Appointment report from Companies house
- Corporate Tax for 2018-2019
- Business bank statements covering the same 12-month period as Corporate Tax
- Evidence of registration with Companies house
- Unaudited accounts for last financial year
- Accountants certificate of confirmation
- Certification of VAT registration
- VAT return for last FULL financial year confirming VAT registration number

9. Rejected Original Private Life Route Visa Application (before married)
- Original application
- Original application document checklist
- Consent and declaration
- Appeal rejection letter
- Judges decision letter

10. Proof of relationship
- Tenancy agreement and deposit
- Council tax 2019-2020 and 2018-2019
- Holiday travel tickets and accommodation
- Photos
- WhatsApp chat history from 2016-2018 (when we moved in we did not talk so much via chat, hence no chat history in 2019, but have included holidays and photos from beginning of 2019 onward)

11. Additional Supporting Documents
- Outings and event tickets
- Wife's University Diplomas
- Holiday cards (Christmas, birthdays etc.)
-----------------------------------------------------

I have some questions regarding our application and supporting documents:

- Is there anything we need to add, amend or remove from the supporting documents?

- Because I am not taking any income from the Secondary Company to meet the financial requirements, should I be submitting any documents under Number 8 in the supporting documents above? And if so, do I need to also submit business bank statements reflecting Secondary Business’s financial year?

- In the "Appendix 2 VAF 4a Financial Requirements Form" Part 3.3, to meet the requirements I have chosen "Income from self employment" which falls into Category F or G for me. Does the "financial year" in this section refer to my company financial year or my self-assessment financial year?

- It appears we would be needing to pay another 2000 USD on top of the other costs. Is VFS Global the only service that provides priority services for the visa in question?

- Our previous rejected in-country visa took 6 months to process. What can we expect the turn around time for priority vs non-priority for the out of country visa?

- My HSBC bank statements and Companies House appointment documents are downloaded from the internet, would it be a problem if these documents are not wet stamped? [/list]

Thank you for your time and appreciate all comments and feedback.

You are supplying far too many unnecessary documents, which will likely delay or confuse your application. I will comment on the points I am able to.

2. Relationship Witness Statements
- Sponsor's statement
- Applicant's statement
- Applicant's parents statement
- Sponsor's parents statement
- Friend's statements

None of this is needed and is irrelevant.

3. Marriage Documents
- Referral of proposed marriage for Applicant
- Referral of proposed marriage for Sponsor
- Home Office marriage acceptance notification letter
- Marriage certificate

You ONLY need the marriage certificate. The other stuff is irrelevant.

4. Applicant's Identification Documents
- Passport
- 2017 BRP (based on Tier 4 student visa)
- 2018 BRP (based on Tier 4 student visa)
- National Insurance number

You only need the passport. If the form asks for NI number, that is all you need, you don't have to submit the physical proof of NI number.

5. Sponsor's Identification Documents
- British Passport scan
- New Zealand Passport scan
- Naturalization certificate scan
- National insurance card scan
- Appendix 2 VAF 4a Financial Requirements Form
- Sponsorship Undertaking Form SU07/12

You ONLY need your British passport. You do not need your NZ passport OR your NI card. You also do NOT need form SU07, which is not for spouse visas at all.

9. Rejected Original Private Life Route Visa Application (before married)
- Original application
- Original application document checklist
- Consent and declaration
- Appeal rejection letter
- Judges decision letter

Not required. HO have her full history.

11. Additional Supporting Documents
- Outings and event tickets
- Wife's University Diplomas
- Holiday cards (Christmas, birthdays etc.)
-----------------------------------------------------

Your wifes education certificates are irrelevant and not needed. Neither is the outing and event tickets.

- Is there anything we need to add, amend or remove from the supporting documents?

Don't over complicate it. Keep it simply and remove the unnecessary documents and submit only what is required and not what you think HO might want to see.

- It appears we would be needing to pay another 2000 USD on top of the other costs. Is VFS Global the only service that provides priority services for the visa in question?

