set m help

[sally1]

i am nearly at the end of my 2 yr probationary wife visa and in due course will apply for ILR.

Before being granted this probationary spouse visa, the british embassy had refused my application and i was kept apart from my husband who is a british citizen for 1 yr!

Refusal was based on maintaining without recourse to Public Funds and that ECO did not believe our marriage was genuine.

my questions are as follows:
1. when my application was intially refused, my passport was stamped with a small rectangular stamp, dated and a red line across it - will this create any problems now when i apply for ILR?

2. we have all the doc evidence for the set m i.e bank statments, utility bills, proof of funds and we were also blessed with a baby late last year.

Is there anything else we should be aware of?

Thanks

[John]

The form SET(M) contains its own guidance. That evidence is designed to prove that the marriage is real, and not a marriage of convenience ... also that financial tests are met. Accordingly if the required evidence can be produced there really should not be a problem.

Please post when you have your ILR. Are you applying by post or in person at a PEO?

[sally1]

thanks again John

will be going in person to PEO

Thanks

[John]

Sally, the only thing I would say is to emphasise the need to read the part of the form carefully about what documentary evidence needs to be taken along. And do make sure that such evidence covers the whole of the (nearly) two-year period. Some people have encountered an initial problem because none of their evidence proved they had lived at the same address in the first three-month period of validity of the spouse visa.

Also, the visa is valid to what date? And what was the actual date you entered the UK using that visa? Was there a delay in you coming to the UK after the visa became valid to use?

[sally1]

Hi again,
I was in the UK within 3 days of my visa being issued so there was no delay...

as you are probably aware it can be difficult(the banks etc are not very user friendly when it comes to you providing ID to open accounts-time at address being a big sticking point) to get docs as soon as you arrive, i have however got docs from the second month onwards and my GP has given me a note saying that i have been registered with them within the first month of my arrival...the council tax bill is in our joint names and it is from the date of my arrival in the uk

thanks

[John]

Sally, that all sounds good. If anything take too much evidence with you when you go to the PEO, just in case they query something.

I don't know when you plan to go to the PEO (having previously got an appointment of course) but as you probably know you can apply up to 28 days before the expiry of your current spouse visa. However, as you arrived three days after the start date, if I were you I would not go along to the PEO until at least 28 - 3 = 25 days before the expiry date. That is, ensure that it is at least 23 months since you first arrived using that spouse visa.

That might be "overkill" but better to be safe than sorry.