General Visit Visa to UK for Colombian boyfriend

[gregpicard]

Im hoping you can read over and see what you think about the likelyhood of success based on what we will be submitting, and suggest any last minute additions.


My Colombian boyfriend has applied for a General Visitor Visa to the UK for a 3 month stay (Im a UK citizen). He will be attending his appointment in Bogota on Thursday for biometrics and to submit his supporting documentation.

We actually met online through a friend 2 years ago, and spoke to each other every day. However i wouldnt say we were in a 'relationship', we just really liked each other but wanted to wait until we met in person before making any big decisions. I travelled to Colombia on 13th June and stayed with him and his family until returning back to the UK yesterday. We decided at the beginning of July that we wanted a proper relationship, and i wanted him to meet my family in the UK and stay with us for 3 months, so we made the visa application and arranged an appointment at the embassy to submit all documents for this Thursday. So obviously we have not been in a meaningful relationship for a long time period (so an Unmarried Partner application wouldnt be prudent)

My parents agreed to sponsor him (as i do not have the financial means etc) and have provided the relevant signed Letter of Support, including that he is my partner and they wish him to visit us and the rest of my family, also stating they will finance his entire trip, his flight and provide accomodation. My parents earn reasonably good wages, have provided all the financial documents (bank statements / wage slips) and their mortgage details to show they own the house. I live with my parents and work also (but have also got vacation time arranged for his trip)

On the letter of support and other letters (his employer letter of comfirmation etc) we stated his intent to come on 28th August and leave on 28th November. We have not booked a ticket yet, we wanted to wait until the visa was granted as the tickets from Bogota to London are not cheap (currently £1500 return) and we were worried about losing that if the visa is rejected or takes longer etc...is this a big negative?

He is employed as a private english tutor by a family to teach their son english. He has a typed work contract that has been notorized, stating his wages, employment time, etc. His boss also provided a notorized letter stating that he will grant him 90 days of vacation time to visit the UK, and that he expects him to return to continue his duties. One issue...these documents are in Spanish. We did get a work colleague of my boyfriend to accurately translate, state it was an accurate translation, and got his boss and him to sign the new english versions also..but im not sure if this is acceptable? We also provided a previous employment letter (which was in english and spanish and signed)

My boyfriends mother also provided a typed signed letter, stating his responsibilities to providing for her and his 3 sisters (payments on the rent, bills etc) and that she expects him to return after his visa ends to continue his responsibilities.

I have also provided a letter of invitation (formally inviting him to stay with me and my family for a holiday), and evidence that we have met before in Colombia this year (My passport stamp from Colombia, pictures of the two of us)



Is there any advice you could give on whether you think all of the documentation provided is suitable? Do you think it satisfies the requirements for the General visitor visa?

Obviously im concerned, as I have read many posts about boyfriend/girlfriend General visitor applications being declined due to the incentive to overstay in the UK etc. I've been quite relaxed until now but after reading some forums today i've begun to panic as the docs will all be submit on Thursday! Are they really that strict on General Visitor visas for partners? Will they frown upon the translation of his work documents not being from someone with a degree in translation but a fluent english speaker?

Kind Regard

Greg Innes

[gregpicard]

I should also add that we only supplied my parents financial documentation as they will pay for the entire trip. My boyfriend is paid monthly, cash in hand (around 500 UK pounds for 40 hours work per month), and has never had use for a bank account because of this. He will have some funds availible to personally spend (we put 200 UK sterling on the form) as he still needs to provide the rest to his family.


Would it be a good idea to take a print-off of a proposed flight day / details, without actually having a paid ticket? (ie. a print screen of the proposed flight date, times, cost, airline)