John Lomas177 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Hi All, Having just joined this forum, I've not had much time to filter through past posts so apologies if this is a repeat topic! My family and I are facing the prospect of abruptly leaving OZ after 3 years due to visa/job difficulties and have chosen the UK as our destination. I'm a British citizen but my wife and kids are South African and thus will require visas. I've discovered that the spouse (settlement) visa takes 3 months to be processed, does anyone know if this can be expedited quicker? We have been married for 14 years so it certainly isn't a marriage of convenience but I'm assuming this doesn't affect the processing time? One last question, does anyone know if it is possible to enter the UK on a visitor visa and then apply for the spouse visa? I am assuming not but awkward (but practical) questions like this are not addressed on the gov.uk website pages! Thanks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 (edited) I'm sorry to hear you've had visa troubles. You cannot enter the UK and then apply for a spouse visa, the rules say you must apply from your country of residence. We applied from Sydney and although they quote 3 months, our visa came through in less than 3 weeks after the biometric interview. So I suggest getting the application in asap and see what happens. Look into whether you can apply for tourist visas so you can stay in Australia for the additional time you need. The online application is fiddly but just takes patience. One thing to watch out for - you also have to complete Appendix 2, which is a form your wife has to print off and take with her to the biometric interview: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733638/VAF4A-Appendix2-08-18.pdf You'll notice it asks for an address in the UK. When we did it, we used our sister's address and they didn't check. However nowadays, I believe they're really strict. You need a genuine address where you can live for a reasonable length of time and you'll need to provide proof that you have a right to live there and that there's room for your family. Edited January 29, 2020 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Also be aware you must meet the financial conditions of either savings or employment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Are they your children? In which case they will be British by descent and you just need passports for them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lomas177 Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 Marisa, Thanks for you response. Your husband applied for his spouse visa, did you guys have jobs lined up at the time so to meet the financial requirements as I don't have a job there yet and certainly don't have sufficient savings? How stringent was the financial requirements? I assume your husband had to do the English test? How long did the spouse visa process take overall, did you have to wait long for the biometric interview? Thanks again for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, John Lomas177 said: Your husband applied for his spouse visa, did you guys have jobs lined up at the time so to meet the financial requirements as I don't have a job there yet and certainly don't have sufficient savings? How stringent was the financial requirements? I assume your husband had to do the English test? How long did the spouse visa process take overall, did you have to wait long for the biometric interview? No, we didn't have jobs lined up. We're retired so we were able to provide evidence of sufficient savings. Do you own your home? If so, you can use the equity in your home as evidence of savings. I have a nasty feeling that you need to have an offer on the house and then get a solicitor's letter showing the sale is in progress - but I hope I'm wrong. I'm sure you'll find some info on that if you Google. The financial requirements are very stringent, no exceptions possible at all. No, my husband did not have to do the English test. He didn't have to wait long for the biometric interview and I think the whole thing took us less than six weeks. Edited January 29, 2020 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 9 hours ago, John Lomas177 said: Marisa, Thanks for you response. Your husband applied for his spouse visa, did you guys have jobs lined up at the time so to meet the financial requirements as I don't have a job there yet and certainly don't have sufficient savings? How stringent was the financial requirements? I assume your husband had to do the English test? How long did the spouse visa process take overall, did you have to wait long for the biometric interview? Thanks again for the info. The financial criteria is strict. You will meet it or be rejected. On the flip side, getting a job that pays £18600 is only just above minimum wage so shouldn't be hard. But, in reality, you wife may need to return to SA while you fly to the UK and sort that end up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 The financial requirements are a real issue, many people can't meet them. I've heard that many people end up going to Ireland because as a British citizen, you have right of entry and you can bring your wife along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacGyver Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 On 29/01/2020 at 11:45, John Lomas177 said: Hi All, Having just joined this forum, I've not had much time to filter through past posts so apologies if this is a repeat topic! My family and I are facing the prospect of abruptly leaving OZ after 3 years due to visa/job difficulties and have chosen the UK as our destination. I'm a British citizen but my wife and kids are South African and thus will require visas. I've discovered that the spouse (settlement) visa takes 3 months to be processed, does anyone know if this can be expedited quicker? We have been married for 14 years so it certainly isn't a marriage of convenience but I'm assuming this doesn't affect the processing time? One last question, does anyone know if it is possible to enter the UK on a visitor visa and then apply for the spouse visa? I am assuming not but awkward (but practical) questions like this are not addressed on the gov.uk website pages! Thanks John I posted this in another thread, it is an indicative list of evidence required. Working through the list gives an overview/idea of the requirements for the UK spouse visa (note - this is for an unmarried couple, using emmployment to meet the financial requirement). I am not a professional in this field and the information