₦airaland Forum

noirAlex:
We paid the fast track fee(N55000) that way we were the ones that chose the counselling date(17th) and wedding date(18th)...so yes booked those days about a week in advance. Greasing palms tend to get results faster!! we were quite lucky cos everything went smoothly, in and out straight away with zero delay and everyone was quite polite and nice(especially to oyinbo wife). Arrived back on friday 18th(exactly a month after our wedding), Immigration officer at Gatwick did not even ask for my TB certificate, he was more interested in my accent! Grilled me thoroughly but became very friendly once he was satisfied lol.

Thank you for your message. I paid 60K for the special fast track too, glad to hear you have arrived safely and reunited with your wife.

Portsmouth86:
I was just surprised, working within customer service for 15 years it opened my eyes yet the locals are completely the opposite and are very welcoming

My husband had to go back a week later to get the certificate tho

lol wow. thanks a lot for the info

Oreskid:
@ Jangolo, i paid 1k each for the certificate cos it's two copy they will keep one for record and give u the other copy, they just write in the certificate with pen not type

Alright thanks!

Ben Bruce be thinking he is in the MAFIA! Trying not to smile to look serious.

Portsmouth86:
doubt there's any improvement, you may just be lucky to get seen quickly, my husband was losing patience with them as he works at the british embassy he also knew staff at the registry office and made a complaint since the higher fee is for like a quicker process, I also felt like the woman who did our certificates was very biased and looked her nose down at me....probably thinking another oyinbo taking one of our men haha.

And dont get me started on the IOM office for the TB test ( couldnt differentiate staff from joe public and unwelcoming, i filled hubby's form out and it asked him for a survey...I made some polite suggestions and common courtesy costs nothing)

wow, seems like you got the full experience of the poor customer service we suffer over here. I am going to deal with the IOM office next week, the last time I went through the process it took the whole day.

Portsmouth86:
Ours was a special too and the fee was higher because I am British, supposedly in and out, however we were nearly the last ones in and we were there all day, despite going there first thing, and the women who filled our marriage certificates put my middle name as my first I had to correct them and the registrar as he kept calling me Marie, when my first name is Karen, absolutely unorganised thats for sure, I made the women do me a correct certificate and they kept the one which she also used tipex on

we got married in March, the special is not a new thing its the fee for non Nigerian marrying a Nigerian or one party is British/other citizen and we had to tip of course...even when they did errors

my husband paid N60,000

Yes, very disorganised and money hungry. Hopefully they have improved.

Oreskid:
Yes @ Jangolo, that's wat i pay for too, was within two weeks. Pay like 60k naira, and on the day paid for certificate and all staff there want us to pay for joy as they call it and also rent flower too. Lol

Hahah I paid 60K too. how much was for the certificate and was it already printed out or they typed it on the day

Portsmouth86:
Either you or your partner will need to obtain a form from the registry of choice, to indicate your intention to marry.

The form is a Notice Form or otherwise called Form A in which you will fill your personal details including Name, Age, Address, Occupation, Marital status, Consent (minor under 21 years), Signature etc. You will also need to submit two coloured passport photographs.
The form is then posted on the Notice Board at the registry for 21 days. The notice is also entered in a book called the Marriage Notice Book, which may be inspected during office hours without fee.

After the expiration of the notice and payment of the Prescribed Fee (this differs at each registry), the Registrar would issue a Form C after the following criteria has been met and satisfied:

*That one of the parties has been resident within the district in which the marriage is intended to be celebrated.
*That each of the parties to the intended marriage (not being a widower or widow) is twenty-one years old, and if under that age, the consent hereinafter made requisite has been obtained in writing and is annexed to such affidavit (meaning you have to get written permission/consent from the bride-to-be's parent or legal guardian).
*That there is not any impediment of kindred or affinity, or any other lawful hindrance to the marriage
*That neither of the parties to the intended marriage is married by customary law to any person other than the person with whom such marriage is proposed to be contracted.

Once the requirements mentioned above have been confirmed, the couple would swear an affidavit before the registrar or recognised minister of religion. During the sworn affidavit, the registrar would reiterate the above Prohibitive degrees and also explain the penalties involved.
Failure to disclose a breach in any of the above makes the defaulter liable to two years imprisonment.
Thereafter, the Registrar signs a declaration/affidavit to show that the couple understands the implications under the law and have met and satisfied all that has been required of them.

