Application to extend stay in the UK as a partner: form FLR(M)

Recently, we had to apply to extend my wife's Spouse Visa for UK. I can say that it has been a relatively painless experience. It has been however, an expensive experience. The application costed £811 and the UK Healthcare Surcharge was £500 (£200 per year). There were some other charges for the Biometric Residence Permit Card and so on. All in all it has become quite expensive but not more difficult.

We followed everything to the letter outlined on the GOV website. We downloaded the Application Form FLR(M) and the guidance notes that goes with it from HERE. Provided all the paperwork required in the application. Sent it away. Within a week we had a letter inviting my wife to go and have her Biometric details given at a Post Office that has the facilities. For us the nearest Post Office was in Romsey. Nice parking space not far from the Post Office. The process took less than 5 minutes. And then the Post Office does the rest.

We then waited for almost 8 weeks and the Biometric Card came through. There was no visa in the Passport, so you will need the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) when entering in to the UK again. And that is all. All our original paperwork was returned as we did not provide scanned copies. Some paperwork was retained that was intended only for that application like references and such.

The main things that we had to be very careful about is the financial situation and the veracity of our relationship. These two things need ample evidence. You must provide more than required almost to leave no doubt about it. We even got references from respectable people that know us about our relationship.

I am glad that we did not need a solicitor, because that would have costed us much more. We were able to read carefully and provide everything required.

Hope your experience is as easy and fruitful.

Italy (schengen) Visa for Natasha from the UK

Ok, so we want to go to Italy for a few days to visit some friends. Me and our son Joshua are British Citizens, but Natasha is Ukrainian. So she needs a Schengen visa to go to Italy. After having looked at the http://it.vfsglobal.co.uk for information, we have discovered that she could get a EEA/EU Family (Short Stay Up To 90 Days) type visa, which is free. So for her to get that visa, she needed to prove her relationship to the British co-traveller. So naturally, I thought that would be me. In order for her to prove her relationship to me, we had to translate and legalise our Marriage Certificate, which is Ukrainian. If it was a British Marriage Certificate, would have been much easier. Translating and legalising the Marriage Certificate and her Birth Certificate costed us almost £300. All the time and trouble that it took was crazy. But finally we had all the paperwork we need for the visa and for her to prove her relationship with me. Whilst packing the paperwork for the visa before our trip to London to the visa office, I thought to take a copy of Joshua's passport and Birth Certificate just in case.When we got there, I said to the visa officer, well this is my wife and we are travelling together and this is our son who will need to be fed by his mum on the trip. So the visa officer asks for Joshua's passport and Birth Certificate. Then she asks for the plane tickets and that is it. She needed nothing else, because Joshua is British and her name is on the Birth Certificate hence the relationship between her and Joshua's as his mother is proven.

We walked away from the application centre both relieved and upset. Relieved that it was all OK and that the paperwork that we had on us was acceptable. But upset since we went to so much trouble for nothing. We did not have to translate all the documents since we could easily prove her relationship to Joshua through the birth certificate.

So if you have a child together who is British, then you can get a Schengen visa by providing the child's birth certificate to prove your relationship to a British national. Of course don't forget all the other things like copies of everything and photos and so on.

Getting ready for work in the UK

So once you have got your National Insurance Number, it is time to get yourself a bank account. In the UK you can get many different bank accounts, but the one that you will need in order to start work, is a 'Current Account'.

According to Google, the definition of a current account goes as follows:

an account with a bank or building society from which money may be withdrawn without notice, typically an active account catering for frequent deposits and withdrawals by cheque

 More info about current accounts can be read here: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/current-accounts/what-is-a-current-account/ Although, cheques these days are not that widely used. And some shops don't accept them any more.

Most banks do current accounts so you will just need a document with your address on it (could be your National Insurance Number letter) and a form of Photo ID such as your Passport, Driving License, etc. With these two documents, you can walk into most banks and get your self a current account there and then.

A current account in the UK will come with two numbers: Account Number and Sort Code. They will look as follows:

Account Number: ######## e.g. 15425687
Sort Code: ##-##-## e.g. 54-78-25

Once you have these two numbers, you can then give them to your employer and your money will get deposited straight into your account at the end of the month, depending on how your salary / wage is paid and when.

You do not need a Credit Card in order to start work. In fact you do not really need a Credit Card at all. Your current Account will come with a Debit Card which can be used in the same way and in the same places as a Credit Card.

Once you get paid, you can go to any ATM (Cash Machine) and withdraw your cash. In most cases there is a limit of how much cash you can withdraw per day. This limit usually is somewhere around £250 - £300. The other way is the way I do it, which is to bank on-line. I go on the internet and do all my banking there rather than go to a bank.I can pay people money, transfer money between accounts and so on.

