Spouse visa extension - advice/suggestions please

Hi, me (British) and my wife (Chinese) are currently in the process of applying for her spouse visa extension, but I have some questions which I hope people can help with.

Her original spouse visa was applied for in China while I was in the UK.

Her current residence permit is:
- Spouse/Partner Leave to Enter


Do the following selections/answers seem correct?

What type of visa, leave to enter or remain or other permission do you have to be in the UK?
- Family

On what basis did you apply for your current visa, leave to enter or remain or other permission?
- As the partner of a British citizen, settled person or a person with refugee leave or humanitarian protection in the UK

Is this correct? I saw someone recommend the 'Settlement' option on someone else's spouse visa extension post. However, this seems incorrect and 'Family' seems the appropriate answer, at least for our circumstances. I assume settlement is for permeant stay (e.g. - ILR) and not a first extension?


Have you previously lived in a country outside the UK including your country of birth?
- Yes

We separately entered all the times she has lived in China. For example, from birth until to going to university in the UK, as well as the times she had to return to China during her studies due to ill health (this occurred twice), and the year spent in China waiting for her spouse visa. So, she spent four periods living in China with the rest of the time in the UK as either a student or on her spouse visa. I assume this is what they would want?


Have you ever been refused a visa for any country, including the UK?
- Yes

Please provide details
- My initial spouse visa application was wrongly refused (Ref: SHEFFIELD/******) (10/10/2017). Reasons given were 6 months payslips were not provided and bank statements not submitted for the required six months by my husband. However, they were provided. We appealed against the decision, resubmitting the financial evidence and reasons why we thought the decision was wrong. UKVI reversed their decision (Ref: UKVI **\******) before going to tribunal and granted me my spouse visa (07/12/2017).[/i]

I assume we should supply this information even though UKVI corrected their mistake because technically the visa was refused, if only initially? Maybe don't say 'wrongly refused', best not to upset the ECO?


Is this the first time you have applied for a partner route, or an extension, with your current partner (including as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner)?
- No

Please choose the reason you are applying for an extension, this includes if you are switching to a partner visa from another type.
- First extension as a partner (following an initial period of entry as a partner, or as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a settled person)

I assume this is all correct as this is an extension and therefore second application?


Do you and your partner have any shared financial responsibilities?
- Yes or No?

I'm unsure whether to answer yes or no. While the council tax, electricity and water are in our joint name's, payment comes from my bank account not our joint account. Mortgage and shared ownership rent payments are in my name only and paid from my account. My wife pays for food/groceries and for entertainment like eating out etc. Does it matter if we enter yes or no to this question?


When did you start living together in a relationship?

This is really confusing me, what do they mean specifically? Do they mean just recently since she has been in the UK on her spouse visa? We have been in a relationship since May 2012. We lived together briefly in 2013 when we were at university in the UK while in a relationship but not married. We have a tenancy agreement to prove this. We then lived separately as she continued her studies and while I was working. Over the last 2.5 years we have continuously lived together as a married couple at 2 different addresses. 1.5 years in a rental property and 1 year in a property that I purchased. There is only space for a single address so what do I enter? Also, there was a two-week period where we stayed with my mother while we were awaiting completion of the purchase of the property. Do I need to provide evidence for this two-week period? Would a signed letter from my mother explaining our brief stay be sufficient?


Items of correspondence covering two years:
- Tenancy agreement in both our names, covering 06/2018 to 06/2019 for the rental property
- Joint bank account statements covering the whole two-year period with the address of both the rental property and the purchased property
- Electricity bills in my name only for the rental property, covering 06/2018 to 02/2019
- Electricity bill in both our names, covering 02/2019 to 05/2019, however they have spelt my wife's name incorrectly (e.g. – Bani instead of Dani)
- Final electricity bill in both our names (from 05/2019 to 06/2019) for the rental property
- Water bills with both our names, covering 06/2019 to 07/2019, 07/2019 to 01/2020 and 01/2020 to 06/2020
- Council tax bills in both our names, covering 06/2019 to 03/2020 and 04/2020 to 03/2021

The evidence for 06/2018 to 06/2019 feels a bit light, most bills were included in the rent for the rental property. We can get copies of statements for our own individual savings accounts which cover this this period, but they are from the same bank as the joint account. Does this matter? We also have letters from a life protection/insurance company.


Have you lived with your partner since your marriage or civil partnership?
-I answered No and then provided the following explanation

Please provide details of any periods (including dates) when you have not lived with your partner since marriage or civil partnership and any reasons why you have not done so
- We married in China on **/01/2017. My husband then returned to the UK on **/01/2017. I remained in China while we waited for my husbands job to be relocated to London before applying for my visa. He moved to London **/06/2017 and we then applied for my visa on **/07/2017. It was initially wrongly refused (Ref: SHEFFIELD/******) 10/10/2017 but later granted (UKVI **\******) **/12/2017. I entered the UK and was reunited with my husband on the **/12/2017. We have lived together since this time.

