Original Documents to Submit

[haiku]

I'll be submitting my application tomorrow, NOv 28. I just want to check if my understanding is correct.

When VFS mentioned that we must submit original documents with photocopy, this doesn't refer to EVERYTHING right?

In my file now, I only had original and photo copies of:
1. marriage contract in NSO paper
2. mine and hubby's birth certificate
3. my passport
4. CNI (although I know not necessary)
5. my college diploma and TOR

the rest, even though they're original bank statements, pay slips, letter of support, visa fee transaction receipt, rent books,written agreements... I did not include the photocopies.

Is my understanding correct? The spaces in the checklist has very limited items for enumeration, so I guessed only legal documents are the ones considered original and thus have to be photocopied.

I'll appreciate your sharing of your experiences about these documents.
Thanks

[kimmi]

hi haiku,

goodluck on ur visa application which is to be submitted tommorow..

about ur question, when I submitted mine I photocopied most of it especially those documents that is important because they might not give it back to u..

they will keep ur photocopies in their files..so it's up to u to decide if those bank statements and other stuffs that u didnt photocopies are important or not..

hope it helps..goodluck again..

[Fountainhead]

I'll be submitting my application tomorrow, NOv 28. I just want to check if my understanding is correct.

When VFS mentioned that we must submit original documents with photocopy, this doesn't refer to EVERYTHING right?

In my file now, I only had original and photo copies of:
1. marriage contract in NSO paper
2. mine and hubby's birth certificate
3. my passport
4. CNI (although I know not necessary)
5. my college diploma and TOR

the rest, even though they're original bank statements, pay slips, letter of support, visa fee transaction receipt, rent books,written agreements... I did not include the photocopies.

Is my understanding correct? The spaces in the checklist has very limited items for enumeration, so I guessed only legal documents are the ones considered original and thus have to be photocopied.

I'll appreciate your sharing of your experiences about these documents.
Thanks

Sorry haiku but its my understanding that you need to submit photocopies of ALL supporting documents, that's what we did including pay slips, bank statements, letter of support, house deeds etc. I think the only thing we didn't submit a copy of was the application form itself.

[vbkelly]

as i remembered my application i didn't photocopied the bank statements,pay slip, mortgage statements, all house bills, the documents i had a photocopied are passport both of us MC and BC

[haiku]

Thanks a lot Kimmi, Fountainhead, and vbkelly!

THis forum rocks! It's great and really helpful!

Wish me luck so I can join the rest of you who's already united with spouse.

[DianaKevy]

Thanks a lot Kimmi, Fountainhead, and vbkelly!

THis forum rocks! It's great and really helpful!

Wish me luck so I can join the rest of you who's already united with spouse.

good luck!

[tiN]

Goodluck haiku

[tiger@tigress]

Goodluck...

[Mrs.JMajor]

Good luck

[lunaloves7]

Wish you luck haiku!!! keep praying and think positive.... and make sure that you are on the right track!

God Bless...

[PAT]

Good luck haiku!.... be positive and always pray.

[haiku]

Thanks guys!
I did go to VFS yesterday, my documents and application form seem OK...thenthe officer asked me when's my planned flight. I told her late April or early May. Then she advised I apply come January.

Seems they've implemented a new policy, applications acceptde should just be 3 months ahead of intended flight. Although she mentioned application now, and hopefully I get the reply on February or March, I still have allowable stay based on my visa, but still, she's discouraged me from submitting my papers.

So I'll just have to come back in January before the 45 days lapse for my payment. I'm fortunate coz I only stay in Las Pinas, so not much travel involved to go back. And yeah, they said the visa fee printed in the application was not changed, but good thing I followed the updated fees online.

Then i'll just need to update the payslips and bank statements prior to my January appointment.

Thanks a lot!!!

[IainBusby]

I'll be submitting my application tomorrow, NOv 28. I just want to check if my understanding is correct.

When VFS mentioned that we must submit original documents with photocopy, this doesn't refer to EVERYTHING right?

In my file now, I only had original and photo copies of:
1. marriage contract in NSO paper
2. mine and hubby's birth certificate
3. my passport
4. CNI (although I know not necessary)
5. my college diploma and TOR

the rest, even though they're original bank statements, pay slips, letter of support, visa fee transaction receipt, rent books,written agreements... I did not include the photocopies.

Is my understanding correct? The spaces in the checklist has very limited items for enumeration, so I guessed only legal documents are the ones considered original and thus have to be photocopied.

I'll appreciate your sharing of your experiences about these documents.
Thanks

When my wife submitted her application we also included a good quality scanned copy of my passport, but I don't know if this a requirement or not.

