Final check of documentary evidence for Fiance(e) Visa application...

Hi All,

So, almost ready to post off our evidence - mine from UK, Fiancee from Philippines via DHL - and just thought I would ask if there is anything obvious either of us have missed (to be honest, I'm a bit unsure which of us needs to send some of the following - or if we both need to - in particular relating to 'proof of relationship' evidence?)...

Applicant's evidence -

(Current passport and printed, signed copy of online VAF4A form, to be presented at VFS office in Manila)

Sending by DHL to Sheffield, UK -

Print of online VAF4A (2 (copies))
Print of VAF4A, Appendix 2 (2)
IELTS (Level A1) certificate (Original & 1 (copy))
TB certificate (Original & 1)
CENOMAR (Original & 1)
NBI certificate (Original & 1) - similar to UK CRB/DBS check
(NSO) Birth certificate (Original & 1)
Old passports, covering last 10 years (Originals & 1 copy of 'photo' pages)
Print of UK Tourist/Visitor Visa refusal letter from 2017 (PDF received via email) (2)

Proof of Relationship evidence -

Printed extracts of Facebook (FB) Messenger chats - 2014 to February 2018 (how we communicate daily)
(NB - how much of this is 'reasonable' to send? We have communicated daily since my Fiancee returned from working overseas, in October 2016, so would amount to 1000's of pages of 'Copy & Paste' messages!)
Greetings cards incl. envelopes (Original & 1 copy) - Birthday, Christmas and Valentine's Day, sent by me
Packaging from gifts (e.g. 'Jiffy' bags/(padded) envelopes) sent by me
Selection of photos - pasted onto A4 plain paper - from my 2 visits to Philippines in 2017, incl. photos with her family. Screenshots from FB Messenger (2)
Letter from Applicant, describing how we met, development of our relationship and plans when she gets to the UK (2)
Letters from Applicant's Sister and her partner, describing how they have seen our relationship grow (2)

Return, self-addressed, postage-paid envelope.
===

Sponsor's evidence -

Sending to Sheffield, UK -

Print of online VAF4A (2 (copies))
Print of VAF4A, Appendix 2 (2)
Current passport (Original and 1 copy of ALL pages, incl. blank pages)
Land Registry documents (Original & 1 copy)
Letter from Dept. for Work & Pensions (DWP) confirming award of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - proof of exemption from 'minimum income' requirement (£18,600 - 2017-18) (Original & 1)
Letter from JobCentrePlus (JCP) confirming award of Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) (Original & 1)
Bank statement showing payment of PIP & ESA (credits). Also shows payment of Service Charge for my flat (100% Leaseholder, so no Rent or mortgage) & Council Tax (i.e. 'Housing costs'?) (debits) (Original & 1)
Letter from Local Authority (LA) detailing Council Tax (Original & 1)
Separate letter from LA, detailing reduction in Council Tax due to benefits (Original & 1)
Bank statements showing 'support' payments to Fiancee (Original if possible, plus 1 copy - or PDF downloaded from internet bank website and 1 copy) - I intend to send a letter explaining, where necessary, why originals are not available. (lost/mislaid)
Screenshot of internet banking website, showing balance of 'Savings' accounts (no paper statements issued) (2)

- Although I am exempt from the 'minimum income' requirement, I am thinking of sending statements for my part-time, self employment business (maybe 3 months?) - showing average income, to add strength to the 'adequate maintenance' requirement. Good/bad idea??? -

Premium Bond statement (Original & 1)
Print of email receipts for 'support' payments sent online via Western Union (2 copies)

Proof of Relationship evidence -

Print of early emails from 2011-12 (how we first communicated) (2 copies)
Printed extracts of Facebook (FB) Messenger chats - 2014 to February 2018 (how we communicate daily)
- should these be different extracts from the Applicant's, or doesn't it matter???
Greetings cards incl. envelopes (Original & 1 copy) - Birthday, Christmas and Valentine's Day, sent by my Fiancee
Packaging from gifts (e.g. 'Jiffy' bags/padded envelopes) sent by my Fiancee
Selection of photos - pasted onto A4 plain paper - from my 2 visits to Philippines in 2017, incl. photos with Fiancee's family. Screenshots from FB Messenger (2)
- should these be different from the Applicant's, or doesn't it matter???
Cover letter describing how we met, development of our relationship and plans when Fiancee gets to the UK (2)
Boarding passes from 1 of my 2 trips to Philippines in 2017 (Didn't keep them from the other trip!!!)(Originals and 1)
Credit card statement(s) showing payments for flights and hotels (Original & 1)
Various receipts - Engagement ring, beach resort accommodation (Originals & 1)
Email receipts for gifts sent via Internet (2)
- Unfortunately, many gifts/meals I bought whilst in Philippines were cash payments, as most places don't accept credit cards without a passport - which invariably I didn't carry with me at all times...

