Ok, so we are going to be looking at the actual paperwork required
for the application. This is the paperwork that Natasha took to the
appointment with her. That is the appointment that we organised when we
submitted the electronic Visa Application (read last post). We are going
to list all the different parts as memory serves:
1 – First of all you will need to worry about convincing the visa officer about the veracity of your relationship. They want to see different kinds of consistent communication and time spent together. What we provided was too much really but we wanted to make sure. So here we go:
• Skype conversations. We extracted all the Skype conversations and split them by month.
• Google chats and hangouts. We chat a bit on Google too so we included that as well.
• Love letters. We had quite a few of those so they went in as well.
• Phone bills. We got original mobile phone bills and highlighted on them all the calls and text messages to each other.
• Photographs. Write on the back or somewhere visible the date when it was taken and place. Make sure there are other people in the photographs like family as well, not just you two.
• Hotel, train, plane, etc., tickets. If they have your names on them, even better.
• For the UK national it would help to show the entry stamps in the passport as evidence too.
2 – The sponsor’s (in our case it was me, Andrei) finances. Natasha is not entitled to any funds from the public purse for five years. So I had to prove that I am able to take care of Natasha. To do that I submitted the following documents:
• Bank statements. 6 months of bank statements. I highlighted the salary entry so that they can see my salary coming into the account.
• Payslips. I provided the last 6 payslips too showing that the bank statements were in tune with my payslips. I got our finance officer from work to sign each one individually.
• I even provided my credit card statements showing that I was not in huge debts or anything.
• Also, showed my other accounts just to prove that I did not have debt.
• I also, explained my monthly expenditure and how much money, on average, I would be left with at the end of the month.
• Finally, I submitted a letter from work which stated that I am an employee there and that I was on a full-time contract and that I worked there for so long.
At the time, the minimum required wage was just over £18K per year. This may have changed so check it out and make sure that you are meeting the minimum requirements.
• The financial situation form. There is a form that needs filling in where you give details of your income and ability to upkeep the applicant.
• The acceptance of financial liability form.
3 – The tenancy agreement. As the sponsor, I had to prove that we will have somewhere to live where it is not crowded. I just submitted my actual Tenancy Agreement and some utility bills like Council Tax and Water I think. That was just to prove the address and the fact that I had a place rented in my name.
4 – Certified copy of my UK passport. I went to the Post Office in UK with a copy of my passport. I included all the pages. The guy at the Post Office was saying that they only do documents with a maximum of three pages, but I said he could charge me more. So he charged me triple and did all the pages.
5 – Personal statement. I wrote a personal statement about myself. How we met, how much I loved Natasha and how determined I was about our relationship. Just wrote two or three pages about things that I wanted them to hear.
From Natasha’s side she included the following:
1 – Copy of the electronic application form. Although we sent the electronic version, they wanted us to provide a copy of it in hard form.
2 – A manually filled in copy of the application. They wanted us to print out a blank application form and fill that in as well. Same information as in the electronic form but written by hand.
3 – Evidence of her work and income in Ukraine. Copies of the original and translated into English copies too. Also, she included a letter from her work place.
4 – Copy of travel passport.
5 – Certificate of birth. Some birth certificates in Ukraine might still be the old USSR type. Natasha made herself a new one, since USSR does not exist anymore.
6 – Evidence of fixed address.
7 – Bank statements.
8 – English Exam certificate.
9 – Natasha also did the tuberculosis medical check. Might not be necessary.
10 – Personal statement. This is to try and answer any of the visa officer’s questions. Natasha did not have an interview. That may be due to a good Personal Statement. We will write something about visa interview in the next post.
11 – Certificate of Marriage.
12 – A plan for our life in the UK. We wrote what our plans were, things like, get some study done, then find a job, then think about starting a family, etc.
13 – Passport sized photographs. There are strict requirements about how the photo should look so look it up on the immigration site.
14 – The internal Ukrainian passport. Not sure if needed but she included it anyway.
So if memory serves us right, I think that is about it. Make sure that all paperwork is in English. Any documents that are in Ukrainian or whatever language, submit the original along with a translation into English. Make sure you use a reputable translation company and make sure you check the paperwork. We found quite a few mistakes in ours, so make sure you double-check all translations.
Also, make sure the company has stamped everything and if possible get a letter from them of who they are and their registration number, business address and all that. So that if the visa officer wants to look them up, they could do that.
Don’t forget, if there are original documents that you need back, make sure you provide a copy for that original document. Otherwise they will just keep the original.
And that is it. Make sure you turn up on time for your appointment because there will be a queue. Next post will be about visa interviews.
If you find these articles useful, please like them on Facebook, Google+ or you can even tweet about them. Buttons are provided at the top of the page or below the comments. Thanks.
1 – First of all you will need to worry about convincing the visa officer about the veracity of your relationship. They want to see different kinds of consistent communication and time spent together. What we provided was too much really but we wanted to make sure. So here we go:
• Skype conversations. We extracted all the Skype conversations and split them by month.
• Google chats and hangouts. We chat a bit on Google too so we included that as well.
• Love letters. We had quite a few of those so they went in as well.
