cluelesscanadian

Hi there,

Thanks so much for your help in advance, and so sorry if this has been asked - I've been reading through as many threads as I could.

I currently live in the UK on a youth mobility visa, which will end in October 2018. My partner and I are hoping to get married before October, so we can continue to live together in the UK.

We currently live separately, but are going to be moving in together in the next month. We just found a place to live today, although this would be a 1 year sublet - which means we are not officially on the lease.

Before I accept this sublet agreement, I wanted to be sure this would not hurt my chances of getting the Spousal Visa next year? We will be able to show that we pay joint bills, council tax, etc, but we will not have an official tenancy agreement.

Please let me know your thoughts - reading through the application form, it did not appear that the tenancy agreement is mandatory, but I might be completely mistaken.

Thanks,
Alex

Invisible

There are no mandatory supporting documents (as far as I'm aware) to submit regarding accommodation. It is up to the applicant to decide what evidence is supplied that should satisfy the ECO. A council tax bill, utility bill, and a letter from the landlord are quite standard, however if you are privately renting then the ECO is more than likely to be suspicious as to why a tenancy or rental agreement has not been attached. In the case of living with family etc it is obviously not a consideration, however when it comes to renting privately I would think that it was a reasonable expectation by the ECO that some sort of tenancy agreement or rental agreement was supplied as evidence.

Is there no way they can give you some such agreement? I would be cautious of anyone who will take your money as rental payments but will not supply a legally binding contract which protects your rights as a tenant.

cluelesscanadian

Thanks so much for your response!

We recently found this perfect room, in a 3-bedroom with 2 other tenants. Basically, the third tenant is away travelling for the next year, and this would therefore be a 1 year sublet if we accept.

I believe they have kept their agency in the dark about this information though. We would be able to provide shared bills from this location, as well as a sublet agreement, drafted by the tenants - but this is hardly an official document.

It would be such a shame to miss out on this amazing room, but I also worry that this would hurt my chances when we apply for a Spousal visa in 4 months or so.

Invisible

I would be extremely cautious about this if I'm correct to surmise that you would also be unable to provide documented and verifiable permission from the property owner or custodian for you both to reside at that address.

cluelesscanadian

Aw man, that's such a shame. The place seems pretty perfect. I don't really want to jeopardize being turned down because of this tenancy agreement stuff. Do you know what the Tenancy/Acommodation requirements are, or does a shared tenancy agreement more just show that you are living together and have joint expenses and bills? Or do we need to prove that we have a place to live together if I was to be accepted on this visa?

Invisible

If you are living in accommodation other than which is owned by yourself, then you need to show that you have permission from the owner for you to both live there, you also need to show that the accommodation is suitable for the number of people living there.

Invisible

UKBA supporting documentation guidance states that you may wish to submit any of the following documents to provide us with evidence of your accommodation.

This could include:

 Land Registry documents
 mortgage statements
 rent book or tenancy agreement
 council tax statements
 property inspection report
 utilities bills
 accommodation details with a supporting letter from the occupant/ landlord confirming that you are able to stay there

It's really up to you to decide what you think will satisfy them.

cluelesscanadian

Thanks for that!

I am emailing the tenants now to ask if the landlord would be able to potentially write a letter stating they know we are living in the room for the year and are happy with this arrangement. I am hoping this would suffice in place of a tenancy agreement - if we had a landlord note as well as the sublet agreement? What do you think?

I've also read that you need to have 6 months left in your housing from when you apply for the visa.. is this an actual rule?