ESC

Click the "allow" button if you want to receive important news and updates from immigrationboards.com


Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

Welcome to immigrationboards.com!

Login Register Do not show

Spousal Visa - Do I Need Correspondence?

Family member & Ancestry immigration; don't post other immigration categories, please!
Marriage | Unmarried Partners | Fiancé/e | Ancestry

Moderators: Casa, push, JAJ, ca.funke, Amber, zimba, vinny, Obie, EUsmileWEallsmile, batleykhan, meself2, geriatrix, John, ChetanOjha, archigabe, Administrator

Locked
doc-watkins
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2020 12:17 pm
United States of America

Spousal Visa - Do I Need Correspondence?

Post by doc-watkins » Mon Nov 23, 2020 12:26 pm

Hello all,

The gist of my question is whether, as someone who is currently in the UK on a doctoral extension visa and was previously on a Tier 4 student visa, I need the items of correspondence for my first spousal visa?

The background is that, on the advice of a friend, I'm working with an immigration lawyer's office on this application. I'm really regretting that decision now, as it's emptied my savings and they're not very clear or communicative with me. I had read repeatedly that proving cohabitation with correspondence was only required for renewals of spousal visas or for unmarried partners. My partner and I married in October. As it happens, we have lived together since 2017 but I don't have the mail to prove it. I can't find a single letter addressed to me from 2019, and all the bills are in my partner's name. Our lawyer has told me I'll need to bring these items to my UKVI appointment, and I'm horrified. I just don't have it and didn't anticipate needing it. He didn't even tell me I'd need it before completing the application, so it's too late to back out now. I've spent every cent I have on this application, the staggering NHS fee, and the lawyer (to make sure my application had the best chance!) and now I'm afraid it's all been for nothing. I don't know what to do and waiting on a response from the lawyer is shredding my nerves.

User avatar
Zerubbabel
Respected Guru
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:13 am
Mood:

Re: Spousal Visa - Do I Need Correspondence?

Post by Zerubbabel » Mon Nov 23, 2020 1:58 pm

Hello

Just trying to summarise: you are applying for a spouse visa for the first time. You have a Tier 4 student visa and you are switching to spouse visa. You lived together since 2017 but you never received a single item of correspondence to that address.

Where did you receive your mail since 2017? What are address did you register with the police? What address did your register with the bank, GP, DVLA, HMRC and your own university?

doc-watkins
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2020 12:17 pm
United States of America

Re: Spousal Visa - Do I Need Correspondence?

Post by doc-watkins » Mon Nov 23, 2020 4:59 pm

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I do have mail from 2017, 2018, and 2020. There is one council tax letter addressed to us both from 2019. I have something like 7-10 pieces of mail from 2020 that I've kept, and only one from each of 2017, 2018, and 2019. It isn't that I haven't received any mail, it's that I don't keep things that I don't need (or don't think I need). I also kept correspondence from charities and things that are addressed to both of us, but that's not on the list of acceptable items (must be from government, NHS, banks, etc.) This is the only address I have, so it's the one registered with my bank, university, etc. Even UKVI must have this address on file because this is where I lived when I applied for my doctoral extension. The problem is that they specifically ask for POSTED mail that's evenly spread throughout the last two years only. So, they won't accept my 2017 or 2018 letters (for reasons I don't understand) because they're from before January 2019. And having just one letter from 2019 and all the rest from 2020 hardly counts as evenly spread.

Picard
Junior Member
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun May 19, 2019 5:29 pm

Re: Spousal Visa - Do I Need Correspondence?

Post by Picard » Mon Nov 23, 2020 5:20 pm

Do you have any credit card or bank accounts in UK? Either sole account or joint account with your partner?

If yes, you can download the statements from their websites. They are acceptable cohabitation proofs

User avatar
seagul
Diamond Member
Posts: 10201
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 11:23 am
Mood:

Re: Spousal Visa - Do I Need Correspondence?

Post by seagul » Mon Nov 23, 2020 7:27 pm

doc-watkins wrote:
Mon Nov 23, 2020 12:26 pm
I had read repeatedly that proving cohabitation with correspondence was only required for renewals of spousal visas
Your understanding is absolutely correct that 2 years of cohabitation aren't required for initial switching into spouse visa/FLRM despite the form/checklist ask/prompt to it.
The opinion expressed as above is neither a professional advice nor contesting/competing to other member's opinion/advice.

Locked
cron