How I organized our applcation and a summary of all helpful tips I have learned

[lalaBiH]

Thanks for the reply.. i think im just trying to make myself feel better and explain why i did not do that lol.. my application was quite small.. ( about 50 pics , though i did take screenshots of facebook albums that have about 30 pics on each page). I am not from a visa exempt country but my spouse is the same age as me (25), we started dating at 21.. have pictures since then but only chose 1 picture for each "event" .. we both have never been married, speak the same language.. went on plenty of trips together.. have plenty friends in common(pictures of that as well) and had a huge wedding back hoem with not only my family attending but also my best friends from canada.. I didn't think i needed SO MUCH but then again now im kind of scared loool.. i only took about 6-10 skype screenshorts ( about 2 from each year at different points indicating how long went on skype chat in certain months).. i thougth that would be enough ( though we do have viber, whatsapp, facebook chats and so forth.. it just felt pointless and overkill).. hopefully I will be ok though ..

 

[tarina]

I wish I did'nt bother to read this thread. So organised and detailed. Mine I just provide answers on every questions I thought what was nessessary (walang labis walang kulang) I did not wrote a timeline or letters detailing our relationships but I sent photos we had from the start of our relationships to the current (outings, trips, occasions, and etc.) Mailed them in just one envelop (canada post bubble wrap envelop). Lets see if it will sent back.

But good job on this!

 

[pelipeli]

Thanks for the reply.. i think im just trying to make myself feel better and explain why i did not do that lol.. my application was quite small.. ( about 50 pics , though i did take screenshots of facebook albums that have about 30 pics on each page). I am not from a visa exempt country but my spouse is the same age as me (25), we started dating at 21.. have pictures since then but only chose 1 picture for each "event" .. we both have never been married, speak the same language.. went on plenty of trips together.. have plenty friends in common(pictures of that as well) and had a huge wedding back hoem with not only my family attending but also my best friends from canada.. I didn't think i needed SO MUCH but then again now im kind of scared loool.. i only took about 6-10 skype screenshorts ( about 2 from each year at different points indicating how long went on skype chat in certain months).. i thougth that would be enough ( though we do have viber, whatsapp, facebook chats and so forth.. it just felt pointless and overkill).. hopefully I will be ok though ..

I think you'll be fine, your case is simple and very straightforward. Many have been approved with much less don't worry ;D

 

[pelipeli]

I wish I did'nt bother to read this thread. So organised and detailed. Mine I just provide answers on every questions I thought what was nessessary (walang labis walang kulang) I did not wrote a timeline or letters detailing our relationships but I sent photos we had from the start of our relationships to the current (outings, trips, occasions, and etc.) Mailed them in just one envelop (canada post bubble wrap envelop). Lets see if it will sent back.

But good job on this!

if your case is simple and straightforward too then you should be fine. I doubt if they will send it back because of not too much proof.. if they need more, then the Manila VO will request for more, or request for an interview. I think the only reason they will send it back is if you missed a form. ;D

 

[Netkid]

correct, they have to scan everything. ;D

So I send them good Costco prints for nothing!? I got so weary about everything and I've read some of the horror stories, so I just thought to play it safe - but they're scanning it all anyway...ah well!

 

[pelipeli]

So I send them good Costco prints for nothing!? I got so weary about everything and I've read some of the horror stories, so I just thought to play it safe - but they're scanning it all anyway...ah well!

depending on your VO, you get them back! So now you can make a scrapbook out of them ;D
I had all our photos scanned and formatted on MS Publisher, typed in the captions and printed them on A4... I got those all back too. Basically I got everything back except the forms and the identity documents .

 

[Twelfty12]

WHAT A GREAT THREAD!!!

Thank you so much for doing this.
I was all set to mail out my application 2 weeks ago then I came on here to see how everyone was putting it together to send..
I ended up reading every single post on this thread and delayed sending in my application to gather more proof.
I do have a red flag coated situation, so this thread only helped, I am sure of that!

God bless you all

I sent my package out yesterday

 

[pelipeli]

WHAT A GREAT THREAD!!!

Thank you so much for doing this.
I was all set to mail out my application 2 weeks ago then I came on here to see how everyone was putting it together to send..
I ended up reading every single post on this thread and delayed sending in my application to gather more proof.
I do have a red flag coated situation, so this thread only helped, I am sure of that!

God bless you all

I sent my package out yesterday

thanks and you're welcome!
I'm glad you addressed your red flag before you sent it, good for you!
Good luck, waiting time begins!!

 

[mikeymyke]

.. this made my head hurt.. i probably should not have opened this thread AFTER i applied.. lol.. its just SO LONG and SO MUCH that I dont feel any officer would even look at half that stuff.. The timeline is impressive so i guess it does work.. but sometimes i think providing too much could just cause you more problems and make it harder on the visa officer .. Again i dont see the purpose of sending chat logs and conversations which could very well be falsified, or are not understandable anyways. Also it is perfectly resonable not to keep conversations from 2010 on your computer when you just start dating (as getting married and keeping evidence for sponsorship is not on many peoples minds when they just begin their relationship). Anyways this is my own personal opinion.. I just want to give a little input for people like me who may not have included SO MUCH with their application....

