) spouse visa application, but I am unable to recover my passport to that account. Our case was straightforward but I was always confused about the advice shared by many about the required accommodation documents/evidence as my living situation is that I share a 2b2b rented property in the UK, sharing with a non-related friend where we are both co-tennants on the lease with the letting agency. I read countless threads where it was very confidently stated that a property inspection report (and sometimes photos of the property) are 100% needed where the accomodation will not be exclusively occupied by the couple (or similar co-habiting scenarios). Several prominent posters constantly repeat this advice, to the point that it has essentially become an unofficial requirement. I was told as fact that I must obtain the housing report in addition to landlords permission or be refused on grounds of unsuitable accomodation evidence.
Opting not to use a lawyer or paid advice service since my wife and I's case was straight forward (i.e. we clearly meet all the requirements) I read all the .gov documents and appendixes relating to the applications in full several times and could not once find where this requirement for a housing report originated from. So for our accomodation documents I simply submitted a short letter from the letting agent confirming the landlord gave permission for my wife to move in along with the 2 existing tennants which also stated the number of rooms in the property, as well as a scanned copy of our lease.
In any case, our spouse visa (non-priority) was just approved after a little over 2 calender months from submission of her passport at the foreign visa center.
I am extremely greatful for all the free and helpful advice offered by the active members of this community. I just wanted to mention that this one specific little bit of well-meaning advice doenst really benefit anyone beside the firm's who have popped up offering these property reports.
