Settlement Visa Question About Income

[silentnine]

Hi All.

we're putting in a settlement visa app (UK) for my wife next month,

i am however self emeployed. my projected profit for the tax year ending april 2014 will be circa £19800

i have only been self employed in the UK since febaury.. Before that i was in Thailand with my wife for the last 7 years.

we also have a 5 year son with dual nationality

febuary- april 2013 accounts are useless as they only show a few months so no tax due for year end april 2013

i have paperwork from my accoutant outling figures for the last 4 months and giving forecast for end of tax year april 2014..

backed up by a collection of invoices , bank statements & letters from a company i subcontact for confriming there contract with me

my work now i'm back in the UK is varied things but all on a self employed basis

Contract with 1 company giving approx £240 per week

Van & Man (don;t laught its a good earner) giving approx £300 per week

I.T. work ,, including webdesign & webhosting approx £100 per week

all in gross about £33,000 .. take off allowances & expenses gives me around the 19.8k mark..

this tho will not be submied to the tax office till tax year end april 2014 .. and as such there will not be a SA302 avialable till then

is this an issue? i had been told that just accountants letter would suffice but after reading another post from someone who submited a low SA302 its got me worried

[Bladefire]

I was in same position as you. Went back to uk last year and worked until I could submit my self assessment on line - 9 months in total. Submitted it, printed it off and flew here, which is where I am now. Submitted visas Monday.

[silentnine]

I was in same position as you. Went back to uk last year and worked until I could submit my self assessment on line - 9 months in total. Submitted it, printed it off and flew here, which is where I am now. Submitted visas Monday.

does that mean we are going to have a problem applying for a visa as that make it sound like we need to wait till April next year..,

that would mean family separation for 12 months . ie mum & son separated as well ..

surely thats a human rights issue

[RAZZELL]

I was in same position as you. Went back to uk last year and worked until I could submit my self assessment on line - 9 months in total. Submitted it, printed it off and flew here, which is where I am now. Submitted visas Monday.

does that mean we are going to have a problem applying for a visa as that make it sound like we need to wait till April next year..,

that would mean family separation for 12 months . ie mum & son separated as well ..

surely thats a human rights issue

No.

Permission to live in the UK is a "qualified right".

You can quite happily be together by living in Thailand.

Unfortunately, you need to spend some time earning in the UK. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

RAZZ

[7by7]

Unless you were working in Thailand for at least 6 months before your return to the UK and earning at least the equivalent of £18,600 p.a. there; you will need to have been working and earning at least this amount in the UK for at least 6 months before she can apply for settlement.

Well, she could apply before this, but she would be refused. Unless you can meet the financial requirement by some other means.

See here for full details of the financial requirement and what evidence is required from the self employed.

As Razz says, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to family life, is a qualified right.

The government have looked very carefully at these financial requirements before introducing them and in their view they do not breach Article 8, or any other Article of the ECHR.

Others differ; but it will take a lengthy legal procedure before an appeal on human rights grounds reaches the European Court of Human Rights, and even then the court could agree with the government.

[silentnine]

ok understood.

another angle i could use ... but unsure if it would be a viable path to go up.

my mother has an entitlement for someone to claim carers allowance for her.

i could claim that and cut my work down to be withing that limit and bypass the financial requirements for income.

however we then have catch 22 that we could only show a total of 159 as income .. 59 carers + the 100 allowed if claiming carers allowance.

this however then opens a door that i would be eligible for family & working tax credits for myself and son. however would having the wife here stop that eligibility or is that not affected if she is on a settlement visa .. i know she has no recourse to public funds but what effect does she have on a entitlement i would have.

would prefer to carry on working of course as its good money.. however its going to be hard to work with my son with me and the wife in Thailand for an extended period

[7by7]

A person receiving carers allowance does not have to meet the income requirement; merely show that they can provide adequate maintenance. That is support and accommodate their partner without recourse to any public funds other than those to which they as an individual may be entitled.

See section 3.6 of the document linked to above.

But would it be you who is claiming and receiving carers allowance, or your mother? It must be the applicant's partner who is receiving it themselves, or receiving it on behalf of a child.

If you, there is another problem. To get it you must have been resident in the UK for at least 2 out of the previous 3 years. See eligibility.

Your wife would not be entitled to claim tax credits on her own until she has ILR; five years after first entering the UK for settlement.

However, tax credit claims by husband and wife have to be made jointly, so not only can she be included in your claim; she must be.

But you cannot make a joint claim until she is actually living with you in the UK.

From what you have said in your OP you have been in the UK since February; so only have another two and a bit months to go before you can show 6 months of income.

If you have been earning enough for that 6 months, and can provide the required evidence, better, I think, to wait out that two months and then apply rather than look for ways of by passing this requirement.

[silentnine]

should of been more clear.. .. my mother has an entitlement for someone to claim carers allowance to care for her. that could be me ,, my eldest son(23) .. my wife if allowed .. or no one at all lol

just off off the phone with yet another immigration lawyer/advisor .. .. have spoken to many of the last month and its always different information.. which makes it very very hard to know what is right or wrong .

wife is in Uk with me now. on 6 months family visit visa ..

we have both been in Thailand for the last 7 years and our son was born there .. he has dual passports.. 5 years old yesterday

we had not intended to stay here in the UK .. we have a house /car/small business in Thailand. however my mother needs help at her age .. the kids are getting a better education here in the UK. and its so easy to work here compared to being a farang in Thailand who can do nothing but spend instead of earn

technically her visa cannot be extended and she must return to Thailand and apply for a settlement visa .

i have received lots of different info from different lawyers who of course will do her visa app for her for ££

1/ her settlement visa application is no problem in Thailand . they will prepare it here and help submit it .. letter from my accountant showing audited accounts with projected annual figures will suffice. and she should go back before her 6 months expires and apply..