I disagree with you. It's always better to give more proofs than less. VOs schedule interviews because they want more information from your application, so they do interviews to get more info. And as you know, we're all trying to avoid the interview as much as possible because it can delay your application by almost a year. If they choose to skim some of your proofs because its too many pages of chat logs, then that's up to them because all the chats are pretty much the typical boring everyday talk.

As for what you said about its reasonable for people not to keep conversations when they're dating, that's true, but most chat programs already save your history from months back by default, its normal to go back to those chats when the topic of sponsorship comes up.

Chat logs and conversations can be falsified yes, but it's not that hard to spot fakes if the VO reads your chats, and knows you and your spouse's mannerisms, the types of names you call each other, etc, little things they expect to see on later chat logs.

 

[Koifish76]

I remember reading this thread awhile back and it was a great help! Thanks.
Our VO is Singapore...my wife is Thai. I find it funny others have the same frame of mind, not risking a TRV, in the case of a denial and further complicating our application. Instead I fly to visit her every 4 months.
As for our application, it weighed 2.9kg. And using the foundation pelpini used, we altered it a bit, into 3 sections, Sponsor, Sponsored spouse, and proof of relationship... In part three, proof of relationship, we had 3 subsections... Relationship details, travel, communication.

In both the sponsor and sponsored spouse sections, we included the forms and a very detailed part on how we met. We think that how you meet is a main criteria the VO looks at and critiques. So, to prove how we met, we had loads of documentation just for that part. Also a narrative summary from each of our point of views.

As for photos, we had I think 43 pages (outlook) of 4 photos per page (printed in colour with good clarity) with dates, they were in order. We travelled a bit and my family came to travel with us one of my trips to see her.

Our wedding was in her hometown in northeast thailand... So we saved all the flights of our friends and family who came to celebrate with us. We also included 30 loose photos of our wedding, and another 20 or so of other occasions.

We just sent in our application... We feel we have done our best. We actually completed 95 percent 6 months ago, but It is such a important application that will affect our families, us, and our future plans, so we waited awhile longer to add more quality, and cut out quite a bit. No receipts in thai, a shorter summary....less table of contents, less photos, letters, communicaton...we just had too much!

Finally, we are definitely relieved our application is in. If i could give any advice, its to try and include anything that you can back up with proof or documentation and in most of our cases i see on here, we all have natural, genuine relationships... And it just all falls together. Good luck everbody!

 

[Koifish76]

Sorry! I meant Pelipeli :

 

[mikeymyke]

Hey good job Koifish, thumbs up to you for spending the time to create a strong application. I've seen too many people just half-ass on their application and then having to wait years to get a visa.

 

[pelipeli]

I remember reading this thread awhile back and it was a great help! Thanks.
Our VO is Singapore...my wife is Thai. I find it funny others have the same frame of mind, not risking a TRV, in the case of a denial and further complicating our application. Instead I fly to visit her every 4 months.
As for our application, it weighed 2.9kg. And using the foundation pelpini used, we altered it a bit, into 3 sections, Sponsor, Sponsored spouse, and proof of relationship... In part three, proof of relationship, we had 3 subsections... Relationship details, travel, communication.

In both the sponsor and sponsored spouse sections, we included the forms and a very detailed part on how we met. We think that how you meet is a main criteria the VO looks at and critiques. So, to prove how we met, we had loads of documentation just for that part. Also a narrative summary from each of our point of views.

As for photos, we had I think 43 pages (outlook) of 4 photos per page (printed in colour with good clarity) with dates, they were in order. We travelled a bit and my family came to travel with us one of my trips to see her.

Our wedding was in her hometown in northeast thailand... So we saved all the flights of our friends and family who came to celebrate with us. We also included 30 loose photos of our wedding, and another 20 or so of other occasions.

We just sent in our application... We feel we have done our best. We actually completed 95 percent 6 months ago, but It is such a important application that will affect our families, us, and our future plans, so we waited awhile longer to add more quality, and cut out quite a bit. No receipts in thai, a shorter summary....less table of contents, less photos, letters, communicaton...we just had too much!

Finally, we are definitely relieved our application is in. If i could give any advice, its to try and include anything that you can back up with proof or documentation and in most of our cases i see on here, we all have natural, genuine relationships... And it just all falls together. Good luck everbody!

Good luck on your application! And sound like you did a wonderful job getting it together! It's always great to have a sense of peace of mind and confidence with your application, definitely helps with the stress of waiting! ;D

 

[Koifish76]

Good luck on your application! And sound like you did a wonderful job getting it together! It's always great to have a sense of peace of mind and confidence with your application, definitely helps with the stress of waiting! ;D

Thanks pelipeli! It's great that you still check in at times.

 

[BradThaiPim]

Can the application be both a mix of English and French? For example, do university degrees in French need to be translated? Do e-mails between us in French need to be translated?