If your address changes you must inform the bank.

REMEMBER: Your card will have a PIN Code. You must not give it to anyone. Not even the Police, the Bank, or anyone.

And now you are set! Enjoy working in the UK. 

Slavery in the UK

A couple of days ago, I saw this news article on the BBC News website "Up to 13,000 slaves working in the UK". That really hit me, knowing the difficulties that people leave behind when coming to a country like the UK, in the search for a better life. Initially, I thought that it can't be right. First of all, people in the UK would not do that “these” days. But the truth is that many people in Britain are not British. They have come with their own ideologies and views on this kind of things. Now I am not saying that the biggest contributor of modern day slavery in the UK are people from outside the UK. However, based on my limited experience, I think that a considerable amount is contributed exactly by people that are from outside the UK.
Only recently I heard of a Romanian national who was told that there is a job for him here in the UK awaiting. He came, was met by the people he organised his trip through. They took him to a house and said that the job is not quite ready yet, but that meanwhile to earn for his bread he could deliver empty charity bugs. 1000 bugs would be £30, which in many cases would not be paid anyway. That is awful! However, these people have to work because they have no money to return home and no money to eat. People get tricked into these things.
The other big avenue is prostitution. It is said that in Moldova about 80% of girls from orphanages end up in prostitution, because the system just spits them out at the age of 18 or even younger. These girls then have no-one and nowhere to go but into prostitution. They are then transported illegally to countries like the UK. We can say "Oh, how terrible!" but the truth is, there is demand. Take away the demand and the problem is more or less sorted overnight.
It is a shame that these things are still happening. I think we should stop blaming the police and keep vigilant about these things. Try and help people that are in these situations.
If you find yourself in a situation like that and you are afraid to ask for help because of all the threats these people have made to you. You cannot continue in that way. There are people and a place of safety if only you ask. Ask for help!
Also, if you are thinking to travel to the UK for work, make sure you have a plan B in case you end up in a case of slavery. Make sure you have someone in the UK that you can ring for help. If you are from the EU you can go to a Job Centre in your town and ask for help there. Alternatively, leave a comment here.

Minimum Income Requirement (MIR)

In 2012, the government introduced some new measures with regards to the immigration rules. One of which is the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR), which specifies the minimum amount of yearly income a person should earn to qualify as a sponsor for their non-European UK spouse visa application.
The MIR is £18,600.00 for the spouse only, and goes up to £22,400.00 for the spouse and one child. Then £2,400.00 for the second child and each one after that. Since then, the government has been challenged about this new requirement, but unsuccessfully.
Of course the money can be raised not just from the salaried income, but from a number of other options like savings and so on. I am having trouble deciding if this is fair or not. As a sponsor, you have to make sure you take care of your spouse for 5 years without any access to the public purse. Can that be done on a salary less than £18,600.00?
Well lets see... £18,600.00 / 12 months = £1,550.00 - £143.33 tax = £1,300.23
Rent for a studio flat in my part of the UK is lets say £450 plus utility bills of about £150 leaves us with about £700. Lets say we want a few commodities like a mobile phone, internet, etc, which leaves us with £600. Food wise me and Natasha spend about £200 - £250 a month (we have no takeaways at all) which leaves us about £350.
£350 for day to day eventualities is just about enough but not enough to save much. So is £18,600.00 enough?
Well, lets look at another statistic. According to the Mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-average-salary-26500-figures-3002995 the current average UK salary is £26,500.00. In the same article though, the Mirrior states that "...Four in five new jobs are in sectors averaging under £16,640 for a 40-hour week..." which means that on average, four in five britons fall below the government requirement. So should the government lower the bar? Would that be responsible of them?
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
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Extending your UK Spouse Visa

As mentioned in my last post, this post is about extending your UK spouse visa. In the case of one of my friends who brought in to the UK his wife a couple of years ago, she got Indefinite Leave to Remain ( ILR ) after her initial two and a half years visa. Recently though the rules have changed as per this URL: https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/you-re-the-family-member-of-a-british-citizen/yes/some-other-way/on-a-work-visa/tier-1
Now you can no longer apply for ILR after your initial two and a half years spouse visa. Instead you have to extend it for a further two and a half years. After a total of five years of being in the country, you can apply for ILR. The information about extending your spouse visa can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family

To summarise the main points:

1 – You have to be in the UK to do that, otherwise there is a different path you will need to take.

2 – You must still be in a valid relationship with the person. If the relationship is broken then, there maybe problems. You will have to prove the status of your relationship.

3 – You will need to prove that you have enough money to support yourselves without relying on public funds.

