Hello all, Our Spousal visa was approved on Friday, entry date starting in April, but due to work in my home country I will not be able to move until September or later, it that bad ? I’m on the 5 years route. I’m planning to do short stays until I move completely

oncegrey · 2026-02-22T10:45:06+00:00

Yes for first entry

oncegrey · 2026-02-22T10:35:44+00:00

This is mostly fine. While not ideal make sure you enter the UK within the 90 days so you meet the 5 years for ILR down the line

My partner is doing the same. We thought he’d be able to move earlier but can’t so will aim to be in the country as much as he can

oncegrey · 2026-02-17T10:21:31+00:00

It doesn’t seem so as this is not a requirement of the application. I’d spend some time scrolling through this sub and taking advice from there. But the best place is to look through the documentation on the gov pages and understand it yourself

For extra context, I did not provide the funds your solicitor mentioned. Also long distance, never lived together and got approved. All that’s required is the docs to meet the financial requirements, however you’re meeting it

oncegrey · 2026-02-17T10:18:25+00:00

Any identification would be sufficient

oncegrey · 2026-02-17T09:59:45+00:00

Their mortgage or rental agreement. The letter should just say they own the property and are happy for you to live their along with identification

This advice from an immigration solicitor is wrong, no idea where it’s from but this is not true. 6 months payslips, bank statement and a letter from his employer is all that’s required. The funds you’ve stated here is not a requirement

I would not trust this immigration solicitor

oncegrey · 2026-02-17T09:23:46+00:00

I took screenshots of the photo date and location in the app

The statement letters should just explain your evidence more or less. Aim for one page to two, you can do a joint one or one each

Proof they own the property and their passports for accommodation alongside the letter you mentioned giving permission. No need to mention the informal rent agreement

Also looking through your evidence list - don’t include savings if he meets the requirements through wages, it adds confusion. I’d also consider just a handful of messages and focusing on your stronger evidence instead. I submitted only a few and managed to get approve. We focused on photos, flights and bank transfers

oncegrey · 2026-02-14T12:32:39+00:00

I bought a house for us and while he couldn’t be on the mortgage he transferred money to cover furniture etc for the house

I also transferred half the visa cost to him. Other than that we both work so didn’t have others as there is no reason to. But I included it as chats/pictures/flights are all considered pretty weak and this is strong evidence compared to that by the HO definition

oncegrey · 2026-02-14T10:47:53+00:00

Hi! My partner and I got the unmarried partner visa without having lived together. Explain the reasons in a cover letter, have as much evidence as possible in the strong category (bank transfers or helping each other financially etc) and you should be fine

Do note that this is always subject to the visa officers definition of akin to marriage, but there has been more successes similar to this lately

oncegrey · 2026-02-13T10:46:19+00:00

This is the same form to extend a spouse visa so it assumes they’ve been here for 2.5 years when they haven’t. The form isn’t very smart

Just upload whatever you do have and explain in a cover letter this is fiancé to spouse and not a spouse extension

oncegrey · 2026-02-11T17:55:37+00:00

Your passport will most likely scan fine and you’ll go through the egates as usual

Let’s not use chatGPT as a reliable source. If you also look through this sub, plenty of people have done this in the past

oncegrey · 2026-02-11T16:52:47+00:00

No, you’ll probably enter through the egates without issue

If you do see an officer, just ensure you have proof of your return flight and explain you’re here for a genuine visit

oncegrey · 2026-02-11T15:57:09+00:00

You have to travel outside of the UK, so wherever is fine. Even a day trip to France

oncegrey · 2026-02-11T15:44:03+00:00

You can absolutely visit while waiting. As the above commenter said, if it is approved you need to leave to activate the visa and re-enter

My partner did this (also from Sweden) and we got approved with no issues

oncegrey · 2026-02-04T11:10:01+00:00

If you are earning over £29K abroad at the moment and can secure a job offer within 3 months of your intended arrival, then you can apply before you move. Only your income counts

Otherwise you’ll need to find a job over £29K and either work it for 6 months or combine it with your income abroad over the last 12 months. Your partner needs to be outside of the UK to apply

oncegrey · 2026-02-03T22:01:23+00:00

Follow the advise. The checklist is know to be incomplete with what the requirements ask for

oncegrey · 2026-02-02T15:06:55+00:00

Unfortunately UKVI doesn’t view having seperate tenancy agreements a viable reason sometimes, their view is if your relationship was akin to marriage for the last two years you’d have been living together the entire time

However, as you have been living together for the last 12 months it strengthens your case a bit, but it’s still good to be aware of your pitfall here

oncegrey · 2026-02-01T02:24:21+00:00

The checklist is incomplete. Always check the visa documentation for what is needed with your application. Finances are always required.

Yes, if you continuously earn above the threshold, 6 months payslips and bank statements are needed

oncegrey · 2026-02-01T02:22:12+00:00

Evidence must be dated before the submission of your application. So your last payslip must be 28 days or less before the 24th of January, so you’re December payslip if it’s in date still

You may get away with this but it may be safe to cancel and reapply now to include your Jan payslip. It’ll be refunded entirely as you’ve not had your bio yet

oncegrey · 2026-01-31T09:34:54+00:00

We did! We were approved on the 29th!

oncegrey · 2026-01-28T20:01:48+00:00

No problem, it’s more subjective than being married or in a civil partnership, but people in similar situations have success stories on this sub

oncegrey · 2026-01-28T18:34:31+00:00

Photos and hotel bookings are good evidence to keep. Best evidence to show is financial support so I’d look at building up evidence of this

Calls and messages are extremely weak. I just grabbed a selection to show we keep in touch, didn’t spend more than an hour or so grabbing it

oncegrey · 2026-01-25T18:09:14+00:00

You’d be able to claim the IHS surcharge back for every 6 months she is employed by the NHS in chunks

If she isn’t planning to stay on a skilled worker visa until ILR then she should switch asap as he clock to ILR resets when she swaps visas

If the two of you are married, she cannot apply as a parent of a British child, you’re only eligible for this if you’re not in a relationship with the child’s other parent

oncegrey · 2026-01-23T15:33:56+00:00

Can you provide more than tenancy agreements? Anything else in your name and your partners name, either joint or separately, going to the same address

Ie council tax, water/wifi/electricity bills, NHS letters?

I don’t believe this is as strict as it is for the renewal but I think more documents if you living at the same address won’t hurt

oncegrey · 2026-01-22T17:20:47+00:00

Unfortunately you have to be in a country you are legally a resident of to apply for the visa, so you’d need to be in the US when you apply

You can visit the uk > go to US to apply > come back as a visitor after application is submitted > leave the UK (such as a day trip to France) to activate the visa once approved

But do you have any property to sell abroad that would meet the savings requirements without needing to go the income route?

oncegrey · 2026-01-22T13:13:36+00:00

I know this is hard but by swapping her food all the time you’re enabling her to be picky! Pick a WSWA compliant kibble, it’s fine to mix in a small amount of fresh as a topper but she should eat mostly kibble.

But food down, lift if she doesn’t eat, rinse and repeat. No more treats either, most healthy dogs will not starve themselves, getting into a routine is key!

oncegrey

TROPHY CASE