Brightongirl

On this site previously I read of people supporting their application with things like photos and documentation of trips taken together etc. I was just on the UK visa site and it implies that this kind of stuff is of no help.
It states: "Things like greetings cards, travel tickets, receipts, photographs and text or social media messages are not considered strong evidence of your relationship and are unlikely to help your application." Is this new or did I just not read this before; is it still worthwhile to include any of it?
I'm not applying for a year but I feel I'm already pulling my hair out, trying to anticipate what will be satisfactory proof of a relationship. We've been together for 25 years and married for 4 of that but I'm already feeling like a criminal trying to "sneak into" my home country with my spouse. Can anyone who's been approved ease my mind a little and let me know what they sent to support proof of a relationship. I have a year to gather extra documentation, if only I knew exactly what IS required.

BritInParis

You can optionally add things like photos and covering letters for colour (and I would recommend doing this) but you should be providing things like utility bills, bank statements, mortgage agreements, etc.. preferably in both your names but correspondence addressed separately to you at the same address during the same timeframe is also acceptable. If you have been married for four years then a selection of documents from each six month period (eight in total) plus your marriage certificate should suffice.

Brightongirl

Thanks for the reply ... I really appreciate the info on the documentation.

Stelly

We've been married 18 years and living together for more than that. I think the notion of putting this together and running a con for 15+ years just to sneak into the UK is pretty far-fetched. We are showing marriage docs, mortgage docs for old house and this house, birth certs for the kids, joint bank statements and joint car loans. I can't see how a letter from my cousin is going to flesh that out much more anyway.

Katerina1

Hi -

I included the required documentation “must haves”: bank statement in joint names, local ID’s , Driving licences (all these documents showing that we live at the same address), some old bills in joint names , confirmation from our dentist that he knows us and we live at the same address, our child’s birth certificate .

I also included some “nice to haves” like photographs throughout our relationship with various family members and on various trips. In my opinion it helped to shape the case and put a name to a face so to speak .

We applied from India so I decided to include more documents , rather than less.

My husband’s spouse visa was approved on 4/8/22 and he collected his passport the following day.

Good luck with your application!

Brightongirl

Thank you so much for replying! I really appreciate it. I will do all those things too and like you said I hope it completes the picture. I realize now that I've been allowing myself to get overwhelmed by it all due to the lack of control. I've been wanting to move back for so many years and since partner agreed it's been a bit of an unhealthy obsession. I need to step back, have faith and let the chips fall. Congratulations on your approval!!