Hi all,
A lot of angsty posts doing the rounds, so just wanted to submit a quick success story for those needing a ray of hope.
We submitted our application online on the 28th of November 2017, a massive undertaking (this will not be news for anyone on here). It was granted today - 19 March 2018 - in a little under 4 months! I won't go into details - anyone with specific questions, feel free to ask - but thought I'd share a few key points.
1) My partner is from the UK, non-risk. We'd been together for 3 years at the date of applying. Living together 1.5 years, unregistered, unmarried. I did the application myself.
2) We front-loaded all our information, and prioritised (or uploaded first) financial / ''primary'' documentation i.e. bank statements, utility bills, tax letters over "secondary" documents i.e. social media / home deliveries / texts / letters. The latter are all useful, but not essential. Make sure they clock the heavy stuff first.
3) Annotate! I annotated everything - photographs, bank statements, receipts. Don't assume things are obvious.
4) We front-loaded medical checks - we knew this was a risk, but I think this likely saved us at least a month or so.
5) Put time and thought into the prep. I spent 2 months preparing our documentation - categorising, cutting, prioritising what most strongly sells the validity of the relationship. Once we had this down-pat, it was easy to scan and upload it into relevant sections. A lot of documents will support each other i.e. bank statements prove financial co-dependency as well as co-habitation. It should all look like it ties-in together.
6) Certified documents are worth the hassle. I requested certified copies of all family/friends passports to attach to their stat decs. It's a big ask, and they squirmed, but understood how important it was.
7) Make it straightforward. An easy grant. Relationships are complex even without adding an element of long distance (I imagine a common factor across this forum) - try to explain it in a logical, linear way using evidence you have, rather than a long and winding narrative. The weight of your application will rest on proof, use it smartly. Emphasise all the shared aspects of your life, and if you don't have many ''big'' documents, try and think of the little bits and pieces that will prove it; grocery receipts, handyman appointments, text messages from 12 months ago discussing what to do for dinner.
8) Label your uploads clearly, and consistently
9) In cases where you're uploading several documents scanned into the one PDF, include a contents page. This was good for my sanity - in moments where I felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the task, it was easy to look at these "lists" objectively and make the call as to what they said about our relationship, and how strongly they were saying it.
8) Timeline: our application showed "Received" and then "Assessment in Progress" up until Feb 2018. They then requested police checks (beginning of Feb). We uploaded them last night, and were granted the visa this morning. We were prepared to sit it out for 12-18 months, so a huge and welcome surprise.
A lot of angsty posts doing the rounds, so just wanted to submit a quick success story for those needing a ray of hope.
We submitted our application online on the 28th of November 2017, a massive undertaking (this will not be news for anyone on here). It was granted today - 19 March 2018 - in a little under 4 months! I won't go into details - anyone with specific questions, feel free to ask - but thought I'd share a few key points.
1) My partner is from the UK, non-risk. We'd been together for 3 years at the date of applying. Living together 1.5 years, unregistered, unmarried. I did the application myself.
2) We front-loaded all our information, and prioritised (or uploaded first) financial / ''primary'' documentation i.e. bank statements, utility bills, tax letters over "secondary" documents i.e. social media / home deliveries / texts / letters. The latter are all useful, but not essential. Make sure they clock the heavy stuff first.
3) Annotate! I annotated everything - photographs, bank statements, receipts. Don't assume things are obvious.
4) We front-loaded medical checks - we knew this was a risk, but I think this likely saved us at least a month or so.
5) Put time and thought into the prep. I spent 2 months preparing our documentation - categorising, cutting, prioritising what most strongly sells the validity of the relationship. Once we had this down-pat, it was easy to scan and upload it into relevant sections. A lot of documents will support each other i.e. bank statements prove financial co-dependency as well as co-habitation. It should all look like it ties-in together.
6) Certified documents are worth the hassle. I requested certified copies of all family/friends passports to attach to their stat decs. It's a big ask, and they squirmed, but understood how important it was.
7) Make it straightforward. An easy grant. Relationships are complex even without adding an element of long distance (I imagine a common factor across this forum) - try to explain it in a logical, linear way using evidence you have, rather than a long and winding narrative. The weight of your application will rest on proof, use it smartly. Emphasise all the shared aspects of your life, and if you don't have many ''big'' documents, try and think of the little bits and pieces that will prove it; grocery receipts, handyman appointments, text messages from 12 months ago discussing what to do for dinner.
8) Label your uploads clearly, and consistently
9) In cases where you're uploading several documents scanned into the one PDF, include a contents page. This was good for my sanity - in moments where I felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the task, it was easy to look at these "lists" objectively and make the call as to what they said about our relationship, and how strongly they were saying it.
8) Timeline: our application showed "Received" and then "Assessment in Progress" up until Feb 2018. They then requested police checks (beginning of Feb). We uploaded them last night, and were granted the visa this morning. We were prepared to sit it out for 12-18 months, so a huge and welcome surprise.
