Spouse Visa for My Russian Wife - Please Help

[Atikax]

Yes I realised that yesterday after I posted. Can anyone help with the points in a cover letter? You can email me at email address removed by moderator Thank you.

[metanoia]

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[CR001]

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[CR001]

Yes I realised that yesterday after I posted. Can anyone help with the points in a cover letter? You can email me at email address removed by moderator Thank you.

I strongly suggest you read the forum rules, as you were required to do when joining the forum.

[hubble14]

Hi all,

I have a date booked to marry my Russian Bride in Russia on 14 October 2017 - as many of you have already been through this process it would be appreciated if I could pick your brains on a few things:

Also while I am here a few comments on bits and pieces I've read on here that may possibly be useful for others reading this.

1) Previous posters have said that there is a rule that you cannot get more than two Tourist Visas for Russia in a year - this cannot be a rule as I have already received three Tourist Visas for Russia in 2017, I received three in 2016, two in 2015 and one in 2014.

2) I have also read comments that you must be in Russia for 31 days before you can get married. I cannot see that this can be true as a tourist visa is a maximum of 30 days and you can get married on a tourist visa. Plus my Fiancee has asked at her Zags on two occasions now and they have said there is no such rule and that you could in theory get married on the same day as you arrive.

Ok now for my questions that I am struggling with:

1) I have read on many websites that you need to register your visa in Russia if you stay for longer than 7 days or if you get married. Again my Fiancee has asked the Zags and they have said they do not require the Visa to be registered but I am still not sure purely because of the vast info on the internet pointing to it needing to be registered - any comments would be appreciated.

2) After doing a lot of reading it appears that there is no legal requirement to register the marriage within the UK. This is fine but obviously we need to prove that the marriage has taken place in order to apply for my Fiancee's Spouse Visa (or whatever they call it). I assume we need to get the marriage document translated to English, notarised and get an Apostille attached in Russia. Does anyone have experience of getting this done and any advice on where to get it done - my Fiancee currently lives in Sochi? I assume we should also get her international passport and birth certificate translated and notarised?

3) Further to the above, if the marriage is not registered in UK, then how will the UK Government know I am married, or does this not matter? To be honest I can't see any reason why the marriage should not be registered, I for one would prefer it be required.

4) My Fiancee also really wants to change her name to my surname - but I am worried this will further complicate things. She currently plans to change her name on her domestic passport after we marry on 14 October 2017 and her bank accounts etc... in Russia but she will leave her international passport with her maiden name as she still has three months left on her UK tourist visa so we can live together for three months after we get married and enjoy our first Christmas and new year together as a married couple. When this tourist visa expires in January 2018 she will travel back to Russia and apply for the Spouse Visa. Did anyone else have their wife change her surname and how did this affect things. in other words does it matter if when you apply for the Spouse Visa some documents are with one surname and some are with another?

Thank you in advance for any comments on the above.

Chris

[hubble14]

Great information on here, thanks to all contributors!

Chris

[hubble14]

Has anyone had any negative response from applying for a Spouse Visa?

[belpakuk]

Hi Simon,

I have just been reading your story and can relate massively!

Im a UK citizen and my wife is from Belarus we got married on 15th April 2017.

We managed to have everything in order and submitted the application not to long after with a confirmation email from Sheffield confirming receipt of our application on 8th May 2017.

Of course i paid £550 just like you for priority (15 working days) and we are just sitting waiting still with no news or update, all my email enquires come back just like yours "Yet to be accessed by an ECO"

Also just like you all my documents that i sent to Sheffield are just sitting there waiting? God knows what they are doing to them.

In a way its nice to see that someone is in the same boat as me and im not the only one, only concern is you have been waiting longer then me which gives me no hope of a decision sometime soon like i am praying for.

Hi Ryan,
I've got PR(not citizen yet) and will be applying for naturalisation next month.my wife is from Belarus as well. we got married on 17 sep 2017 in Montenegro and will be applying for her visa. we have read on TLScontact visa application centre Minsk site that all the documents will be scanned and sent to entry clearance officer.
On the other hand according to this forum, applicants like yourself and SimonS mentioned that the documents were sent to sheffield by post which is a bit confusing.
1.could you or anyone please guide what documents from my side should be submitted/send.

thanks

[Russell59]

Hi Simon,

I have just been reading your story and can relate massively!

Im a UK citizen and my wife is from Belarus we got married on 15th April 2017.

We managed to have everything in order and submitted the application not to long after with a confirmation email from Sheffield confirming receipt of our application on 8th May 2017.

Of course i paid £550 just like you for priority (15 working days) and we are just sitting waiting still with no news or update, all my email enquires come back just like yours "Yet to be accessed by an ECO"

Also just like you all my documents that i sent to Sheffield are just sitting there waiting? God knows what they are doing to them.

