Getting Your Bank Statements Stamped At Natwest (the bank us tax payers own)

I find the situation I'm in ridiculous, if certain banks will not accommodate you then surely the UKBA should make concessions for that, if they wont stamp them they wont stamp them, simple as that, I have no intension of strolling around going from one NatWest to the other in the hope one of them helps me out.

If certain banks will not stamp your statements then the UKBA should give you some kind of alternative, I think a crystal ball is required when dealing with them, there is far too much assuming, guess work and trying to read between the lines, I want clear facts to work on.

I'm getting annoyed now, if I drank I would go and get pissed

It is annoying that nothing is really clear. If you read the UKBA website it seems simple enough, but they don't really tell you how to go about it.

Anyone would think they wanted you to get it wrong!

My main personal current account is with Lloyds, they moved to electronic statements several years ago but I opted back in to the paper statements through their website.

Seemed to be a sensible decision, and the paper statements have proved useful on several occasions.

I tried to get Nationwide to send me some duplicates but they refused to stamp them.

I was fortunate that there is an Overseas branch of Nationwide on the island and I simply drove there one lunchtime and they stamped them. I was taken aback as until then I had met nothing but "the computer says no".

Is delaying the application till after your next work stint is over, out of the question?

I'm going to think about it, I've asked the loved one to try and contact the VFS and ask the question, I still wont be able to get the originals stamped so I will still run the risk there.

Your typical NatWest employee shown in the Little Britain sketch, good one.

Good thinking.

The important think is not to rush it. Also, if you have doubts about any part of it then remember that they might too.

Sorry if a lot of my comments seem negative, it's just that having failed first time i was so ridiculously thorough with later efforts. Visa applications terrify me now!

We have decided to wait for the bank statements, I will also send a cover letter stating that the bank refuses to stamp them and that they can contact the bank direct to clarify this if they so wish. So I'm still going to be in a position of uncertainty when I submit the original statements. Meanwhile the loved one will try to contact VFS and see if unstamped online statements are okay for submission but by the sounds of it they are nigh on impossible to speak to, we will see.

Yep. I think Maharg is right. And you need to have peace of mind once the application goes in. Good luck with VFS.

Timmers, what have you done in terms of proof of where you will live? Did you get a survey done on your home?

No I didn't get a survey done, I have just rented an apartment near a biggish city so the loved one will easily be able to commute to Manchester for work, I will buy another house when she is here and settled. In the package I have included a letter from the estate agent stating that one more person can live there, additional rooms, tenancy agreement above six months to run and pictures of inside the apartment taken off the estate agent website when advertised and a few bills, utilities, tv licence and so forth. I have also included a letter stating I have just moved house and why and that some of my submitted paper work, pay slips for example will have my old address on. I hope they will find the information I have provided sufficient.

I would really like to have some clarification from the VFS on bank statements, its a real grey area, searching the internet has made it even more frustrating for me. I look at it like this, if banks refuse to stamp bank statements original or otherwise then the UKBA should have something in place that covers that scenario surely, its no good them saying we want stamped statements when it is impossible for me to get that done. I cant change banking policy.
What can I do if the VFS refuses to accept none stamped statements?

I appreciate your input on this matter, thanks chaps

Timmers. Daft question probably, but what happened to the ones they sent you through the post? Or do you have a paperless account?

A suggestion.....

Make an appointment to see your local bank manager and take a letter in for him to sign to say the statements are authentic. Surely they would do that? They have your statement history online so all he needs to do is check it against your paper statements and then sign the letter that you have typed up in advance....just a couple of minutes work.

Ask him about a loan to keep him sweet.

I had a paperless account, but in anticipation of the visa submission I changed back to hard copies but I only have four months worth and didn't want to wait another two months for a complete set. I got the strong impression from my discussions with banking staff yesterday that they will not sign their name to anything unless directly approached by the UKBA. If I do submit my application with unstamped statements and I am turned down because of this I will see my local MP and get him involved. At the end of the day I will still be submitting unstamped statements whether they are original or online statements. I still feel I am taking a risk for no fault of my own.

On a brighter note this should help other people in the same boat once its resolved.

I see. Well you have 4 out of 6 and a full set of payslips no doubt. So your application should still be strong. Its just down to you how compliant you want to be. If you have a strong case anyway then the two copies / replicas or whatever, will probably make no difference, unless of course you have some nob of an ECO that has got out of the wrong side of the bed or something.

I cant see why the originals need to be stamped, BTW.

One guy I came across didn't send in one single original document. All photocopies. And he did get the visa...or rather his wife did. Maybe they were lucky.

they want to know things like how many rooms, room sizes and so on to make sure it complies with their requirements. If you're not getting a survey it might be worth getting this information yourself and including it along with some photos of your own.