FLR (M) Document check and advice

[klm00]

Hi All

I am British and my husband is Chile. We are in the process of preparing his application to extend his spouse Visa and have a couple of questions that we would really appreciate some assistance and wisdom with.

1. His current visa expires 4 June 2019. How far in advance of that date should we submit the extension application. Is there any reason not to do it asap?

2. For the initial entry visa he had IELTS Academic C1, dated 15 April 2016. Are we correct in our understanding that this can be relied on again for the extension?

3. In relation to the accommodation element from Sept 2016 - Feb 2019 we have the tenancy agreement and letter from the landlord together with various items of correspondence. From Feb 2019 to date we moved house and have a tenancy agreement for the new property.
My question is whether we need to also have a letter from the landlord as the agents want to charge £60 to print a one sentence (that i have provided to them) letter. Obviously if we need this letter we will suck up the cost, but if it's not necessary we'd rather not throw another £60 at this process. We do have items of correspondence at this new address.

Many thanks in advance for an advice you can give.

[seagul]

Hi All

I am British and my husband is Chile. We are in the process of preparing his application to extend his spouse Visa and have a couple of questions that we would really appreciate some assistance and wisdom with.

1. His current visa expires 4 June 2019. How far in advance of that date should we submit the extension application. Is there any reason not to do it asap?

2. For the initial entry visa he had IELTS Academic C1, dated 15 April 2016. Are we correct in our understanding that this can be relied on again for the extension?

3. In relation to the accommodation element from Sept 2016 - Feb 2019 we have the tenancy agreement and letter from the landlord together with various items of correspondence. From Feb 2019 to date we moved house and have a tenancy agreement for the new property.
My question is whether we need to also have a letter from the landlord as the agents want to charge £60 to print a one sentence (that i have provided to them) letter. Obviously if we need this letter we will suck up the cost, but if it's not necessary we'd rather not throw another £60 at this process. We do have items of correspondence at this new address.

Many thanks in advance for an advice you can give.

1.28 days before completing 30 months from the date of arriving UK. But preferably apply 28 days before of expiry so that no shortfall occurs in future when applying ILR after 5 years.

2. A2/B1 Ielts life skills will be needed

3. If you taken the property from estate agent then he need not give the NOC letter of permitting your partner to stay there. If tenancy agreement is in joint names then no need.

[klm00]

2. A2/B1 Ielts life skills will be needed

3. If you taken the property from estate agent then he need not give the NOC letter of permitting your partner to stay there. If tenancy agreement is in joint names then no need.

Re the English Language requirement i thought that C1 Academic is higher than A2/B1 so we thought this would be sufficient - is that not the case and he will need to take a lower level test?

3 The tenancy agreement is in both names so no letter from the estate agents is needed? Im not sure what the NOC letter you mentioned is....

[seagul]

2. A2/B1 Ielts life skills will be needed

3. If you taken the property from estate agent then he need not give the NOC letter of permitting your partner to stay there. If tenancy agreement is in joint names then no need.

Re the English Language requirement i thought that C1 Academic is higher than A2/B1 so we thought this would be sufficient - is that not the case and he will need to take a lower level test?

3 The tenancy agreement is in both names so no letter from the estate agents is needed? Im not sure what the NOC letter you mentioned is....

C1 academic level is although higher than A2/B1 but caseworker is chained up with HO list of approved tests & centres as below. However, I think if it was accepted initially and now is still in the HO list then may be accepted again.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... ebsite.pdf

Regarding NOC its a no objection letter from landlord/estate agent but in your case it wont be needed since the tenancy agreement is in joint names. But you should also include council tax too.

[klm00]

C1 academic level is although higher than A2/B1 but caseworker is chained up with HO list of approved tests & centres as below. However, I think if it was accepted initially and now is still in the HO list then may be accepted again.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... ebsite.pdf

Thanks so much for that. Ive checked the approved list. He did it last time at the approved pop up centre in Buenos Aires. The details seem to have changed since 2016 though in that the centre code and address are different. However, he also has a Masters degree that he studied at UCL here in London awarded in 2017. I think im right in saying that is valid evidence too, so perhaps safest is to include the Masters certificate too? I'd hate for us to fall down on this when in actual fact he has more than is required. Do you think that would be ok?

[ariamus]

Why not just take the B1 test and avoid any doubt?
Clearly passing won’t be an issue.
Yes there is a cost but relatively small compared to visa fee.
I think the centre not being on the current list would be an issue.

[CR001]

Use the UK degree then to meet the requirement and not the English test.

[klm00]

Thank you. Yes I was just rereading the guidance and thinking that just submitting the masters certificate is the best way forward on this point. Thanks all for the advice.