It is £1523 for the visa and £1200 for IHS. Not sure what the $2000 is for that you are referring to. You must apply through the relevant third party agent in your country. Note that Priority is not guaranteed and usually shouldn't be used if an applicant has previous UK visa refusals.

- Our previous rejected in-country visa took 6 months to process. What can we expect the turn around time for priority vs non-priority for the out of country visa?

Spouse visas can take up to 90 days, often longer.

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to make a swift response.

- Going with your advice to keep it simple; should I ONLY include the documentation and financial information for the company which I am paying myself dividends and salary from and leave out the other company documentation and financials for which I own but am not taking any income from during the last financial year?

birdbody wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 19, 2019 3:36 pm

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to make a swift response.

- Going with your advice to keep it simple; should I ONLY include the documentation and financial information for the company which I am paying myself dividends and salary from and leave out the other company documentation and financials for which I own but am not taking any income from during the last financial year?

Yes, it would probably be wise but wait for others to respond on that point. User 'seagul' hopefully will see your post and comment on the financial aspects of your query.

Unlike to paye employment/cash savings route the self employment/sole trader/directorship are extremely difficult routes to meet the financial requirement because caseworker always want to see an extensive range of documents over it which i think in your case seems quite good. And i dont think that anyone can assure that the checklist under that route will definitely work but if the similar documents were previously used when applied the unmarried partner visa and UKVI didn't object anything in relation to it then maybe they will work. And if by chance you have 6 months older savings of £62500 then simply use that route alone.

Thanks for your response seagul.

For the previous rejected visa, we incorrectly chose the "Employed" option on the application form rather than "Self-employed" option so we only had to provide 6 months statements for finances. Oddly, the rejection letter did not even mention the finances (even to say that the 6 months met the requirements). I believe this was due to the fact that if they had it wouldn't have helped us?

As far as I can see the only option we have is the self employment / limited company route.

The company financial year finished in August 2019 and we in the process of submitting the financials to HMRC and Companies House now. We will be providing personal and business bank statements covering this period. We will also include personal bank statements and single payslip and dividend voucher for this month (September 2019) as stated in the guidance 9(e) for proof of ongoing employment.

My biggest concern is whether or not to include anything at all related to my other company. From the advice provided on here and also my interpretation of the guidance I should leave all documentation and finances out as it does not relate to my personal finances. But I want to be as transparent as possible without wasting the case workers time.

- Do you think it is wise for us to mention in our cover letter that we incorrectly stated I was employed on the previous application?

- What are the common pitfalls you can shed some light on in regards to going the self employed route?

Thanks again for your time

birdbody wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:33 am

For the previous rejected visa, we incorrectly chose the "Employed" option on the application form rather than "Self-employed" option so we only had to provide 6 months statements for finances. Oddly, the rejection letter did not even mention the finances (even to say that the 6 months met the requirements). I believe this was due to the fact that if they had it wouldn't have helped us?

If HO letter didn’t even mention, don’t do it yourself. My suggestion is not to mix up evidence from current application with explanations of previous refusal. If you want to clarify something, I suggest to write a cover letter stating all the supporting evidence you’re providing (financial, relationship, etc) and how you’re meeting the requirements for the visa this time. On another section in the same letter, just mention she has a previous refused visa application since you didn’t meet the cohabitation requirement. If you won’t want to mention it, it’s fine as HO has all her immigration records.

birdbody wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:33 am

My biggest concern is whether or not to include anything at all related to my other company.

Keep it to one company exclusively, otherwise it will complicate your wife’s application. My husband worked as a self employee in two companies too and for my visa, we were told by our immigration lawyer to mention exclusively one company and submit the appropriate evidence. And it passed.

birdbody wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:33 am

- Do you think it is wise for us to mention in our cover letter that we incorrectly stated I was employed on the previous application?

No, don’t mix them up.

birdbody wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:33 am

What can we expect the turn around time for priority vs non-priority for the out of country visa?

