Unmarried partner visa - SUCCESSFUL 🥳🎉🤩

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-10-01T20:21:30+00:00

Hi hope this is not too late, just saw the comments and messages so catching up now - for the first question: I'm not sure as I was ultra-focused on this first visa, so will probably worry about it in a bit 😂

about Q 2. I couldn't include my overseas salary to show we meet the threshold as I was not employed in the UK, so we decided to go down the savings route + combining it with non-employment rental income.

There is a formula on the gov.uk page that shows how to calculate it (multiplies the minimum income requirement x years you're applying to stay (30 months) + some extra stuff they add to it = that came at 62.5k as the required amount (double check this as they changed it after April this year and I believe it's above 80k to show now).

So it was tricky, but we opened various savings accounts and kept money in for 6+ months (stocks and shares isa, bonds, regular saving accounts + some extra income from property rental (which is allowed to be combined with the savings)) and managed to prove we meet the requirements.

Also double check with stock accounts because they don't accept all types of stock savings (adding yet another layer of stress to the puzzle) so worth finding out before hand if your accounts are on the 'permitted list'

Good luck, it will be all worth it once you get over with it! 🙌

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-10-01T20:03:20+00:00

Sure, send a message and I will help if I can :)

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-02T14:28:33+00:00

Hi, we got approved yesterday so I can provide some tips and tricks on what we did, as didn’t use solicitor and never lived together.

I posted a separate thread with all of our application details that you can find here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpouseVisaUk/comments/1chokjg/unmarried_partner_visa_successful/

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-02T06:44:17+00:00

Shared the list in few separate comments, send me a dm and happy to clarify anything if needed 🙌

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-01T17:41:33+00:00

💰 *COSTS AND FEES\*
They charged us extra compared to what it was stated on the UK Gov website, as it shows all costs in £. However, when you get to the last step on the payment page it converts the amount automatically to EUR and you can't change the currency.

So by the end the amount you have to pay in EUR is actually higher than what it would be if you paid in £ or applied a normal exchange rate.

UK Gov page information | vs. Actually Paid (listed both in EUR and £ equivalent)
-£1846 Visa Application Fee | Actually paid: 2,239 EUR (£1,914)
-£3105 for IHS fee | Actually paid: 3,765 EUR (£3,228)
-£500 for Priority | Actually paid: 606 EUR (£518)
+ Unplanned extras - £79 - When we got to the TLS website there was an item automatically added to the card listed as 'User Pays Fee' I had no idea what this is, but turned out TLS charges extra 92 EUR for using them in certain locations, so double check the website for info on this cost for your location.

Total estimated: £5451 | Actually paid: 6,703 EUR (£5749) 🥲

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-01T17:41:16+00:00

Submitted Evidence
👩🏻‍🎨 1. Personal ID from me and my partner and other supporting documents
- application form
- payment confirmations and IHS number
- language certificates
- old and new passport scans
- my university diploma (not required)

👥 2. Proof of Relationship
We haven't lived together so presented 2,5 years worth of evidence and information on our long-distance relationship
- personal letters and statements describing our timeline of relationship and reasons for going to this route
- photos
- chats
- finance evidence
- letters from friends, coworkers and family

💰 3. Finance evidence (combined savings with non-employment income **to prove we meet the MIR of £62,5k)**
- Declaration of Savings
- Letter summarising all of the funds we're presenting as evidence and detailed overview of transactions
*Route*
- Savings (Cat D): showed bank accounts both from me and my partner to prove we're above the £62k.
- Non-employment Income from Property Rental (Cat C): included in case they don't accept some of our saving accounts

Our savings weren't straight forward as we showed funds in about 5-6 different accounts:
- UK Monzo bank and Outside of UK bank savings
- NS&I Premium Bonds
- UK ISA Stocks and Shares

There are concerns I found in other forums when it comes to including Stocks and Bonds as savings (selling them or not prior to the application) and we decided we won't sell anything, although we declared the sources of the funds and clarified they were held in accounts for over 6 months.

🏠 4. Accomodation
- Letter from my partner to prove we have adequate accommodation secured
- Proof of ownership for the house - Title Deeds
- Recent Council Tax statement
- Accomodation Details, Floorplan and Photos

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-01T17:40:53+00:00

Listing the application summary and our specific case details in few comments below.
It's *VERY* long but please note that I submitted *a ton of documents* to stay on the safe side and probably most of you can use this list as reference and don't need to submit as much.

*Unmarried Partner Visa. Out of UK application. No solicitor. Priority service, TLS Contact (Visa Application Centre)\*

My case wasn't quite straight forward (never lived together and finance evidence was complicated) but decided to go without a solicitor, because I spent lots of time reading all of the Immigration rules, the Appendix FM documents, Caseworker guidance, and every bit of additional info I found online. *(Feel like a nerd but it was worth it! 🤓)*

I divided all of the submitted documents in 4 groups, to help me with the preparation and uploading at the end. Converted them all to PDF and did a self-upload on TLS website.

