jbrun85

Hello All,

I am new to the forums. I have lurked a bit and gather information, but have only just signed up.

I am from the US and moving to be with my Wife in the UK. She is a British citizen from birth. We are applying for a Spouse Visa and she has been living in the UK and earning above the 18600gbp requirement since January of this year. We will not require any savings, etc.

I have a few of questions that I was hoping you guys could provide me with some guidance on. You might think some of these questions are a bit silly, but I'm trying to be as thorough as possible to avoid any issues. Information is so confusing for this process and it's so important to get everything right. I really appreciate any help we receive.

So here goes!

1) When I am listing my international travel dates, what should I do about layovers? Occasionally I've received passport stamps from countries that were only stops on the way to my final destination. I never even left the airport.

2) Do I need a separate authentication letter for each of my Wife's 6 payslips or just one letter listing each pay slip?

3) On the application, it asks how long I intend to stay? Currently, I have 'As long as permitted' but should it be the initial 2.5 year period instead?

4) How does the priority service work, and what is the cost? Everyone talks about using it, but I can't seem to find solid information on the process.

5) Do all spouse applications go through Visa4UK? I know there is a new visa site, but it doesnt seem to list the spouse visa? The priority service doesn't link to visa4uk when I visit their website though.

6) Should my wife forward me all appropriate documentation from the UK and then I should send it from the US in one large packet? She has the vast majority of our documentation over there, and I am just not sure the best way to handle the physical mailing.

7) So what exactly happens after I hit confirm application? Is it pretty much all instantaneous? How quickly can a Biometrics appointment typically be booked? The next steps on the website are Sign Declaration, BRP Collection Location, Book Appointment, Pay For IHS, Pay for Application, Print Application.

8) And finally, I don't think anyone can help me with this, but its worth asking... In 2008, I had a BUNAC Blue Card which allowed me to live and work in the UK for a period of 6 months. It was not a typical visa though. Nothing was printed in my passport. I just have a piece of blue card stock with my picture on it and a document number. I presented this to the immigration when I arrived, and he put a stamp in my passport which reads 'Leave to enter for SIX MONTHS to work with BUNAC SCHEME'. He wrote in 'six months' and bunac scheme' himself in blank spaces. It does not have a date of issue, date of expiry, or issuing authority listed which are all questions on the application. It was just 6 months from whenever I turned up.

Thank you all in advance! Again, any help is much appreciated!

LDF93

I would be interested in seeing responses to these questions as well.