Uk Visa Advice

[Asmoseus_uk]

 

I'm an Irish guy living in the UK. Looking to bring my Thai GF to live in the UK. Not legally married but have had a ceremony in Bangkok.

 

Already had several visitor visas without any issues

 

Any advice re best option for fiancee or spouse visa to live in the UK? 

 

Thanks!

[Raindancer]

27 minutes ago, Asmoseus_uk said:

 

I'm an Irish guy living in the UK. Looking to bring my Thai GF to live in the UK. Not legally married but have had a ceremony in Bangkok.

 

Already had several visitor visas without any issues

 

Any advice re best option for fiancee or spouse visa to live in the UK? 

 

Thanks!

Here's a link that you might wish to read through.   Particularly as you are not officially married.

 

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse

 

[Tony M]

7 hours ago, Asmoseus_uk said:

 

I'm an Irish guy living in the UK. Looking to bring my Thai GF to live in the UK. Not legally married but have had a ceremony in Bangkok.

 

Already had several visitor visas without any issues

 

Any advice re best option for fiancee or spouse visa to live in the UK? 

 

Thanks!

 

What do you mean by "best option" ?   If you mean the difference between  a "fiancee" visa or a spouse visa, then the only difference really is whether you marry in Thailand or in the UK.

 

[Asmoseus_uk]

On 1/31/2025 at 6:55 AM, Tony M said:

 

What do you mean by "best option" ?   If you mean the difference between  a "fiancee" visa or a spouse visa, then the only difference really is whether you marry in Thailand or in the UK.

 

The most efficient with less cost & hassle... Hoping someone with experience of going through either route can advise...

 

Thanks

[Tony M]

22 minutes ago, Asmoseus_uk said:

The most efficient with less cost & hassle... Hoping someone with experience of going through either route can advise...

 

Thanks

 

They are almost identical. As I said earlier, one is marriage in Thailand and the other is marriage in UK.  And the cost is almost the same.  The cost of a "fiancee" visa is slightly higher as you have an extension of stay to apply for in the UK after marriage. 

[Toby1947]

Need £30,000 a year coming in nowadays. If you have it's no problem. If you haven't forget it. 

[brewsterbudgen]

19 minutes ago, Toby1947 said:

Need £30,000 a year coming in nowadays. If you have it's no problem. If you haven't forget it. 

 

Is that official?  I know the Tories planned to raise the salary requirement, but I was hoping Labour might not push it through and keep it at £19,800.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

 

Is that official?  I know the Tories planned to raise the salary requirement, but I was hoping Labour might not push it through and keep it at £19,800.

The Tories proposed initially £38K but following the backlash pushed it through at £29K with a view to raising it again about a year later. As far as I am aware Labour have said nothing about pushing though the second rise.

 

If you apply for a family visa as a partner, you and your partner usually need to prove that your combined income is at least £29,000 a year. https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income-partner

[superal]

22 hours ago, sandyf said:

The Tories proposed initially £38K but following the backlash pushed it through at £29K with a view to raising it again about a year later. As far as I am aware Labour have said nothing about pushing though the second rise.

 

If you apply for a family visa as a partner, you and your partner usually need to prove that your combined income is at least £29,000 a year. https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income-partner

Sad emoji because UK pensioners are supposed to exist on less than half of that . Sorry to gatecrash the topic but who comes up with these required income levels ? Love to see their workings . Best bet is to go to France and board a rubber dingy . Zero monetary requirements , passport / visa not needed and free accommodation , food   etc .

Another case of the government not taking care of their own first , assuming you are from N.I.

[theoldgit]

6 hours ago, superal said:

Sad emoji because UK pensioners are supposed to exist on less than half of that . Sorry to gatecrash the topic but who comes up with these required income levels ? Love to see their workings . Best bet is to go to France and board a rubber dingy . Zero monetary requirements , passport / visa not needed and free accommodation , food   etc .

