Vietnam to UK. Penniless Youngsters

[patbrry]

In short - three main areas of concern

- location to apply for spouse visa from
- sufficient funds to not need public funds
- accommodation

application form can be currently found here:
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/ ... 3073/vaf4a
some very good advice can be found on this board.

In long:

We've been together 8 years, meeting at school in the UK.
Last year I finished by Civil Eng degree, she'd finished her masters, we looked at the job situation and decided to ride out the recession in Vietnam.

Now we're looking to move back.

We were married in the UK, so we have the marriage certificate and I've applied to the venue for a confirmation letter that it did take place.

Likewise we have photo's and emails dating back over the eight years, and I might approach some reputable friends (teachers, lawyers ect) as witnesses.
So far so good.

We were penniless students when we left the UK, and even now we're not much better off. The ECO can make a judgement based on job prospects as well as cash reserves, but I imagine at the moment nothing less then a confirmed job offer is useful.
She's highly employable too and already has a NI number, but applying outside the UK before the visa is granted is difficult.

Accommodation follows naturally - I can't claim to be living with parents in Liverpool if I'm working in Edinburgh. That'll be the last thing to be sorted.

The crux of the matter

I've applied for a job (several actually) in the UK and I'm progressing merrily through the rounds. However, they'd like me to come to an Assessment Day.
Money wise I can't really justify flying to the UK, being assessed, flying back to Vietnam and making the visa application with my wife.
Unless I have a job offer, our application is unlikely to succeed.

So. Fly there on my own. do my best to secure this job (or any job), sort out a flat ect. When that is in place, post passport back to Vietnam so wife can make application. She joins me up to 12 months later. ouch.

BUT i am worried if I am in the UK, with a job and a flat at the time we make the application, that changes the category of assessment and I'll need to show six months pay slips and bank statements ect.

We do not want to be separated from each other for six months. Is this a real risk, or am I being paranoid?

[vinny]

Any third party support from family or friends?

[patbrry]

Doh!

I get the feeling you have to post that link a lot.

Thanks a lot. I'll keep this thread updated as it proceeds, and once complete I'll put a summary in the sticky 'UK spouse visa success' thread.

[patbrry]

Parent's have agreed to the 3rd party support. The wife's parent's are actually richer, but obviously not uk residents.

---

If I have to return to the UK first for a job interview, can we submit the application using a notarized copy of my passport?
Or will we need to wait until I've arrived and posted it back?

I assume a notarized copy will have to be done at an embassy, with me in person - that's what was required for my degree cert.


----

ok. I have a long list of items that might be useful as supporting evidence, and a second index cross referencing them with form clauses.

eg clause 4.1.4 - Evidence, Sponsor's passport, in section 2.0

as an example.

I'd post it here for other people as an example, but the forum doesn't allow attachments. This does seem to me to be the best way to organize the growing mound of paperwork.

[Casa]

You can submit a certified (notarised) copy of your passport. Any solicitor who certifies documents can do this for you.

[vinny]

Or will we need to wait until I've arrived and posted it back?.

Notarised copy of passport may be better than sending original.

[patbrry]

ok. update time.

When father discovered he'd have to provide bank statements to back up the sponsorship, he backed out. No real explanation given apart from some muttering about 'taxes'.
We never made the application.

In March it will be our two year anniversary (married, we've been together seven years now) and we will make a new application.

We will be applying from Vietnam - we both have jobs here, and if the application fails we'll continue to live here together (and look at emigrating to Australia / New Zealand together at a later date. )

If we are successful in our application, my wife will be looking for full time work and I will working and studying part time (I have to complete a masters to progress in my career as an engineer.)

Money continues to be an issue, although I may have secured a part time job (1275 quid a month) to tide us over whilst my wife is seeking employment. We have lived together on less before, and it exceeds minimum wage. The chief benefit of the job is that I'm writing marketing content for an American firm - it's location independent.


My wife's parents are also going to gift us $10,000 in cash to help set us up in the UK, and a friend has placed 3000quid in my uk bank account so it will appear on the bank statements.

1) How do we mention / prove these cash reserves are available?

2) What form do we use? VAF4A? FLR(M)?

[SoHopeful]

1. You will need to explain where the money has come from and that it is readily available to you once you arrive in the UK. Perhaps a letter from parents explaining that the money is a gift. The money your friend gave you, i'm not sure how they would view that. They may see it as an attempt to make your bank account look better than it actually might be. Not sure that's a good idea.

2. Yes the VAF4A.

[Kitty]

If you are happy to move around a bit, and you can work anywhere, do give some consideration to living in another European state for a while. If you can exercise treaty rights by working (including self-employment) in another EEA member state first, then you may benefit from free movement laws when you return to the UK.

This could mean that your wife has an automatic right to accompany you, and you do not have to satisfy any financial or language test.

Check the EEA forum here, searching for "Surinder Singh" (which is the name of the court decision that provides for you in this way).

It may not be for you, but it is worth considering.

[patbrry]

We applied 7 weeks ago (thankfully before the new rules came in) and are still waiting.

[patbrry]

Update:

The British Embassy just made contact.

they want further information:

1) Proof my wife's savings are hers, where they come from
2) Further proof of our jobs (contracts not enough)
3) Proof of temporary accommodation

On the plus side - no claims that our marriage isn't genuine

So, if you're reading this before applying:

1) Even when your parent's do give you a huge chunk of money, you'll have to 'prove' it's yours and that it's not a loan. (In this case, the amount is tiny compared to the parent's net worth, so we'll be using that as evidence)

2)yeah, contracts not enough - they want a headed letter from my employer, receipts showing salary payment to me and my bank statements (this last is difficult since my bank won't issue them)

3)We are planning on going back to Cardiff, and so didn't bother putting my parents down for temporary accommodation since they're at the wrong end of the country. It seems this doesn't matter - they just want that part of the checklist ticked off with 'having family n the UK' also being useful.
Advice from the embassy - 'just put your parents down'

this checklist mentality is important - at submission my wife was questioned aggressively on why we didn't include photos ( we added them the next day via a friendly ECO) and why she didn't have a Language test (UK degrees, two of them)
Basically, if your submission looks different to a 'normal' one expect to have to answer questions (at minimum), even if the missing evidence is pretty useless.