4 – You will need to prove good knowledge of English.

5 – You will need to apply before your current visa expires. I usually do it about 28 days before the actual expiry date.

6 – The fee at the time of this post is £601. All the Home Office fees are extortionate in my humble opinion hence it is a shame that they put you through another two and a half years application process. The more steps the more money.

More detailed information can be found at the above link I provided. Click on the links at the top of the page to see more info about the different aspects of the process. The Apply link should contain a link to the actual application form. The form is one of the biggest forms I have ever seen (52 pages) and you will need to be very sure when filling it in. In my experience the language used is not easy to comprehend, given that in most cases people going through these applications may be non-native English speaking people. Some of the questions are very difficult to understand what they are actually asking you. You can understand the words but not the question.

They say the waiting times are approximately 8 or so weeks. Either way, your status in the country is pretty much unchanged whilst you are waiting. The only problem is traveling. You will most probably not have your passport so make sure you do not book anything during this time. However, if you really urgently need to travel then you could make use of their Premium Service Centres. It will cost you another £400 on top of the £601. The list of the centres is here: https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/find-a-premium-service-centre and you will need to make sure you are eligible https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/eligibility

And that is about all. I always tend to do the application on my own since solicitors are so expensive, but I would not advise anyone to do that. All the info is on the gov.uk site although a bit difficult to track down. That is what awaits me in a year or so time. Something to look forward to.
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Indefinite Leave to remain in the UK (ILR)

Now that Natasha is in the UK, it is time to start planning for the time when her two and a half years visa will expire. About 28 days before the visa expires, we will have to make another application from within the UK for an extension. There are many different application types and choosing the right one is important. One type of visa that some of my friends have applied for whilst in the UK on a spouse visa, is the “Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)” also knows as “settlement visa”. Obtaining a visa like that means that you are allowed to settle in the UK and are no longer subject to immigration control.
Up until the 9th July 2012, you could apply for ILR at the end of your spouse visa term, which is typically two and a half years. Recently however, the rules have changed. The new rules state that if you applied for your spouse visa after the 9th July 2012, you cannot apply for ILR at the end of the visa term. Instead, you would have to extend your spouse visa for a further two and a half years. Then at the end of the second two and a half term you would be eligible to apply for ILR. More info here: https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/you-re-the-family-member-of-a-british-citizen/yes/some-other-way/on-a-work-visa/tier-1
The spouse visa extension application would have to go through all the thorough checks again, but more about that in my next post. For now we will concentrate on the Indefinite Leave to Remain visa. The link above lists some requirements, e.g. Life in the UK Test, English Language Test, Proof of Finances, Criminal Record, etc. It is important to fill in the application properly because the fees are extortionate (£1,093.00 per person, at the time of writing this post). Some of my friends that went through this type of application had solicitors help them. Personally I always do it myself, but I would not advice anyone that they do it themselves unless they are sure of what they are doing.
Best thing is to prepare well. And that means that from the very first day that you have started your life with your spouse in the UK, you must start saving all proof of your relationship. When you will come to apply for your ILR or your extension, you will have to prove that the relationship is still alive. That means photos, phone bills, postal correspondence, joint bank accounts, joint utility bills, joint tenancy agreements, etc. You will have to have something for almost every month that you have been together. That is why it is important to start early the preparation process. You do not want to leave it until the last minute and then try to pass the Life in the UK Test and all the other requirements. Start early and be as proactive about it as possible.
Once you have the Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK visa, you can of course apply for British citizenship, but please be aware that you may have to revoke your existent one if your native country does not permit dual citizenship. All the information is on the www.gov.uk website. Dig it out well in advance and take your time with it. Gather paperwork starting now.
The next post will be about the extension of your spouse visa.
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Getting the National Insurance Number

Well after we settled down in Poole for a few days, we started thinking about the National Insurance Number Card. You need it to work in the UK. So after a bit of googling around, I found that there were a few ways to do it, but below is the way we did it.
We rang the Jobcenter Plus on 0845 600 0643. After going through the options the answering machine gives you, we got through to a lady there. I explained to her that Natasha has recently arrived in the country and that she is on a Spouse Visa. I explained to her that she needs a National Insurance Number Card. The lady asked some details like address and date of birth and so on. Then she said that she will send us a form to fill in.
More info here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number
The form arrived shortly after. We filled in the form and sent it back. We also had to send a copy of the Passport with the visa in it. After sending the form and the copy of the passport showing the visa as well, we got a letter back with the number on it. No card though, I am not too sure when you get the card. I heard that you get it as soon as you actually start working, but I am not sure.
Once you have the letter with the National Insurance Number on it, you can start working. All you need is to show your passport with the visa in it, a proof of your address and the letter with your National Insurance Number on it. And that is it. You can start going to a few recruitment agencies and they should be able to get you started with some work until you can get a job directly for a company rather than through agencies.
Please be aware that some people may tell you to pay them to get the National Insurance Number. Do not pay them anything. You can get the number for free like we did.
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Entering UK with Spouse Visa

