Y3 - 28/365: Business As Usual

This is the look I get before he stumbles at me, full (Ryan) speed, and flops himself across my belly whist screaming and squealing his little baby lungs out. He's pretty hilarious, actually.

I checked my bank account today and noticed that exactly £840 has "mysteriously vanished" from the balance -- I suspect UK Border Agency have their money then. Greedy punks. At least my app is complete and mailed, they have received it (and my money) and I hope to possibly get a decision by mid-November at the latest.

I must say, the ILR application has by far been the easiest and most simple to fill out and submit along with evidence. For those not familiar with the tedious process of immigration to a foreign country, this is what we sent:

1. Application - containing 2 passport photos of myself and 1 of Matt
2. Both my own and Matt's actual passport (to prove identity and for me to get my new visa vignette in mine)
3. Evidence of Finances (6 months of bank statements to show we have an income)
4. Knowledge of Life in the UK (my pass certificate from taking the ridiculous test)
5. Evidence of Cohabitation - this is supposed to be 6 things addressed jointly covering the past two years to prove we have lived together, and they have to be from at least 3 different sources (I sent 17 in total, some addressed to each of us separately, ranging from tenancy agreements, council tax bills, and Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, just to be safe).

And that's it. Previous applications, such as the Fiance visa, required things like phone records, photos together, and evidence of intervening devotion since we were in separate countries at the time. Then for my spousal visa, which was done in person, we had to include our marriage certificate and a budget.

I have told Matt once we get this one back in the post, I want to celebrate by shredding all of our documents we've saved the past two years solely for this application. I'll be so happy once I'm no longer under the thumb of immigration control!

Day 34 of 365: Legally Meg

Today was yet ANOTHER big day...my appointment in Solihull (Birmingham) at the UK Border Agency's Public Enquiry Office for my Further Leave to Remain. Matt and I were ushered through security and didn't have to wait long before our number was called. We met with a woman behind a plate-glass window who asked for our passports, Matt's bank statements and payslips, and the application for Further Leave to Remain. She briefly flipped through Matt's bank statements and proceeded to cut out our passport photos with a scrap-booking-style die-cut punch. (Note to self: I NEED to get one of those!) Then she asked for our marriage certificate and sent us down to the payment window to release £595 of pretty purple British notes...

*A moment of silence, please...*

We were told the wait for my visa extension vignette sticker would be about an hour, so we popped out to have a mooch around some shops and a steak slice and piece of carrot cake from Firkins. We decided to return 45 minutes later only to find the big wooden doors to the UK Public Enquiry Office locked!! Panic set in...but it wasn't long until the security guard opened the door and asked if we were number thirty-seven. Apparently they had just called our number to say that my passport was ready!!

As you can see, my photo is absolutely HIDEOUS! The photo kiosks around here need to allow you to photo-shop some color into your skin and lighten the contrast before printing your photos. I don't think it helps that you're required to keep a neutral expression in a passport-style photo. I always joke that my original passport photo (from 2006) makes me look like the old woman from "Throw Mama From the Train" but this one surely takes the cake! So, because of that, I felt the need to submit further proof that I really don't think I look so horrendous today...you be the judge...

See? Normal. Not like I belong to part of the Cullen family in Twilight as I may appear in the photo above. Plus, this was just another excuse to include a piccy of the new hubbalicious hubby. I like to pretend he LOVES when I take 12+ photos until I find a good one. The man's gotta love me to put up with it, that's for sure.

So, needless to say, in addition to being married to the greatest person in my life, I am now officially a UK resident and can FINALLY work...LEGALLY!

Day 4 of 365: Game on!

With the help of his trusty side-kick, Myst (fat cat to the right), Matt carefully scans the map to make his next strategic move. Who would have thought a video game could be so elaborate and require keen map-reading skills. I guess Grand Theft Auto's not all about bitches and hoes after all.

Also, we received a bit of good news today! Below you will see our reaction after said "good news."


We're even happier than the photo portrays. One of the main reasons is we've been dealing with a lot of extra stress lately on top of worrying about getting things sorted for getting married and then me getting my FLR(M) (Further Leave to Remain for Marriage) -- which is basically an extension on my 6 month Fiancé visa that allows me to continue living in the UK for 2 more years, but also gives me permission to work. It basically costs a liver or kidney (maybe even one's first born) to pay for this special extension/permission. And now a bit of a weight has been lifted as we are finally making our first of two big trips to Birmingham --this one will be to give notice of marriage at the register office on Monday. From there we must contact our local registrar in Dudley to book the wedding, and then wait 17 days before we can get married. Once we're married, we get to go back to Birmingham to apply in person for my FLR(M) and hopefully walk out that same day with approval. It will cost more to do it in person, but at the risk of sending it through the post and having to wait an additional 8+ weeks to work, it will pay for itself once I'm working.

With that in mind, we are two VERY happy and grateful bunnies right now. Everything is finally falling into place.