Copies/originals supporting evidence question
Feb 15th 2016, 4:35 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 29
Copies/originals supporting evidence question
Hi all,
My Canadian wife is applying for a visa to live in the UK and we're using my self-employment earnings to fulfil the financial requirements. As I'm living in Canada at the moment, the supporting documentation is not as clear as for those living separately from their spouse in the UK. They provide a good list of what documents you need if in the UK, but then just say 'reasonable equivalents' for those overseas.
So my question is about proof of ongoing self-employment. I will be of course submitting all the tax information from the last full financial year, bank statements, etc. But as further proof, I thought of getting a selection of my most important clients to write letters saying they intend to continue using my services in the UK. I have received these letters, but they were all scanned and emailed to me. Would this be sufficient or would I have to ask them to physically mail them to me? These documents are not required for the visa application, they are just supporting evidence I thought it was a good idea to provide.
Similarly, as my business is 100% conducted over the Internet, I'm wondering if emails carry any weight? I believe emails are asked for when proving your relationship to a partner, so would this extend to business activities? Basically I have thousands of email exchanges from customers that show my work is ongoing.
Not sure if it's relevant, but I comfortably make more than the financial requirement, my two children and I are British citizens and my wife is a Canadian veterinarian with higher earnings potential than me. We have been living together for 8 years and have mortgage, credit cards etc. in both our names. We don't want to assume anything with immigration, but we don't really consider ourselves a borderline case. I know there's room for discretion from decision makers, but not sure how paranoid we should be about getting the visa.
Thanks for any input!
My Canadian wife is applying for a visa to live in the UK and we're using my self-employment earnings to fulfil the financial requirements. As I'm living in Canada at the moment, the supporting documentation is not as clear as for those living separately from their spouse in the UK. They provide a good list of what documents you need if in the UK, but then just say 'reasonable equivalents' for those overseas.
So my question is about proof of ongoing self-employment. I will be of course submitting all the tax information from the last full financial year, bank statements, etc. But as further proof, I thought of getting a selection of my most important clients to write letters saying they intend to continue using my services in the UK. I have received these letters, but they were all scanned and emailed to me. Would this be sufficient or would I have to ask them to physically mail them to me? These documents are not required for the visa application, they are just supporting evidence I thought it was a good idea to provide.
Similarly, as my business is 100% conducted over the Internet, I'm wondering if emails carry any weight? I believe emails are asked for when proving your relationship to a partner, so would this extend to business activities? Basically I have thousands of email exchanges from customers that show my work is ongoing.
Not sure if it's relevant, but I comfortably make more than the financial requirement, my two children and I are British citizens and my wife is a Canadian veterinarian with higher earnings potential than me. We have been living together for 8 years and have mortgage, credit cards etc. in both our names. We don't want to assume anything with immigration, but we don't really consider ourselves a borderline case. I know there's room for discretion from decision makers, but not sure how paranoid we should be about getting the visa.
Thanks for any input!
Feb 21st 2016, 3:28 pm
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 526
Re: Copies/originals supporting evidence question
good that you are putting together supporting evidence from clients- in my experience (used to be in international relocation) when you do not fit nicely into bureaucratic boxes, it is best to get advice from a registered visa consultant/immigration solicitor. you will have to prove future/earnings in UK, and as you are self employed it may be trickier unless approached the right way. this is where experts can come in useful as they know how best to present information and will only submit if they know it will pass the test ..... one thought is that they may suggest you open a subsidiary of your company in the uk to create a presence, etc, you would need tax advice of course...