Ok, So Natasha got her passport with the Spouse Visa in it. Now we needed to get her into the UK from Ukraine. We agreed a Saturday where I would not have to take time off from work, for me to fly to Kiev where she would be waiting for me. I took with me an empty suitcase which in Kiev was to be filled up with Natasha’s clothes.
I landed in Kiev at about lunch time and met with Natasha at the airport. We were booked on a flight back to the UK, Gatwick a few hours later. We had something to eat, packed some of Natasha’s stuff in my empty suitcase and proceeded through the security gates.
At the passport control we approached the booth together and handed in both our passports. Me my British Passport and Natasha her Ukrainian Passport (the new blue international passport). The border officer looked at them, inspected the visa and stamped the passports and returned them back to us.
We then got on the plane to the UK. As we got nearer to Gatwick, the plane stewardess was handing over Landing Cards (bluefish cardboard piece of paper) for people to fill in that are not from the EU area or are subject to immigration control. So if you need a visa to enter the UK, I guess you need to fill one in. So we filled one in for Natasha on the plane.
When we landed at Gatwick, we both proceeded to the passport control. We went through the “All Other Passports”  gates. There a UK Border Agency officer took both passports and the landing card. He inspected the passports, the visa, the landing card. Asked if it was the first time Natasha was entering the UK on that visa. We said yes. He asked a few more general questions about where we were going to live.
He asked a few friendly questions about how hard it was to obtain the visa. He was very friendly, but you could see a bit that the questions were searching in nature. He then kept the landing card and gave us the passports and wished as a pleasant onward journey. And that was it, Natasha was legally in the UK on the way to our flat in Poole.
On a second trip abroad, when we went to Moldova, upon our return to the UK, Natasha had to fill in the Landing Card again. I asked the passport control officer if she has to fill in those landing card every time. He said “Yes”, for as long as she is on her Spouse Visa, she has to fill in the Landing Card every time she re-enters the UK.
That is all for this post.
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Case Study (Legalising your stay)

This is a new twist to this blog. I have come across a success story recently and thought to put it here for others to read and comment. As I come across this success stories, I shall put them here as case studies.
I have a friend who is like me, from Moldova (non-EU country). He came to the UK in 2005 (almost 9 years ago from today). He came on a work visa, but overstayed his visa. He got his National Insurance Number when his work visa was OK, and has been working on that National Insurance Number since then. The visa expired and he continued to work with no problems. In the course of time, he met a Romanian girl and had a child with her.
Recently he decided to try and legalise his status. I suggested a solicitor and he went about doing what the solicitor told him to do.
1 – Make sure his name is on the birth certificate for the child.
2 – Get married with the Romanian girl (which apparently you can do even though you have not a valid visa).
3 – Apply for a visa (what kind I am not sure, but he says he got a 5 years working visa).
Since there are so many different types of visa that you can apply for, it is hard to know exactly which one the solicitor actually applied for. But my friend says that he got a 5 year long working visa. Also, the solicitor is saying that after some time (we believe it to be 1 year), he could apply for an indefinite leave to remain visa. Of course, every step of the way you have to spend thousands of pounds, since the Home Office charges quite a bit. For him it was no different, but still I guess it is worth it.
Why I thought to publish this particular case study is because Moldova is not in the EU and hence it is very hard for Moldovans to get a visa to the UK. In this case since the wife was from Romania (a EU country now), the situation got clarified.
Knowing their commitment to each other, especially with the small child now, I am glad they got it sorted.
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UK Visa Interview