Upon proof that there is no lawful impediment to the proposed marriage, and that the necessary consent, if any, to such marriage has been obtained, the Minister will dispense with the giving of notice, issue the certificate, and grant his/her license, known as Form D, authorizing the celebration of a marriage between the parties named in such license.

The couple then selects a date for the wedding, usually within three months from the date the notice was placed with the registry.

My husband an I got married in Ikoyi Registry this is what we did

Thank you very much for your reply. I have already filled all the forms and now they have a different type called "Special", They charge some ridiculous rate and say it will only take 2 weeks to process. They said because it is special they do not have to show it on the notice board. I will go there again a week before the wedding to make sure everything is set because I do not want any last minute issues.

noirAlex:
.

Hey sorry I am also meant to have my court wedding in January I wanted to enquire if you had to book the date of the wedding several weeks in advance or after the marriage counselling you booked for the next day? I have been there several times and they told me I can book for the day after the marriage counselling in January but I don't know with them people, they can say one thing today and another thing the next day.

noirAlex:
Evidence Items

TAB A
1. Online application form (+ housemate IDs)
2. Appendix 2 VAF Financial requirements form
3. Applicant Nigerian passport
4. Spouse British passport
5. Applicant birth certificate (court affadavit)
6. Spouse birth certificate (certified copy)
7. Marriage certificate
8. English Language Exam Certificate (from Trinity College, London)
9. TB Screening results
10. Applicant statement
11. Spouse statement

TAB B(went down the savings route)
12. Signed declaration by Spouse about source of savings
13. – 33. Financial evidence including
a. Letters from bank relating to each account and minimum amount held in each account for last 6 months.
b. Certificate of Investment for ISAs (covering last 2 years)
c. Customer statement for last 6 months- printed out and stamped by bank
d. Letters to confirm opening of accounts
e. Passbooks for saving accounts (updated by bank on day before we flew)
f. Annual Promise Statements showing amount in all savings account in last 2 years

TAB C
34. Text messages screen shots from 2012
35. Text messages screen shots from 2013
36. Text messages screen shots from 2014
37. Text messages screen shots from 2015
38. Wedding invitations addressed to Applicant and Spouse
39. Cards
a. Spouse to applicant – 6 month anniversary
b. Spouse to applicant – Christmas
c. Spouse to applicant – Valentine’s day
d. Spouse to applicant – Valentine’s day
e. Spouse to applicant – moving in together
f. Applicant to spouse – birthday
g. Applicant to spouse – 6 month anniversary
h. Applicant to spouse – Valentine’s day
i. Applicant to spouse – Valentine’s day
j. Wedding invite and thank you card from friends addressed to applicant and spouse
k. Christmas card from housemate addressed to applicant and spouse
l. Engagement congratulations from friend addressed to applicant and spouse
m. Engagement congratulations from friend addressed to applicant and spouse
40. Applicant’s cinema and festival tickets
41. Spouse’s cinema and festival tickets (matching)
42. Spouse’s family Christmas letter 2013

TAB D
43. Tenancy Agreement
44. Letter from landlady
45. Energy statement with spouse and applicant’s names (Oct 2015)
46. Council tax bill in spouse and applicant’s names (2015-16)
47. Council tax bill in spouse and applicant’s names (2015-16)
48. Internet statements in spouse’s name (Sept 2014; Sept 2015)
49. Bank statement in spouse’s name
50. Water bills in spouse’s name (2014; 2015)

TAB E
51. Support statement from spouse’s parents
52. Support statement from current housemate
53. Support statement from friend
54. Support statement from previous housemate
55. Support statement from friend
56. Support statement from friend
57. Support statement from spouse’s sister
58. Support statement from applicant’s cousin

TAB F
59. Photographs (80)
60. Wedding photos (5)

We gathered as much evidence as we could within a month, struggled a bit with address related evidence but its about trying to tick all or as many boxes as one can and not leaving room for a refusal. Also I should mention that I had overstayed my visa for years but I explained everything in my statement(absolute honesty is paramount). Good luck to you mate and all other applicants out there.