12 weeks for non priority application and 6-8 weeks for priority applications. The fee for priority is an extra £600.

Thank you Jaune08,

One of the business bank accounts is Revolut Business who are an online bank only. They only provide bank statements to be downloaded from the website. I am not paying the dividends or salary from this account but I am providing it to corroborate the company financials. They have said over and over they don't provide any authenticated documents, simply what you can download from the website so I printed out the bank statements and went to a post office to have them notarized.

Do you think the bank statements being notarized by an authority at the post office is sufficient enough for them to be accepted and used?

birdbody wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:04 pm

Thank you Jaune08,

Do you think the bank statements being notarized by an authority at the post office is sufficient enough for them to be accepted and used?

What we did, was to print ourselves the bank statements and take them to the bank to get them stamped with the date and seal of our bank. It isn’t necessary really, but that give us some reassurance since the statements were exclusively an online version. You can also go to the bank and ask them to print your statements and get them stamped too. That works as well.

You’re welcome

birdbody wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:04 pm

so I printed out the bank statements and went to a post office to have them notarized.

Do you think the bank statements being notarized by an authority at the post office is sufficient enough for them to be accepted and used?

Post office doesn't notarize rather certify the copy as true likeness of original document. However, if your bank statements can be downloaded in pdf then you may not need the original one because pdf is an acceptable version for UKVCAS/vfs.

They were able to certify the copy based on another print out of the bank statements.

One thing to note is that due to the fact they were being certified I printed them out in black and white.

I'm guessing at this point it would make more sense to send the black and white certified copies rather than the color ones that lack the certification stamp on them?

birdbody wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:42 pm

They were able to certify the copy based on another print out of the bank statements.

One thing to note is that due to the fact they were being certified I printed them out in black and white.

I'm guessing at this point it would make more sense to send the black and white certified copies rather than the color ones that lack the certification stamp on them?

The reason they have certified it because they had assumed the other print out as the original copy because they don't have the original formats of the issuing authorities. But under current system (UKVCAS scanning & uploading) you can even use the online downloaded version of bank statements

Thanks for that.

On a separate note. My wife will be applying through visa4uk.

Whats the difference on the visa types between "Settlement > Settlement > Wife" and "Settlement > Settlement > Marriage" ?

Am I correct in thinking one of these two is the correct one for us to choose (please let me know if you need more info to decide)?

birdbody wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 25, 2019 1:42 pm

"Settlement > Settlement > Wife"

This one is correct for spouse visa

Thanks.

Out of curiosity whats the difference between the two types 'Wife' and 'Marriage' in this context?

birdbody wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 25, 2019 2:13 pm

Thanks.

Out of curiosity whats the difference between the two types 'Wife' and 'Marriage' in this context?

the marriage option is for a 6 month FIANCE visa to enable marriage within the UK and then switching to a spouse visa.

After some more research and taking in the advice you people have provided here we have our amended list of docs.

----------------------------------------------------
1. Cover pages
- Table of Contents
- Cover letter

2. Visa Application Documents
- Sponsors letter of support
- Appendix 2 VAF 4a Financial Requirements Form (with Category F chosen)
- Online application printoff
- Biometrics confirmation sheet

3. Applicants Documents
- Passport
- Previous passports
- Color, passport sized photo

4. Sponsors Documents
- Scan of British Passport
- Self assessment 2018-2019
- P60 for 2018-2019
- Bank statements starting from limited company's financial year until a few days ago (within 28 days of application submission as per guidance)
- Payslips, initialed by sponsor starting from limited company's financial year until a few days ago (within 28 days of application submission as per guidance)
- Dividends, signed and dated by sponsor starting from limited company's financial year until a few days ago (within 28 days of application submission as per guidance)