Well, Natasha did not have an interview, but boy did we prepare for one. We did not know if she would have an interview or not, so we decided to prepare. The only way to prepare is to look on the internet and find other people’s experience. Usually the experience is somewhat similar. So after quite a bit of searching around, I understood the following:
1)    The interview does not last very long. Usually within half an hour you are done.
2)    Usually there is just one person interviewing you.
3)    You can have an interpreter if you wish, although if you can do it without one then, I think it might be better. But make sure you can understand the questions properly, otherwise it may prove counter-productive.
4)    The first questions are things like: What is your name? Do you understand what the visa officer is saying? Are you well enough to be interviewed?, etc. Just introduction questions like that.
5)    Then the questions become a bit more personal. That however, should not intimidate or surprise you, since the visa officer is trying to figure out if the relationship is genuine or not, whether you have entered the relationship in good faith. Always be as honest as you can.
The type of questions that you can be asked are as follows:
-    Where did you meet?
-    How did you meet?
-    How long have you known each other?
-    How much time have you spent together?
-    Who proposed marriage? (Of course if the person applying for the visa has proposed then that will not look good).
-    Have you two met each other’s family yet? (Of course it would be helpful if you had)
-    Are you applying in your maiden name? (It shows more commitment when one party has taken the other party’s surname).
-    What are your plans in the UK?
For a more comprehensive list, see this page: http://www.ukresident.com/forums/topic/62475-interview-questions/ It gives more details about specifically the types of questions that they are likely to ask.
Try to stay calm and confident. The interview is over before you know it. Once the interview is finished the visa officer will tell you when you can expect an answer. And remember, the more time you have spent together and the more evidence you have of that time spent together the better. Having met each other’s families would help establish the veracity of your relationship.
All the visa officer is trying to do is to establish if the relationship is genuine. If it is then you have nothing to fear. Try not to be evasive in your answers as that may raise alarms in the officer’s head.
I am not entirely sure why Natasha did not have an interview, but instead got the visa without one. But I have a suspicion. I think that our Personal Statements spoken about in previous posts have helped. In those personal statements we have tried to answer as many of the potential questions that she may have been asked at an interview as we could. I think that may have been the reason why she was not interviewed, as it would have meant them asking questions that they have the answer to already. We pre-empted the interview with our Personal Statements that were submitted with the application paperwork. And that is all I have on this subject.
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Paperwork for the application

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.
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The Visa Application Process

Ok so now that the English exam is done with and you have the certificate to show for it, it is time to look at the actual application. We will talk about the actual documents we put together in the next post, but first, we will talk a bit about the process of applying for the visa.
To apply for a UK Spouse Visa for a Ukrainian national, you would have to go to the website https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/ specified on the www.gov.uk website. It has changed recently, but we had to do it through a different site when we went through the process. The application is all online. We had to create an account on that website and then answer a few questions like where the applicant is for and where s/he is currently residing, and so on. The site is for other nations as well, not just for Ukrainians.
Once you have answered all the initial questions, you then start filling in the application electronically. The form took us through all the different kinds of information we needed to fill in. We were able to save the application and come back to it at a later time. Only make sure that you regularly save the information you have entered, because if the website breaks then you have to fill in all the information again. So click the Save button quite regularly to make sure that the information gets saved.
You will need to have information like the parents place of birth and dates, then information about the sponsor, then information about the applicant’s travels and so on. Our advice would be to start a couple of weeks ahead of the date that you would like to apply on, so that you have time to return to the application in case you need to find out some information that it asks you. Give yourself plenty of time to fill in the application correctly and fully. Try not to leave unanswered questions.
We made a mistake on the application, where we got the year of birth wrong for Natasha, but that was no big deal. We just made sure we informed them and also marked the application where it was wrong and nothing happened. So if you happen to make a small mistake, then do not worry, just mark where the mistake is. Or if you have not sent the application yet, then correct it on screen before submitting it.
Once the application is all completed and you are ready to submit it, make sure you double-check it first. Then make sure that you have the correct amount of money on a debit or credit card. When we applied for a Spouse Visa, it was about 1045 euros. It might be more now, so double-check. Please note that you do not see the money back. Even if you are unsuccessful, or even if your paperwork was not in order and they could not access your application, you will not see your money back.
Once you have applied and paid for your application, you will then have to make an appointment to submit the paperwork in person. That would be in Kiev for the Ukrainian applicants. As part of the same process, at the end we were asked to choose a date to submit the paperwork. We chose a date and printed out the page with the barcode on it. The page also had the name and some details of Natasha’s. Also we printed out the completed application form because it has to go with the paperwork as well.
Now that you have submitted your application, paid your hard-earned cash, sit back for a day or two and relax, then get to work with gathering all the paperwork required. About the paperwork that we submitted we will talk in the next post. That is it for now.
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The English Exam

