Cohabitation proof for unmarried partner visa

[Grizebella]

Hi there,

So regarding cohabitation proof for unmarried partner visa, I want to ask:

1 I'm the applicant. Can my payslip be used as a form of address proof for me? I'm asking because it's not in the listed accepted types of address proof on the government website. I'm a PhD student on student visa now, but I have been holding a same part-time job for the last 3+ years. My payslips can reflect all the addresses my partner and I have cohabited in the same time period. My partner pays all utilities and my name is not on those bills, so we need to come up with some other forms of address proof. I would also submit my p60 and p800 for the last few years.

2 I have planned to make the application a lot earlier but got delayed due to some reason, so my partner's (the sponsor) employer letter is over 28 days old now. His company's director is currently in China, and doesn't have access to his email, so it might not be possible to get a new version. However, my student visa is ending now, so we can't wait for too long to submit the application. If the company director doesn't come back in time, can we just change the dates and the length of employment by ourselves on the PDF document (e.g. date changed from March to May; length of employment changed from 2 years 4 months to 2.5 years)? Is there going to be any trouble? We won't touch any other information (and it's not necessary for us to do so either).

3 My name is not on our council tax bills (I think maybe because I'm a student) but it does show that we have a student discount for council tax. Also, since we first started cohabiting, all tenancy contracts have been under both of our names, and our names only. So should it be reasonable to understand that my presence in the address provided the student discount, and if we write a cover letter to explain this logic, the council tax bills without my name can be considered cohabitation proof?

Below is just a little bit rant so no need to pay attention:
I first chose to go for this visa instead of graduating and getting a work or graduate visa mainly because we found this type of visa isn't subjected to restrictions in both jobs application (some companies would not even consider applicants on psw visa - it's been observed by many students) and self-employment (I can't be MAINLY self-employed if on a skilled worker visa - but I'm in arts and it's quite common and convenient to be self-employed). But preparing for the application of this partner visa is already making both of us crazy. Ugh.

[CR001]

1. You need much more than simply payslips to prove cohabitation. The rules around an unmarried partner visa are very inflexible. You have to prove, with evidence, that you and your partner have 'been living in a relationship akin to marriage' with shared responsibilities etc. There is no discretion on this requirement if you are not married.

2. The letter cannot be older than 28 days on the date you submit and pay online. When does your student visa expire? I would strongly suggest you do NOT tamper with the letter yourselves.

3. Fine, but you will need more than just payslips and a tenancy agreement to prove a relationship akin to marriage. Many housesharers are joint tenants on a tenancy agreement.

4. A Graduate Route visa doesn't have restrictions so not sure what you are referring to. It would be the obvious choice, it is cheaper and would give you freedom to do any work and give you the two years to get the cohabitation and shared responsibilities sorted out.

[Grizebella]

1. You need much more than simply payslips to prove cohabitation. The rules around an unmarried partner visa are very inflexible. You have to prove, with evidence, that you and your partner have 'been living in a relationship akin to marriage' with shared responsibilities etc. There is no discretion on this requirement if you are not married.

2. The letter cannot be older than 28 days on the date you submit and pay online. When does your student visa expire? I would strongly suggest you do NOT tamper with the letter yourselves.

3. Fine, but you will need more than just payslips and a tenancy agreement to prove a relationship akin to marriage. Many housesharers are joint tenants on a tenancy agreement.

4. A Graduate Route visa doesn't have restrictions so not sure what you are referring to. It would be the obvious choice, it is cheaper and would give you freedom to do any work and give you the two years to get the cohabitation and shared responsibilities sorted out.

Thanks and I know. I was just about to post the current document list for my side.

Documents under both our name:
1 Tenancy contract
2 Council tax
3 Joint account (for a year + a year of my own bank statement)

Documents under my name only:
1 My payslip
2 HMRC letters from the last few years
3 NHS letters x 2
4 I also have two more random things: My university letter (with address) x 2; an email from the UKVI confirming that I have changed from our old address to our current one (now address changes are made online and when they process your change, you'll be sent an email).

[Grizebella]

4. A Graduate Route visa doesn't have restrictions so not sure what you are referring to. It would be the obvious choice, it is cheaper and would give you freedom to do any work and give you the two years to get the cohabitation and shared responsibilities sorted out.

And regarding this, in theory it shouldn't, I know... But I read about quite a few cases of companies won't consider candidates on psw... But if I think about it more rationally, it's indeed not something I should be so concerned. But well.

And my student visa ends in 10 days, so would you say it's better if I submit the old letter?

[Grizebella]

1. You need much more than simply payslips to prove cohabitation. The rules around an unmarried partner visa are very inflexible. You have to prove, with evidence, that you and your partner have 'been living in a relationship akin to marriage' with shared responsibilities etc. There is no discretion on this requirement if you are not married.

2. The letter cannot be older than 28 days on the date you submit and pay online. When does your student visa expire? I would strongly suggest you do NOT tamper with the letter yourselves.

3. Fine, but you will need more than just payslips and a tenancy agreement to prove a relationship akin to marriage. Many housesharers are joint tenants on a tenancy agreement.

4. A Graduate Route visa doesn't have restrictions so not sure what you are referring to. It would be the obvious choice, it is cheaper and would give you freedom to do any work and give you the two years to get the cohabitation and shared responsibilities sorted out.

Thanks and I know. I was just about to post the current document list for my side.

Documents under both our name:
1 Tenancy contract
2 Council tax
3 Joint account (for a year + a year of my own bank statement)

Documents under my name only:
1 My payslip
2 HMRC letters from the last few years
3 NHS letters x 2
4 I also have two more random things: My university letter (with address) x 2; an email from the UKVI confirming that I have changed from our old address to our current one (now address changes are made online and when they process your change, you'll be sent an email).

I also forgot that there's all my online shopping invoices for the same period.
Sorry. These days working on this has really got me crazy...

[CR001]

You risk a refusal if you do not meet the very strict cohabitation requirement and evidence of cohabitation or shared financial and household responsibilities as if you were marrie. There is no discretion on this point and substantial evidence is required covering the full two years.

I believe your best option would be to apply for the Graduate Route visa as you do not need a sponsor. Where I previously worked and was the UKVI Level 1 user as we sponsored visas, we got a lot of pre-registration trainees joining the Scheme on Graduate Route (not PSW as you keep calling it) visa. None of them had problems finding work on their visas.

[Grizebella]

You risk a refusal if you do not meet the very strict cohabitation requirement and evidence of cohabitation or shared financial and household responsibilities as if you were marrie. There is no discretion on this point and substantial evidence is required covering the full two years.

I believe your best option would be to apply for the Graduate Route visa as you do not need a sponsor. Where I previously worked and was the UKVI Level 1 user as we sponsored visas, we got a lot of pre-registration trainees joining the Scheme on Graduate Route (not PSW as you keep calling it) visa. None of them had problems finding work on their visas.

Thank you. I know. It's just that I've already paid half of the lawyer fee, and that's not refundable... If I haven't, I'm definitely going to quit this and do the graduate visa, nice and easy.

May I also ask do you have any opinions on that list of documents?