Immigrationboards.com

Hi,
I have a question about the proof of cohabitation start date. It will be great if you could advice me on this, please... My husband and I are on Tier 2 visas and we recently applied for ILR (5 years route). My husband is the main applicant and I'm his dependant. Our timeline is as below:

- We first came to the UK together in January 2016. My husband had a change of employment once and our visas extended 3-4 times (after so much stress!)

- We applied for our last Tier2 extension in April 2020, but because of the pandemic, it took so much time and our Tier2 visas were expired in May 2020. Eventually that was OK, because it wasn't our fault! Finally, the last Tier2 extensions were issued in November 2020.

- Now we have applied for ILR. When we filled in the application it showed the below statement:
"If you have added a spouse or civil partner to this application form who is applying at the same time as you, please provide documentary evidence of cohabitation since you were last granted leave (up to a maximum of two years). Evidence provided should cover the whole period and be in the form of official letters or documents, addressed to yourself and your spouse."

Based of our timeline, does this mean that we will have to provide the proof of cohabitation only from November 2020?

Many thanks!

For ilr you have provide evidence for the 2 years immediately before the date you apply for ilr.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:58 pm

For ilr you have provide evidence for the 2 years immediately before the date you apply for ilr.

Thank you so much for your quick answer!

So, when they say 'since you were last granted leave' in that statement, does this not mean 'since our last Tier 2 extension'?

If not, what do they mean by that?

It is a generic text.

I am really confused now... we do not have many documents to prove our 2 years of cohabitation (only tenancy agreements and online bank statements) so, I really need to know the definition of this statement:

'please provide documentary evidence of cohabitation since you were last granted leave (up to a maximum of two years)'
Does this mean 'from our last Tier2 visa extension' (November 2020) would be enough?

My husband contacted an immigration lawyer and he said that we will only need to provide the cohabitation documents since our last Tier2 extension, but CR001 just said that the two-years is correct! (and I appreciate your advice)

Did anyone else faced the same problem?

Considering the above statement, will our application be refused if we fail to provide more evidence?

Thank you!

animations wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 5:26 pm

I am really confused now... we do not have many documents to prove our 2 years of cohabitation (only tenancy agreements and online bank statements) so, I really need to know the definition of this statement:

'please provide documentary evidence of cohabitation since you were last granted leave (up to a maximum of two years)'
Does this mean 'from our last Tier2 visa extension' (November 2020) would be enough?

My husband contacted an immigration lawyer and he said that we will only need to provide the cohabitation documents since our last Tier2 extension, but CR001 just said that the two-years is correct! (and I appreciate your advice)

Did anyone else faced the same problem?

Considering the above statement, will our application be refused if we fail to provide more evidence?

Thank you!

Its from previous 2 years counting from date of application backwards. Evidence or correspondence from 3 to4 sources evenly spread 3 to 4 months. Letter from Dr./NHS, HMRC, dvla, dvsa and if it comes to it any letters addressed to you at your address.
6 if joint named or 12 if addressed to you separately.

Thank you!

So, you are saying that 'last granted leave' doesn't mean 'last Tier2 extension' in my case. good to know that anyway!

Now I have another question... If they will be happy with all the main applicant documents, but not convinced with the cohabitation documentary, what will happen?

A. will they refuse ILR for both applicants?
B. or refuse dependant's ILR only, but will grant ILR to the main applicant anyway?

Does anybody know the answer to this question?

animations wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 20, 2021 11:05 am

...

If they will be happy with all the main applicant documents, but not convinced with the cohabitation documentary, what will happen?

A. will they refuse ILR for both applicants?
B. or refuse dependant's ILR only, but will grant ILR to the main applicant anyway?

There is no explicit requirement for cohabitation documents under the rules. The rules simply need you to show you have been living together in the UK which is the requirements of the ILR for dependants ONLY. UKVI will not refuse if they do believe that your relationship is genuine

Zimba wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 27, 2021 12:27 pm

There is no explicit requirement for cohabitation documents under the rules. The rules simply need you to show you have been living together in the UK which is the requirements of the ILR for dependants ONLY. UKVI will not refuse if they do believe that your relationship is genuine

Thank you Zimba!

Our cohabitation documents are very limited. That's why we are worried to be rejected.

We have only received 3 letters in 2020 each! Other than that, we only have our tenancy agreements (bills are included in rental) and online bank statements. Unfortunately we had everything paperless!

Could I ask you how much gap is acceptable between two letters? Would 3 letters a year be okay?
or the ILR may be rejected because of that?!

You should cover two years. It does not need to be every month. Use ANY evidence, including online prints

Thanks a million!