Thank you very much and congratulations once more!

dabriggs:
Some people expect us to behave like Europeans.
but we are Africans. we are Nigerians.
There are so many reasons people behave the way they do. People line up before boarding so that they can find space to put their carry on bags.
They rush out of the planes because of immigration wahala at the airport. The heat and queue alone. The stress of getting your luggage etc.
There are many reasons why we behave the way we do. And these things make us special. We must not always judge ourselves by silly European standards.

Here Someone asked me why I love signing anytime I pass by. The tradition is that they all put on head phones. I hate head phones and they are risky in traffic. Lots of accidents and near misses occur due to the use of earphones here. Despite the good traffic and pedestrian safety provisions.
I told him it is a thing I learnt from my parents. It is African. My mum sings when doing the lundry, my dad hums a tune. Infact at times they both sing the same song. It is not to impress anybody. Call it slave mentality bla bla bla. It is something that makes me happy. I sing songs that give me hope and encourage me. Besides I told him I see a lot of them sing out loud even with the ear phone on. So why should mine be different?
While I am learning to observe and respect their norms, I cannot wait to come home and sing to my hearts content.
. By the way my screen savers and desktop photos are only beautiful sites in Nigeria. Fellow students see it and ask ''Is this Nigeria? It is beautiful''.

Its very refreshing to read your love for nigeria and our people... You love nigeria so much but the question is does nigeria love you?

Oreskid:
I say a big thank you to everyone, justwise, to mention a few and every good people here.
Aug 31st. TB Test

Sept 9th. Online application and payment made.

Sept 15th. Appointment @ 12noon @ Ikeja TLS and all supporting doc. Sent by me to Sheffield, came back with them from UK

Sept 17th. Supporting doc. Receive from Nigeria DHL, tracked and was signed for in Sheffield but no acknowledgement for receive

Sept 25th. Email from Sheffield saying online application received and will be look into by the ECO

Nov 26th. Phone call for interview on Dec 4th

Dec 2nd. Email from Sheffield that application is not straight forward.

Dec 4th. Interview @ battleship building, London @ 11am

Dec 9th. Email from Sheffield that decision is made.

Dec 15th. Pickup passport with visa date Dec 4th.

Congrats my friend, really happy for you!

noirAlex:
Hello everyone, I've been following this thread silently for a few months now and I can't even start listing all the facts and bits of info I've picked up on here...@Justwise, @Portsmouth86, @Lexusgs430 and @Oreskid your posts have been very very helpful please keep up the brilliant job!!! Now to share my timeline with you guys. Note I started evidence collection and application in the UK before traveling to lagos with my sponsor/fiancée(now wifey). We paid a most brilliant lawyer(nasty and expensive but bloody good) who did a fantastic job. Anyway here's our timeline


Monday 16th November had TB test at the Migration Health Assessment Centre (MHAC)
Lagos

Tuesday 17th November had pre marriage Counselling and meeting at the Ministry of Interior Marriage Registry
Ikoyi Lagos.

Wednesday the 18th of November
Got married at Ikoyi Marriage Registry.

Thursday 19 November 2015, 10:00am Appointment at
Teleperformance Ikeja Lagos (Got there half an hour late so paid for premium lounge)
Also Paid for PRIORITY SERVICE!

Monday 23rd November sent supporting documents from London to Sheffield via Royal Mail next day recorded delivery with tracking number
Supporting documents arrive at Sheffield on Tuesday 24th November at 7:23am.

Thursday 3rd December sponsor received email stating that decision has been made and that we will be notified sometime in the next 48 hours.

Tuesday 8th December received another email stating that decision has been made and Passport despatched.

Monday 14th December received email from Tlscontact that passport is ready for pick-up.

Picked up passport on Tuesday 15th December, lo and behold inside it was my shiny Spouse Visa!!!!

The decision making took just 8 days from when application was received which I believe is down to paying for priority service and also having a well prepared and indexed application. The wait and not knowing is ridiculously stressful but can look forward to honeymooning and planning the church wedding in quaint Cranleigh. Good luck to @Portsmouth86 and all others awaiting a decision, I will still be active on here so can answer questions. Cheers

Congrats! I am def using the priority service. Please share your document list. Thanks!

ekpotek:
I totally agree with you. We plan to visit the UK next April. We have a lawyer there how will be able to put us through the whole process and what to expect. Our lawyer have suggested the SS route immediately he was told that my wife British passport has been issued.