To apply for a UK Spouse Visa from Ukraine, Natasha (or the applicant in your case) had to pass an English Exam. To start off with, we did not have a clue about the level required, where to pass this English test, how much it was, was there going to be any preparation required, how long the process was going to be, etc. So with all those questions in mind, we started looking for answers.
The first place that we went to was the UK Border Agency website (which has changed now to this: https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/knowledge-of-english) where we found out the level of English required. At the time of the application (And I think now in 2014 also), it was at least A1. So now that we knew the level required, we needed to find a training school that would prepare Natasha for the test. We found quite a few on the internet, we rang one of them and arranged an assessment. Natasha went to the assessment, did it and was advised of her level of English and which level to target for her real exam. Since she already knew some English, the teacher advised her to prepare for B1 (or PET). That is two levels up from the minimum required (A1, A2, B1, B2, etc, further details here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/304853/approved_english_language_tests.pdf).
Also, at Natasha’s work place (an international language school in Kharkiv) one of her colleagues,  a good English teacher sat down with her and helped her prepare for the exam. The preparation took about one to one and a half months.
Natasha went through quite a few past paper exams for PET (or B1), found some online learning sites, practiced with the teacher a bit until she was quite confident about her chances at a B1 exam. Meanwhile though, she booked her exam with The British Council in Kiev Ukraine http://www.britishcouncil.org.ua/en, since the waiting times can be lengthy.
Natasha rang them in Kiev, they advised her of dates and a place to go and pay for the exam in advance. She paid the fee and then went to Kiev to sit the exam. She could of course sit the exam in Kharkiv as well, but because a better date was available in Kiev, she went and did it there.
Also, if you prefer more choice, in the above link to the PDF file, are details of some other companies apart from The British Council that provide exam taking services, so choose your preferred one.
Once you sit the exam, you have to wait for a quite a few weeks before you find out the results. Natasha thinks that she waited for about six to eight weeks. They offer a postal service where the results (and if positive the certificate) is posted to your address.
The actual exam papers were sent to the UK in Cambridge for assessment and the results were sent back to Ukraine, hence the delay I guess.
Because this was a basic requirement, we went ahead and did this step as soon as we could. Natasha’s surname was still her maiden name at the time when she did the test, but that did not matter for the visa application since we had the certificate of marriage as well. So the advice is to do this step or at least get busy about it as soon as you can. A1 is not that difficult, so buy a book, get some audio tapes, find some websites that teach English, or get some training in a college, and get it done as soon as you can, because it can be a lengthy process.
Do some practice exams as part of your preparation so that you are confident when going for your final exam, because the process takes too much time. If you fail, that is another few months of waiting.
Once she had the certificate, we just included it in the application paperwork. It needed no translating or authenticating since it was in English and it was issued by an approved English Examination Body. And that’s it.
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Registering as husband and wife