Another case of the government not taking care of their own first , assuming you are from N.I.

The required income level is roughly linked to the average earnings, the latest Median gross average earnings as published by the ONS is in the region of £39K.

 

The basic state pension levels is another issue, as is illegal migration, and nothing to do with this topic.

[sandyf]

On 2/4/2025 at 2:35 PM, superal said:

Another case of the government not taking care of their own first , assuming you are from N.I.

Appears you have mistaken me for the OP.

I am very fortunate that my wife of 16 years has no desire to reside in the UK, no chance whatsoever on my pension.

[sandyf]

20 hours ago, theoldgit said:

 

The basic state pension levels is another issue, as is illegal migration, and nothing to do with this topic.

Quite right, the topic is about fiancee or spouse visa, anyone on state pension would be excluded by the income requirements.

[theoldgit]

11 hours ago, sandyf said:

anyone on state pension would be excluded by the income requirements.

Sadly not, whilst the state pension is regarded as a benefit and those receiving some benefits are excluded from the income requirements, l understand it’s only certain benefits and the state pension is not one of them.

 

I would love to be proved wrong.

 

If your partner is getting disability or carer’s benefits

You do not need to meet a minimum income requirement if your partner gets one of the following benefits:

Disability Living Allowance

Severe Disablement Allowance

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Attendance Allowance

Carer’s Allowance

Personal Independence Payment

Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme

Police Injury Pension

Child Disability Payment

Adult Disability Payment

[superal]

37 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Appears you have mistaken me for the OP.

I am very fortunate that my wife of 16 years has no desire to reside in the UK, no chance whatsoever on my pension.

My apologies for my error . 

[Tony M]

Here's a useless "fact" (from ChatGPT) for you. Maybe up to 50% of Home Office employees would not be able to meet the 29,000 GBP a year financial requirement:

Based on the Home Office's annual report for the 2022-2023 financial year, the median salary was £35,372. This suggests that approximately half of the employees earned below this amount. Additionally, the 25th percentile salary was £27,014, indicating that about 25% of employees earned £27,014 or less. While exact figures aren't provided, it's reasonable to infer that a significant portion of Home Office employees—likely between 25% and 50%—had a maximum annual salary of £29,000 or less during that period.

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Sadly not, whilst the state pension is regarded as a benefit and those receiving some benefits are excluded from the income requirements, l understand it’s only certain benefits and the state pension is not one of them.

When I started work there were NI benefits in place and the state pension was described as

"30  Retirement pension by virtue of own insurance." under the NI act of 1965.

The government arbitrarily rebranding NI benefits as SS benefits has never been challenged in court.

The benefits you quote for exclusion are welfare benefits as opposed to rebranded NI benefits.

At the end of the day it is just another discriminatory policy perpretrated by government against those abroad. 

[theoldgit]

5 hours ago, sandyf said:

The benefits you quote for exclusion are welfare benefits as opposed to rebranded NI benefits.

 

I don't disagree with your point, however my quote is a direct lift from the guidance that details what benefits spouses can be in receipt of not to need to comply with the financial requirements, which was the point I was making.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

 

I don't disagree with your point, however my quote is a direct lift from the guidance that details what benefits spouses can be in receipt of not to need to comply with the financial requirements, which was the point I was making.

And nothing to do with what I said.

By truncating my post it would appear you misunderstood what was said. This is what was meant

"anyone on state pension would be excluded(from getting a visa) by the income requirements.

"visa" was inferred, the word immediately preceded your truncation.

 

I would have thought you would be well aware of context distortion from truncating posts.

[sandyf]

On 2/4/2025 at 2:35 PM, superal said:

Sorry to gatecrash the topic but who comes up with these required income levels ? Love to see their workings .

Why was it £18,600?

The threshold was originally set at £18,600 after the coalition government considered advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

The MAC’s report recommended a minimum gross income threshold of between £18,600 and £25,700 per year. The range reflected different approaches to calculating when someone would cease to be a burden on the state, with £18,600 the threshold on one methodology and £25,700 the threshold on another.

