What You Should Do After Your Spouse Visa Gets Approved

After a lot of hard work and determination, you and your partner finally have what you’ve been looking for; a spouse visa with their name on it!

Firstly, congratulations!

It’s understandably unnerving to wait for any visa, let alone a spouse visa. But even with these good tidings, the job isn’t over yet. No need to be worried though. Your spouse is now on a fast track to the UK. But there are still a lot of little things that need to be done once they arrive.

Here’s the gist of it!

The After-Process of a Spouse Visa

Keep in mind that your spouse is on the route to settlement. Their spouse visa is valid for 2.5 years, that’s 30 months. But once they reach that 2.5 year point, they’ll need to apply for another extension of the same duration. This additional time will allow them to quality for an ILR.

For the moment, you’ll need to make sure that they arrive within the first 30 days after the visa was granted. Once they arrive, they’ll need to collect their BRP which is the Biometric Residence Permit from the UK Post Office. Alongside, they’ll need an entry stamp that will be added to their passport so that the 2.5 duration BRP can be activated.

If they do not enter the UK in those 30 days, they will need to apply again but for a replacement.

In addition, you can choose to register your marriage, although you don’t really need to do that since the Home Office would already recognize it as such.

The Little Details

Once your spouse arrives into the UK, you’ll need to do the following tasks:

• Register them with your local GP
• Apply for their driver’s licence
• Open a valid bank account in their name
• Convert a household bill to their name
• Gather cohabitation documents i.e. tenancy agreement, council tax, bills, bank statements etc

Doing all of the above in the early months of your spouse’s arrival will definitely help in getting the ball rolling for when  you or both apply for an ILR.

Another note; during this time till when you apply for the ILR, try to gather different letters or documents that are addressed to both of you from at least 3-4 different sources during those 5 years to show proof of your life in the UK.

Need Some Help?

Whatever questions you have regarding any immigration laws or visas, we can give you the answers.

As a leading law firm in Middlesex, Wembley Solicitors can provide you with all the legal information you need. To book an appointment, call 020 3417 3700.