UK Visa - financial requirements

[JPJordan]

Hi everyone - I have read other threads related to this question but haven't found the exact answers I'm looking for, please feel free to redirect me if needed.

 

In a nutshell: myself and my girlfriend (Myanmar citizen) would like to go to the UK to stay. I'm a British citizen with British passport. We both live and work in Thailand currently - she has a Certificate of Identity and Work Permit (as well as a Myanmar passport, though she uses the CI and WP to stay in Thailand) and I have a non-immigrant visa and work permit. We are also now expecting a baby, due next June. We are thinking to all move together to the UK at the end of next year.

 

The problem: we both work for NGOs, and our salaries are not even close to the minimum requirement for the settlement visa. I would say that, combined, we earn the equivalent of about 11,000 pounds a year.

 

Basically I'm looking for ideas or advice on the best way forward. I understand that income for the family visa can be supplemented by other means, but we don't have any savings, investments etc. What about parents' income - can showing evidence of that be used to supplement our salaries? Or would it be a good idea to have my parents (temporarily!) send some money into my bank account just for the visa process? Would this have to be transferred regular in the six months prior to the visa application? 

 

I am confident that I can get a job once in the UK that would easily cover these financial requirements; the problem is that I have read that you have to show the required salary for six months before applying. Is that true? Is it not possible just to show a job offer letter to show that I will be earning the required amount soon? Ideally I would prefer not having to leave them behind in Thailand/Myanmar for six months while I work in the UK.

 

Another possibility is for her and the baby to visit on a Tourist Visa, during which time I can find work for the necessart financial requirements to be met. The down side of course being that she would have to leave UK and apply for a family visa on her own, leaving the newborn in the UK with me (not that I'm completely incompetent, but it would be awful to separate them for three months, and even then there's no guarantee her application would be successful).

 

I had thought the fiance visa might be a good alternative - however, it seems that the salary requirements apply for this visa too.

 

So I am seeking any advice, ideas or otherwise about how to best bring our new family together to the UK. Thanks in advance for your kind help!

[rasg]

It's quite a chunk of savings to be in your account for six months or more. £62,500 if you are relying on no other income. You will also have to explain where you got it from.

 

The fiancée visa has the same £18,600 pa or £62.500 savings requirement as a spouse visa. They are both settlement/spouse visas. It's the route that my wife took to come here to live permanently and we married here in the UK and then applied for FLR. (Further leave to remain). You have to get married in the six month duration of the visa. No NHS surcharge for a six month fiancée visa but the following two FLR visas needed (30 months each) and the NHS surcharges are £1000 each. 

 

Getting married in Thailand is the cheaper way of doing things though. The legal bit in Thailand is cheap and the settlement visa is 33 months long. The downside is that you have to pay the NHS surcharge on top of the cost of the visa. £1200 if I remember correctly. It's followed by a single 30 month period of FLR.

 

The last visa needed after living here for five years is Indefinite leave to remain. (Around £2500, if I remember correctly). 

 

For either of the visas I have mentioned your GF will need a language test and a TB test.

 

Hope I've explained it well enough. It's getting late.

[brewsterbudgen]

I don't think there are ways around the financial requirements.  Your best bet would be to come to the UK and get a job paying the minimum requirement, and just accept that there will be a 6-month separation. Lots of people have had to face this.  Your girlfriend may be able to get a UK Visitor visa to come and see you during that time, but it's not guaranteed as UKVI may suspect she's trying to skip the Settlement visa process.  If she did get a Visitor visa, she would have to return to Thailand/Myanmar to apply for the Settlement visa.  Your child should be fine, but you will need to get him/her a UK passport as soon as you can.

 

Good luck.

[Tony M]

As often happens here, the OP’s questions are not answered in a response. With respect, the OP is not interested in how easy you found it to make an application, or how much it will cost him to get ILR. He wants to know if his partner can qualify for the initial settlement visa. To go through his questions:

 

“I would say that, combined, we earn the equivalent of about 11,000 pounds a year.”

