simonb83

We got my wife's passport back yesterday complete with approved visa, and I just wanted to say a big thank you to this community for helping to support people going through this process! Even with a 'straightforward' case it can be remarkably stressful, and its amazing having a forum like this for asking questions, getting advice etc.

In case anyone else is applying from Mexico, a few notes based on the process we went through:

1. When you go for your appointment at VFS in Mexico City, you also need to take along all of your documents as you will hand them over at this point.

2. The people were very helpful and friendly, and they actually went through a checklist with my wife to make sure that she had certain key documents such as an original version of our marriage certificate.

3. The documents are scanned off-premises and held for the duration of the process, however you do get them all returned to you once the process is complete.

4. In general, we did not provide copies, just originals of our documents. We only provided copies for unusual sized documents such as the marriage certificate and my (sponsor) passport.

5. Although all of the guidance says that copies must be A4 size, we provided "tamaño carta" which was fine.

6. The application seems to be processed in Bogota, all of our update emails came from Bogota and we did not need to send anything to Sheffield.

7. In theory the decision was made on the 21st March, and we received our documents back on the 27th of March, however our 30 day entry period didn't start until 28th March (this was a big relief as I was worried the time could have started counting since the day of the decision).

Here is our list of documents:
(we probably went a bit overboard with the proof of relationship, however I was a bit nervous about not having a lot of evidence of having lived together for the past 4 years)

Applicant
- Completed, signed and dated application form
- Confirmation of visa / IHS payment
- Applicant letter of introduction
- Birth certificate original + translation
- Copy of previous passport
- Proposed Travel Itinerary
- IELTS Life Skills Certificate
- Completed and signed Appendix II (savings route)

Consent Letters & Proof of Relationship
- Marriage certificate + translation
- Photos from relationship
- Selection of flight itineraries from trips taken together
- Communication History
- Letter from sponsor's parents and applicant's sister
- Letter from applicant explaining lack of utility bills in their name
- Letter from landlady + translation
- Joint medical insurance policies from past 3 years + translation
- Proof that sponsor and applicant are mutual financial beneficiaries + translation
- Selection of statements from join credit card account
- Copies of current rental agreement + translation

Sponsor Evidence
- Letter from sponsor
- Copy of sponsor passport biometric page + copies of pages with entry stamps
- Certified copy of sponsor birth certificate
- Copy of sponsor Mexican residence card + translation
- Letter from sponsor stating source of cash funds
- Sponsor's Bank Statements
- Accommodation letter from sponsor's parents
- Property inspection report for sponsor's parents' property
- Official copy of register of title for sponsor's parents' property
- Council tax bill for sponsor's parents' property
- Copies of 3 utility bills for parent's property

AnnF

Hi there!

I’m Andrea from Bogota, you were very lucky, after May 2017 they started to send all the settlement visas to Sheffield. I applied 23th Jan 2018 and I’m still waiting for other email from Sheffield or Bogota embassy.

I’m very happy for you!
Ann.

simonb83

Hi Ann, actually we applied after May 2017 (we applied at the end of December 2017) and our application was still processed in Bogota (at least that's where all the emails came from).

It actually took them 57 working days to begin to review our application, so hopefully you'll be receiving more news soon!!

For your information, our timeline of communication was:
- Documents received in Bogota email: 02 Jan 2018
- Application assigned email: 21 March 2018
- Decision made email: 21 March 2018
- Passport collected: 27 March 2018 (VFS never sent us a message but we turned up at their office after 3 working days had passed since the decision).

Best of luck to you. I hope it works out!!!

AnnF

Thank you very much for your support

wanabanas182

Dear Simonb83 (and anybody who applied from Mexico City),

I applied for a spouse visa at the VFS Centre in Mexico City. Since my appointment for biometrics, I have only received one single text message saying that my application has been forwarded to UVKI, however that is the last and only thing I have heard from them.

So, I have questions for you:
Did you receive an email saying that they received your application in Bogotá?
Do you remember how many days passed from the appointment for biometrics to the email stating that they received your application?
Any other communications?

I am really hating the fact that they practically keep you in the dark during the whole process.

simonb83

Hi @wanabanas182, yes it is very frustrating the lack of communication while you´re waiting. To answer your questions about my experience:

Yes, we got an email about 3 days after the biometrics appointment. We did not, however, receive any text messages so it does seem like everyone's situation ends up being different with the communications they do or don't receive.

We got a further email 57 days later saying that our application had been assigned to someone, and then another email that same day to say that our application had been processed and a decision made.

I waited to hear about when we could pick up her passport from the VFS center in Mexico City, however after not hearing anything for about 6 days we just decided to show-up and ask and luckily they had her documents there.

Hope this helps.

wanabanas182

Dear Simon,
Thank you for your reply!

I payed for the SMS service at the VFS Centre in Mexico to receive the text messages, however I have not received any sort of email regarding my application. Nothing at all.
It is really frustrating. But your experience helps to kind of understand how the process works.

wanabanas182

Guess what.

Applications from Mexico City are now being reviewed in Sheffield.
It has been really confusing because we are supposed to present all our documentation at the VFS Centre, where it is supposed to be held until the end of the process.
I received an email saying that now I have to send all the original documentation to the Sheffield Office. Even the people at the VFS Centre are really confused now.
You can't use UPS, FEDEX or DHL services to send to a PO Box in the UK, you will have to send your documentation back to your spouse so he/she can send them to the UKVI office in Sheffield.

This is getting absolutely ridiculous.

Que chinguen a su madre.

BritInParis

Or just send them to the physical address.

wanabanas182

I did.

After paying the VFS Centre to let me have my documents back.

BritInParis

And that was because?

wanabanas182

Because they are *****.

spouse of scouse

If you could advise the forum of why you were asked to pay to get your documents back, it may help others. Thanks.

wanabanas182

Because the VFS Centre in Mexico is supposed to do the whole process online with the Sheffield Office. That means that no document should be sent to Sheffield because they are supposed to be "testing" the whole online scanning process for visas. Because of this reason, you hand them in all your documentation and they keep it until the very end of the process. In theory, if Sheffield needs to see a document, they email the VFS Centre to scan the document again.
Because of all of that, if you need to keep your documents, including your passport, you need to pay a fee.
It sounds confusing because it is confusing for everybody, including for the VFS Centre.