• Phone bills. We got original mobile phone bills and highlighted on them all the calls and text messages to each other.
• Photographs. Write on the back or somewhere visible the date when it was taken and place. Make sure there are other people in the photographs like family as well, not just you two.
• Hotel, train, plane, etc., tickets. If they have your names on them, even better.
• For the UK national it would help to show the entry stamps in the passport as evidence too.
2 – The sponsor’s (in our case it was me, Andrei) finances. Natasha is not entitled to any funds from the public purse for five years. So I had to prove that I am able to take care of Natasha. To do that I submitted the following documents:
• Bank statements. 6 months of bank statements. I highlighted the salary entry so that they can see my salary coming into the account.
• Payslips. I provided the last 6 payslips too showing that the bank statements were in tune with my payslips. I got our finance officer from work to sign each one individually.
• I even provided my credit card statements showing that I was not in huge debts or anything.
• Also, showed my other accounts just to prove that I did not have debt.
• I also, explained my monthly expenditure and how much money, on average, I would be left with at the end of the month.
• Finally, I submitted a letter from work which stated that I am an employee there and that I was on a full-time contract and that I worked there for so long.
At the time, the minimum required wage was just over £18K per year. This may have changed so check it out and make sure that you are meeting the minimum requirements.
• The financial situation form. There is a form that needs filling in where you give details of your income and ability to upkeep the applicant.
• The acceptance of financial liability form.
3 – The tenancy agreement. As the sponsor, I had to prove that we will have somewhere to live where it is not crowded. I just submitted my actual Tenancy Agreement and some utility bills like Council Tax and Water I think. That was just to prove the address and the fact that I had a place rented in my name.
4 – Certified copy of my UK passport. I went to the Post Office in UK with a copy of my passport. I included all the pages. The guy at the Post Office was saying that they only do documents with a maximum of three pages, but I said he could charge me more. So he charged me triple and did all the pages.
5 – Personal statement. I wrote a personal statement about myself. How we met, how much I loved Natasha and how determined I was about our relationship. Just wrote two or three pages about things that I wanted them to hear.
From Natasha’s side she included the following:
1 – Copy of the electronic application form. Although we sent the electronic version, they wanted us to provide a copy of it in hard form.
2 – A manually filled in copy of the application. They wanted us to print out a blank application form and fill that in as well. Same information as in the electronic form but written by hand.
3 – Evidence of her work and income in Ukraine. Copies of the original and translated into English copies too. Also, she included a letter from her work place.
4 – Copy of travel passport.
5 – Certificate of birth. Some birth certificates in Ukraine might still be the old USSR type. Natasha made herself a new one, since USSR does not exist anymore.
6 – Evidence of fixed address.
7 – Bank statements.
8 – English Exam certificate.
9 – Natasha also did the tuberculosis medical check. Might not be necessary.
10 – Personal statement. This is to try and answer any of the visa officer’s questions. Natasha did not have an interview. That may be due to a good Personal Statement. We will write something about visa interview in the next post.
11 – Certificate of Marriage.
12 – A plan for our life in the UK. We wrote what our plans were, things like, get some study done, then find a job, then think about starting a family, etc.
13 – Passport sized photographs. There are strict requirements about how the photo should look so look it up on the immigration site.
14 – The internal Ukrainian passport. Not sure if needed but she included it anyway.
So if memory serves us right, I think that is about it. Make sure that all paperwork is in English. Any documents that are in Ukrainian or whatever language, submit the original along with a translation into English. Make sure you use a reputable translation company and make sure you check the paperwork. We found quite a few mistakes in ours, so make sure you double-check all translations.
Also, make sure the company has stamped everything and if possible get a letter from them of who they are and their registration number, business address and all that. So that if the visa officer wants to look them up, they could do that.
Don’t forget, if there are original documents that you need back, make sure you provide a copy for that original document. Otherwise they will just keep the original.
And that is it. Make sure you turn up on time for your appointment because there will be a queue. Next post will be about visa interviews.
If you find these articles useful, please like them on Facebook, Google+ or you can even tweet about them. Buttons are provided at the top of the page or below the comments. Thanks.
Just to make it clear, i did not follow any particular format for the Sponsor's Letter or the Personal Statement. I just made sure tha the letter is addressed to the correct people (i.e. Visa Officer), I also made sure that the letter is titled properly. So if it is a Personal Statement, then you write in big letters across the top somewhere "PERSONAL STATEMENT". I added the application details, like applicant name, application id, etc. And then you just pour your heart out and why you think the visa should be granted. I went into my background, stating education, achievements so that to show a good character behind the person. Also, how you met, and how much you love each other and how negatively a refusal will affect your relationship.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Sponsoring Letter, I did not actually write one, I stated in my personal statement all my income and expenditure calculations. I went through all my direct debits and proved to the visa officer, what i had coming in and what i had going out and how at the end of the month I had so much to take care of Natasha and myself.
There was a form that I had to print off and fill it in, sign it and include it with the application. I think it was called the Sponsor's Declaration form or something like that. It was just one page which wanted a signature really to say that you take it on you to provide the funds.
As part of the application though, the is a bigger form where you enter all the finacial details of the sponsor. That is separate.