Uk Spouse Visa - Bad Credit

[sped333]

Can a UK spouse visa be refused with the sponsor having bad credit? All the ECO will see on my bank statements is a healthy bank account with regular income coming in and not much much going out. They will also see that I am and that I can support my wife and my family in Thailand. At the moment I'm not paying my debts, I just want to know could they do a random credit check on me and then refuse the visa?

[tigerjohn]

i would doubt it very much? as long as you have some in the bank and regular income i would have thought that would be ok, after all how many people in the uk do not have credit os some sort, i wouldnt worry too much if i was you,

[7by7]

I don't know if they ever do a credit check, however if they do and find that you have "a healthy bank account with regular income coming in and not much much going out" but that you have debts which are not being repaid, then the ECO may wonder if you will be able to support your wife when your creditors catch up with you!

As said to you here; if you have debts which are being adequately serviced leaving you sufficient income then this will not be a problem with the ECO, but if you have debts which you are ignoring then I don't know whether it will be or not.

Even if this does not cause a problem with your wife's application, as snuggzzz said to you in this post

For your own sake (and your parents/wife) speak to your creditors to reach an arrangement before it does become a real problem

Your debts wont go away if you ignore them; the last thing you want is a batch of CCJs hanging over your head in two years time when your wife is applying for her Indefinite Leave to Remain!

[Mercury]

..Your debts wont go away if you ignore them; the last thing you want is a batch of CCJs hanging over your head in two years time when your wife is applying for her Indefinite Leave to Remain!

Why would his debts have any bearing on his wife's application for ILR ? Her debts perhaps, though I am not sure even that would be significant unless extreme, but his debts ?

[dmax]

i have heard they do not do credit checks, as long as you have money in your bank to keep your g/f in uk. ask the experts m8 as that is all ive to say and im no expert but a visa guy darren from visa office in soi bukaew lk metro pattaya told me that, they got me the visa and i would recommend you go speak with him or call him, very good service and he wont bullsh** you either.

[7by7]

..Your debts wont go away if you ignore them; the last thing you want is a batch of CCJs hanging over your head in two years time when your wife is applying for her Indefinite Leave to Remain!

Why would his debts have any bearing on his wife's application for ILR ? Her debts perhaps, though I am not sure even that would be significant unless extreme, but his debts ?

When she applies for ILR then once again they will have to show that they can support themselves without recourse to public funds (even though she will be able to claim public funds once she has ILR). If he ignores his debts and his creditors take him to court then he may find himself having to pay amounts which could make this difficult.

Apart from any immigration implications, I speak from personal experience when I say that the longer one ignores one's debts, the worse it gets!

[Mercury]

I would agree about sorting debts out, one way or another, but no debt plan can leave you with less than the minimum the law states a person or couple needs to survive on and we once again come back to UK benefit levels. If there is no official debt repayment plan in place then it is immaterial as there is no reason to disclose it and if it is in place then it must allow more free money than benefits, which meets the minimum income levels.

Any applicant would be best advised to have two accounts, one where money comes in and simple bills such as rent and council tax are paid from and another undeclared account where all the dirty washing goes on. Not rocket science.

[techno]

I would agree about sorting debts out, one way or another, but no debt plan can leave you with less than the minimum the law states a person or couple needs to survive on and we once again come back to UK benefit levels. If there is no official debt repayment plan in place then it is immaterial as there is no reason to disclose it and if it is in place then it must allow more free money than benefits, which meets the minimum income levels.

Any applicant would be best advised to have two accounts, one where money comes in and simple bills such as rent and council tax are paid from and another undeclared account where all the dirty washing goes on. Not rocket science.

As a former licensed Insolvency Pratitioner from the UK l can tell the OP that the Bankruptcy laws in the UK are now a lot easier now with various debt solutions available to a debtors. The Citizens Advice Bereau are excellent helping debtors resolve the debt problems with their creditors. The OP should avoid bankruptcy if possible as the Insolvency Service (Official Receiver) will examine his income and he may be forced to pay part of his wages and indeed his bank balance into a pot for distribution to his creditors. If he does not disclose information to the Official Receiver it is considered to be a criminal offence. I doubt if it will have any effect on his wife visiting the UK but on reduced funds available it may be a problem. Sort the problems out now as they will not go away.

[7by7]

Any applicant would be best advised to have two accounts, one where money comes in and simple bills such as rent and council tax are paid from and another undeclared account where all the dirty washing goes on. Not rocket science.

I would strongly advise against this. If discovered it may be viewed as an attempt at deception and so result in a possible 10 year ban from the UK.