The lower threshold of £18,600 represented the level of annual gross pay above which a couple would not receive any income-related benefits. The MAC estimated that 45% of sponsors would fall short of the lower threshold amount and 64% of sponsors would not satisfy the upper threshold. The government chose the £18,600 option. The coalition said that it expected to review the level of the financial requirement annually. In the event, it remained at £18,600 until 2024 (although the Conservative Party’s 2017 general election manifesto had committed to increasing the threshold).

In April 2024, the Sunak government increased the threshold to its current level of £29,000 (see section 4 below). This time the MAC was not involved.

Various sources of income and funding can be used to meet the financial requirement, although there are conditions and restrictions.

One important restriction is that the visa applicant’s employment income can only be taken into account if they are already in the UK with permission to work (that is, if they are applying to ‘switch’ immigration category or extend an existing partner visa). Otherwise, only the sponsor’s employment income can be considered for the initial visa application. This condition has prevented some British people from being able to return to the UK with their partner. 

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06724/SN06724.pdf 

[Tony M]

35 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Why was it £18,600?

The threshold was originally set at £18,600 after the coalition government considered advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

The MAC’s report recommended a minimum gross income threshold of between £18,600 and £25,700 per year. The range reflected different approaches to calculating when someone would cease to be a burden on the state, with £18,600 the threshold on one methodology and £25,700 the threshold on another.

The lower threshold of £18,600 represented the level of annual gross pay above which a couple would not receive any income-related benefits. The MAC estimated that 45% of sponsors would fall short of the lower threshold amount and 64% of sponsors would not satisfy the upper threshold. The government chose the £18,600 option. The coalition said that it expected to review the level of the financial requirement annually. In the event, it remained at £18,600 until 2024 (although the Conservative Party’s 2017 general election manifesto had committed to increasing the threshold).

In April 2024, the Sunak government increased the threshold to its current level of £29,000 (see section 4 below). This time the MAC was not involved.

Various sources of income and funding can be used to meet the financial requirement, although there are conditions and restrictions.

One important restriction is that the visa applicant’s employment income can only be taken into account if they are already in the UK with permission to work (that is, if they are applying to ‘switch’ immigration category or extend an existing partner visa). Otherwise, only the sponsor’s employment income can be considered for the initial visa application. This condition has prevented some British people from being able to return to the UK with their partner. 

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06724/SN06724.pdf 

 

That is a fairly simplistic view of the requirements, and seems to imply that only employment income can be used in an initial application (I know that you did say  that various sources of income and funding can be used).  Other sources can be cash savings (for both applicant and sponsor), pension income, property rental income. Saying "Otherwise, only the sponsor’s employment income can be considered for the initial visa application"  is not quite true.

[superal]

17 hours ago, sandyf said:

Why was it £18,600?

The threshold was originally set at £18,600 after the coalition government considered advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

The MAC’s report recommended a minimum gross income threshold of between £18,600 and £25,700 per year. The range reflected different approaches to calculating when someone would cease to be a burden on the state, with £18,600 the threshold on one methodology and £25,700 the threshold on another.

The lower threshold of £18,600 represented the level of annual gross pay above which a couple would not receive any income-related benefits. The MAC estimated that 45% of sponsors would fall short of the lower threshold amount and 64% of sponsors would not satisfy the upper threshold. The government chose the £18,600 option. The coalition said that it expected to review the level of the financial requirement annually. In the event, it remained at £18,600 until 2024 (although the Conservative Party’s 2017 general election manifesto had committed to increasing the threshold).

In April 2024, the Sunak government increased the threshold to its current level of £29,000 (see section 4 below). This time the MAC was not involved.

Various sources of income and funding can be used to meet the financial requirement, although there are conditions and restrictions.

