harv31

Hey everyone. I'm a British Citizen currently residing in China with my gf. We're thinking about getting married soon and settling down together in the UK hopefully around Aug - Sep 2023. Initially we'll be at my Mum's house where we'll be searching for jobs and then rent out elsewhere.

1. We'll be taking the savings route as we meet the 62.5k requirement. The money is in an ISA Investment account with a bank in the UK. Can it stay there? Or do I need to move it all into a normal cash account 6 months before I apply, and make sure it never goes below 62.5k throughout those 6 months? I also have savings in my Chinese bank account that covers the requirement, it's in RMB. I was thinking about submitting proof of this too, just to be safe. Can I use these original bank statements or do I need to officially get them translated first?

2. At the top of the sponsor form (SU07) it says the sponsor must be a UK resident. I've been in China for a few years, and I've seen other posts here where the Sponsor is in the foreign country together with their spouse, so this shouldn't be a problem right? There's a section for address (I'll put my mum) and employment: Shall I put my current employment in China or do I just leave it blank? Maybe I'm completely mistaken and this sponsor form is not written by me but rather my mum in the UK who'll be hosting us when we arrive?

3. Finally, we've been together for 2 years. Living together for 6 months so far, and will get married before 2022. Perhaps begin applying in Feb or March 2023. That's all ok right?
I assume our tenants contract, and registration at the local police station which confirms we live together should all be translated?

Thanks!

theoldgit

I'm pretty sure that the SU07 sponsorship undertaking form isn't required in your case, either by you or your mother, it's mainly used for those wishing to settle in the UK and be cared for by a relative.

Your partner will be applying as your wife, so you will need to satisfy the decision maker that you are married, and have actually met.

The financial and employment proof can be quite complex, have you read this? https://assets.publishing.service.go...equirement.pdf

Any supporting doccument that is not in English or Welsh, yes Welsh, must be translated into English, and certified by the translator.

If you are going to stay with your mother whilst you source accomodation of your own, she will need to write providing a description of the accomodation that's available for your use, along with evidence such as the Title Deeds or rental agreement. ECO's will sometimes research the property by using Google Street View.

spouse of scouse

1. ISA Individual Savings accounts can be used if the account meets all the other cash savings requirements, see pages 45 - 48 of the Home Office guidance
https://assets.publishing.service.go...equirement.pdf
If you can use your ISA to meet the requirements, don't add other bank accounts or provide employment details, that will just confuse your ECO (Entry Clearance Officer)

2. Don't complete the SU07 form, it's not needed for a spouse visa.

3. Your ECO will be looking for evidence that you and your partner live together in a committed relationship as a married or defacto couple. If you have evidence from the time you began living together, such as living in the same property and shared financial responsibilities, then you could apply as soon as you're married. You'll need to provide a certified original translation to English for documents you rely on for you application, for example your tenant contract, your police registration, your marriage certificate and (if applicable) your partner's birth certificate. You'll need to use a professional certified translator or translation company and provide their details in the application (in case the ECO wishes to verify the documents/translation).

All the best.

spouse of scouse

Just to add to this, if the OP's mum owns the property she can get a copy of the Land Registry document by applying online. It costs around 3 pounds and is suitable evidence of property ownership for the purposes of a spouse visa application. If she rents the property then as well as providing a signed and dated letter to the OP saying that he and his partner/wife can live in the property, an outline of the rooms in the property and confirming that there is a bedroom available for their exclusive use, plus a copy of the tenancy agreement, she'll also need to supply a letter from the landlord stating that he/she/they have no objection to the couple living there.

Katerina1

Hi - In answer to your question 2, you should be the sponsor as a spouse, not your mum.

It is okay if you both live together overseas and apply from overseas.

I applied out of India (where we are currently living together ) for my husband’s spouse visa. He got his visa approved at the beginning of august.

All the evidence , documentation etc , provided by us, was out of Asia as well. But luckily we didn’t need to translate it as it was all in English .

We also used savings route.

Good luck with your future application !

harv31

Thanks for the response. About my mother needing to write... ah probably a very silly question... but would it need to be hand-written and signed?
Or typed out on a word document, then printed out to sign, scanned back in and sent to me via email? ... Same goes for the declaration of source of savings that I need to show.

Also, any idea what happens if I'm missing a document or overlook a minor detail? Will the application simply be rejected and I would need to re-apply again from scratch? Or... do we receive an e-mail requesting additional documents or clarification?

Katerina1

Your mother’s letter can be handwritten and signed or typed, printed, signed and emailed to you.

Our accommodation sponsor (my old friend) typed the text I gave her and signed it through DocuSign (Electronic signature) and emailed back to me. That was acceptable. I don’t think there is a single prescribed method.

I typed the declaration of source of funds and signed it.

There is an obligatory check-list at the end of the application form , so you should really tick all the boxes there carefully. As for minor documents , I am not sure how much they would matter. I understand UK Visa officer will contact you only with serious queries. I spent some time preparing my own check-list (for both very important documents and less important ones) and then spent time ticking them off. Perhaps you would find this a useful exercise if you don’t want to hire a solicitor to do it for you.

Good luck with your application !

harv31

Thank you!

A question regarding finance: It mentions that foreign currency is allowed, but does it have to be in a UK bank? Do you know whether they will accept cash savings which is in a foreign bank at the time of applying?

Katerina1

No it doesn’t have to be in the UK bank. They accepted evidence in INR (Indian rupee) across three different Indian local banks . But there is detailed guidance on how financial information needs to be presented in order to be accepted (e.g. banks have to be regulated by the local banking regulator , stamps on each page , account name clearly visible on each page , no sequence broken , etc ). Once you read it it will be more clear .

theoldgit

The regulations for cash savings state "the bank/savings account can be a current, deposit or investment account, provided by a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating", so it seems that they don't have to be in a UK account. This is explained on page 47, there's a lot of infor regarding this route.

https://assets.publishing.service.go...equirement.pdf

marigoldfairy

Hi there, are you looking in the right place online as your question about SU07 does not make sense as it’s not a require for your visa type

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse

harv31

Hey guys, quick question. How long does the spouse have to enter the UK after receiving the visa in their own country? 1 month? 3 months? Thanks.

theoldgit

I believe the UKVI website is still advising that once Entry Clearance has been approved that the applicant has 30 days to travel, I've always believed that to be unreasonable.

I understand that the visas now being issued have a validity of 90 days, due to the delays in processing, but. as I say, the advice the published guidance hasn't changed.

The feeling on the ground is that they could revert to 30 days again without publishing the fact, as they didn't publish the fact that the travel requirement had been relaxed.

I rather hope it stays at 90 days.

Katerina1

My husband received his visa on 5th August after a 6-month wait and it’s 90 days.