A Few Questions Regarding Settlement Visa

[jimbobalooba]

hi i am currently in the process of buying a house, for me and my thai wife to live in if she gets the settlement visa (fingers crossed).

now the mortgage of the house will have a severe dent in my bank balance. will this have a bearing on my application. as come the time of the application i will have £3000 in an isa account, but 2000 in credit card debt. and after all the cost of the bills are taken in to account. i will have 60 pounds every week to spare.

my wife will obviuosly be wanting to work here and add to the household income.

all in all will this be enough to convince them to believe i have enough funds to support my wife?

also i recently took 8 weeks off work and have returned to work 2 weeks ago. my wages and bank statements only state i was getting £70 statutory sick pay per week for that time period.and not the £300 a week i normally earn. in my time off work i visited the land of smiles to be with my girlfriend. will they in any way use this against me ,as when i hand my wage slips in for the application they may not think i have been earning the relevant fund sfor supporting her and will they think i cheated the system in my time off work?

thanks. a worried jim

[markr]

Jimbob,

I think you might be suprised as to how little the embassy think you need to keep your wife, i'm not sure exactly how much it is thats required, but I dont think its a lot! i'm sure one of the other guy's will know.

I cant be much help but, if you look at it this way, having a mortgage (regardless of how much it is) can only be a good thing, and secondly your credit card debt is probably well below the uk average!

Mate, as i said I dont know figures,and i dont have a clue about the sick pay bit, but dont worry! when you think about it it's the sort of thing the embassy see everyday

Mark

[Mossfinn]

hi i am currently in the process of buying a house, for me and my thai wife to live in if she gets the settlement visa (fingers crossed).

now the mortgage of the house will have a severe dent in my bank balance. will this have a bearing on my application. as come the time of the application i will have £3000 in an isa account, but 2000 in credit card debt. and after all the cost of the bills are taken in to account. i will have 60 pounds every week to spare. There is no specific amount laid down that you require to support your wife, just the BE belief that you can. Try and set out with evidence how you are likely to do that, try and leave as little to the assumptive nature of the staff.

my wife will obviuosly be wanting to work here and add to the household income. This obviously isn't my comment in red

all in all will this be enough to convince them to believe i have enough funds to support my wife? Well, I don't think anybody will confirm that without any doubt.

also i recently took 8 weeks off work and have returned to work 2 weeks ago. my wages and bank statements only state i was getting £70 statutory sick pay per week for that time period.and not the £300 a week i normally earn. in my time off work i visited the land of smiles to be with my girlfriend. will they in any way use this against me ,as when i hand my wage slips in for the application they may not think i have been earning the relevant fund sfor supporting her and will they think i cheated the system in my time off work?

Do you have Doctors Certs declaring your inability to work? Remember you have to prove that you can support your wife, have you got a job now?

You say you took time off work, were you signed off? Which means unless a Dr signed you back on within the period of the sickness you had no choice but to withold from working, the company would not be insured, so to be a pedant, you didn't take it voluntarily but were forced to.

thanks. a worried jim

As an aside, why do you have 3K in an ISA but 2K CC debt? It might be more prudent to pay off your CC @ a high % rate than the lower % rate, even tax free ISA, this would allow you have more disposable income each month.

Good Luck

Moss

Edit I appear to have got some of the colours mixed up, apologies for that

Edited March 20, 2007 by Mossfinn

[mickyboy]

hi i am currently in the process of buying a house, for me and my thai wife to live in if she gets the settlement visa (fingers crossed).

now the mortgage of the house will have a severe dent in my bank balance. will this have a bearing on my application. as come the time of the application i will have £3000 in an isa account, but 2000 in credit card debt. and after all the cost of the bills are taken in to account. i will have 60 pounds every week to spare.

my wife will obviuosly be wanting to work here and add to the household income.

all in all will this be enough to convince them to believe i have enough funds to support my wife?