Ok, so now that we were engaged, it was time to start thinking about getting married. We were not going to mess around. We decided to move as fast as we could with the process so that we do not spend much time away from each other. My task was to return to the UK and get all the paperwork required in order for the coming April visit. We were going to register our marriage at the Kharkiv Registrar (ZAGS) during my upcoming visit in April.
Leaving for the UK was always hard, because once again meant very long Skype video calls, but this particular return to the UK was to be eventful to the max - I think. Firstly, at the Kharkiv Airport they told me that they could only see me up to Kiev, not London. So I said “Ok, get me to Kiev and I will sort it out from there”. That was about 03:00 AM when I checked in at the Kharkiv Airport. So I land in Kiev in the morning at about 09:00 AM. I pick up my two big suitcases and make my way towards the screens to see about my flight to London. To my surprise, my flight to London was not on the screen. So I go to the Aerosvit Airlines desk to ask what is happening. They did not appear very interested, but reliably informed me that that particular flight was not in operation for about 3 months now. When I told them that I only printed the flight details from their website a week or so ago, they could not explain.
So they gave it a wild guess that I might have been transferred to the 10:00 AM Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight to London, which of course was flying out of another terminal. That meant me running to the other terminal with two big suitcases. I get there and the queues were crazy, not to mention the broken conveyer belts. It took half an hour to get to the check in at which point they could not find my name on the flight and sent me to the UIA desk. By this time it is 30 minutes till the flight departs. So I go to the desk, the person types away for a bit on her keyboard and prints me a different version of the same thing I had in my hand. And with that, she sent me queuing again. I queue for another half hour and I get the same result.
By now the UIA flight has departed and I started getting a bit annoyed. So went back to the first terminal again to give the Aerosvit people some grief about my experience with their airline. There at the Aerosvit desk, I find a mob of very angry travellers who found themselves in my situation. With no concept of civilised queuing being exhibited by the other travellers, I resorted to elbowing myself towards the desk whilst carrying the two big suitcases. Finally, I get nearer to the desk and the person in front of me (a nice young Ukrainian girl) was going to London as well. So I offered to put my passport with hers so that they place us together on a flight to London. A very good job that I did that, since after placing us two on a different flight, the desk promptly closed and all the other people had to go and queue elsewhere.
So now we were placed on a different flight to London via Moscow with Aeroflot. So me and this Ukrainian girl go to the Aeroflot desk to check in our luggage. To our surprise, we find that from Moscow to London we will be flying Business Class.  So we fly to Moscow, there we get on the plane to London in business class. What an experience! Glasses of champagne, three course meal, etc. Really amazing experience. Whilst drinking the champagne, the Ukrainian girl started making advances, at which point I switched to orange juice and changed the subject. It was funny that she would do that just after I successfully proposed to my wife to be (Natasha).
Anyway, we finally get to London and find that our troubles are not over. The Aeroflot guys messed our luggage up. They only checked it in up to Moscow not to London. So we had to go home without our bags. For me it meant asking National Express to change my booking since I was meant to land many hours earlier at Gatwick and not Heathrow. After a £5 fee they put me on the next bus to Poole where I arrived after midnight. Almost 24 hours travelling from Kharkiv to Poole, I was well and truly shattered.
I included the above to let people know that things may not go quite as smoothly in Ukraine as they tend to do here in the UK. Be prepared for the possibility that things may not go entirely according to plan.
So now that I was safely back in the UK, rested and refreshed, I started working on the paperwork. The first document I needed was the Certificate of No Impediment. I got that from the local registrar office in Poole. I had to pay £35 and wait about three weeks for it. Then I got a copy of my passport notarised for about £60. After that, I sent both documents to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to legalise the documents for use abroad. They just put on them the Apostil (like a stamp if you like). That cost me another £66 I think. After that, I had to translate the documents into Ukrainian by a recommended translator from the Ukrainian Consulate in London. I got my flight e-Ticket translated as well, since I needed to show the return tickets at the registrar in Ukraine to get the registration date brought forward. Then, I went to the Ukrainian Consulate in London and got their stamp on all the documents. The consulate charged me about £30 per document.
Now I was ready to go to Ukraine and get my marriage registered. Natasha, had to prepare some paperwork of her own there too. The best thing to do is to go to the Central Registrar (of your city or town) in Ukraine where the registration will take place and ask them directly the documents that they will require. Then you can go ahead and get them together. We kept hearing all sorts of conflicting information about what documents we needed and whether they could be done in the UK or best done in Ukraine. Of course doing them in Ukraine can be cheaper, however I chose to do them all in the UK since I had time and things just go smoother in the UK when it comes to bureaucracy.
At the Registrar in Ukraine, I presented the documents, they just checked the stamp in my passport of legal entry into the country and were happy. After showing them the return date on my (translated) plane tickets, they gave us a slot to register which was in two days time from submitting the paperwork. We submitted the paperwork on a Tuesday and the registration was booked for that Thursday. At the Registrar we would advise you to go early in the morning, as the queue at the Kharkiv Registrar of hopeful couples was rather long, long enough to keep us waiting for about 6 or so hours.

The Moral of the story

Be prepared for many surprises, both pleasant and not quite so pleasant. Prepare well in advance and be very proactive. Do not procrastinate when it comes to getting paperwork done. Get in touch with the registrar in Ukraine to see what they expect from the both of you.
The documents that I had to provide were:
-    Certificate of No Impediment (from your local Registrar or office for births and marriages).
-    Notarised copy of my Passport (I did all the pages of the passport).
-    Sent both documents to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the Apostil (stamp).
-    Then translated the two documents along with my flights e-Ticket (Ukraine consulate will recommend translator).
-    Then got the documents legalised at the Ukrainian consulate in London (they did not stamp the flights e-Ticket)
In Ukraine the Registrar accepted the documents and checked the entry stamp in my passport. And that was it.