As said before; debts are not a problem. Provided those debts are being adequately serviced. There is no need to try and hide them from the ECO.

However, if the debts are being ignored and so mounting up with interest and charges, then there may be a problem. Even if there is no problem with a visa application, there will be eventually when the creditors agent arrives to take your car, furniture etc. away!

Don't ignore your debts, talk to your creditors and make some sort of arrangement with them that satisfies both parties.

[techno]

Any applicant would be best advised to have two accounts, one where money comes in and simple bills such as rent and council tax are paid from and another undeclared account where all the dirty washing goes on. Not rocket science.

I would strongly advise against this. If discovered it may be viewed as an attempt at deception and so result in a possible 10 year ban from the UK.

As said before; debts are not a problem. Provided those debts are being adequately serviced. There is no need to try and hide them from the ECO.

However, if the debts are being ignored and so mounting up with interest and charges, then there may be a problem. Even if there is no problem with a visa application, there will be eventually when the creditors agent arrives to take your car, furniture etc. away!

Don't ignore your debts, talk to your creditors and make some sort of arrangement with them that satisfies both parties.

The OP should take advice as its free from Citizens Advice Bereau or some private firms will give him 30 minutes or so without charge

[samjaidee]

I don't know if they ever do a credit check, however if they do and find that you have "a healthy bank account with regular income coming in and not much much going out" but that you have debts which are not being repaid, then the ECO may wonder if you will be able to support your wife when your creditors catch up with you!

As said to you here; if you have debts which are being adequately serviced leaving you sufficient income then this will not be a problem with the ECO, but if you have debts which you are ignoring then I don't know whether it will be or not.

Even if this does not cause a problem with your wife's application, as snuggzzz said to you in this post

For your own sake (and your parents/wife) speak to your creditors to reach an arrangement before it does become a real problem

Your debts wont go away if you ignore them; the last thing you want is a batch of CCJs hanging over your head in two years time when your wife is applying for her Indefinite Leave to Remain!

Wrong. Debts do go away. My 10 grand debt to Nat West Bank was written off after 7 years of non payment. I now have a clean credit rating.

[aka_jack]

This is really quiet a simple one ! if they dont ask you dont tell ! was a long time ago when my wife got a spouse visa but they never asked about debts it was wages,bank statements that sort of thing if they dont ask you dont need to tell ! as for getting banned for 10 years thats only if you lie on her application and if your not asked about debts then your not lieing !! what happens after you go back to the uk is totally different if the debt collectors catch up thats a hole new scenario which doesnt matter as you didnt lie intially !

[asiawatcher]

Credit checks are not normally a prerequisite for immigration compliance. Police records are. But if you have a lot of money in your accounts and not a lot going out - then why are you not making arrangements to retire the debts through (even here) an insolvency practitioner? It may only cost you 10 cents in the dollar and the problem is solved. I note you are 29. You still have a lot of time to clean up your act but disclosing you have a healthy bank balance but you have not met creditors does not hold you in good stead in my opinion.

[gazza44]

Ive readsome rubbish and some good things on this site but dont understand why people answer things that they clearly know nothing about I was bankrupt due to being taken down by another business when my wife needed indefinite leave and still bankrupt when granted british citizenship and nows has british passport what matters is your income and the pair of yours relationship as long as you have an income or an additional sponsor should you wish to as further security then as long as your relationship is solid and can be checked there be no problem hardest thing you will come across is her knowledge of english language and life in UK which you need get sorted as quick as possible to go through all the stpes needed for each visa and the citizenship take it from me i have spoken with 20 people now on this matterhelping where i can todate only 1 person had a problem but he and his girl lied after a short time he then got it once re submitting with the truth another important fact hope this helps

[7by7]

As has been repeatedly said, if one has debts that are being adequately serviced, that is being repaid in a manner acceptable to one's creditors, and one's remaining income is enough to satisfy the maintenance requirements then there will not be a problem with a settlement or LTR, including ILR, application.

This is the case regardless of how one is repaying one's debts; even if one is bankrupt.

Any potential problem may come if one is not repaying one's debts. As I said before

I don't know if they ever do a credit check, however if they do and find that you have "a healthy bank account with regular income coming in and not much much going out" but that you have debts which are not being repaid, then the ECO may wonder if you will be able to support your wife when your creditors catch up with you!

As said to you here; if you have debts which are being adequately serviced leaving you sufficient income then this will not be a problem with the ECO, but if you have debts which you are ignoring then I don't know whether it will be or not.

Samjaidee, yes, sometimes creditors do write off unpaid debts; at others they chase them through the courts and if the debt remains unpaid the bailiffs arrive.