Receipt for payment of deposit for wedding 'after-party' venue (Original & 1)

Return, self-addressed postage-paid envelope.

I'm sure there is something 'obvious' I have forgotten, so please advise, or if further explanation is needed!

And, breathe...

i THINK--she takes all her old passports with her to VFS ( anyone confirm this ? )

you dont send your passport to sheffield. you get your solicitor to certify a copy of it. takes seconds--and costs --say--a fiver.

i made a provisional booking for a marriage ceremony at my local register office--pick any date--say--within 6 months. cost me £40 and came with a free one change of date allowed. ( i had to change it twice ) i got an official printed signed receipt..which i think shows good intent.

Thanks @bigmac - Good to know I am not too far off in my understanding...

- So, if I don't send my actual passport to Sheffield, does the Solicitor have to certify copies of EVERY page of my passport - including the blank pages - or just the copy of the 'photo' page? And do they have to certify 2 copies, if not sending the original and 1 copy?
Do you think I need to take anything with me - e.g. an extract from the Guidelines - to explain to a Solicitor exactly what is required by UKVI to 'certify' the cop(y)ies, or should they know???

I visited my local Registry Office and they won't do ANYTHING until my Fiancee is in the country! Disappointing - considering I have read similar to what you say, from others on here.

I never sent certified passport copy just sent copies of main and stamped passport pages.
For registry office I communicated with them by email, didn’t book a date but sent the email printouts with the application and never had any problems.

my solicitor knew exactly what i wanted--he photocopied the main page--rubber stamped it as a certified copy--and signed it. job done--no charge--for me. all the pages in the passport were blank anyway.

when i sponsored the application for my wifes son--last october...i couldnt find the solicitor certified copy--so i copied it myself and sent it in. nothing was said.

by the way--i got everything back from sheffield --within a week--in my SAE---with an official printed statement saying everything had been scanned. so sending copies now seems a bit unnecessary--to my way of thinking..but thats your call.

Forgive my ignorance as I'm new to all this myself.

1) Why is there a requirement to provide an NBI certificate? I think this is the first time I've come across this.
2) So, you're sending two parcels to Sheffield, UK? One (from Philippines) containing your fiancee's documents and one (from within UK) containing your documents? Is this normal practice? I mean they're not going to receive the first package and think you're missing half your documents are they?

[QUOTE="UKDJ, post: 170690, member: 6217"

i visited my local Registry Office and they won't do ANYTHING until my Fiancee is in the country! Disappointing - considering I have read similar to what you say, from others on here.[/QUOTE]

Escalate and speak to the supervisor then explain the situation saying you only need a ‘provisional booking’- the actual booking will be finalized once the fiance is in the uk and she cant be here without it. If they dont budge (which is possible), change the registry. some towns are not very strict- they even do everything by phone or emails. The next town to you would do.

thats exactly what we ended up doing in oct / nov last year, with my wifes son's app. simply because the stupid idiots at vfs wouldnt accept her sons tb cert, birth cert and a letter of authority from the boys dad.

i really do think its some sort of power struggle between the vfs outfit and UKVI.

Is your local registry office on the list of designated offices who can deal with applications where one of the applicants is from outside the EU?

Once me and the poor lady from Blackburn registry office were on the same page and realised I needed a provisional booking, I had the booking and receipt (£50) within a few minutes in my email inbox (not including the 18 hours gap from when I left a phone message for them to contact me).
https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/foreign-national

I also booked a provisional booking date in my Local Register Office which cost me £30 and they sent me a confirmation email shortly after - I did it in person.

I didn't have the receipt signed - would this be okay to submit or should I not submit the receipt at all?

just submit it as it is. you have the booking receipt--which is fine. its not binding anyway--but helps show your intention.

Thanks for the input @bigmac

Exactly the same as my experience... knew what was needed - no charge

I'm going thtough my wife's vsa process now also. It ia nearly as bad as dealing with Globe!

In April, the NHS fees double to £1,200

They told me they did NOT want Facebook messages etc

1) NBI is the Philippines equivalent of the UK's CRB/DBS checks - proves the Applicant has no criminal record.

2) Unless you are in a position to take ALL your evidence to the Philippines - or vice versa - I don't see an alternative? My understanding is, VFS will only provide the full document scanning service if you present both Applicant and Sponsor evidence together?
Imagine flying with all your evidence to the Philippines, getting to VFS and realising you have forgotten something - you can't submit it later, according to their rules!

Not sure what point you are trying to make here? Much of the evidence required from Applicant and Sponsor is different!
If you're referring to the 'duplicated' evidence in my original post, that's what I meant when I said I was unclear about who should send what, with regards to 'Proof of relationship' - chat logs, photos, etc.

AND if you want to call them, it is an Indonesia number!!!

Of course it would be!!!!

You won;t have forgotten anything they will just make up something new as HMPO ddoi for our daughter's passport