As you are aware, that will not meet the financial requirement. Nor could your partner’s income be taken into account, at this stage, to meet the requirement. So, you have to look at other ways of meeting the financial threshold.

 

“ What about parents' income - can showing evidence of that be used to supplement our salaries?”   No, it is only your income that can be used to meet the initial entry clearance financial requirement.

 

“Or would it be a good idea to have my parents (temporarily!) send some money into my bank account just for the visa process? Would this have to be transferred regular in the six months prior to the visa application?”   As above, their income cannot be used.

 

“I am confident that I can get a job once in the UK that would easily cover these financial requirements; the problem is that I have read that you have to show the required salary for six months before applying. “ Yes, that is correct, and you must have a job to go to in the UK within 3 months of arrival.

 

“Is it not possible just to show a job offer letter to show that I will be earning the required amount soon? “ No, that isn’t possible.

 

As rasg has said, the income requirement can be met by using cash savings, but it is not as simple as rasg states it. The cash savings requirement, if you have no employment income, is 62,500 GBP. This balance must have been in your personal bank account (or your partner’s) for at least 6 months. You will have to declare where the money came from, and it cannot be a loan, mortgage, borrowed, etc. It can, however, be gifted to you or your partner, and you will need to make a declaration stating this, and say where the money was gifted from and who gifted it. The “gifter” will need to show that they had sufficient funds to do this, and that they didn’t just borrow the money themselves, or take a loan, or whatever, in order to make the gift (this is not stated in the financial requirements, but ECOs are aware that it is easy to gift funds, and are able to ask for evidence that the money was not borrowed, etc by the gifter. The gifter should also confirm that the money is a gift, and that it will not be returned to them. You can also use the equity from a property sale, if you, or your partner, own the property and sell it.

 

brewsterbudgeon is correct, you should get a British passport for the baby next year. If not, then the financial thresholds will be higher.

[Almer]

25 minutes ago, Tony M said:

As often happens here, the OP’s questions are not answered in a response. With respect, the OP is not interested in how easy you found it to make an application, or how much it will cost him to get ILR. He wants to know if his partner can qualify for the initial settlement visa. To go through his questions:

 

“I would say that, combined, we earn the equivalent of about 11,000 pounds a year.”

As you are aware, that will not meet the financial requirement. Nor could your partner’s income be taken into account, at this stage, to meet the requirement. So, you have to look at other ways of meeting the financial threshold.

 

“ What about parents' income - can showing evidence of that be used to supplement our salaries?”   No, it is only your income that can be used to meet the initial entry clearance financial requirement.

 

“Or would it be a good idea to have my parents (temporarily!) send some money into my bank account just for the visa process? Would this have to be transferred regular in the six months prior to the visa application?”   As above, their income cannot be used.

 

“I am confident that I can get a job once in the UK that would easily cover these financial requirements; the problem is that I have read that you have to show the required salary for six months before applying. “ Yes, that is correct, and you must have a job to go to in the UK within 3 months of arrival.

 

“Is it not possible just to show a job offer letter to show that I will be earning the required amount soon? “ No, that isn’t possible.

 

As rasg has said, the income requirement can be met by using cash savings, but it is not as simple as rasg states it. The cash savings requirement, if you have no employment income, is 62,500 GBP. This balance must have been in your personal bank account (or your partner’s) for at least 6 months. You will have to declare where the money came from, and it cannot be a loan, mortgage, borrowed, etc. It can, however, be gifted to you or your partner, and you will need to make a declaration stating this, and say where the money was gifted from and who gifted it. The “gifter” will need to show that they had sufficient funds to do this, and that they didn’t just borrow the money themselves, or take a loan, or whatever, in order to make the gift (this is not stated in the financial requirements, but ECOs are aware that it is easy to gift funds, and are able to ask for evidence that the money was not borrowed, etc by the gifter. The gifter should also confirm that the money is a gift, and that it will not be returned to them. You can also use the equity from a property sale, if you, or your partner, own the property and sell it.

