Unmarried Partner visa

Just another question about the unmarried partner visa, I am going to be going through all of this (hassle) soon as well!!

I heard that it was useful to provide other information such as holidays you and your partner have taken together, letters from family stating that you are a 'true' couple and how long you have been together, and also a letter from your partner. Is this true? I heard it was to prove that you were the 'real thing' and not just trying to stay in the country.

Also does anyone know of any other reasons why they would turn an application down?

Thanks for this topic, it is very helpful!

-Candice

Hi everyone,

Well for those of you who read this thread quite often. My application for an unmarried partnership visa was sent last Thursday and I even got a letter in the post saying it had been received and confirmation of my payment. I guess this is where the countdown begins

. . . . .Week 1 . . . .

Susie,

I was wondering if this letter is just standard? It said it could be processed between 3 and 13 weeks.

Cabu,

I have just sent my application and I came across alot of the things you are saying from different sources on the web. It can be very confusing. I sent my application with the required legal documents( See earlier post) and a covering letter from myself. We also included 3 references:

1) My employers describing my character
2) Another couple who know us when we met in the Florida and have remained close friends over the past four years( i.e knew us since we started dating)
3)My in-laws. This is not required but I felt it helped fill in some of the gaps with my applications such as when I first moved here I lived with my inlaws and did not pay rent or have bills in our name. So their reference clearly states that I was not required to pay bills or rent but that we were living with them till I was settled in England.

None of the things I included were to prove we were a real couple or were required by Immigration but more to fill in whole in the evidence. For example when we moved to Bromley our first apartment did not not have mail boxes so we still had mail sent to my in-laws for security. I did feel at the end of collating everything that it ws better to have more then not enough.

I did not include any of our holiday pictures even though I am sure they would have loved to see my partner's sweater vest.

I know that Susie has been through this process and was successful but I have a feeling she just sent the required documentation.She will most likely reply to this post anyways with more information. Lastly I am not sure what reasons they have to turn down an application other then insufficient evidence. Maybe someone else will have a better idea...

Best of Luck

Saraa G:

Have you set a date for the wedding yet or heard anything about your certificate of approval?


Hugs
Sam

Sam,

Yes, that letter is standard. Hopefully yours will go faster than mine did - I have a feeling they delayed on mine because at the time I applied I wasn't yet living with my partner for 2 full years.

I actually sent very little with my application. It essentially included the application form itself and the council tax bills, bank statements, etc. that proved cohabitation. From what the officer in Liverpool told me, that's all they're looking for. So long as you have the number of pieces they asked for (between 10 and 20 pieces, depending on if they're in both of your names), then you should be okay. Insufficient evidence is the only grounds I can think of for being refused, since that seems to be the only requirement.

Best of luck! I hate waiting, personally, so the wait for that approval, followed by the wait for my boyfriend's Canadian Immigration approval, is near killing me. (BTW, if anyone is at all interested, we're at the last stages of waiting for the immigration approval. I figure another couple of weeks, maybe, provided there aren't any delays. Then we can book a flight and go home!)

Hello all! Another update:

Finally got the certificate of approval (it took 3 weeks from the time I got the letter of confirmation that is standard) and the next week we took ourselves down to the registry office.

Now everything is going ahead and we are getting married on March 31st! My family and some Canadian friends are flying over for the party and I'm getting really excited!

I'll fill you guys in on how my application for Spouse Visa goes after the wedding!

Best of luck with all the waiting (it nearly killed me and it only took 3 weeks!)

S

...On a related topic...does anyone know if I am eligible for funding for University (loan/grant) if I meet the following:
-been in UK 3+ years
-Partner Visa stipulates no recourse to public funds
-Living with english partner

Thanks!!

[quote="Angie"]Awww...MAN. There goes 10 grand (pounds) on education. ouch...

But thanks anyhow Joanne![/quote]

Angie,

Sounds like we're in exactly the same boat. I'm currently debating whether to apply for unmarried spouse visa or student visa when my working holiday visa expires in August. One year for a Masters is great...but £11,500!!

Have you biten the bullet and applied yet?

Denise

Hi,

do u have to live together for 2 yrs to qualify for this?

Yes, that is one of the only requirements for the Unmarried Partner visa, and they're sticklers for it. If you've been living together 2 years but don't have good enough proof, they won't approve it.

by any chance were any of his grandparents born in the UK? If so I strongly suggest getting the UK ancestry Visa. It's for 4 years and I believe, after that, if you have not worked in Canada and only the UK then you can apply for full citizenship. I'm here on the ancestry Visa and everything has been going quite well

Either way, good luck!

I too am going to be applying for an Unmarried Partners Visa from Canada in just a few months.
If any one has any success stories or words of advice, please share!

It feels like years ago that I wrote this! I sent in my application in April, and it was approved in May. Lickedy split. No problems. They contacted me asking for more financial information, and then I had a telephone interview, and then it was approved. Yea!