Popping the question

As explained in the last post we met on the internet. So after chatting for a while on Skype and by email, Natasha invited me to Holland to meet up. Why Holland? Well in Holland, there is a Christian Charitable organisation who, invite Ukrainian children from disadvantaged backgrounds to Holland for eight weeks. They take the children to different attractions and generally give them a very nice and elongated holiday. Since Natasha can speak some Dutch and has a background in teaching and working with children, they have invited her as well as teacher / translator / child-minder.
So I flew to Holland for four days to meet up. It was strange meeting up because real life is different to the internet. But we both got on very well. I stayed with the same host family as Natasha (wonderful people) and even got to help a bit in the school. I had an amazing time which I will never forget. Coming back from Holland was quite difficult because by now, my feelings were all over the place. I started praying and fasting about whether she is “the one”.
Natasha really enjoyed the meeting also. She was still unsure if I was the one but she got to see me, something which strengthened her resolve to carry on with the relationship. Our letters to each other became more and more serious. Natasha then invited me to a Christian Bible Summer Camp in Ukraine, an invitation which I accepted.
The summer camp was fantastic. We got to spend a whole week together and talk about each other’s expectations. I fell more and more in love with her and now was really sure about my intentions towards her. We got to spend time in different Ukrainian settings like the Ukrainian trains (which are quite an experience), with her family, my favourite Ukrainian restaurant “Puzata Hata” (which means Fat House), etc.
Returning to the UK after that summer holiday was once again quite hard, because by now my feelings towards Natasha were quite strong and so I really wanted the whole process to just go by a bit quicker. So as soon as I was back, I promptly bought myself some tickets to Ukraine for that coming Christmas period. I could not wait. But this time I actually bought the ring as well. I was going to propose, but how I did not know.
When I got to Ukraine, I promptly arranged a short discussion with Natasha’s parent about my intentions. I told them that I had the ring and that I wanted to ask her in marriage. They were very good about it. They asked me a few questions and when they saw that I was serious, we got on our knees and prayed, they blessed me and said “OK, you can ask her”. I came out of the meeting and drank about a litre of water after which I felt a bit better.
Now, I always carried the ring with me whilst in Ukraine that Christmas. I was not going to miss an opportunity to pop the question, but not many opportunities were presenting themselves. We went to a restaurant but the noise and the set-up was not very romantic. We went to the cinema, but the film was in Ukrainian and I just sat there watching Natasha laughing her head off whilst I kept asking her – “what did they say?”.
Finally I had a plan. Natasha is very fond of her family. She loves spending time with her family, so I made sure that all members of the family are round for the Christmas meal. During the meal after having something to eat, I got on one knee, in front of her family and asked Natasha to marry me. She got all red on her face, the silence was defining, and then she said “Yes”. I was very happy to the point that I did not know on what finger the ring should go. The other reason I proposed on Christmas day is because Natasha means “Christmas child” or “Christmas gift”, so that made it a little bit more special for the both of us. And that’s it for this post.
Next post will be about the events leading up to the registration of our marriage with the ZAGS (Ukrainian civil office / registrar) and some other funny mishaps.

The Moral of the story

International marriages cost money, time and nerves. It is not easy to love someone who is far away. You will have to be sure about it and go through the process. You must meet at least a few times before making the final decision just to be sure. Also, respect the parents and the traditions of Ukraine (or any other country for that matter) as much as you can. But the most important thing is that as soon as you feel the relationship has any potential, the both of you are to save all forms of correspondence. Things like Skype conversations, Emails, Phone bills, Plane tickets, Love letters, Photos of you together (with family and friends in the photos with you if possible) etc. Every single small proof of your relationship will prove very helpful later on in the process when it comes to the visa application. For British nationals, we get a stamp in our passport every time we go to Ukraine, that helps too. Keep all evidence of your relationship and make sure there is enough of it, at least something for every week or at least month.

How we met

We met online. But there is so much more to that. We feel our story is not just any other online dating success story. We feel our story is more than that. That is why we have decided to start our blog with this post so that the reader gets the background as well.
It was the beginning of March 2012 when we actually started chatting for the first time. But how did we get to that point.
Well, my last relationship ended in about April 2007. That was the time I became a Christian and decided to adhere to the Biblical ways (no sex before marriage). So, since I was in my third year at university, I decided to just concentrate on my studies. I told myself that I would start looking for a wife once I graduate and have a good and stable job. And that was the case until 2011 / 2012.
Meanwhile, In Ukraine, Natasha was very busy with her freelance German teacher job. She would work in the evenings and weekends, which left no time for dating. Also, her very high standards as to how a guy should be, eliminated many of the potential candidates. She also started praying about her future and about the prospect of meeting a husband.
Back in the UK, by this time, I was really determined to find a wife. I thought that it was the right time for me. I was trying everything, inviting girls on dates, speed-dating, joining social networks, etc. Nothing was working, so finally, I decided to join a dating site, something I never thought I would do. I though only desperate people turn to online dating, and now I was one of them.
But which dating site?, there are so many. After some prayer, I felt God was saying that my wife will be from the land of my fore-fathers. So I joined a dating site where there were Moldovan girls, not knowing that some of my roots are actually Ukrainian. I had to pay £19, which I thought was extortionate, but Natasha is worth it.
Natasha had the same sentiments about online-dating. She thought it was just for losers. But at the advice of one of her students, she did it. She was determined not to write to anyone unless they write first.
So as it happens, we joined about the same time and within a couple of weeks of joining, we found each other. She was quite different than the other girls on the site. Very beautiful, confident and quite secure in herself. I liked her straightaway. So we would chat for hours and hours. We would laugh and really enjoy each other’s correspondence.

The Moral of the story

Keep looking for that right person for you. Know what you are looking for, otherwise how will you know if you have found the person or not. And online dating is not all that bad, if done sensibly and with wisdom.
Next post will be about the events leading up to the wedding.