 

brewsterbudgeon is correct, you should get a British passport for the baby next year. If not, then the financial thresholds will be higher.

Well done good reply to original request

[Almer]

I understand the financials but always wonder why.

 

£62500 in cash, or a job @ 18.500,

18.500 x 2.5 years =£46.000 or a mix.

i would have considered 46.000 safe in a bank gives more security than a job that could come to an end 1 week after the visa issue.

Why is there the  disparity of an over inflated cash sum against an insecure job offer.

If you use a mix, the first £16000 is not used in the calculation as i understand.

So i understand a job with a salary of £16.000 would then need £16.000 + £2000 pa for the 30 months

 

Apologies if the figures are not exact.

[theoldgit]

Post in breach of forum rules removed.

[JPJordan]

Thank you all for your responses, I appreciate all your thoughts!

 

I had another thought today - does the financial requirement have to be earned in the UK or can it be anywhere? If I was able to secure a higher paying job inside Thailand, or even in Myanmar - one where the salary met the requirement - and worked there for six months, could we then apply for the UK visa? That would seem to solve most of the problems I raised.

 

rasg - am I right in thinking that we can apply for the family/settlement visa just ('just') as partners? ie. that we don't have to be married to apply for the family visa, and we don't have to apply for the fiance visa if we are not married; we can apply for the family visa showing evidence of a two year relationship? (I think I read that on the .gov website). I just ask because your answer suggested that marriage either in the UK or in Thailand would be a requirement.

 

 

[theoldgit]

Have you read the actual Finance Requirements as published by the Home Office, the requirements are explained in some detail, and they provide some examples.

Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf

[rasg]

 

8 hours ago, JPJordan said:

rasg - am I right in thinking that we can apply for the family/settlement visa just ('just') as partners? ie. that we don't have to be married to apply for the family visa, and we don't have to apply for the fiance visa if we are not married; we can apply for the family visa showing evidence of a two year relationship? (I think I read that on the .gov website). I just ask because your answer suggested that marriage either in the UK or in Thailand would be a requirement.

If you can prove that you have been in a partnership for two years or more, sure, it's the equivalent of being married but it won't save you much, if that's what you are trying to do. There are possible problems with partnership visas, in the sense that time together on a visit visa don't contribute to the two years together that is required. It won't affect the two of you. That's why I got down on one knee. It was the simplest way of being together and not spending too much time apart. That was in 2016 when a settlement visa only took around two weeks.

[globalThailand]

11 hours ago, JPJordan said:

I had another thought today - does the financial requirement have to be earned in the UK or can it be anywhere? If I was able to secure a higher paying job inside Thailand, or even in Myanmar - one where the salary met the requirement - and worked there for six months, could we then apply for the UK visa? That would seem to solve most of the problems I raised.

That's pretty much what we did.  I was just on the edge of the financial requirement so I had a couple of nail biting weeks watching the exchange rate after we applied but yes, if you got a higher paid position in Thailand (or elsewhere) that met the financial requirement then you can do that for 6 months prior to application.

 

We also married in Thailand and, as long as you have some certified translations of the documents, then that is recognised in the UK and can be used in your application.

[Tony M]

4 hours ago, globalThailand said:

That's pretty much what we did.  I was just on the edge of the financial requirement so I had a couple of nail biting weeks watching the exchange rate after we applied but yes, if you got a higher paid position in Thailand (or elsewhere) that met the financial requirement then you can do that for 6 months prior to application.

 

We also married in Thailand and, as long as you have some certified translations of the documents, then that is recognised in the UK and can be used in your application.

That is not necessarily correct information, and again gives the applicant and sponsor false hope.  It may or may not be possible. If the sponsor has not been with his employer for less than 6 months (which would be the case if he changed to a higher paying job now), then he must show that he has earned 18,600 GBP in the 12 months prior to the date of application. However, if the sponsor's income is high enough, and he can show that he earned 18,600 GBP in the 6 months prior to the date of application, then he would meet the requirement. It might also be possible to show that he qualifies with "variable income" over the 12 months prior to the date of application, using his current income towards meeting the 8,600 GBP. But it will depend on documentation, etc.