Thanks guys!
I did go to VFS yesterday, my documents and application form seem OK...thenthe officer asked me when's my planned flight. I told her late April or early May. Then she advised I apply come January.

Seems they've implemented a new policy, applications acceptde should just be 3 months ahead of intended flight. Although she mentioned application now, and hopefully I get the reply on February or March, I still have allowable stay based on my visa, but still, she's discouraged me from submitting my papers.

So I'll just have to come back in January before the 45 days lapse for my payment. I'm fortunate coz I only stay in Las Pinas, so not much travel involved to go back. And yeah, they said the visa fee printed in the application was not changed, but good thing I followed the updated fees online.

Then i'll just need to update the payslips and bank statements prior to my January appointment.

Thanks a lot!!!

I really think you should have insisted on submitting your application. After all your going to update almost everything, bank statements, wage slips etc if you submit it in January. I think this should be a lesson for others who are due to submit their applications, if they are asked about when they plan to travel it's probably best to say, as soon as I receive my visa regardless of whether they have a flight booked or not.

Iain.

[Mrs.JMajor]

So you mean u didn't submit your documents Iain is absolutely right all your documents will gonna expired like payslip,bank statements and u need to ask your fiancee to send it all over again

sisterly advice,go get another slot of appointment,or are u sure u really cant fly when ur visa comes like February? ...if that so.....well then ...

[PAT]

Thanks for posting it haiku...and to you Ianbusby....good advice, i will remember that...

[haiku]

So you mean u didn't submit your documents Iain is absolutely right all your documents will gonna expired like payslip,bank statements and u need to ask your fiancee to send it all over again

sisterly advice,go get another slot of appointment,or are u sure u really cant fly when ur visa comes like February? ...if that so.....well then ...

Yes. My sister's wedding will be in April, so my trip should be after that.
I know, hubby will need to scan pay slips and bank statements again. The officers said there was even a couple who plan to travel by april who were also discouraged from passing, and the consul was still there that time. So they were just asked to fill in a refund form as their payment will soon be due. Yeah..sad..after all the effort..guess just have to save my forms and update some docs...

I hope my experience will give light to future applicants... 3 months prior to intended flight...

[Fountainhead]

I hope my experience will give light to future applicants... 3 months prior to intended flight...

We had the same problem

We planned it so that we submitted our application when I was in Manila visiting my fiancee so I could bring all the documents with me and they would be completely up to date. We wrote on form she intended to travel to UK at the end of March in plenty of time for our wedding we have booked at the start of July, this would also give us plenty of time after wedding before the fiancee visa expired to sort out our FLR visa application.

When we went to submit on October 21st my fiancee was told it was too soon and she would either have to come back at the end of the year or chnage the intended date of travel on the form. She chose to change the date on form to January 15th. The trouble is I had written in my letter of support that she would be travelling here at the end of March so there is now an inconsistency in our application which the ECO could use against us. It also means the visa will expire just two weeks after the wedding which doesnt leave us much time at all to get everything in order for applying for FLR, and we have a honeymoon booked which we will probably now have to cancel to concentrate on the FLR application.

I think they are just being really out of order. These applications take a lot of planning, hard work, time, expense and stress and if they are going to change their policy about how soon in advance you can apply they could at least clearly state that on the website and application form so people can plan accordingly

[Ady]

That is crazy, and grossly unfair. So, are they expecting us to now - book wedding receptions, weddings, and flights within 3 months of applying and then still have the power to refuse so all the planning is for nothing? Do they not realise how much it costs for some people to travel from other islands to Manila, lost wages, arranging time off work and school?

For example, in our case we booked a wedding reception that cost a few hundred in a deposit. I have spent another couple of hundred on posting the documents there. Then, £1100 for the two applications, £200 for the two flights to Manila for my gf and daughter to make the submission. Then, they can refuse the application because the flight is too far in advance?

Do they want to see evidence of flights having been booked? I will say that Shei intends to travel in March in my cover letter, and leave it as ambiguous as that, and tell Shei to tell them she intends to fly around about 3 months from the date that she goes to the VFS.

How many more hoops must we jump through? And still they hold the power to say "NO".

[Fountainhead]

You don't need to have flights booked Ady. I think the reason they ask the intended date of travel on the application form is so they know when to date the visa from.

I wonder if they brought this in because when the embassy moved it created delays and a backlog and an increased work load and this is their way of trying to catch up and control the amount of applications they receive.

The problem is they don't seem to have publicised it at all. I spent hours reading this site, UK government sites and the VFS site before we submitted to get as much info and advice as possible and not once did I read anything about how far in advance you could submit.