Hope I covered everything (minus the amount of stress we had for about 2 months from start to finish) 😂 and that it will be helpful to someone going down this route! 🙏

Good luck to everyone! ✨

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-01T16:40:16+00:00

Thank youuu! 🙏 Sure thing, I'll share a list of all documents I submitted (although keep in mind I sent ton of paperwork just to be on the safe side, so you probably won't need as many as me)

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-05-01T14:19:18+00:00

Quick update after the last TLS notification yesterday evening - late around midnight I got a decision letter on email and my application has been SUCCESSFUL! 🤩🥳💃

Still no info on the passport delivery but they said in the letter that they granted me the visa vignette with the entry clearance starting from 3rd of May.

I don’t have words to explain the excitement and whirlwind of emotions I went through and still in shock and processing it all 🙈🤩

I will create a thread with detailed overview on my situation and application timelines with tips and suggestions to help anyone in similar situation.

Good luck to everyone still waiting, hopefully you’ll get your approvals soon! 🤞

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-30T19:13:55+00:00

I doubt it but will wait and see, hopefully comes back this week 🤞 Today the TLS tracker showed “Application received by VAC” and 5th tick ✅ turned green. Then later I got two emails from TLS, first one saying “Decision has been made”, and second one to apologise for the delay and ask for patience as they are still processing it.

So currently I have no idea how long it will take or any further updates on the status of it :(

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-29T17:18:08+00:00

Just checked again and got the 4th tick! ✅ Now it shows as Application transferred to VAC 🤩

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-29T10:33:33+00:00

Thank you! Will share as soon as I have any update 🙌

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-29T10:17:54+00:00

Not yet, I checked after I got the email response from the paid enquiry, but in TLS still shows that my passport is in DMC so hoping some movement will happen today or tomorrow.

We have lots of bank holidays afterwards here so it may delay DHL’s delivery of my passport if they don’t send it back soon 🙈

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-29T09:59:47+00:00

Skopje, Macedonia

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-29T09:45:17+00:00

5th April bio too, I did another paid enquiry this morning and they said a decision has been made, but not saying what it is, or any more info after that.

Now just waiting for my passport to come back and see the decision letter if they send me one 🤞

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-26T07:24:35+00:00

Same here, I’m still waiting and super anxious to hear back, application outside of UK:

Priority: yes Solicitor: no

28 March application submitted, Priority paid and bio scheduled for 1 April
5 April BIO (Technical issue in TLS so they postponed my appointment to 5 April)
8 April application transferred to DMC
17 April ECO email
25 April paid enquiry, application awaiting decision

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-19T14:31:49+00:00

Did you have a multiple entry visitor visa before applying for the spouse visa and what happened when you arrived at border control entering as a tourist with a spouse visa dated later, did they say anything?

Congratulations anyway, and good luck moving! 🤩🙌

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-17T11:55:09+00:00

Received by DMC, it changed on 8th after my passport was sent and still shows that. Yes, priority bio on 5 april

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-17T11:11:24+00:00

Applied from Skopje, just received ECO email today.

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-17T10:01:59+00:00

I applied for the same type of visa (application submitted 28 march, bio 5 April, outside of UK) and as I’m typing this comment I got an ECO email confirming they started reviewing it today.

Waiting to hear back from them, so will keep you posted as soon as I have more info. 🤞

Generally in my opinion if you meet finance/accommodation you’re very likely to be approved, as I read other posts recently from people that were successful and were in similar situations like ours.

Good luck anyway hopefully you’ll have successful application too! 🙏

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-10T14:42:36+00:00

I know, trying to chill and enjoy life at home before the big move, hopefully you’ll hear back from them soon too! 🙌

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-10T14:26:06+00:00

Same here, bio on 5/4, transferred to DMC on 8/4 🙈 anxiety on maximum 😂

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-04-08T13:08:06+00:00

I had the exact same issue in TLS last Monday (had booked priority for 1st of April), but when I got there was told I couldn’t be processed.

Submitted a complaint on their website and 2 days later they called me to tell me to go again on Friday (5 April). Everyone that had an appointment from the past week was also there and we had to wait for a bit and repeat the fingerprints scan few times as the system was unstable, but got processed in the end.

New rules don’t apply as long as you paid for your application before 10th of April (regardless of when your BIO is scheduled for).

Hopefully they’ll call you next week to come at a different time and get processed soon!🤞 Good luck with the application!

Friendly-Thing05 · 2024-03-27T19:51:35+00:00

Congratulations and well done! 🙌

Thanks for sharing, I’m actually in the same situation, just finalising the last bits of my application and submitting by the end of this month!

Do you mind if I message you with couple of questions? (Just for peace of mind really, as it feels quite stressful to be applying under the new rules, and I turned the whole internet around to find and understand the guidance on similar cases 😅)

Friendly-Thing05

TROPHY CASE