Great news! All the best. Make sure you also double check with your own research whenever your lawyer suggest any steps. Best to start preparing because this Naija, the country is finished!

Portsmouth86:
I rent privately and for my accommodation evidence I supplied the following:

Hi,
How many pages was your whatsapp messages? I am trying to print mine and seeing 800 pages hahaha.

justwise:
Birth certificate is not needed

Thank you

ekpotek:
Hi all,

I am new in on this thread. Please, I need a candid advice. My wife was born British, but she had spent all her life in Nigeria. We have been married six years now. Recently, she has been issued her first Adult British Passport in August 2015. The passport bear her married names (my names). She seriously considering relocating to the UK with me. However, the UK financial requirement of £18,600 for a spousal visa will be a significant obstacle as she still with me in Nigeria. I will, therefore, appreciate all the advice in the house. We have just returned from the a visit to the UK last month with her British Passport and my UK visit visa which will expire in April 2017. Thank you.

There is no other way apart from her going to the UK and earning more than £18,600

Lexusgs430:
You do not need your birth certificate, a passport is mainly required for spousal visa.
Best to rectify the birth certificate issue before you travel(you might require your BC for other things in the uk, and a contradiction would not be beneficial).

Thank you

Lexusgs430:
What do you need the birth certificate for? Which country issued the birth certificate?

For the spouse visa application, I have seen quite a few people say it is requested when handing in their application at TLS. It was issued in Nigeria

Lexusgs430:
- Registry pictures and certificate carries more credence.
- Property inspection document? What is that? The property you live in, is it rented or mortgaged? If it is rented, simply submit rent agreement and if mortgaged, you should get a mortgage statement every year and back it up with a mortgage deed.
- The burden of responsibility lays at your door. Your documentation and weight of your documentation is KING!!!
NB:Sorry replying through my smartphone and cannot use BOLDS!!!! LOL(Laptop on a break)
Would not mind paraphrasing my response in bold, vis a vis your reply. But too much work for my poor fingers.

Hi,
Please is a birth certificate needed? I do not have the original of my birth certificate only a copy and they spelt my name wrong (they added an extra I in my first name). Please advice accordingly

FrontPageLawyer:
@Greenwall

Six Months Statement of account is the standard requirement.

Why not get Birth Certificate from NPC?

Hi,
Please can you advise on where in lagos i can do an affidavit? Also must the process be done in the npc office in surulere or there are offices in other parts of lagos?

Joysmart:
that must be fake cos no NPC staff will issue you a birth certificate if you're above 18
Anyway you can always go to the Npc state office to verify the authenticity

Hi Joysmart,
Please can you advise on where in lagos i can do an affidavit? Also must the process be done in the NPC office in surulere or there are offices in other parts of lagos?

Hi,
Please is a birth certificate needed? I do not have the original of my birth certificate only a copy and they spelt my name wrong (they added an extra I in my first name). Please advice accordingly

Davdar:
@ Jangolo

I will advice you to print more of the whatsapp chat if you got them. My hubby applied in July this year and we thought it was too much so we printed just two months of the chat, added money transfer receipt and printed the calls we made to each other. He was refused cus they said the chat wasn't enough so the relationship is not genuine. I posted the refusal letter on my page so you can go through. It was just minor things so we have appealed. And with the questions It depends on the person interviewing you. All the questions here came but the funny question he asked my hubby was: Has he had body contact with me before? When was the last time? Hahahaha

Davdar, Thank you for your reply. Very sorry to hear you were rejected, how is the appeal process going. Hahah that is a very weird question and very private. I will just include as much as possible and blur out messages that are private or controversial. I have not even started the wait but already having sleepless nights lol worrying that I do not make any mistakes.

babyisUS:
It's good you bulk it up. In my case, the whatsapp chats I printed were just from Sept to October. We have both changed phones, so just two months whatsapp chats were all we could get...
But then, we had emails from way back as 2010, when we started dating. So emails from 2010 to present, I included in my documents.. then also call logs and also receipts of gift items hubby has sent me... so,just give them enough proof as possible... it pays to have more than less.