also i recently took 8 weeks off work and have returned to work 2 weeks ago. my wages and bank statements only state i was getting £70 statutory sick pay per week for that time period.and not the £300 a week i normally earn. in my time off work i visited the land of smiles to be with my girlfriend. will they in any way use this against me ,as when i hand my wage slips in for the application they may not think i have been earning the relevant fund sfor supporting her and will they think i cheated the system in my time off work?

thanks. a worried jim

hi well i just got fiancee visa for uk for my tobe thai wife and i own my place mortgage free and have good job i also show saving of over £80.000 yes £80.000 and at the interview she was grilled for 40 minets about who what where and when we know each other over 3years and provided everything but i still think its bit of a lottery she told me the interpreter woman very good although she speaks very good english herself

as for the money they say you need to prove thats you can keep her and its £54 aweek which is the allowace that the goverment give you for single person to live on hope you get it so much paper work and worry and your destiny in the hands of someone else its awfull not knowing the outcome limbo land

[mickyboy]

hi i am currently in the process of buying a house, for me and my thai wife to live in if she gets the settlement visa (fingers crossed).

now the mortgage of the house will have a severe dent in my bank balance. will this have a bearing on my application. as come the time of the application i will have £3000 in an isa account, but 2000 in credit card debt. and after all the cost of the bills are taken in to account. i will have 60 pounds every week to spare.

my wife will obviuosly be wanting to work here and add to the household income.

all in all will this be enough to convince them to believe i have enough funds to support my wife?

also i recently took 8 weeks off work and have returned to work 2 weeks ago. my wages and bank statements only state i was getting £70 statutory sick pay per week for that time period.and not the £300 a week i normally earn. in my time off work i visited the land of smiles to be with my girlfriend. will they in any way use this against me ,as when i hand my wage slips in for the application they may not think i have been earning the relevant fund sfor supporting her and will they think i cheated the system in my time off work?

thanks. a worried jim

hi well i just got fiancee visa for uk for my tobe thai wife and i own my place mortgage free and have good job i also show saving of over £80.000 yes £80.000 and at the interview she was grilled for 40 minets about who what where and when we know each other over 3years and provided everything but i still think its bit of a lottery she told me the interpreter woman very good although she speaks very good english herself

as for the money they say you need to prove thats you can keep her and its £54 aweek which is the allowace that the goverment give you for single person to live on hope you get it so much paper work and worry and your destiny in the hands of someone else its awfull not knowing the outcome limbo land

im back and to be honest she has to convice them at the interview to see if your genuine remeber after april all is going to get tighter in imagration to this country and visa fees go through the roof as i say its at the interview they try trick her to see if she real ask my fiancee 4 times my post code and my daughters names and ages

many ? about our times together

best of luck be posertive

[markr]

Moss's idea about the isa sounds good it'll certainly free up your card payment each month.

+ moss is always right he's from oxford! ha haa (ignore me jim)

Cheers for the stars moss

Mark

[Mossfinn]

as for the money they say you need to prove thats you can keep her and its £54 aweek which is the allowace that the goverment give you for single person to live on

Hi Micky,

Just to clarify, is this money what the Gov't doles out to a single in allowances if he is not working?

I am not sure it has the same relationship in regard to immigration matters, you have to prove that you can support her, I am not aware of any Gov't help web site that makes specific reference to a particular figure.

I am not saying you are wrong, just not sure myslf.

Good Luck

Moss

[Mossfinn]

Moss's idea about the isa sounds good it'll certainly free up your card payment each month.

+ moss is always right he's from oxford! ha haa (ignore me jim) There are a lot of people that would disagree with you and just because I am in Oxford doesn't mean I am from Oxford

Cheers for the stars moss My Pleasure

Mark

Good Luck

Moss

[Guemlum]

"hi well i just got fiancee visa for uk for my to be thai wife and i own my place mortgage free and have good job i also show saving of over £80,000 yes £80,000"

Blimey mickyboy, not many people in your situation right now. You want a boyfriend as well

Well done with the visa app and dont tell your fiance how much your worth

Guemlum

[the scouser]

There is no hard and fast rule about how much money you should earn in order to meet the maintenance aspect of the immigration rules. As a genral rule of thumb, if you have sufficient to service your debts and a bit left over, this should be construed as enough. Additionally, the visa officer should consider your wife's chances of gaining employment in the U.K., so if she has any professional qualifications, evidence of them should be submitted with the application.

