sarahtw

Please can someone help with filling in a VAF4A Form, which is so that me (a British Citizen) and my husband (a New Zealand Citizen) can come and live in the UK.

Q.4.17 asks whether the applicant has any children. We have a son who is 21 and studying and currently living at home (ie not financially independent) . He will be travelling with us to the UK but will then go on and do his own thing. Do we need to declare him?

Q. 6.4 asks whether the applicant has been granted any UK visa in the last 10 years - we've been on holidays one for almost 6 months and my husband has had his passport stamped with "leave to enter but employment etc prohibited" - does this need to be declared?

Q. 6.16 asks whether the applicant has worked for local/central Government - my husband is a teacher in a state school - does he need list that?

Finally, which Appendix is the one that we need to complete? Two is the only one that looks like it might be the one but it refers to "the spouse of someone settled in the UK"

Many thanks in advance to anyone who is kind enough to respond.

Sarah

Vadio

Sarah,

I assume your son is a UK citizen with a UK passport? If so, he simply goes. You do not list him as a "child". Not only is he over 21, despite his current financial dependence, no visa is required.

The stamps in your husband's passport are actually visas, but you get them at the border. This section only refers to visas such as spousal, fiance, employment sponsored etc.

Q 6.16 - tick yes, and enter the details in part 9.

It is Appendix 2. In this case "settled" means both already there or that you (the sponsor) are returning.

Good luck!

sarahtw

Thanks Vadio - much appreciated.

Does the same apply for Appendix 2 ie when it asks does your sponsor have any children we can say 'no' as our son is 21?

Also, Q4.16 in the Appendix asks "do you have any income/savings that will still be available to you once you come to the UK?" - presumably this means other than the income/savings declared in the applicant to meet the financial requirements?

Thanks in advance,
Sarah

Vadio

You do list children in 1.27; the nationality and date of birth indicates that they are no longer 'dependents' unless you state differently in section 1.28 that the sponsor is 'financially responsible' for an adult child or other family member. I know you help your son at this point, but I assume he is also capable of being independent. My husband has a 'child' from his previous marriage, as do I, but each was over age 40 when I got my visa in 2011. As I recall, they were listed in the then-version of Appendix 2.

UKVI is most interested in dependents who require a visa I believe.


If you completed Part 3 for the financial requirement, you are not required to complete Part 4.

sarahtw

Thanks very much Vadio that's so helpful.

sarahtw

One hopefully last question - do you know what level of detail they are looking for in Q.3.75 Cash Savings, in particular, source of funds? The money we've saved has been built up over years. I can identify 3 main sources in recently years so might just mention them. Thanks again Vadio. You've made the form filling bearable and it feels like I might even be able to finish it!

Vadio

From what other folks have said, the answer can be very specific e.g. proceeds of sale of main home on date/year (which does not have to be under your control for a minimum of 6 months) or something like "savings from employment income earned from the Year 1 to the present". If there was a specific source - for example, inheritance, big lottery win :-) or something else, then list it.

My visa was issued in the pre-2012 rule change era, and DH had retired at age 70. His 'income' was from his UK state pension which at the time was a whopping £55/week. We had just sold our house in the US and provided a copy of the settlement documents which clearly showed the amount we received, plus the bank statement that showed the deposit into a joint account. The rest of our financials were my retirement accounts (IRA and SEP IRA in the US) plus a cash CD and other cash savings from income from my consulting work. The retirement account statements had a 'date account opened', which in 1 case was 1987 as best I remember. They had no issues with anything and just stated that they were 'satisfied that we had adequate funds for maintenance'.

I would complete as much as you can, then step away from the form for a day or so. I've found that makes it easier, plus you spot little mistakes on occasion. I'm a great one for reversing dates - a holdover from my years of US-style month/day/year instead of day/month/year.

It's VERY difficult to proofread your own work, because you tend to see what you meant to write not what you do write. I know this very well from 30+ years of report writing with no one to read it but me. Sometimes I would use a prior year report as a 'base' for boilerplate text, and would be astounded at the stuff I simply didn't 'see' when proofing.

But - you WILL finish, and no doubt will be successful! It's usually the 'can't meet the financial requirements' that becomes the sticking point.

sarahtw

You've been very kind and generous with your time and this information is the final piece of the jigsaw. I completely agree that it is important to leave the application for a few days and then read it over again. Having done that a few times I'm alarmed by the number of simple things I get wrong - often dates because I miss a decade or two (a sign of my age!). And thank you for your words of encouragement. Thanks to your help I really do think we will get there. Thanks again.

Vadio

Glad to help. If I've misinterpreted/misread anything, someone with far more knowledge will jump in, which is one of the great things about this forum.

My naturalization ceremony is next Monday (10th), so I've been doing a 'trial run' on the passport application. It's so simple compared to everything else, but the little 'slips of the pen' are mind-blowing. At least I have another week to make sure all the stuff is in the correct box before I get someone to do the countersignature on the photo and the "yes, I know her, and the info on this application is correct" stuff in Section 10. I've already found 3 mistakes in the trial, plus 3 bits that are confusing. I've asked for help with that on another forum :-).