Final Document Check--Spousal visa!!

[NYUSUK]

Here is the info we're bringing for financial support & proof of temporary housing:

Original bank statement from my US savings account for $4,000
CV showing his employability in the UK
Pay stubs from his US job

From our co-sponsor (his mum):
Original letter of financial support and intent to let us temporarily reside chez elle
Notarized copy of her latest (Dec 2004) mortgage statement
Notarized copy of her last council tax bill (April 2005)
Notarized copy of her last utility bill (March 2005)
Original letter from her employer
Notarized copies of her last three months pay stubs

Is this enough for financial support and proof of temporary accomodation???

[John]

Hi, nothing in your list about the size of mother's property. You need to show that it will not be overcrowded, as defined.

How many people will be living there, assuming the spouse visa is granted? And how many rooms, ignoring any Spam, bathroom or toilet, are over 50 square feet in size?

Oh, and don't forget to include lots of "evidence of contact". How long have the two of you been married?

[NYUSUK]

We've been married for almost a year. I have our lease from the past year and joint bills to show we've been together. Is this enough? As for the size of his mum's house, it's got two bedrooms and apart from the bathroom and Spam, one sort of open plan living area and dining area. But how, apart from my word, can I prove this to the consulate? I don't think she has any paperwork showing the size of the house. What do other people use?

[John]

We've been married for almost a year. I have our lease from the past year and joint bills to show we've been together. Is this enough?

Don't skimp on evidence of contact. At least, include pics of your wedding if available. In short, make it absolutely clear to the ECO that the marriage is real, and not a sham arrangement.

As for the size of his mum's house, it's got two bedrooms and apart from the bathroom and Spam, one sort of open plan living area and dining area. But how, apart from my word, can I prove this to the consulate? I don't think she has any paperwork showing the size of the house. What do other people use?

You do not say how many other people living there. So just Mum and the two of you, if visa granted?

Does Mum own the house? Does she have the estate agent's sheet from when the house was bought? Failing that, put together a sheet listing the facts. Number of rooms exceeding 50 sq feet? Who will be living there?

It sounds like there are three "counting rooms", and if three of you going to be living there, including a married couple, it is clearly not overcrowded as defined. How to prove it? Include some pics in your evidence folder ... they can only help your case ... and will also show (hopefully!) that the place is in good condition and not just about to fall down.

What did we do to get a spouse visa for my wife, and indeed also a settlement visa for my step-daughter? As regards accommodation our evidence folder included :-

• Letter from mortgage company detailing the mortgage and confirming payments totally up-to-date
• The Estate Agent's sheet detailing the number and size of rooms in the house
• a statement saying things like ... it is a four-bedroom house ... at the moment I live here alone ... if visas granted, my wife and I will share one bedroom, and my step-daughter will have her own bedroom.
• some pics of the house

In other words, the evidence provided made it clear the house would not be overcrowded, was in good condition, and was not just about to be repossessed.

[NYUSUK]

Thanks so much, John. Great advice! We do have a few pics from our wedding (it was a small civil affair). Will that, along with the lease and bills, be enough?

The house is owned by his mum and she's the only one who lives there, so while my husband stays with her (when he arrives in late June), he'll be the only other person there. I'm welcome to stay there, too, but we figure that by the time I arrive in the UK (in August) my husband will have rented a flat.

So, I'll try and get his mum to send pics of the house, a letter with details of the property, and if she can find it the Estate Agent's sheet.

Again, I really appreciate your help. Any more advice?

[transpondia]

John, FYI only, if there's a borderline case or the consulate is one of the more "probing", the sponsor can have the residence confirmed by the Environmental Health Officer at the local authority. Consulates will treat such a letter as hard evidence; pics and attestations are soft evidence.