[klm00]

Hi All

We are preparing to submit the application for my husbands visa extension, his current visa expires 4 June. We have the following document list and we'd really appreciate feedback on it and views if there is anything we are missing or don't need.

General Documents
1. Printed online Application Form
2. Cover letter
3. Declarations

Applicant Documents
1. Birth certificate and translation
2. Current Passport
3. Previous passport
4. Biometric Residence Permit

Sponsor Documents
1. Passport copy
2. Birth certificate certified copy
3. Sponsor statement – is this required?

Relationship supporting documents
1. Detailed relationship statements from:
Applicant
Sponsor – is this required?
2. Marriage certificate and translation
3. Daughter’s birth certificate (born in UK)
4. Family photographs
5. Evidence of communication Sept 2016 – present
a. Whatsapp
b. Facebook messenger
6. Flight tickets
7. Supporting statements from family and friends

English language evidence
1. Postgraduate Masters Degree Certificate – studied in UK

Accommodation
1. Tenancy Agreement – Sept 2016 – Feb 2019
2. Confirmation letter from Landlord
3. Tenancy Agreement – Feb 2019 – present
4. Letter from Estate Agents
5. Letters of correspondence - NB we don't have enough from three separate sources so have included individual ones too

a. Joint
Council Tax bill - 25 October 2016
Council Tax Bill - 14 March 2017
Council Tax Bill - 13 March 2018
Council Tax Closing statement - March 2019
Council Tax Bill - 1 March 2019 (covering March 2019)
Council Tax Bill - 6 March 2019 (covering April 2019 – March 2020)

b. Separate
Applicant
NHS registration confirmation - 15 November 2016
Hospital Referral - 8 June 2017
Hospital letter to GP copied to Applicant - 10 August 2017
Department of Work and Pensions confirmation of NI number - 21 February 2018
Pension scheme letter - 4 April 2018
HMRC letter – 12 August 2018
DVLA letter - April 2019

Sponsor
Thames water bill - 22 September 2016
Hospital Letter – 26 May 2017
Natwest bank statement 8 September 2017 – 10 November 2017
Private Healthcare confirmation of membership - 1 June 2018
HMRC Letter – 18 September 2018
Credit card statement – 6 April 2019

Applicant financial requirements supporting documents
1. Payslips x 6 months prior to application
2. Employers confirmation letter
3. Bank statements x6 months prior to application
4. Contract of employment - is this required?

We also have a question regarding the process, we thought that we needed to post off the documents once the application was submitted online. However, after reading posts here that seems to have changed and we now scan the documents and get an appointment to go to a centre once the form is submitted. Can we scan the documents ourselves and then do we upload them to?? Do we need to post anything if we do this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[ariamus]

Hi All

We are preparing to submit the application for my husbands visa extension, his current visa expires 4 June. We have the following document list and we'd really appreciate feedback on it and views if there is anything we are missing or don't need.

General Documents
1. Printed online Application Form Don't need to print
2. Cover letter
3. Declarations

Applicant Documents
1. Birth certificate and translation Not required
2. Current Passport
3. Previous passport Does this include the current visa? If not, not required
4. Biometric Residence Permit

Sponsor Documents
1. Passport copy
2. Birth certificate certified copy Not required
3. Sponsor statement – is this required? Not required although won't do any harm - what point is the letter trying to make? You can include such detail in covering letter and avoid clutter?

Relationship supporting documents
1. Detailed relationship statements from:
Applicant
Sponsor – is this required? Same comment as Sponsor statement
2. Marriage certificate and translation
3. Daughter’s birth certificate (born in UK) Not required although won't do any harm
The evidence required to prove you live together for an extension is the items of correspondence not the following:
4. Family photographs Not required
5. Evidence of communication Sept 2016 – present Not required
a. Whatsapp Not required
b. Facebook messenger Not required
6. Flight tickets Not required
7. Supporting statements from family and friends Not required, anyone can make them up and therefore won't add any weight to the application

English language evidence
1. Postgraduate Masters Degree Certificate – studied in UK

