Joint sponsorship?

Good morning to all,

So here I am again with a question. My boyfriend, the father of my son, will be sponsoring me to enter the UK as a general visitor. We will be staying at his parents' home. So, I thought he and his parents should do one sponsorship letter each. His parents' letter stating about the accommodation and my boyfriend stating about the finances on his. Is this what you might consider a joint sponsorship? I read somewhere that this is not allowed however on the UKBA site it never mentioned anything about any limit on the number of sponsors one may have. I also read somewhere that only the major sponsor should make the invitation/sponsorhip letter (my boyfriend in this case) and just indicate in his letter that we will be staying in his parents' house. But is it not logical that there should also be a written statement from the home owner acknowldeging the accommodation? Should the home owner also not provide documents of owning such property?
And one more thing, I take the invitation/sponsorship letter with me to the visa application letter right? The sponsor/s do not send it to the VAC?

I think you are right - I would take both letters with you. But I am not an expert - I hope one will be along in a minute!

Hahaha! I hope so too

I married my long term Filipina girlfriend in the Philippines in July this year and we made settlement visa applications for her and her two daughters immediately after getting married. I employed a specialist immigration consultant so I can pass on a few useful pieces of advice.

First, when you make a visa application, it is essential that ALL paperwork is submitted together at the same time. Anything sent on at a later date runs a serious risk of not finding its way into your file. The Manila Entry Clearance Officers handle applications for the whole region from Australia to Hong Kong so they have thousands of applications every year. Try to make life as easy for them and yourself if you want the best chance of success.

There is no reason to stop you sending several letters showing how your sponsorship will be provided so long as the letters between them cover all angles. However, ONE letter showing how each requirement will be met would be better and easier for the Entry Clearance Officer who is reading your file. The whole system works on evidence. So, if your partner says that his parents have a three bedroomed house, then you should include some verifiable evidence that what they say is actually true, e.g. estate agent's details or chartered surveyor's report. One of the unpleasant aspects of the way that the UKBA works is that what you say counts for nothing unless it is supported by strong evidence. So remember, evidence, evidence, evidence is necessary all the way to establish the legitimacy of your claims.

I hope this helps.

I agree.

Its a funny thing as sometimes the UKBA miss the obvious. For my wifes ILR application one particular focus was on us continueing to cohabit for which we had to provide addressed letters to us both jointly. They never wanted any info on our baby, but what better way of producing strong evidence of cohabitation than our babies birth certificate. So we included that in our application too. Also we felt that she would be less likely to be refused ILR having a British baby. We felt our case would be strengthened by this information so we included it.

If your boyfriend is still living with his parents, it will be understood that you are going to stay with them. All he has to mention on his sponsorship letter that he is still living with his parents and his parents are eager to meet you and their grandson and they are willing to accomodate you.
When I was newly married we had an invitation from his mother to visit Australia and live with her for 6 weeks and this never been an issue with the immigration. If he can guarantee that you and your son has an accomodation to go to during your stay, there shouldn't be a problem on this. Australian immigration has similar rules like here in UK if not more strict.
When we first arrive here in the UK we only use hotel address, and show them the printed confirmation of our booking for a week just enough time to find an accomodation to move.
The best thing is, it would be better if he is travelling with you.

Thank you John. His parents are ready to sent mortgage and council tax statements however we are still debating if they should also include an invitation letter of their own. I'm concerned about the possibility of the ECO/consul asking or looking for a written (with signatures) letter of his parents acknowldeging such accommodation. What about having the individual letters in one envelope? Will it make any difference?

I did the same thing as JohnAsh did. On my appointment day (both spouse visa and ILR) I brought along with my documents our children's British passport and their birth certificates. After the UKBA staff seen our children's documents, she asked how long we've been married? I responded "14 years", then she look for our marriage certificate among the documents and she smile and say come back in 2 hours and your visa will be ready for collection.

Have you seen this thread. Post 2 by Micawber on Visitor Visa applications.

http://www.british-filipino.com/showthread.php?5810-hi-to-all-the-members-of-BRITISH-FILIPINO-

Why not include a signed letter from them if you feel easier about that? It cannot do any harm. However, remember, anything your partner or his parents say should be supported by some kind of evidence which carries weight. If the parents say that they have a certain type of house with plenty of accommodation for you, then also include some objective evidence which the Entry Clearance Officer could see was genuine. Don't be afraid to include photos (not downloaded from the internet - they can easily be forged) and a note confirming this from a professional person (doctor, priest, etc.) who can say that they know the house would also help.

The golden rule is to put yourself in the position of the Entry Clearance Officer who receives an application from a stranger. Every statement will be doubted unless there is supporting evidence.

Good luck.

John

Hello Mystica,

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, technically speaking he still lives with his parents although he has been mostly at sea for the past three years and in the Philippines with me after every end of our sea contracts. Your suggestion is actually very obvious but I never thought of it that way. It can be as simple as that. My boyfriend is probably right when he said I'm over-thinking this

Some of the respondents to this thread are unaware of how restrictive the whole system has become in the last few months. The system is getting more and more restrictive as every month goes past. Immigration to the UK has become such a political 'hot potato' that ECOs have been instructed to only approve the applications that they cannot refuse. When the Home Secretary stood up in the House of Commons some months ago and proudly proclaimed that immigration was down by 60%, you have to ask how that was achieved. I know someone who was an Entry Clearance Officer until recently and he has given me an insight into how the system now works.

Anyone who obtained a visa more than a year ago will have had a very different experience. If you want a successful application, you must make it as easy as possible for the Entry Clearance Officer to tick all the necessary boxes. Evidence, evidence, evidence!

As we handed my wifes ILR application in directly to the Immigration officer he checked over the key elements of our submitted evidence. I mentioned materials we submitted that they hadnt asked for and he acknowledged that it all helped to forge a stronger case.

Oh please keep the answers coming. Such big help! Thank you all.

I meant to mention also that you will never meet the Entry Clearance Officer who is handling your case. The processing of applications has now been privatised and is now handled by a company called VFS. They also carry out the biometrics. They have no power (or indeed intention) to advise or help; they just process paper. Hence my remarks about getting all papers submitted together at the same time.

Except here, John. You can phone them anytime too! Thats the IOM, but its similar, I think, in the Channel Islands.

I actually found them very useful as they helped clarify on any unclear aspects of the application paper.

Where is 'here', John? My experience has all been in Manila.

Sorry. Only your first sentence appeared at first. We are all in the Philippines and have made the applications here.

Once our wives are here, after 2 years ( now 5 ) they apply for ILR locally in the UK. In the IOM this is carried out directly through the Immigration office where you meet them face to face. Its a good thing as it gives one the opportunity to get inside their heads, just by chatting to them. It gives one an insight into what they are looking for, if you see what I mean.

JohnAsh, I was told for a British spouse 2 1/2 years to get ILR then 2 1/2 years for Citizenship is this right?

True! we do meet them and call them for our appointment bookings and informations here in the UK.