 

With respect to all, if you want to give helpful guidance, then please be sure of what your are telling an OP. If they use your "guidance", and then the application is refused, will you take responsibility for the loss of visa fees, etc ?  I know that many say that it's not necessary to use agents, etc, but this seems to be a good example of when professional advice and experience can be helpful.

[globalThailand]

With respect to you Tony you did read my post?  As I explained to the OP he would need to be on that higher rate, meeting the financial requirement, for 6 months prior to the application.  Also I'd like to point out an error on your part where you suggest he would need to earn the full £18600 in the six months prior to the application.   That is not correct.  Please refer to 5.2.1 on the Home Office document

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826340/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1.pdf

 

Quote

They must have been paid throughout that period of 6 months at a level of gross annual salary or income which equals or exceeds the level relied upon in the application.

 

The OP asked for "advice, ideas or otherwise about how to best bring our new family together to the UK" and that is exactly what we have provided.  I personally strive to give accurate and clear information but I'm sure we can all appreciate that nothing posted here should be taken as legal advice.  The responsibility for the application is entirely with the applicant.   

[kevinmartyn]

Sorry to be a breaker of bad news but you are stuffed! Bottom line is it aint so easy to find a job in the UK. To put it in a nutshell my own son living in Scotland is (39) with a 1st Class Hons, two masters degrees is now approaching 10 months unemployed!

 

To that end getting a UK Visa aint easy for an Asian female. If you have property in UK then OK maybe but you need to CLEARLY show you can take care of yourselfes!

 

Good luck with the massiv task

[Tony M]

10 hours ago, globalThailand said:

With respect to you Tony you did read my post?  As I explained to the OP he would need to be on that higher rate, meeting the financial requirement, for 6 months prior to the application.  Also I'd like to point out an error on your part where you suggest he would need to earn the full £18600 in the six months prior to the application.   That is not correct.  Please refer to 5.2.1 on the Home Office document

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826340/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1.pdf

 

 

The OP asked for "advice, ideas or otherwise about how to best bring our new family together to the UK" and that is exactly what we have provided.  I personally strive to give accurate and clear information but I'm sure we can all appreciate that nothing posted here should be taken as legal advice.  The responsibility for the application is entirely with the applicant.   

 

5.2.1 refers to returning sponsors who have been with the same employer overseas for more than 6 months. You advice is for him to obtain new employment at a higher salary.  He will then not have been with his employer for more than 6 months, and must therefore qualify under Category B. He will therefore need to meet the requirements under 5.4.1, not under 5.2.1.

 

5.4. Category B: Less than 6 months with current employer or variable income – overseas sponsor returning to the UK

5.4.1 Where the applicant’s partner is returning with the applicant to the UK to work, they do not have to be in employment at the date of application to rely on Category B. Instead, the financial requirement must be met and evidenced in two parts in the following way.

 

5.4.2. First, the applicant’s partner must have a confirmed offer of salaried or non-salaried employment to return to in the UK (starting within 3 months of their return). This must have a gross annual starting salary (or in non-salaried employment a gross annual income from that employment, based on the rate or amount of pay and the standard or core hours to be worked provided by the employer in evidence) sufficient to meet the financial requirement, alone or in combination with any or all the sources at section 5.3.6. (Category C non-employment income, Category D cash savings and Category E: pension).