below was provided to us during our own application. I found the process less clear than the Australian spouse visa process, although the UK process is much quicker. We also paid for the 30 day priority processing (not cheap!!): Financial Documents Current Employment (Australia): Sponsors bank statements dating back six months from the date of your application showing receipt of salary; (You can print these from banking service provider’s website or ask the bank to print them. If, however, they are not on original headed bank notepaper, the bank MUST certify (stamp) every page or provide a signed letter on bank headed notepaper confirming that they are genuine and authentic.) Sponsors original signed and dated employment contract; Sponsors payslips for the six months immediately prior to your application being submitted; (These payslips must be either (a) original formal payslips issued by his employer and showing the employer’s name or (b) accompanied by a letter from his employer, on their headed paper and signed by a senior official confirming the payslips are authentic.) a letter from Sponsors employer confirming their employment and gross annual salary, the length of employment, the period over which they have been paid the level of salary relied on in the application and the type of employment. New Employment (UK): a letter from the new employer which confirms the job offer, the gross annual salary and the starting date of the employment which must be within three months of Sponsors return to the UK; or a signed contract of employment, which must have a starting date within three months of sponsors return to the UK. Accommodation a recent Council Tax letter for the property that the Sponsor owns in the UK (NOTE - accommodation owned by friends/family may be used to meet this requirement with some exceptions); either a copy of the Title Register from the Land Registry for the property (which can be downloaded online for £3), or a recent mortgage statement to prove ownership of the property; and a property inspection report. [the above can be replaced with a letter from eg a family member with whom you will stay, plus the above documents showing they occupy the property, plus a property report showing it does not exceed occupancy limits] Relationship (requirements for married couple may differ) photos of the couple together over the course of the relationship; six items of correspondence addressed to applicant and sponsor at the same address as evidence that you have been living together from the date you first started living together up to a maximum of two years*; evidence of communication between applicant and sponsor over the course of your relationship; a letter from the applicant regarding your relationship and a letter from the sponsor confirming that he/she will support you when you are here as his/her partner; and statements from friends and family to support the fact that you are in a genuine relationship. *I understand that you might struggle to find six items of correspondence addressed jointly but that you can evidence multiple official documents from individual accounts at the same address. This is fine. For example – you can submit four items of correspondence in joint names to the same address and two items addressed to each of you at the same address so that, in total, eight items would need to be submitted. Or, as another example, you could submit two items of correspondence in joint names to the same address and five items addressed to each of you at the same address so that, in total, twelve items would need to be submitted. Note that the dates of the items of correspondence should be spread evenly over the whole period you are relying on and should be from at least three different sources. Additional Documents Applicants current passport; Applicants previous passport(s) if any; Sponsors passport; two recent and identical passport-sized colour photographs of applicant with your full name written on the back of each; one recent passport-sized colour photograph of the sponsor with his/her full name written on the back. Appendix 2 A completed Appendix 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 I'm astonished at McGyver's list. For proof of relationship, we supplied our marriage certificate and that was that! For UK address, just a letter from my sister with no proof of her ownership of her house. However that was four years ago, so maybe they've got a lot stricter in the meantime. Good point about the bank statements - the bit about them needing to be on the bank letterhead, not just printed off the internet, is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacGyver Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: I'm astonished at McGyver's list. For proof of relationship, we supplied our marriage certificate and that was that! For UK address, just a letter from my sister with no proof of her ownership of her house. However that was four years ago, so maybe they've got a lot stricter in the meantime. Good point about the bank statements - the bit about them needing to be on the bank letterhead, not just printed off the internet, is true. Hi Marissa, Our application was for an unmarried couple so the evidence requirement may indeed be less extensive for a married couple. I remember reading about it at the time but can't for the life of me remember at the moment. I was also surprised at the burden of evidence for the accommodation requirement. We tried very hard to avoid the council tax evidence, property inspection report etc, but eventually chose to take the advice we were given. The lawyer (as opposed to agent for UK purposes) felt very strongly about including these documents given previous experiences with clients. Much like Australia these days, it seems the Home Office is becoming very strict with meeting the evidence requirements, with no second chances given. I would only add that we eventually enlisted the support of our MP due to delays in processing and discovered that MPs have a contact number to escalate issues to the home office. Within one day of contacting our MP the visa was granted (32 days total processing time) Edited to add - the property condition report can be undertaken by the local authority/council area. My brother made contact on my behalf and within 1 week they had completed the assessment, the cost was minimal in the grand scheme of it all. This is to evidence "suitable" accommodation, primarily in relation to size of property and number of occupants Edited January 31, 2020 by MacGyver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.