2/ we are going to have a problem as we need at least 12 months accounts , also confirmation of tax paid.. we're screwed .. she needs to go back and sit there alone till next year leaving husband and her son here in the UK

3/ there may be an issue with accounts .. lengths of self employment if she applies now.. best option is to apply to stay on current visa .. this will be turned down then she can appeal which stands a chance .. especially with a child under 7. also this buys time for accounts if needed as it could take a very very long time to preoicess

Edited May 30, 2013 by silentnine

[silentnine]

i have been working for about 3 months so far .. but as self employed all reference to proof of income are related to end of year tax returns which will not appear till next april. i red that the 6 months working eligibility is for employed not self employed .

what makes this more of a joke is i know a polish guy who came to the UK has claimed benefit... and his thai wife has just come in on a family permit .. FREE visa .. no charge .. and no eligibility reqs to speak of .. talk about discrimination agiant British citizens

A person receiving carers allowance does not have to meet the income requirement; merely show that they can provide adequate maintenance. That is support and accommodate their partner without recourse to any public funds other than those to which they as an individual may be entitled.

See section 3.6 of the document linked to above.

But would it be you who is claiming and receiving carers allowance, or your mother? It must be the applicant's partner who is receiving it themselves, or receiving it on behalf of a child.

If you, there is another problem. To get it you must have been resident in the UK for at least 2 out of the previous 3 years. See eligibility.

Your wife would not be entitled to claim tax credits on her own until she has ILR; five years after first entering the UK for settlement.

However, tax credit claims by husband and wife have to be made jointly, so not only can she be included in your claim; she must be.

But you cannot make a joint claim until she is actually living with you in the UK.

From what you have said in your OP you have been in the UK since February; so only have another two and a bit months to go before you can show 6 months of income.

If you have been earning enough for that 6 months, and can provide the required evidence, better, I think, to wait out that two months and then apply rather than look for ways of by passing this requirement.

[bobrussell]

i have been working for about 3 months so far .. but as self employed all reference to proof of income are related to end of year tax returns which will not appear till next april. i red that the 6 months working eligibility is for employed not self employed .

what makes this more of a joke is i know a polish guy who came to the UK has claimed benefit... and his thai wife has just come in on a family permit .. FREE visa .. no charge .. and no eligibility reqs to speak of .. talk about discrimination agiant British citizens

A person receiving carers allowance does not have to meet the income requirement; merely show that they can provide adequate maintenance. That is support and accommodate their partner without recourse to any public funds other than those to which they as an individual may be entitled.

See section 3.6 of the document linked to above.

But would it be you who is claiming and receiving carers allowance, or your mother? It must be the applicant's partner who is receiving it themselves, or receiving it on behalf of a child.

If you, there is another problem. To get it you must have been resident in the UK for at least 2 out of the previous 3 years. See eligibility.

Your wife would not be entitled to claim tax credits on her own until she has ILR; five years after first entering the UK for settlement.

However, tax credit claims by husband and wife have to be made jointly, so not only can she be included in your claim; she must be.

But you cannot make a joint claim until she is actually living with you in the UK.

From what you have said in your OP you have been in the UK since February; so only have another two and a bit months to go before you can show 6 months of income.

If you have been earning enough for that 6 months, and can provide the required evidence, better, I think, to wait out that two months and then apply rather than look for ways of by passing this requirement.

But if you chose to live and work in Poland your wife would be entitled to similar rights to your Polish friend here! This is EU legislation and outside the control of individual community member states!

[silentnine]

i guess if was a radical muslim cleric with 20 wives it would be easier

But if you chose to live and work in Poland your wife would be entitled to similar rights to your Polish friend here! This is EU legislation and outside the control of individual community member states!

[7by7]

If you sincerely want help and advice; drop the racist rubbish.

Polygamous marriage is illegal in the UK and those who may have entered into polygamous marriages in countries where they are legal may only sponsor one of their spouses for settlement to live with them in the UK.

And as all such countries are outside the EEA, the same rules would apply to them as apply to you and your Thai wife.

Edited May 30, 2013 by 7by7

[Bladefire]

I returned to work in the uk for 9 months in order to financially qualify to submit visas. I flew my family to the uk on a visitor visa so we could at least not be apart for such a lengthy time. You have to abide by the rules and make sacrifices my friend. I just hope we have done enough to obtain visas. Good luck to you and your family.

[theoldgit]

Post suggesting action contrary to Immigration Rules removed, please remember that submitting false information or a forged document could leave the applicant liable to a ten year ban.

Please don't post such "advice".

[bobrussell]

If you sponsor as self-employed you need to provide details of tax paid, self-assessment tax return (often two years), evidence that you are registered as self-employed by HMRC. VAT registration and latest VAT return etc, etc.

The requirements are very specific and if self-employed you don't get a salary, you make a profit and take drawings. You do not give yourself payslips or a P60. These are for people on PAYE! If you don't provide all the documents the application is likely to fail.

'Upping the salary' will not work! Fiddling the books has the potential to get sponsor and applicant into deep trouble.

The UKBA does not have a warped view of self-employment but demand full details that go with being self-employed. The self-employed have a lot more hoops to jump through than those on PAYE.

(written at the same time The OG was posting!)

Edited May 31, 2013 by bobrussell

[Bladefire]

Have to agree with the above. Appendix 2 quite difficult to understand as well.