5.4.3. Second, the couple returning to the UK must in addition have received in the 12 months prior to the date of application the level of income required to meet the financial requirement, based on
 The gross amount of salaried or non-salaried employment income overseas of the applicant’s partner; etc,etc

 

I also said (suggested, as you say) that he could qualify in 6 months if his income (in his new job) was high enough to be annualised at 18,600 GBP a year. That is, if he earned a monthly salary of 3,100 GBP he would qualify in 6 months as his annualised income would then be 18,600 GBP. In theory he could qualify in one month, if he earned 18,600 GBP in that one month, but it is the total income earned in the full 12 months prior to the date of application that the ECO will be looking at, not 6 months. The sponsor can only qualify under Category B (12 months income), not Category A (6 months income).  He might, of course, be able to use his current salary/income towards meeting the requirement over the 12 months prior to the date of application. That would lower the required 3,100 GBP a month needed.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Tony M

[Tony M]

13 hours ago, globalThailand said:

With respect to you Tony you did read my post?  As I explained to the OP he would need to be on that higher rate, meeting the financial requirement, for 6 months prior to the application.  Also I'd like to point out an error on your part where you suggest he would need to earn the full £18600 in the six months prior to the application.   That is not correct.  Please refer to 5.2.1 on the Home Office document

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826340/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1.pdf

 

 

The OP asked for "advice, ideas or otherwise about how to best bring our new family together to the UK" and that is exactly what we have provided.  I personally strive to give accurate and clear information but I'm sure we can all appreciate that nothing posted here should be taken as legal advice.  The responsibility for the application is entirely with the applicant.   

Having re-read the OP's post #8 it looks like he is happy to stay in Thailand until sometime next year. He could then, indeed, possibly qualify under category A, but not until he has been in the higher paying job for 6 months at least.  As I said earlier, he could possibly qualify earlier, depending on his new, higher, salary and his current salary combined, but that will have to be under Category B, with 12 months total income of 18,600 GBP. 

[GeorgeCross]

On 11/4/2019 at 9:46 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

I don't think there are ways around the financial requirements.  Your best bet would be to come to the UK and get a job paying the minimum requirement, and just accept that there will be a 6-month separation. Lots of people have had to face this.  Your girlfriend may be able to get a UK Visitor visa to come and see you during that time, but it's not guaranteed as UKVI may suspect she's trying to skip the Settlement visa process.  If she did get a Visitor visa, she would have to return to Thailand/Myanmar to apply for the Settlement visa.  Your child should be fine, but you will need to get him/her a UK passport as soon as you can.

 

Good luck.

 

yeah even a very basic job, for instance a security guard with G4S, would cover the 18600

 

do 6 months then apply

 

 

[globalThailand]

9 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

yeah even a very basic job, for instance a security guard with G4S, would cover the 18600

I think the OP's plan is to stay in Thailand - unlikely a security guard in LOS will hit the financial requirement.  Given the strength of the baht vs the pound though you'd only need to make about 62k per month (Note: That is merely an observation, not a suggestion)  

 

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by globalThailand

[puchooay]

22 hours ago, kevinmartyn said:

Sorry to be a breaker of bad news but you are stuffed! Bottom line is it aint so easy to find a job in the UK. To put it in a nutshell my own son living in Scotland is (39) with a 1st Class Hons, two masters degrees is now approaching 10 months unemployed!

 

To that end getting a UK Visa aint easy for an Asian female. If you have property in UK then OK maybe but you need to CLEARLY show you can take care of yourselfes!

 

Good luck with the massiv task

I would have to disagree. 

 

I returned to UK, after 21 years in Thailand, on 9th September.

 

I have now been in full time employment, which has a salary that meets the financial requirements for my wife to get a visa, for 4 weeks.

 

 

[JPJordan]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful advice.

 

Sorry for the confusion caused on my part - yes I think my original post suggested I would have less than 6 months to work in a new job. However, knowing now that I can earn the salary here, I wouldn't mind staying on for longer (if possible) in order to show at least six months of the required earnings. To be honest we are not sure yet which country we would like to stay in, just trying to understand all the options!

 

So it seems the best bet would be, after my current contract ends, try to get a job that meets the required financial level, work for at least 6 months, and then decide from there.

 

And yes I will make sure to read the Home Office instructions carefully and will not hunt any of you down for giving bad advice.