In a way its nice to see that someone is in the same boat as me and im not the only one, only concern is you have been waiting longer then me which gives me no hope of a decision sometime soon like i am praying for.

I am also Married to a Belarus lady,i submitted All Documents and Spouse Visa Application on 01.08.17 and we have heard NOTHING..she is frantic with worry as i am as i miss her so much.

[Russell59]

I am married to a Belarus Lady,we married on the 29th of April 2017,and all paperwork for Spouse Visa was recieved by Sheffield on 01.08.17..so far we have heard nothing..next week we will hit the 60 day Target for the decision on the Visa..or am i setting my sights too high..will we have to wait longer than the 60 days ?

[G30rdie]

Hello everyone!!

I am about to go through the same process as you all and having looked at your posts it has made it seem a lot less daunting.

I did have a quick question though. I recently married my wife in Moscow and was wondering if she will have to send her foreign passport away to Sheffield or whether she can hold onto it as we would like to go on holiday if it takes up to 3 months to receive the visa. Would she just need to send away a notarised/apostillised copy? And do we then collect the visa in Moscow or how does it work from the Russian side? Any help would be really appreciated!

Regards

[smarter1]

she will have to send her foreign passport away to Sheffield or whether she can hold onto it as we would like to go on holiday if it takes up to 3 months to receive the visa. Would she just need to send away a notarised/apostillised copy? And do we then collect the visa in Moscow or how does it work from the Russian side? Any help would be really appreciated!

Regards

It is not very difficult to read TLS website, is it? Here is what you need - https://uk.tlscontact.com/ru/mow/page.p ... rvices#SWP

[Scott_ldn1]

Dear all,

Thanks for this incredibly kind and helpful community.

Simon- many congratulations! I hope your wife is enjoying life here and you are both having a great start to married life. Is she able to go back to Russia for months at a time (as I've read in VISA conditions we are both to settle here, but my girlfriend would want to also spend a fair amount of the year back with her mother too, at least at first). So impressed you still come back to try to help others.

I met my girlfriend online around 5 years ago, and spoke extensively for all this time. We finally met in June last year and she had a 6 month tourist visa and ended up coming back (so three visits in total). She had put very basic and bare information and we are now told by some she was incredibly lucky to get that first one approved. We met in Paris over Christmas (she has Schengen through til the summer) and Barcelona last month.

This week the second UK Visa application got rejected (after first one last year being successful). My world turned upside down as she would have come the week after next for a month. They've said no based on her sums not adding up- mainly because of a recent change in employment and they don't believe she won't overstay. From what I'm being told, my only real option is to wait another 6 months and re-apply. I think I will do that, and whether it fails, or if it succeeds (and so 6 months after) the next step will be to get married. I am tempted to do this now if it is a more guaranteed way of ensuring she can get over here. Only really went for 6 month tourist at first since it worked the previous time so thought most likely to succeed. Not sure now if would try the 1 or two year options as it's just a bigger financial loss if denied again.

Of course it is also because I love her dearly and will struggle with all the time apart and costs for travel etc. On top of the fact if she could come for two and a half years AND work!

Sorry to have rambled I guess I'd like to know if 1) I should just go down the marriage route now, and whether recent rejection of tourist visa would affect the likely out come of this? 2) Seemingly there is no better way of having high chances of spending time here in the UK than getting married in Russia and then applying for Spouse visa?

She has traveled to Russia from her home city and back so many times recently, done everything in the most honest and transparent way, and is being accused of wanting to overstay- even though she clearly went back all the times previously! There have been many challenges so far, and this community helps to show there could be light at the end of the tunnel (but realise that it was due to the tenacity and skill of those who have succeeded. Thanks for everything. I have been asked by some people for thousands of pounds and just want to give myself the best chance I can with the girl I love, and realise I need to save money for the admin of getting married and spouse visa, rather than spend on solicitors that can't actually seemingly guarantee anything.

[Katie_France]

Hi Scott_Idn1,

I am very sorry that your girlfriend's Visitor Visa Application was refused. I am Russian myself and got refused recently Settlement Fiance Visa Application. It is really very very sad and it hurt both of us.

1) I think you shouldn't attach marriage to the visa rejection. Marriage is much bigger commitment than a refusal in the visa. She may reapply for a Visitor visa again earlier than 6 months unless 6 months are stated in the refusal. But her circumstances and evidence that she is leading an independent life should demonstrate substantive change.

Rejection of tourist visa shouldn't affect the outcome of settlement spouse visa if you prepare the right set of documents.

2) You can apply for a Settlement Fiance visa, where she will be ready to spend 6 months with you, preparing your wedding in the UK. Then you will have to change her status for a Spouse visa. However, if you get married anywhere else, you can immediately apply for a Spouse visa and she will be granted right to work (it is not allowed to work on a fiance visa) and you will not need to pay the settlement fee twice.

