Hi all

I am a British citizen in my early 20’s and met my partner almost 2years ago and we have since then decided to get married as we want to settle down and start family planning. However, this whole issue of spouse visa is really tedious and the advice i've got has been confusing. A friend of mine got married and he was a temp worker and only provided a few weeks pay slip and few months bank statement (which showed overdraft although a member of his family gave him a few grand to top it up), he had some phone cards and no records of text messages or emails or even letters. they got the visa.
:x
Another friend told me that she had to provide the 6months financial records e.g., bank statements etc and another friend said I’ll need to have at least £2.000 in my account and I might be at a disadvantage because I live at home.

Obviously I’m confused...

Has anyone got married in The Gambia and can they please advise me on the process from registering, getting married to actually filing all the paperwork as I know the process can also be a long and tedious one. Nonetheless before the wedding and we do apply, I need help to sort things out. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

(1) I am a nationalized British citizen and I’m unsure if mum and dad even have my birth certificate. Will I need a copy of my birth certificate and if so, do I need to get it notarized here in the uk or can i do it through a lawyer in Gambia where i want to get married. Will my passport be enough and do I also need to get that notarized

(2) Adequate housing for themselves
I live at home in my parents 4 bedroom house with my sister and brother. My parents own the house even though they no longer live there, they pay the mortgage, most bills and everything is in their name, even my own mobile phone bill...basically, everything is in their name. How will this affect my status of suitable accommodation and proof of correspondence when everything is under my parents name. My mum said she would write a letter to say that i live at home and they pay the mortgage. Will this help. Will she need to send any documents or paperwork from their mortgage provider?
I do give my parents a few hundred for house keeping a month so it's not like i live at home for free and a friend of mine said that I needn’t include this in my application but if they look at my bank statement they can see the money going out.

(3) Finance
I have a decent job, roughly making around £24.000 a year and i also have a pension scheme I just started and some savings so I hope this might be sufficient.. I am trying to keep my bank account healthy but I spend a lot of money going backwards and forwards to see my partner. I mean, how healthy is healthy a bank account.. I have no idea as I’ve just cleared my overdraft which I have just managed to do.

(4) Job offer
Should I try and get my partner a job offer from family friends who own businesses. Will this help our application.. I have no idea

(5) Certificate of no impediment
I know where to get this, infact, I think it’s the only thing I know how to obtain. The only question is, once it has been issued, do I need to do anything else here or can I get married with just that. Do I need for it to be legalized by the Embassy of the country concerned ( Gambia) or by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ??? SCREAM

(6) Evidence
I have lived with my partner for a few months in their country of residence. How can I show proof of this? I have phone cards and my home phone bill shows the access number of the cards but not my partners actual telephone number, does this matter or are the phone cards and records enough? I also have multiple visiting immigration stamps in my passport including the residence permit for when I lived over there. I’ve saved airline tickets/receipts to show that contact has been continual and proportionate. I have emails, not many but a few from when we first met and the relationship was forming they are personal but I guess I have to add them as evidence right? I have pictures but not that many and again how many pics of you and your partner is sufficient.. will all the above be enough. Or do I need anything else.

Please help, I’m doing all this by myself and it can get quite overwhelming.

Many thanks

 

thanks dragon

you've made me more hopeful. i was worried abou the finance but i've been told by a few people that i do not have to be a millionaire, just show that i have an income. the quest goes on to get my partner here. so you think i will be ok with all my bills showing my parents name e.g. my land line mobile phone bill??

thanks again

 

good good

thanx again