Scouse.

[atlastaname]

Jimbobalooba, as Mickyboy's post shows ,the visa system certainly as far as Bangkok is concerned, is a real lottery. To be frank your finances aren't great are they and although you will no doubt heed the various advice given above , the reality is that in your case it rather depends on who you get on the day reviewing your application. The exact criteria are deliberately kept vague so that an ECO has great discretion to grant or refuse . The downside to this deliberate policy is that different ECO's will see borderline cases differently resulting in the same case being granted by some whilst refused by others.

[GU22]

The criteria are not deliberately kept vague, there is no set criteria as every case is different.

From Chapter 9 – The maintenance and accommodation requirements

9.3 - Maintenance: General requirements

There is no prescribed minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. Appeals Tribunals and the higher courts have consistently upheld the principle that the appropriate level of maintenance without recourse to public funds varies widely from case to case

9.7 - Assessing adequate means of maintenance for fiancé(e)s and spouses or civil partners

If the applicant and/or sponsor has skills or qualifications which offer a reasonable chance of obtaining employment or already has employment arranged, that should be viewed as sufficient to meet the maintenance requirement without having to make further enquiries.

You should be satisfied that job offers are genuine and the work likely to last for the foreseeable future.

Factors such as the unemployment situation in the area in which the couple intend to settle may be taken into account. High unemployment in a particular area or amongst a certain age group with particular skills, (or lack of them) is not in itself sufficient to show that the requirement has not been met. It would be relevant if the couple’s plans were not realistic or if they did not have any skills or qualifications.

Members of the couple’s families in the UK may offer to maintain the couple adequately until they can do so from their own resources. This is acceptable in the case of fiancé(e)s / proposed civil partners who are not permitted to work until the marriage / civil partnership. However, for spouses or civil partners, such an arrangement would not satisfy the Rules, which require the couple to maintain themselves. Nevertheless it may be appropriate in certain circumstances to exercise discretion for a spouse or civil partner where it is clear that such an arrangement will be for a limited period and that the couple will be in a position to maintain themselves shortly after the applicant’s arrival in the UK.

The following list, which is not comprehensive, is intended as a guide to the factors which may need to be considered when assessing means of maintenance:

the applicant’s past and current employment;

the applicant’s educational qualifications and any other skills or qualifications which the applicant has that could be of assistance in getting started in the UK;

the sponsor’s current or proposed employment.

any plans the applicant has for employment in the UK;

any arrangements which have been made, or could be made, by the sponsor, any other relatives, friends or contacts in the UK in connection with the plans for employment;

any support which will be forthcoming from others.

[topdjdel]

just a little idea,

Why dont you do a balance transfer on your existing cc to a lower if not 0% interest for x amount of months.

Therefor you can produce a statement from the cc company with £2k avialable funds,also if you have other cc statements which has funds available use them also.I did.

Remember how you pay back CC's is up to the individual ,as long as the minimum payment or least£5(i think)is paid monthly.

Maybe of some help.

delboy

[atlastaname]

To GU22, ....the line "each case is different.." is used by the govt as a way of keeping the criteria vague so as to give ECO's the power to refuse "unsuitable" cases that otherwise qualify. Actually its rubbish to say all cases are different ...many are virtually identical. As i have said before ....farang meets Thai girl, girl has nothing, wants to bring her to UK, she has nothing really to return to Thailand for. SOOOOO typical of so many posts here. So not difficult to set fixed criteria ...they just don't want to for reasons i have already given above.

