Double-sided and staples?

Evening all, hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New year, I'm certainly enjoying being back at work...

I worked on our application over Christmas reading the appendices and having an initial stab at the financial Appendix 2. Now am putting together a document proving our relationship, containing photos of each trip interspersed with e-ticket printouts, scans of hotel receipts and chat screenshots. Couple of brief queries while they're in my head!

1. Is it OK to submit documents printed double-sided?
2. Is stapling a document of some pages together a good idea for clarity, or should everything be loose leaf? I know not to bother with binders etc. but some docs like this relationship history would seem better held together.

1. I did the double-sided print for my FLR application, not with the initial visa appendix 2 as it wasn't mentioned in any of the pages that it is allowed. See what the others would say as well.

2. I used paper clips and bulldog clips to put similar docs together. I also included title pages to group them documents - accommodation, applicant's details, etc.

Good luck!

You will get many different takes on this, I certainly wouldn't double side the application form for the reasons @Dav3&Ai5a stated, I wouldn't staple anything to be honest, paperclips and bulldog clips do the trick.

Above all make the application easy for the case officer to deal with, put an index on the front of the package so its easy to follow, you could even put the documents in the order of the application.

Remember to make copies of all your original documents and anything else you want back, you will receive the docs back with the visa decision.

Brilliant info, thanks!

Hey Timmers - thanks very much yes I was mainly thinking of the relationship document as it's a long one, lots of photos etc, but nah I'll just use a few more trees! An index and your other points are great ideas so I'll compile that - am finding it helps me to see what I'm still missing

1.It's okay to print some docs double sided even the forms it will save you some trees. I heard many people did it. I've done it with mine too (well, our solicitor did it for us)

2. Don't staple the important docs like bank statements and things like that, that's the worst thing you could do. I did staple some of my docs though, the not so important ones, pictures, skype convo and other docs with few pages only just to keep them altogther.

Thanks Brom, yep stapling for the photos etc. seems OK to me too, the clarity is slowly coming through!

The relationship docs would be fine 2-sided, matter of preference IMO. I chose mine to be printed per page as I think it's more organised that way and easier for the ECO to read. For the FLR, I did double-sided print of the docs and form.

Thanks @Dav3&Ai5a and having just finished the relationship doc, and finding it a pain to read already, I shall also be going single sided! Next job...accommodation photos... sigh

Keep at it young man, it took me a whole weekend to do ours and a new set of ink cartridges for the printer

Cheers Timmers! That's copious printing Knackered now, up late each night this week working so slowly but the mood is on me thankfully. Accomodation document done including property description, stating I live alone, referenced the provided tenancy agreement, landlady letter, council tax bill, selection of electric bills, floor plan and pasted some photos in. Having a panic again the place isn't big enough but it's the plan you saw t'other day so I should rest easy I suppose (on this area at least!)

Your application sounds as if it is coming along nicely

Thanks a lot Timmers, the reassurance is most welcome

Well done @JoshuaTree ! We all felt overwhelmed at one point in our settlement application. One task at a time is the best way to go.

The best advice I received was to use "Treasury tags" - the short bits of string with a metal bar at each end - make a single hole in the top left corner of the documents that you want to group together and poke one bar through the hole.

These were invented by the U.K. Civil Service because they allow each document in the set to lie flat for reading, scanning, copying or whatever.

Cheap, easy to find and the ECO will appreciate it...

And buy some of those little sticky things that reinforce the paper eyelet, will look absolutely smashing......................visa granted job done

@Maley thanks! yes indeed I'm finding I'm settling into a 'document by document, section by section' kinda groooove

@Methersgate blimey that's a blast from the past, I used to use those in Air Cadets donkeys years ago - very good advice thanks

@Timmers loving your confidence as always !

Today I've finished the 'Relationship - distance communication' document; basically FB messenger screenshots, 18 pages, about 1 per month. Man that was a pain as there's no quick way to scroll back years. I ended up playing with search terms to get results in the right year/month. Jasmin said she'd do that one but she's busy panicking over the English test despite my telling her I'd read here no one fails it

Done a draft letter for my manager to sign confirming permanent full time employment since the Jurassic period, paid 32 peanut gross annual salary since the second world war, for him to sign next week. Need to draft letters of support for me/Jasmin, not yet sure what to right but I may go the love story route anyone give interesting reasons for choosing to settle in the UK?

This thread is turning into my journey updates thread moreso than the main one I started - oh well, quite a nice title for it

Can you set up a live webcam stream so we can watch you complete your application in real time

Why the hell not - I could make a mini series of my dressing gown swaddled carcass slowly tapping away with frequent muttered swearing "I want the passport scan THAT way up you stupid computer..."

Ah, yes, the English test...

K was one of the last batch of "customers" for the version before this one, and sat hers in Dipolog. She was nervous, and did so badly that in the Spoken section of the test she broke down and cried - in fluent English. She passed.