I think this should be sufficient answer? Again, maybe don't say 'wrongly refused' so as not to upset the ECO?


Have you lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application?
- Yes

Please give details of any previous addresses (including country if outside the UK), how long you lived there and whether you lived at this address with your partner
- "Rental Property Address" (**/12/2017 to **/06/2019 - 1 year, 5 months). We also temporarily stayed with family (my husbands mother - ******) at "Mothers Address" (**/06/2019 to **/06/2019 - 15 days) while we waited for completion of the purchase of "Purchased Property Address" on **/06/2019. A letter from my mother-in-law has been submitted with this application confirming our temporary stay with her.

Has your partner lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application?
- I assume we answer Yes for this as well?

Please give details of any previous addresses (including country if outside the UK), how long your partner lived there and whether you lived at this address with your partner
- Similar to the above answer

I assume the same/similar answer for both me and wife would be ok as we have lived at different address to the current one.


Could you and your partner live together outside the UK if necessary?
- No

Please explain why you and your partner cannot live together outside the UK:
- Neither me or my husband currently have jobs or job opportunities outside the UK. We also do not currently have the right to live in any other country together. My husband does not speak Chinese and would find it difficult to find a job and integrate in China. As I speak good English and have already spent several years (around 6.5 yrs as a student and 2.5 yrs as a spouse) in the UK, it is the only place were both me and my husband could reasonably and realistically be expected to live together

Since we do not currently have the right to live together in any other country, I wouldn't consider we could live outside the UK.


Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

This board was a massive help during the initial spouse visa application, so a massive thank you to all that give their free time to contribute.

Also, is "evidence must be dated no earlier than 28 days before the date of application" count from when you submit the application online and pay all the fees or from when biometrics are done? My last payslip was 30/06/2020, so if I submit the application either tomorrow or Monday I should be ok?

I recommend you break your questions in to chunks. It's difficult for someone to read such a long post and answer your questions.

Taking Manugmedia's advice I am breaking my rather long post into smaller chunks.

When did you start living together in a relationship?

This is really confusing me, what do they mean specifically? Do they mean just recently since she has been in the UK on her spouse visa? We have been in a relationship since May 2012. We lived together briefly in 2013 when we were at university in the UK while in a relationship but not married. We have a tenancy agreement to prove this. We then lived separately as she continued her studies and while I was working. Over the last 2.5 years we have continuously lived together as a married couple at 2 different addresses. 1.5 years in a rental property and 1 year in a property that I purchased. There is only space for a single address so what do I enter?

Also, there was a two-week period where we stayed with my mother while we were awaiting completion of the purchase of the property. Do I need to provide evidence for this two-week period? Would a signed letter from my mother explaining our brief stay be sufficient?

Do you and your partner have any shared financial responsibilities?
- Yes or No?

I'm unsure whether to answer yes or no. While the council tax, electricity and water are in our joint name's, payment comes from my bank account not our joint account. Mortgage and shared ownership rent payments are in my name only and paid from my account. My wife pays for food/groceries and for entertainment like eating out etc.

Does it matter if we enter yes or no to this question?

geo_2020 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:41 pm

Taking Manugmedia's advice I am breaking my rather long post into smaller chunks.

When did you start living together in a relationship?

This is really confusing me, what do they mean specifically? Do they mean just recently since she has been in the UK on her spouse visa? We have been in a relationship since May 2012. We lived together briefly in 2013 when we were at university in the UK while in a relationship but not married. We have a tenancy agreement to prove this. We then lived separately as she continued her studies and while I was working. Over the last 2.5 years we have continuously lived together as a married couple at 2 different addresses. 1.5 years in a rental property and 1 year in a property that I purchased. There is only space for a single address so what do I enter?

Also, there was a two-week period where we stayed with my mother while we were awaiting completion of the purchase of the property. Do I need to provide evidence for this two-week period? Would a signed letter from my mother explaining our brief stay be sufficient?

In the initial application, there is a question asking when or if you have lived together before(presume you got this in your form back then) ? Use same date as you entered in the first application you made.

geo_2020 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:41 pm

Do you and your partner have any shared financial responsibilities?
- Yes or No?

I'm unsure whether to answer yes or no. While the council tax, electricity and water are in our joint name's, payment comes from my bank account not our joint account. Mortgage and shared ownership rent payments are in my name only and paid from my account. My wife pays for food/groceries and for entertainment like eating out etc.

Does it matter if we enter yes or no to this question?

There is no miss with it. Just answer it as it is.

AmazonianX wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 2:37 pm

geo_2020 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:41 pm

Taking Manugmedia's advice I am breaking my rather long post into smaller chunks.