Accommodation
1. Tenancy Agreement – Sept 2016 – Feb 2019 Appears you lived in this accommodation since he arrived in UK? If not and you also lived with eg family at some point, they can provide a letter to confirm you resided with them
2. Confirmation letter from Landlord
3. Tenancy Agreement – Feb 2019 – present
4. Letter from Estate Agents Stating what?
5. Letters of correspondence - NB we don't have enough from three separate sources so have included individual ones too

a. Joint
Council Tax bill - 25 October 2016 *You need to cover the last 2 years not 2.5 years. Therefore documents from May 2017 to May/June 2019
Council Tax Bill - 14 March 2017 *
Council Tax Bill - 13 March 2018
Council Tax Closing statement - March 2019
Council Tax Bill - 1 March 2019 (covering March 2019)
Council Tax Bill - 6 March 2019 (covering April 2019 – March 2020)

b. Separate
Applicant
NHS registration confirmation - 15 November 2016 *
Hospital Referral - 8 June 2017
Hospital letter to GP copied to Applicant - 10 August 2017
Department of Work and Pensions confirmation of NI number - 21 February 2018
Pension scheme letter - 4 April 2018
HMRC letter – 12 August 2018
DVLA letter - April 2019

Sponsor
Thames water bill - 22 September 2016 *
Hospital Letter – 26 May 2017
Natwest bank statement 8 September 2017 – 10 November 2017
Private Healthcare confirmation of membership - 1 June 2018
HMRC Letter – 18 September 2018
Credit card statement – 6 April 2019

Applicant financial requirements supporting documents
1. Payslips x 6 months prior to application
2. Employers confirmation letter
3. Bank statements x6 months prior to application
4. Contract of employment - is this required? Not required

Remember each application can vary based on different circumstances, therefore review the 'Checklist' provided at end of the application to ensure all the stated documents are included.

We also have a question regarding the process, we thought that we needed to post off the documents once the application was submitted online. However, after reading posts here that seems to have changed and we now scan the documents and get an appointment to go to a centre once the form is submitted. Can we scan the documents ourselves and then do we upload them to?? Do we need to post anything if we do this?
Once you have completed the online application, it will take you to the payment for visa fee and IHS fee. Following that you will go to Sopra Steria website to book Biometrics appointment, you will have many weeks to book a date. typically appointment dates in the coming days/weeks will cost £100 but later ones are free.
You then decide do you want to upload all documents yourself at home (I think this is best option) or you can pay extra and take documents to Biometric appointment, where they will scan documents. Be warned however if they rush and fail to scan a document, it could result in a refusal/delay.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[klm00]

Thanks so much for the answer, it's really helpful.

[klm00]

Following the helpful advice above we were trying to complete the application form and are nearly there but there are a couple of questions that we are not sure how best to answer:

1. Please give reasons why it would be difficult to establish a private life in another country. So far we've put "established life in UK with my wife and daughter and my career". At the end of the form it states that we need to provide evidence to support the claim that it would be difficult or impossible to integrate and establish a private life outside of the UK. While it wouldn't be impossible to move back to my husband's home country it would be difficult as we have made our life here....how best should we address this and what documents should we provide as supporting documents for this point - we were thinking our daughter's birth certificate and my husband's employment contract (incidentally they have asked for a copy of both of these and 12 months of payslips and bank statements in the document list which i know isn't the norm or required by the guidance...).

2. "Would your children be affected if your application was refused?" We've answered My Daughter is British and if I can not live in the UK, my partner and her would have to be uprooted and she would not be able to grow up in the UK with her British family. Does this seem ok/enough?

3. "Would any of your other family members be affected if your application was refused?"
We've answered "My partner. She would have to resign her job and be forced to apply for a residence visa elsewhere." Again does this seem ok/enough?

4. "Do you have any other reasons for wanting to stay in the UK? Explain your other reasons and say what documents you will provide to support your claim"
We aren't sure what to say here that we haven't already covered and what other documents we could provide?

5. We were also wondering about the question asking for details of my husband's role in our daughter's upbringing. We have stated so far that we share full time parental responsibility on a daily basis and that we live together and share all care and financial responsibilities. Is that sufficient....presumably we don't need to state that he changes her nappy and gives her breakfast!!

6 Evidence of monthly housing costs for the accommodation in the UK where you live or will live Is the tenancy agreement and council tax bills sufficient or do we need to provide copies of all utility bills?

Thanks so much in advance, the questions are really confusing.

[klm00]

If anyone has any thoughts on the above questions we’d really appreciate it. We’re hoping to submit this application this evening and we’re really unsure on the best way to approach the above points. Thanks.

[klm00]

Just bumping this to see if anyone can help. Really want to get the application submitted tonight if we can. Thank you

[seagul]

I think your query contains your own answer in it which are correct because you are honestly replying. Regarding answering question # 4, I think answers to questions # 1-3 are also an answer to it. Regarding question # 6, yes you can attach tenancy agreement, bills etc.

[klm00]

Ah thanks for that. My worry was really whether my answers were sufficient. It feels for such a big question we should be saying more but not sure there is much more we can say. Good to Know it sounds right