One important restriction is that the visa applicant’s employment income can only be taken into account if they are already in the UK with permission to work (that is, if they are applying to ‘switch’ immigration category or extend an existing partner visa). Otherwise, only the sponsor’s employment income can be considered for the initial visa application. This condition has prevented some British people from being able to return to the UK with their partner. 

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06724/SN06724.pdf 

The 18,600 is for a married couple . A single mans state pension would be about 11,000 . So no chance of sponsoring a partner . Also am I correct that " The Old Git " said that the state pension is classed as a benefit and was not admissible as income ?  

[theoldgit]

5 hours ago, superal said:

The 18,600 is for a married couple . A single mans state pension would be about 11,000 . So no chance of sponsoring a partner . Also am I correct that " The Old Git " said that the state pension is classed as a benefit and was not admissible as income ?  

 

You can use the State Pension as income to meet the income requirements, the benefit issue is the clause that says that beneficaries of some benefits are exempt from the minimum income requirements, the State Pension is not one of those benefits.

[sandyf]

On 2/6/2025 at 5:38 PM, Tony M said:

 

That is a fairly simplistic view of the requirements, and seems to imply that only employment income can be used in an initial application (I know that you did say  that various sources of income and funding can be used).  Other sources can be cash savings (for both applicant and sponsor), pension income, property rental income. Saying "Otherwise, only the sponsor’s employment income can be considered for the initial visa application"  is not quite true.

I didn't say anything, take it up with the UK parliament.

[Tony M]

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

I didn't say anything, take it up with the UK parliament.

 

Well, you quoted it in your post, so you can take the criticism as you didn't say that it is wrong. 

 

 

[sandyf]

10 minutes ago, Tony M said:

 

Well, you quoted it in your post, so you can take the criticism as you didn't say that it is wrong. 

 

 

So you think I should be criticised for providing information as an answer to a question.

Obviously the word context is missing from your vocabulary.

[Tony M]

8 minutes ago, sandyf said:

So you think I should be criticised for providing information as an answer to a question.

Obviously the word context is missing from your vocabulary.

 

If you don't provide useful information, then yes.  You seem to love informing people about "context".  Does it make you feel better, or superior, to correct people's context ?  You must have a lonely life.

[sandyf]

On 2/7/2025 at 10:30 AM, superal said:

The 18,600 is for a married couple

That was the previous level in 2013, there was also additional requirements for children which have now been abolished.

The Tory government moved the goalposts on the minimum requirements. From the same document.

"The commissioning letter states that the purpose of the minimum income requirement (and similar rules not covered in this briefing) is to “maintain the economic wellbeing of the UK whilst respecting family life”. This is different from the question the MAC was asked in 2011, which focused solely on what income level was needed to prevent partners “becoming a burden on the state”.

 

Labour now looking into it.

"Shortly after taking office in July, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a major review of the financial requirement, which would be kept at £29,000 in the meantime. "

[sandyf]

3 minutes ago, Tony M said:

 

If you don't provide useful information, then yes.  You seem to love informing people about "context".  Does it make you feel better, or superior, to correct people's context ?  You must have a lonely life.

Will treat that with the contempt it deserves.

[Tony M]

26 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Will treat that with the contempt it deserves.

 

So sorry if I contempted you, but you really do need to  know how you come over to some, or perhaps many, in this forum. A kind of pedantic whatever. So ends this exchange of contexts.

[SERGERAMOS]

I have done this visa before I went down the money I have saved in the bank route to prove you can look after your wife with out her use of public resources at the time it was roughly 68 grand I'm not sure what it is now  the cost of the visa was about 3 grand all in all but went up to 5 grand when I went to renew it after 2 years 8 months so I decided not to renew it and get her a tourist visa to come to the UKfor  6 months in the summer and I would visit her in thai for the winter if you have the resources to do this I would suggest go down the money in the bank rule it can also be combined with your salary so hence not to much money saved