Thank you, really appreciate it. Makes sense

Oreskid:
U re welcome @ jangolo, interview at TLS is random but in most cases if u have been there u wouldn't be interviewed at TLS but sponsor will be interviewed for the last stage of the spouse visa.
Questions
1. Ur full name
2. Date of birth
3. Who u go visit in uk for past visa
4. Family history, like how many siblings, dad name, date of birth and mom too.
5. Sponsor work details
6. Where u planing to live in uk with ur sponsor
7. Uni u attended
8. Where u first met u sponsor and date u first met
9. How u communicate
10. Any prove of gift or cash sent to ur spouse
11. Where u got wedded and date
12. Course of study and wat u will be doing in the UK.
That's all I can remember. Hope it's helps

Thank you very much for your help.

Oreskid:
@ Jangolo, will advice u to print as much page u can cos two pages a month is too small to prove ur relationship but print more from the last six months
The question u re asking for, TLS or ur sponsor interview? Which of the interview. If it's TLS u don't need interview if u have been to the UK before but if not, u will be interviewed
Hope it's helps

Thank you for your reply, I will bulk it up a bit more to prove further. I mean any of the interviews both TLS and Sponsor, I have been to the UK numerous times and lived there for almost 8 years but the last time I applied for a visit visa they interviewed me funny enough.

Hi guys,
Please in terms of relationship evidence. The chat messages between me and my fiance is so much, how many pages per month should be handed in with the application? I was advice that two pages per month will be sufficient.

Also please can anyone advice on the questions which was asked during the interview.

Thanks

Oreskid:
@ Jangolo, I'm surprise too, i don't know the period they are, thanks so much. Waiting for the best

Its crazy, it means they just picked up your case recently. Anyways on a positive note you have not been rejected since they are asking for an interview, I am sure once the interview is done the decision will be made that day or the next.

Oreskid:
@ Faithadunni, Hmmm lovely, good. yes got a phone call to attend interview on Dec 4 and also and email was received today that my application is not straight forward and can't be concluded within the customer service targets. Hope they will call u for interview soon. But don't feel VAF means visa granted cos mails I have been receiving are sent with VAF number

Hey Oreskid, Wow really surprised that after this long they are asking for an interview why didn't they conduct that earlier. Is this peak period or something? Anyways all the best, you will be fine.

Portsmouth86:
Yes its lengthy, best to reapply and address the reasons for refusal, it will be faster then waiting for an appeal I think, however that is each and everyone's own personal choice.

Yes very true makes sense

Hi Guys,
When I heard this story I had to make sure I investigated thoroughly before making a comment. What I did was to go through her instagram, her twitter page and also her blog which she has been updating since 2007. So first of all she claims she was raped by several people during the year 2007 and 2008, I went through her blog and in 2009 when she was residing in America she had a post about the accused being angry with her over her being unfaithful, What she specified in the post is that she only had s*xual activities with a girl and a friend called Namu which was a party. The blogpost can be found here http://sugabellyrocks.com/2009/08/seriously-2.html . If she was raped by several people that he organised why will they be arguing over her being unfaithful sleeping with only two people of which she specified as a girl and Namu?? In addition to the earlier blog post you can find the blog post of her discussing the party arrangement here - http://sugabellyrocks.com/2009/08/the-end-of-elwe.html . As you can read from the blog post her permission was requested before even though she might not have wanted it truly, she was still asked and she agreed.

In my opinion I just feel that she is someone madly in love with the accused and she doesn't want to let go. She wants him to either be with her forever or have no life what so ever. Even after he told her he doesn't want any relation with her again, she kept on stalking him over and over again. You can find evidence in her blogpost here -> http://sugabellyrocks.com/2008/05/one-pill-makes-you-larger-and-one-pill-makes-you-small.html and there are many more where she keeps calling him and saving his pictures from Facebook. The stories she is putting out does not just add up and it seems she is doing this for fame as you can see from her twitter page she keeps advertising her phone cases and her art.

Some girls are very crazy and can never accept when you do not want to have a relationship with them anymore. At the end of the day, someone forcing you to have s*x against your will is bad and also someone forcing you to be in a relationship against your will is also bad. It is not by force if the man is not feeling the relationship you do not need to go on a smear campaign to pay him back.