Dear Folks,

Jassmine has got her spouse visa without interview today. 10 weeks 2 days. The application centre did not text or phone her. Only the status on the system changed. But they emailed me "We are pleased to inform you that the visa of your wife has been issued on 29 July. Her passport with the stamped visa was forwarded to the Visa Application Centre on the same day wherein they will notify the applicant on the collection of the passport.
We hope this is a welcome reply."
A Zillion thanks for all your prayers, messages, wishes. Sconnie, Trina, Menchkin - you are in my prayers too. Best wishes. Keep us up-to-date.

For those who are applying soon, the following notes *might* help you. You have to put together a set of supporting documents matching the ECO's requirements (i.e. think from an ECO's point of view and be honest!!). This is how I put the application together for the ECO and it may be different from others.

~Parties must be legally married to each other~
* Marriage certificate certified by NSO.
* For evidence of continued relationship, I only gave my phone bill that showed a telediscount number (5 bills). Nothing else! I did NOT give any sms, emails, love letters, chat records etc. They are private to us.
* 3 wedding photos (4x7 size) - (i)Her and Me only, (ii) with Family, (iii) with Sponsors and Judge.

~Plan to live together~
* My letter to state that Jassmine will live in my house.
* A letter sent at the 8th week of application that Jassmine is pregnant.

~Have met each other~
* My letter to state how we met. i.e. First met 6 months before marriage by chance while on holiday with friends in Manila. Fell in love. Then had 2 more visits to meet her and her family.
* Photocopied my passport pages (3 in total)
* Letter from my best man (also British) who visited the Philippines twice, and stated that Jassmine and I are truly in love and meant for each other.
* Supporting letter from her uncle who is a lawyer to state that he attended the wedding and he knows Jassmine very well - sort of a character reference too. This was 10 pages long!! The document was certified by a Judge.

~Be able to support themselves entirely without recourse to public funds~
* Since Jassmine quit her job for marriage preparation, she had little funds in her bank account. It was all up to me to prove finances.
I gave my ISA statement (1 page), Shares portfolio summary (1 page), 6 months payslip, Mortgage summary statements in my name only. One credit card statement to show my credit allowance.
* A letter from my employer to state that I am fully employed.

~No Terrorist risks~
To prove that she has been good, she got a police statement to show that her record is clean. This letter was further certified by the Mayor of Koronadal city too.

~Have adequate accommodation where dependants can live without recourse to public funds~
Not applicable to Jassmine.

Hope this helps! Good luck to you.

Cheers