[Scott_ldn1]

Thanks for the reply- anybody else who can advise anything are welcome to do so.

As it stands it seems my options are only really to wait 6 months after trips in Europe whenever possible, and then re-apply for the Visitor Visa, in hope that will be ok. Failing that, will look into marriage in Moscow ahead of wedding Spouse as this seems the more "guaranteed" route, because although looks to be tremendously difficult, at least there is an appeal process and seems more chance of success.

Thanks again

Scott

[belpakuk]

I am married to a Belarus Lady,we married on the 29th of April 2017,and all paperwork for Spouse Visa was recieved by Sheffield on 01.08.17..so far we have heard nothing..next week we will hit the 60 day Target for the decision on the Visa..or am i setting my sights too high..will we have to wait longer than the 60 days ?

Hi Russell
did you have decision on your application?
Could you please guide about the application process from Belarus,would be highly appreciated.
The TLC site says all documents will be scanned and passed on to ECO safely but on this forum it has mentioned that the documents were sent to Sheffield by post(applicants from Russia). As my wife is from Belarus same as yours, so did you have your documents scanned in TLC or you have sent it to Sheffield as well?

cheers

[Russell59]

Hi,Pleased to say my Wife Joined me here in the UK on 15.11.17..regarding her Documents i brought them back from Belarus with me and then posted them via Royal Mail Special Delivery..all in all the process from Sheffield getting the Documents and my Wife getting her visa was 2 weeks shy of 60 days.I would certainly not post anything from or to Belarus as their postal service is very,very Slow..and i certainly would not post valuable documents from there.

[belpakuk]

Hi,Pleased to say my Wife Joined me here in the UK on 15.11.17..regarding her Documents i brought them back from Belarus with me and then posted them via Royal Mail Special Delivery..all in all the process from Sheffield getting the Documents and my Wife getting her visa was 2 weeks shy of 60 days.I would certainly not post anything from or to Belarus as their postal service is very,very Slow..and i certainly would not post valuable documents from there.

Thanks very much Russell.
I am planning to bring all the documents with me and post it to Sheffield as well. I was not sure whether TLScontact scan the documents and send it electronically or it has to be sent by post. We have checked TLScontact site it says all the documents will be scanned but yourself and few other members mentioned here that the documents were send by post wich made me confused
Tanks to you its all clear now

[belpakuk]

Hi,Pleased to say my Wife Joined me here in the UK on 15.11.17..regarding her Documents i brought them back from Belarus with me and then posted them via Royal Mail Special Delivery..all in all the process from Sheffield getting the Documents and my Wife getting her visa was 2 weeks shy of 60 days.I would certainly not post anything from or to Belarus as their postal service is very,very Slow..and i certainly would not post valuable documents from there.

Thanks very much Russell.
I am planning to bring all the documents with me and post it to Sheffield as well. I was not sure whether TLScontact scan the documents and send it electronically or it has to be sent by post. We have checked TLScontact site it says all the documents will be scanned but yourself and few other members mentioned here that the documents were send by post wich made me confused
Tanks to you its all clear now

couple of more questions,
-in How many days we have to send documents to Sheffield once the online application has submitted?
-what about TB certificate,should it be submitted with all other documents or it should be kept with my wife to present it at airport upon her arrival ?
thanks a lot

[Londoner007]

are you applying from pakistan

[belpakuk]

are you applying from pakistan

My wife is Belarusian citizen and will be applying from Belarus

[Londoner007]

Follow what the VFS require you to do:

http://www.vfsglobal.com/lithuania/bela ... index.html

[belpakuk]

Follow what the VFS require you to do:

http://www.vfsglobal.com/lithuania/bela ... index.html

Thanks very much for advice and link.
I’m afraid vfsglobal dose not deal with UK visas in Russia and Belarus . UKVI has a different Services provider called TLScontact. The information are very confusing on TLScontact site, on the main page it says documents will be scanned and sent electronically but when you open the more details page it says documents should be sent to Sheffield by post.

[Londoner007]

From checking this out, it would appear they allow you to scan and send docs and also give you the option to post them direct to Sheffield. Isnt there a way for you to contact the VAC from where you are to get an confirmation.

[belpakuk]

From checking this out, it would appear they allow you to scan and send docs and also give you the option to post them direct to Sheffield. Isnt there a way for you to contact the VAC from where you are to get an confirmation.

it may sound strange but they do not have any contact details. I'm traveling soon to see my wife and will definitely visit VAC. At the moment I'm in process to put documents together and take it with me just in case VAC requires to scan it off if not I'll bring back all supporting documents with me and send to Sheffield by post.
I'll update my thread once I have all the information.