I wonder what would happen if an applicant was very firm with them and insisted they accepted the application? Would they really have the right to refuse to accept it or have they just been told to try to deter people from applying more than 3 months in advance but would still accept the application if pressed. Of course, faced with an "official" telling them they must only apply 3 months in advance most people would accept it "because they must know the rules", that was certainly the case with my fiancee.

All it's really doing is punishing people who cant travel to the UK as soon as the visa is issued. If you need a couple of months after you hear the result of your application to organise moving from the Philippines to the UK and to sort out any issues you may have there then in reality you will only be getting a 4 month visa.

[LEAHnew]

Thanks guys!
I did go to VFS yesterday, my documents and application form seem OK...thenthe officer asked me when's my planned flight. I told her late April or early May. Then she advised I apply come January.

Seems they've implemented a new policy, applications acceptde should just be 3 months ahead of intended flight. Although she mentioned application now, and hopefully I get the reply on February or March, I still have allowable stay based on my visa, but still, she's discouraged me from submitting my papers.

So I'll just have to come back in January before the 45 days lapse for my payment. I'm fortunate coz I only stay in Las Pinas, so not much travel involved to go back. And yeah, they said the visa fee printed in the application was not changed, but good thing I followed the updated fees online.

Then i'll just need to update the payslips and bank statements prior to my January appointment.

Thanks a lot!!!

they should published it on their website
I wonder why they didnt accept it coz December there's a lot of legal holidays

Anyway Haiku thanks for your very inofrmative post, we'll keep that in mind and good luck for the next appointment, I hope you can submit it w/o any hassle

[haiku]

Guess I just have to experience it so more of us will be informed. (sigh)

Let's hope they straighten everything and not to present another NEWLY IMPLEMENTED and undocumented policy when I come back in January! Or I can't be as calm as I was when I was there last Friday!

[Ady]

Thanks Fountainhead!!! Well, I can sort of understand them wanting to deal with backlogs - but to send away people like our friend Haiku is something that makes me angry. Not too bad if people live in Manila, but let's look at it practically. Firstly the sponsor has to collate all documents, and send them 7000 miles across the planet for the applicant. The applicant then has to get to Manila - in a country that is mostly consisting of islands, that isn't as easy as a day trip for some.

Haiku, I really feel for you. I don't like seeing people messed around, and to move the goalposts like that is not great. Good luck in your application, and you too Fountainhead.

[Mrs.JMajor]

Thanks Fountainhead!!! Well, I can sort of understand them wanting to deal with backlogs - but to send away people like our friend Haiku is something that makes me angry. Not too bad if people live in Manila, but let's look at it practically. Firstly the sponsor has to collate all documents, and send them 7000 miles across the planet for the applicant. The applicant then has to get to Manila - in a country that is mostly consisting of islands, that isn't as easy as a day trip for some.

Haiku, I really feel for you. I don't like seeing people messed around, and to move the goalposts like that is not great. Good luck in your application, and you too Fountainhead.

awww so sweet,what a nice big family we had in here

[PAT]

awww so sweet,what a nice big family we had in here

[haiku]

Thanks everyone. And goodluck to us all!

[IainBusby]

That is crazy, and grossly unfair. So, are they expecting us to now - book wedding receptions, weddings, and flights within 3 months of applying and then still have the power to refuse so all the planning is for nothing? Do they not realise how much it costs for some people to travel from other islands to Manila, lost wages, arranging time off work and school?

For example, in our case we booked a wedding reception that cost a few hundred in a deposit. I have spent another couple of hundred on posting the documents there. Then, £1100 for the two applications, £200 for the two flights to Manila for my gf and daughter to make the submission. Then, they can refuse the application because the flight is too far in advance?

Do they want to see evidence of flights having been booked? I will say that Shei intends to travel in March in my cover letter, and leave it as ambiguous as that, and tell Shei to tell them she intends to fly around about 3 months from the date that she goes to the VFS.

How many more hoops must we jump through? And still they hold the power to say "NO".

As I said in my earlier post, I think it's best to say "when I have been granted a visa" or " as soon as possible after I have been granted a visa" thats about as ambiguous as it gets. We all know the rules about how long you have before you travel to the UK to be still inside the 27 months allowed for applying for ILR and 6 months for FLR and I think it's best for people to be aware of those rules when they make their own plans, then tell the people at the application centre and the British embassy nothing about them so they don't try to interfere and disuade them from making their application.

If you ask me I think they're trying to knock down the queue of applications before Christmas so that they can have an extra long break.
Iain.

[Mjaes]

The VISA application form requires you to put the exact date when you want to travel to the UK. Did I understand the trail correctly that if I will send the application first week of May, my date of travel to the UK should be 3mos after that?