When did you start living together in a relationship?

This is really confusing me, what do they mean specifically? Do they mean just recently since she has been in the UK on her spouse visa? We have been in a relationship since May 2012. We lived together briefly in 2013 when we were at university in the UK while in a relationship but not married. We have a tenancy agreement to prove this. We then lived separately as she continued her studies and while I was working. Over the last 2.5 years we have continuously lived together as a married couple at 2 different addresses. 1.5 years in a rental property and 1 year in a property that I purchased. There is only space for a single address so what do I enter?

Also, there was a two-week period where we stayed with my mother while we were awaiting completion of the purchase of the property. Do I need to provide evidence for this two-week period? Would a signed letter from my mother explaining our brief stay be sufficient?

In the initial application, there is a question asking when or if you have lived together before(presume you got this in your form back then) ? Use same date as you entered in the first application you made.

So in the first application for the question "Have you lived with your sponsor in a relationship akin to marriage or a civil partnership at any time (including since your wedding or civil partnership ceremony)?

We answered "We lived together for 6 months (**/03/2014 to 19/09/2014) at Flat *, *** Something Road, ** ***. I have attached a copy of the tenancy agreement"

I'll enter this and also write a comprehensive cover letter covering the whole period of our relationship and marriage for the ECO. I assume it is possible to include a covering letter when submitting documents?

geo_2020 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 2:47 pm

AmazonianX wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 2:37 pm

geo_2020 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:41 pm

Taking Manugmedia's advice I am breaking my rather long post into smaller chunks.

When did you start living together in a relationship?

This is really confusing me, what do they mean specifically? Do they mean just recently since she has been in the UK on her spouse visa? We have been in a relationship since May 2012. We lived together briefly in 2013 when we were at university in the UK while in a relationship but not married. We have a tenancy agreement to prove this. We then lived separately as she continued her studies and while I was working. Over the last 2.5 years we have continuously lived together as a married couple at 2 different addresses. 1.5 years in a rental property and 1 year in a property that I purchased. There is only space for a single address so what do I enter?

Also, there was a two-week period where we stayed with my mother while we were awaiting completion of the purchase of the property. Do I need to provide evidence for this two-week period? Would a signed letter from my mother explaining our brief stay be sufficient?

In the initial application, there is a question asking when or if you have lived together before(presume you got this in your form back then) ? Use same date as you entered in the first application you made.

So in the first application for the question "Have you lived with your sponsor in a relationship akin to marriage or a civil partnership at any time (including since your wedding or civil partnership ceremony)?

We answered "We lived together for 6 months (**/03/2014 to 19/09/2014) at Flat *, *** Something Road, ** ***. I have attached a copy of the tenancy agreement"

I'll enter this and also write a comprehensive cover letter covering the whole period of our relationship and marriage for the ECO. I assume it is possible to include a covering letter when submitting documents?

So maintain the date you used initially and also include cover letter detailing the journey of you relationship as before.
Yes, cover letter can be uploaded.

Have you lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application?
- Yes

Please give details of any previous addresses (including country if outside the UK), how long you lived there and whether you lived at this address with your partner
- Together at "Rental Property Address" (**/12/2017 to **/06/2019 - 1 year, 5 months). We also temporarily stayed together with family (my husbands mother - ******) at "Mothers Address" (**/06/2019 to **/06/2019 - 15 days) while we waited for completion of the purchase of "Purchased Property Address" on **/06/2019. A letter from my mother-in-law has been submitted with this application confirming our temporary stay with her.

Has your partner lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application?
- I assume we answer Yes for this as well since we lived together in the same places?

Please give details of any previous addresses (including country if outside the UK), how long your partner lived there and whether you lived at this address with your partner
- And give similar answer to the one above

I assume the same/similar answer for both me and wife would be ok as we both have lived at different but the same addresses to our current one.

geo_2020 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 25, 2020 4:27 pm

Have you lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application?
- Yes

Please give details of any previous addresses (including country if outside the UK), how long you lived there and whether you lived at this address with your partner
- Together at "Rental Property Address" (**/12/2017 to **/06/2019 - 1 year, 5 months). We also temporarily stayed together with family (my husbands mother - ******) at "Mothers Address" (**/06/2019 to **/06/2019 - 15 days) while we waited for completion of the purchase of "Purchased Property Address" on **/06/2019. A letter from my mother-in-law has been submitted with this application confirming our temporary stay with her.

Has your partner lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application?
- I assume we answer Yes for this as well since we lived together in the same places?

Please give details of any previous addresses (including country if outside the UK), how long your partner lived there and whether you lived at this address with your partner
- And give similar answer to the one above

I assume the same/similar answer for both me and wife would be ok as we both have lived at different but the same addresses to our current one.

That will be correct and we'll detailed esp the 15day with MIL.