Visa Application Process

Hi All,

I just wanted to share a couple of things with you if you're applying for a Settlement Visa in the UK. I had my appointment with Worldbridge earlier this week and learned some things that I didn't get from the visauk website(or anywhere for that matter).

1. Your birth certificate has to be the full legal form with your parents names, etc on it. I had my original card birth certificate and was told that it didn't have enough information on it. I went to my provincial vital statistics and got a certified photocopy of my original full birth certificate.

2. Your marriage certificate also has to be the full legal form, basically a certified photocopy of the form you sign when you get married. The 'Marriage Certificate' that the province issues is not sufficient enough.

3. The name that is in your passport is the name that your visa will be issued in. My passport is in my maiden name because when I was married it still had 4 years before it expired. I was still able to travel with it with no issues. I figured because I was married (having my marriage certificate, etc as proof) that when I went to get my settlement visa that they'd put it in my married name. Nope, not the case.

My issue now is the process I will have to go through in a years time when my current passport expires, I live in the UK and I need to renew it WITH my settlement visa inside of it. Will I have issues because my new passport will be in my married name and my visa is still, and always will be, in my maiden name? I asked this at the Worldbridge appointment and the only thing the lady could say to me was 'good question'. She also reassured me that 'they would have more information for you at the time you do this'. HA! That's not something I'm too positive about. Anyways, I just wanted to pass along some words of wisdom for future applicants.

Take care!

HI Lhistin:

Thanks for this info--i could have used it two days ago! -- I am now a wee bit worried that my settlement app is not going to go through. Tell me, did Worldbridge tell you when you went for biometrics that your birth certificate was not sufficient enough? or did the high commission /entry clearance officer call you to tell you to produce the long form? I can't believe they don't specify this on their website. I submitted my original Ontario Birth Certificate - card-ish size, paper and i cannot remember if it has my parents name on it at all. I would have hoped that worldbridge would have possibly pointed it out to me .

Keep us posted on how long your application is taking. I was in Toronto today doing my biometrics and my application will be sent to arrive in Ottawa tomorrow. I have asked (plea to pity on compassionate grounds) that they expedite my application which i know is highly unlikely. I somehow overlooked that a settlement visa took "up to 12 weeks" for processing and of course, despite the warnings on the website, i went ahead and made my travel plans to join my husband in Scotland June 08th, 2008. I can only keep my fingers crossed.

Hi LinzLou,

Worldbridge did specify that the card size birth certificate wasn't sufficient enough so I had to go out and get a full sized expedited.(I was wondering why they don't have that on their website either!) I wasn't too happy but in the end it all worked out. I couriered my package to Ottawa, thought it was going to take two business days to even get there, and got a call the NEXT DAY that my application was accepted. They called me to verify some information that I had on my application, misc. stuff. I was so confused and I told her this because I was under the same impression that it could take up to 12 weeks. She said that they're a lot quicker then that there. Good for me! I really hope yours is just as quick. I sure hope that the small birth certificate is not a make-or-break deal seeing as they didn't tell you anything about it having to be different.

I'm heading to Glasgow 01 June to meet my husband so it looks like we're in the same position. Good luck!

Thanks so much for this--was this a settlement visa as a spouse of a british citizen or an ancestry visa? I am wondering if perhaps for the latter they would need the longer form to determine familial lineage? Oh well.nothing i can do at this point.such a stressful process!

We're going to be applying for an Ancestry Visa in late July for a September departure. So, what's the deal with the marriage certificate? It's not the one the province sent us for the $15 we had to pay? There's another one we have to get?

My Visa was for a settlement visa for a spouse of a UK citizen. Maybe that's why they only took a day. Either way, it was so much quicker than I thought it was going to be.

As far as the Marriage Certificate goes, I'm not sure how much the correct one costs where you live but I had to ensure that it was the certified copy of the paper that I signed at our wedding ceremony. Originally it was just the small card size certificate issued to my by my province but was told by Worldbridge that this wasn't the correct one. So basically, I had to pay double to get the correct one. I'd suggest calling your vital stats and asking them if this rings a bell.

I just submitted the document that i had signed at our wedding ceremony which was a "record of solemnization of marriage" (it has both bride/grooms names plus witnesses plus date of marriage. The worldbridge rep accepted this--- i will keep you posted on whether this document (which is a large certificate form) sufficed.

That's the same document I submitted and it was the right one.

Long form ordered last night. Hope that'll do it now.

Can someone let me know how they get on with the visa app and the biometrics? Just trying to figure out what to expect.

Hi All: just an update - my settlement visa has been issued after two days! Unbelievable! I received an email at 10 am on Friday saying that my documents and biometrics were received in Ottawa and processing had begun, today, following the long weekend, I received an email at 9:31 saying that my settlement visa had been issued! off as planned to Edinburgh June 08th!