Back on topic.... to the OP , i still think your case is borderline. Its your business but just a thought...when you bought your house why didn't you borrow a bit more and give yourself more money left over to pay off the cc bill and boost your savings? Anyway you didn't , so the best you can do as there is no fixed criteria is read all that has been written and make the best presentation you can ... and then hope that the visa lottery gives you an ECO who is not looking for reasons to refuse you.

[sgunn65]

Hi

Having just got a settlement visa and having read threads about the same for the last 3 months I can only conclude you are entering a lottery!!!

I earn decent money and have a mortgage but I have cc debts that would make you blanche! However when I did my application I listed my wages (with evidence) and then listed ESSENTIAL outgoings. That is council tax, electric, etc. The bills you have to pay. The rest is your disposable income. If you choose to dispose of it by paying debts that is your choice. I only showed essential outgoings and a gross dispoable income.

Given all that I only met my wife at the end of October 2006. She was grilled for 40 minutes but was ok. One of the best things we did to prepare for the interview was to get her to understand the difference between the Thai and the British Psyche. Understanding that she would not lose face by not knowing something made her more relaxed and confident. They did not actually spend too much time on the relationship aspect.

Make sue you have loads of evidence of the relationship. I gave them copies of over 200 e mails, phone bills, photos etc.

The best of luck in your application

Simon

[GU22]

To GU22, ....the line "each case is different.." is used by the govt as a way of keeping the criteria vague so as to give ECO's the power to refuse "unsuitable" cases that otherwise qualify.

Do you read posts? It says clearly in the DSPs I linked to that it is not the government that says they cannot set a figure, it is the courts!

There is no prescribed minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. Appeals Tribunals and the higher courts have consistently upheld the principle that the appropriate level of maintenance without recourse to public funds varies widely from case to case

(My emphasis)

[atlastaname]

To GU22, ....the line "each case is different.." is used by the govt as a way of keeping the criteria vague so as to give ECO's the power to refuse "unsuitable" cases that otherwise qualify.

Do you read posts? It says clearly in the DSPs I linked to that it is not the government that says they cannot set a figure, it is the courts!

There is no prescribed minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. Appeals Tribunals and the higher courts have consistently upheld the principle that the appropriate level of maintenance without recourse to public funds varies widely from case to case

(My emphasis)

In reply GU22 i have to ask "CAN you read?". The link you attached is not saying that the Govt can not set any criteria, it is saying that , in the absence of such exact criteria , the courts are interpreting the current rules as above. If the govt wanted to set exact figures they could, (just like they can tell smokers they cannot smoke at a bus stop) and anyone wanting to challenge them could still do so under judicial review. The Thai govt does a similar thing with the retirement visa , it sets out EXACT figures which , if you pass, you get the visa . The British Government could do the same , they just don't want to as this way they can filter out their interpretation of "undesirables" (e.g. the govt's obsession with keeping out bar girls if they possibly can). In the specific examples i gave ,repeated here for your convenience, ( UK citizen meets girl, girl has next to nothing , they have a relationship, he is financially ok, she has no real reason to return, ) , the circumstances are virtually identical , and these are the ones we get asked about almost daily on Thaivisa.

It would be very easy for them to set exact conditions as the Thai authorities do , but it doesn't suit them to do so for their own political ends.

[GU22]

It would be very easy for them to set exact conditions as the Thai authorities do , but it doesn't suit them to do so for their own political ends.

I have neither the time nor inclination to go into a lecture on the British Constitution and the role of Parliament and the judiciary and the difference between statute law and common law.

Suffice it to say that, as it says in the DSPs, any attempt by the government to set an exact financial criteria would be overturned the first time someone appealed in court against it. As has already happened

Appeals Tribunals and the higher courts have consistently upheld the principle that the appropriate level of maintenance without recourse to public funds varies widely from case to case

The fact that the Thai government does set such a minimum figure is irrelevant; it is immigration into the UK we are talking about, not Thailand. The last time I looked Thailand was an independent country and not subject to UK law.

[BIGJIMMY]

Heed the advice on here and good luck.

Jimmy