Jen2UK

Thank you so much for those of you who have helped me get to this point in my Settlement Visa Application!
I have submitted my application, I have my biometric appointment scheduled, and I am trying to get my remaining documents together.
I am questioning what documentation I need to gather for my accommodations. Our intent is to get to England, once we get there, contact an agent to Let or Buy a property. We have financial evidence that we can do that. We will stay temporarily with one of my husband/sponsor's childhood friends who he has been in close contact with and known for 40+ years. He has a room in his home that he owns in which we will stay for as long as we need to.
My question is what kind of information do I need to provide in my package for this temporary stay? I have read that we need to have a property inspection done of his friends property, and that report needs to be included in my documents. Is that actually necessary if we have proof that financially we can rent or buy our own residence? I want to make sure I have everything included in this documentation package that is necessary, but I don't want to delay submission for something that I don't really need. I would really appreciate your input. Thanks again for all of your support!!!

The Sorceror

The property inspection report had me scratching my head too, but it seems that it is not needed for a settlement visa. We didn't have one done, and we got the settlement visa, by the way !

We submitted:
- letter from my mother confirming we would stay with her
- photos of the property (12, inside and out, showing every room)
- certified copy of the purchase deeds, when my father bought the property in 1959
- certified copy of the documents transferring the property to my mother after my father's death
- latest council tax and telephone bills

The copies were certified by a notary (this was in Scotland), in England and Wales I think it is a solicitor who will do this.

Hope this helps.

omario2016

I am in the exact situation as the OP here. Can I please for anyone's help?

My specific question is does the utility bill, copy of deed of the house, council tax and photos need to be certified by a solicitor? they are all in the post to me already (I currently am based in Bangladesh). I don't think I will get the documents in time if I had to have them certified by a solicitor can the application be refused if I just provided:

Signed letter by my friend confirming we can stay at his house for as long as we want
photos of all the rooms, garden and front of the house
copy council tax annual bill
copy of gas and electricity bill (which nowadays are only provided online

Please help!
Many thanks

DernierVirage

In our case, we submitted original hard copies of the council tax bill and utility bills for my mother's house, our understanding was that originals had to be submitted. If you only had on-line documents, it seems to be similar to having on-line bank statements, where the documents need to be signed by the bank. But hopefully someone with experience of this will be along soon.

As for photos, we just submitted the photos that we printed yourself, with no certification at all.

The property deeds were certified by my mother's lawyers. You certainly need to prove that the property is actually owned by the person who is putting you up and our understanding was that copies had to be certified.

Best of luck!

omario2016

Thank you for this feedback. Although it does worry me a lot because I am not able to get the documents certified. I spoke to a friend of mine whose wife joined on him on spouse visa and he said he did not have to certify.

Has anyone else here obtained their visas successfully without having to certify accommodation documents by solicitors?

Thank you in advance for your feedbacks.

michali

Any original documents do not have to be certified. Only those that have been downloaded or copied should be.

omario2016

Thank you! I currently live in Dhaka. My friend who is letting us stay at his house in London has posted (already on its way) the confirmation letter that we can stay with him. He has emailed me copy of:
gas and electricity bill which is only available online anywayannual council tax land registry documentcopy of his passport photos of the house (about 15)

my wife has to submit her online application in order to book her bimoetrics because otherwise the 28 days timestamp of other document such bank statement will expire......

can we just explain this in our statements?

the only other solution would be that we delay the application (which we aren't really able to) and or
to fly to london from dhaka just to sort out these documents which will cost us around 2000 pounds at the moment. Surely they don't expect you to do this?!

omario2016

or another solution would be that I book accommodation through AirBnB which will be quick but I suppose I would still have to obtain a letter from the owner? plus other requirements .....?

DernierVirage

@omario: when is the submission deadline that you have set yourself?

omario2016

@dernierVirage the bank statements were sent to my UK address on 22nd of August and they are on the way to me now to Dhaka. I guess 20th of September will be the last day for them to be accepted during biometrics correct?

on a different topic, is there any way to check the appointment availability of biometrics before you confirm your application?

DernierVirage

Why not get the copies of the property deeds certified and sent to you again...there should be time. And you could even try getting the bills certified, although I don't know if a solicitor would do this. But I would strongly advise getting the deeds certified....

Our appointment was in Beijing, so the system for appointments is different....

omario2016

I just don't want to put my friend through that hassle and am still afraid that i may miss the deadline as the post to Bangladesh is unpredictable and unreliable.

If I booked a hotel for me and wife for lets say couple of weeks when we arrive in the UK and then say that during that time i will find an accommodation to rent, will that be accepted do you think? I am assuming hotels don't need to be inspected so it is less hassle but of course mostly costly which I don't mind.

DernierVirage

@omario: not wishing to add to your woes, but my experience (and that of the company I was involved with) in Bangladesh was that the post was totally unreliable.... I would honestly never send anything to Bangladesh by post if I wanted to be sure of it actually arriving, never mind on time. For such a critical delivery DHL or similar is the way to go, if you want to avoid extra stress.

I am sure that other people can advise on AirBnB, since this isn't something I ever considered.

Best of luck.

michali

The property deeds can be downloaded from the Land Registry site for £3 and do not need certifying.

DernierVirage

Ah....my advice was for Scottish deeds, I should have been more specific.