5. Sponsor's Company's Documents
- Appointment report from Companies house
- Registration with Companies house
- Certification of VAT registration
- Business bank statements covering the same 12-month period as last company's financial year
- CT600 for 2018-2019
- Unaudited accounts for company's last financial year
- Accountants certificate of confirmation, from an accountant who is a member of a UK Recognised Supervisory Body (as defined in the Companies Act 2006) or is a member of the Institute of Financial Accountants
- VAT return for last FULL company's last financial year confirming VAT registration number

6. Proof of Relationship
- Marriage certificate
- Tenancy agreement
- Tenancy deposit
- Council tax 2019-2020
- Council tax 2018-2019
- Egypt travel tickets
- Egypt travel visa
- Egypt accommodation proof
- Margate travel tickets
- Amsterdam travel tickets
- Amsterdam accommodation proof
- WhatsApp chat history (starting from relationship inception until moving in together)
- 21 pages of Photos containing 4 photos per page (this may be too many, please advise)
----------------------------------------------------

If anyone has any comments / amendments please do suggest. Your advice so far has been a great deal of help in increasing our level of confidence that the application will be successful.

Hi,

I am in the process of helping my wife apply for an out of country Spouse Visa (Settlement Marriage).

My wife is 26, from the USA and I am a recently naturalized British Citizen, 35, originally from New Zealand.

As the sponsor for financial requirements I fall under category F. I have two limited liability companies, one of which I pay myself salary and dividends -- I will only be providing the business bank statements for this company.

The business bank accounts are in GBP as well as EUR, USD.

Section 3.5.1 of Financial requirements states:
Income or cash savings in a foreign currency will be converted to pounds sterling (£) using
the closing spot exchange rate which appears on www.oanda.com on the date of
application. Where there is income or cash savings in different foreign currencies, each
will be converted into pounds sterling (£) before being added together, and then added
to any UK income or savings, to give a total amount. Any fluctuation in the exchange
rate prior to the date of application will be disregarded: the decision-maker will base the
conversion of the foreign currency income or cash savings into sterling on the exchange
rate as at the date of application.

The PERSONAL bank statements I am providing are all in GBP which is fine. My question is, does the 3.5.1 paragraph above ALSO apply to BUSINESS bank statements?

Thank you

birdbody wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 29, 2019 5:55 am

The PERSONAL bank statements I am providing are all in GBP which is fine. My question is, does the 3.5.1 paragraph above ALSO apply to BUSINESS bank statements?

It is unlikely they would have any reason to convert the business bank statements into GBP as the conversion outlined in section 3.5.1 is intended to show income or cash savings that meet the financial requirement. There is no similar requirement for business accounts to be above a certain threshold so any conversion would be unnecessary. The business bank statements seem to be to verify the other information provided.

OK thanks.

Another question in regards to the foreign currency business bank accounts, they are using a fintech bank called Revolut Business, they state they are not a "traditional bank" so they don't provide mailed bank statements, they suggested to print off transactions from the website to send to Home Office. My concern is that Home Office won't accept this form of statements, can somebody give some insight into this please?

birdbody wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 01, 2019 9:39 am

OK thanks.

Another question in regards to the foreign currency business bank accounts, they are using a fintech bank called Revolut Business, they state they are not a "traditional bank" so they don't provide mailed bank statements, they suggested to print off transactions from the website to send to Home Office. My concern is that Home Office won't accept this form of statements, can somebody give some insight into this please?

Probably wouldn't accept that. Online bank statements, if available, would probably work.

"(a) Bank statements must:
(i) be from a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating.
(ii) not be from a financial institution on the list of excluded institutions in Appendix P of these rules.
(iii) in relation to personal bank statements be only in the name of:
(1) the applicant’s partner, the applicant or both as appropriate; or
(2) if the applicant is a child the applicant parent’s partner, the applicant’s parent or both as appropriate; or
(3) if the applicant is an adult dependent relative, the applicant’s sponsor or the applicant, unless otherwise stated.
(iv) cover the period(s) specified.
(v) be:
(1) on official bank stationery; or
(2) electronic bank statements which are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page."