Dependent of person on UK Ancestry

[D3k]

Hi All,

Hoping for a bit of advice, my girlfriend and I (both Australian) have been living in the UK since January 2015, I on an Ancestry Visa and her on a Tier 5 youth mobility visa. We’re hoping to extend her stay and based on the visas we’ve looked at online the best approach appears to be applying for her to remain as my dependent. We’ve been together 8 years and living together for about 5 (including since arriving in the UK) and we’re both professionals, I’m currently on a rolling contract while she has a permanent position.

We’ve spoken briefly to a lawyer as part of a ‘free consultation’ but their quote to actually handle the application is expensive, especially seeing as most of the leg-work seems to be in preparation of the documents proving you’ve been living together which we’d have to handle ourselves. The information they’ve given us is as follows:

• Should have 25-30 pieces of proof from 7-9 sources over a 2+ year period to show you’ve been living together. Need not have both names on the bill/letter but need to have enough to show you both being at the address in the same timeframe.
• Can apply from within the UK no problem.
• Being knocked back on this application doesn’t effect any current visas.
• The visa application can take 5 months if you don’t pay for same-day review, and they’ll hold both passports for the duration.
• I’ll essentially need to re-prove my ancestry as part of the application.

Basically, I’m hoping just to get clarification that the above is correct and to hear from anyone who may have gone through the process. A couple of specific queries I had:
• Is it fine applying from within the UK? Despite what the lawyer said we’ve met people who’ve applied for it and been knocked back on the basis they applied from within the UK (or so they told us).
• Do I definitely have to reprove my ancestry? It shouldn't be a problem, it just seems excessive when I'm already on the Visa (surely that's proof enough?).
• Is it worth engaging a lawyer? The current quote we have almost triples the cost of the application overall so it’s no small expense. Although any recommendations of good lawyers would also be appreciated.
• Is the dependent visa the best way to go about it or is there another way we haven’t considered?

Thanks, any and all advice appreciated.

[CR001]

1. Yes, can apply within the UK provided your have proof of relationship. See Ancestry - Family Members (click); FLR(O) Form (click) and FLR(O) Guidance Notes (click). She can apply in person for a same day decision or by post which can take 6 months or more. It is your choice, in person costs a bit more though.

2. Probably best to supply more rather than less to prove eligibility. This is HO we are talking about, don't ever assume that 'they should know as I have a visa already as proof'. They will want to see evidence.

3. No. You will only be poorer if you use a solicitor and there is no guarantee of success if you use one anyway. It is not a difficult application to make. Members are not permitted to name solicitors/firms on the public forum. Bear in mind that besides the visa application fee, your partner will also have to pay the immigration health surcharge.

4. There is no other visa she will qualify for if you are on an Ancestry visa and wants to apply as your dependent.

[D3k]

Thanks for the response CR001, I'll certainly give it some thought. Just for clarification on point 4, this appeared to me the most obvious route to me, happy to consider alternatives if there are any.

[CR001]

Unless she qualifies for a visa in her own right (Tier 2 General, Tier 1 Entrepreneur, Tier 4 or her own Ancestry), there is no other option available to her.

[Wanderer]

Thanks for the response CR001, I'll certainly give it some thought. Just for clarification on point 4, this appeared to me the most obvious route to me, happy to consider alternatives if there are any.

Marriage?

[CR001]

Thanks for the response CR001, I'll certainly give it some thought. Just for clarification on point 4, this appeared to me the most obvious route to me, happy to consider alternatives if there are any.

Marriage?

Whether married or not, as OP is still on Ancestry visa, there is no other dependent visa option for his partner.

[D3k]

Hi All,

We're in the process of putting together documentation for our application for my girlfriend's Dependency Visa on my existing Ancestry Visa.

We've spoken to a couple of lawyers and have been thoroughly unimpressed with them and so have decided to go it alone. We've got the relevant form, but but in terms of the documentation to prove our relationship and that we've been living together, we're not sure we have enough. So far what we have includes:

-About 40 pieces of documentation with our addresses over a 5 year period from various sources (banks, insurance, rental tenancies, electoral role etc.), very few of them have both our names on them but by looking at the dates over the period you can see we were at the same address. We've got a joint bank account and joint credit card we'll provide as well. Most of the documents are predominately from Australia, with only a couple from the UK.
-Photos over the period
-Letter of employment from my girlfriend's employer

Is there anything else we should be providing (other than the form itself obviously)? Ideally if someone who's been successful had a list off what they provided that'd be fantastic. Thanks in advance.

[D3k]

Further to the above, we're trying to book our appointment (we want to go the premium service route) but when redirected to the IHS page it says we only need to pay £200.

As I have 3.5 years remaining on my visa, and she's applying as my dependent, I would have thought it should be £700. But there doesn't to be any way to add these details into the IHS page. Anyone have any idea what to do?

[CR001]

Suggest pay what it asks, HO likely to write to you if they have any issues and require an additional payment.

[D3k]

I just spoke to the HO about the IHS issue and they're telling me that we CANNOT apply for the visa from within the UK because you cannot transfer from the Youth Mobility Visa to another visa without going home.

Can anyone confirm/deny this? It flies in the face of what I've been told by two sets of lawyers as well as members of this board.

[CR001]

Don't believe everything the call centre tells you. They frequently give the wrong advice and take no responsibility for it.

https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa/family-members

[Casa]

As is frequently the case, the Home Office 'help line' has given seriously flawed advice.
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/immigra ... pectation/

[D3k]

Yeah, that article is fairly troubling. Makes me wonder what the point of the hotline is to some extent.

Additional query:

When we apply for the FLR-O, can we state a start date? Or does it come in automatically? Will it make her current visa (that expires in January) invalid?

Just thinking that if it starts now, we effectively have to pay an extra £100 on the IHS, but, more importantly, if it makes it so my girlfriend doesn't have a valid visa for a couple of weeks it could interfere with some travel plans.

[CR001]

When we apply for the FLR-O, can we state a start date? Or does it come in automatically? Will it make her current visa (that expires in January) invalid? No, you can't. It will be valid from the date it is approved. Current visa will be cancelled once new visa is approved. Suggest apply for an in person same day decision if you don't mind paying £500 extra.

[D3k]

When we apply for the FLR-O, can we state a start date? Or does it come in automatically? Will it make her current visa (that expires in January) invalid? No, you can't. It will be valid from the date it is approved. Current visa will be cancelled once new visa is approved. Suggest apply for an in person same day decision if you don't mind paying £500 extra.

Figured that'd be the case. Thanks.