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Fiancee Visa & Parcelforce nightmare
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Posted by: bingism

Hi All

1st, a little tip for anyone in UK who decides to use Parcelforce International Datapost - DON'T!!!!! Their website and customer service team will tell you that for Ł40-50 you get an EMS guaranteed 3-day delivery, but in reality they are only guaranteeing to get the parcel into the country in 3-days. Instead of using EMS Garantpost in Russia, they handed my visa documentation to Russian Post. It's only by sheer good luck and fortune that they finally arrived in SPb today (6-days door to door).

Anyway, rant over, all docs now with M and she's in the process of finalising her annket, so tomorrow morning she's going to the consulate to apply for the visa. Only problem is it's probably going to be -25/30 Celsius at 6am! Luckily she knows a local cab company that will happily take her to the consulate and let her wait in the car for a few hours... I think I may have gone a little OTT with the documents as the total weight was about 1.5kg (3.3lbs), but I'm taking no chances. In case anyone's interested, here's what was sent:

- full copy of all 32 pages of my passport (witnessed)
- original birth certificate
- 12-months bank statements (makes for interesting reading)
- 12-months wage slips (I really really hate the taxman)
- my original employment contract
- letter from my landlord confirming tenancy and OK to have permanent guest
- ticket stubs and hotel receipts
- copies of all emails
- telephone bills (mobile, landline and skype - important to highlight calling service number on landline)
- copies of a dozen or so different personal photos
- copies of our travel arrangements and reservations for February
- copy of my tourist visa application
- a completed annket (application form) that she can copy my details from

I also sent a covering letter that highlights the following:

- invitation to come to UK as my fiancee & our plans for marriage in June
- full breakdown of my monthly outgoings and my financial plans for the near future
- confirmation of a monthly allowance for her
- confirmation that she will have unhindered access to enough money to fly home if she wants to
- details of all documents, including an explanation of anything that might raise a question (i.e. my ex's name is still on bank statements because Barclays are useless)

I guess the only things that might be asked for could be reconfirmation from my employer and a fax from my ex to confirm that Barclays are useless. Given the level of detail that they will have I don't see this happening....

So, tomorrow is the big day and fingers-crossed we'll have the visa the same day!!! Providing all is well, I'm back to SPb on the 8th Feb and will return, with M, on 12th.... not looking forward to the excess baggage fee though!!!

Bing

Posted by: swindoom

You should have no problems, you given them more than they are going to need, I did the same just to make sure there was no reason for refusal. Best of luck but I do not think you will need it.

Posted by: Ade

Hi,

Glad to hear everything has got there safely (I was a little concerned when you told me you were using Parcelfarce, but considering the stresses of these things, didn't feel like saying anything!).

So fingers crossed for the both of you, and let us know the good news as soon as is decent

Ade

Posted by: bingism

Update:

Got up at 3am today after 2-hours sleep, which is not unusual, and called M to wish good luck (and make sure the sleep-meister was ready to go)... All good - taxi booked for 7am, which meant 7.30, and M got to consulate at 8.15. Was -30 Celsius so no queue and M found a nice friendly bank to use for warming up until nice consulate chappy let her indoors 15-minutes early and provided a nice hot cuppa... very British lol

Her anket, passport and birth certificate and my 1.5kg of documents handed over at 9'ish along with a nice wad of crisp 1000rbl notes and told to sit down for a while. Consulate staff spent about an hour or so looking through the novel that I had sent them and seemed to be surfing the net for most of that (I assume they were actually hooked into the "who's been a naughty boy" network of information). M gets called back up to kiosk and told to return at 15:30! At first she thought this was for an interview but then she was told that they would give her passport back and inside will be a nice fiancee visa for the UK!!!!!!!!

No questions at all... not even "what's you name???" Unbelievable.... goes to show that if you put in the right amount of work up front and cover all the bases, telling only 100% the truth, anything's possible.

Anyway, we're both chuffed to bits and M's off to her office tomorrow to tell her despotic boss where to stick his poxy coffee!! Flight tickets also arrived today along with my Russian visa. We come home together on 12th Feb, just in time for Valentine's Day!!!!

Thanks to all you guys for your input to the forum and I hope that sharing my experiences will help another couple be together....

Bing (soon to be hanging up the keys to my bachelor pad)

Posted by: Hostile_hostage

Congratulations !!!!

Posted by: bingism

cheers HH

Posted by: Ade

Congrats mate,

These good news stories are what we want to hear. I'm over the moon for you both, it's terrific.

Can't wait to hear about your arrival back to England,

Ade

Posted by: bingism

Thanks Ade... we'll keep you posted

Posted by: so cal rick

Jolly good work ole man, I know you will be successful.

I am not to your point yet, but this information is priceless

This forum kicks tail

Thanks..... So Cal Rick

Posted by: scotch

Congratulations matey, that's awesome!!

Huge inspiration for the rest of us too!

scotch.

Posted by: KayJay

Hi, all.

I'm just at the beginning of this road so all the hurdles are still in front of me but it certainly is great to see people still standing at the end!

I have a question on a slightly different slant - being self-employed I pay my accountant well to show the tax-man how little I earn, in order to minimize my tax-liability. Now I have a bit of a problem, of course.......

I'm sure I can't be the only one to come up against this little snag; any thoughts, please?

Posted by: Spakoyna

Quote:

Originally Posted by KayJay

Hi, all.

I'm just at the beginning of this road so all the hurdles are still in front of me but it certainly is great to see people still standing at the end!

I have a question on a slightly different slant - being self-employed I pay my accountant well to show the tax-man how little I earn, in order to minimize my tax-liability. Now I have a bit of a problem, of course.......

I'm sure I can't be the only one to come up against this little snag; any thoughts, please?

Hello,Jay
If you have not filed your taxes yet go ahead and have your taxman inflate your income! I did!

If you have assets you can use them in lieu of income. I am not certain...I believe someone else can confirm this....$100,000 in assets equates to $5000 in income.

Goodluck!

Posted by: KayJay

...being in the UK we don't have your kind-hearted, generous, forgiving and obliging IRS to help us out in these situations..

My local area is chock-full of people speaking Russian who came in claiming to be Polish, Hungarian etc....how come it's always the law-abiding who get screwed by the Law??

Posted by: clever1

Quote:

Originally Posted by KayJay

...being in the UK we don't have your kind-hearted, generous, forgiving and obliging IRS to help us out in these situations..

My local area is chock-full of people speaking Russian who came in claiming to be Polish, Hungarian etc....how come it's always the law-abiding who get screwed by the Law??

Cos the Law says we have to be screwed KayJay..................lol

John

Posted by: clever1

Quote:

Originally Posted by KayJay

I'm sure I can't be the only one to come up against this little snag; any thoughts, please?

Why are you lining an accountants pockets, to tell the taxman how little you earn, either you earn a little, in which case you don't need an accountant, or you earn a lot, and need him to gain all your tax concessions, the way you put it, sounds like income tax fraud.

I'm self employed too.

John