More UK FLR visa questions

[CCity Rocker]

Hi There

 

I have a few questions I'm afraid. My wifes spouse visa expires on the 28th of November 2016 and for a variety of reasons we still not have submitted the application. My wife passed her B1 with Trinity college London last week, so now we're sorted for this application and the ILR in 2 and half years time. 

 

I am currently in receipt of carer's allowance for looking after my dad and therefore exempt from the financial requirement, but we must show what they call "adequate maintenance." Luckily I have over the £62,500.00 in savings to cover this. Could anyone advise me how I should enter these savings as income sources on the form or should I just explain the situation on page 39 of the document?

 

The documentary evidence for the provision of adequate maintenance regarding accommodation seems to be a bit unclear. I am providing a letter from my mother confirming that we have been living in their house since April 2014. It states that the mortgage is settled and there is sufficient space for all of us. I also am providing a copy of the deeds and a letter confirming the settlement of the mortgage. I can't understand  if I need to provide details of the council tax payable. Does anyone know if this is necessary and/or should I be providing anything else to satisfy the adequate maintenance requirements regarding accommodation?

 

Lastly,  I have a problem regarding question 10.14  Please state what ties you have with:

• The country where you were born.

• Any other country whose nationality you hold.

• Any country where you have lived for more than five years.

 

Some people have advised just writing 'Immediate family and friends', others have said list all family members. Does anyone know which is best here? The reason I ask is that in one of my previous posts I asked  about Section 4 - Dependent children, question 4.2 asks: Do you have any children whose parent is not your sponsor? yes or no. The true answer is yes as the question does not include the word 'dependent'. I answered no, as my wife's son is 23, financially independent, living and working in Thailand, married with a child and has no intention of ever coming to live in the uk. Therefore, if I list him as a family member in 10.14 would I not be opening a can of worms and making even more problems for myself?

 

I am sorry that this post is a bit long, but I'm genuinely concerned about how deal with these issues in the correct manner.

 

Please, If anyone can offer any advice or personal experience at all I would be extremely grateful.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[CCity Rocker]

Please anyone?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[bobrussell]

If you have sufficient savings then why not just apply in the normal way? You can add that you are in receipt of carers allowance in the covering letter but my advice would be to keep it simple! No need in this case to show much else. No 'adequate maintenance' required.

 

The other questions are simple answers. If the applicant is Thai then enter that as country of birth. Any other nationalities enter those. Most will just enter Thai. I suspect they really want dependents rather than 'ties'  so mention young children.

 

It is easy to overthink the application. Much simpler to show a balance in the bank!

 

[7by7]

As Bob says, you have sufficient savings to meet the financial requirement through them, see Paras 11 and 11A of Appendix FM-SE; note that where it says 'bank statements' similar documents from other approved financial institutions, such as a building society, are also acceptable, see Para A1.1(aa).

 

If you decide to go the adequate maintenance route, then see Paras 12, 12A and 12B of the appendix.

 

This is based upon income, not savings; although savings can be used in whole or part (Para 12B for the calculation used to 'convert' them to income). If using savings then the requirements of Paras 11 and 11A will also apply.

 

If meeting the requirement via adequate maintenance there is no specific level of income required by the rules. However, the courts have ruled that it would be inappropriate for an immigrant family, or a family including an immigrant, to have an income of less than the income support level for a wholly British family of the same size; currently £114.85 pw for a couple both over 18. Note this is a net figure after rent or mortgage, council tax and other fixed outgoings such as debt repayments.

 

You should provide evidence of these fixed outgoings where relevant to you; such as council tax if you pay it.

 

Accommodation is separate from adequate maintenance. As you can see from the appendix, there is no specified evidence required. However, you do have to show that you and your wife are adequately accommodated. As you live in a shared household this means at least one room for your exclusive use (i.e. your bedroom).

 

A letter from your mother confirming that she owns the house, that you live there and that there is at least one room for your exclusive use should be sufficient. No need for a copy of the deeds, though you can include them if you wish. She can confirm in her letter that the mortgage is paid off if you wish.

 

You only need to complete the box on page 39 of form FLR(M) if there is anything you wish them to consider regarding your finances or accommodation which has not already been covered elsewhere on the form. 

 

See the maintenance and accommodation guidance for full details. This is guidance to ECOs when considering an overseas visa application, but the same applies to decision makers in the UK when considering leave to remain applications.

 

The wording in section 4 can be confusing. I take the view that as it is clearly headed "Dependent Children" that it is only dependent children who should be included. Obviously your step son is an adult and not dependent upon his mother so, in my view, there is no need to include him.

Edited November 2, 2016 by 7by7

[CCity Rocker]

bobrussell and 7by7, thank you both very much for these replies. I would have replied much sooner, but for some reason I have not received any notification of responses to my last post?

 

I thought it would be good to provide an update on section 4 - Dependent Children, as it may be very useful for others in this situation. I contacted the home office last Tuesday on 0300 123 2241, and I can confirm that a child in this case is a person under the age of 18. Anyone under the age of 18 should be included on the form whether they are applying or not and the relevant documents (birth certificate plus translation) have to be included. 

Non-dependent adult children do not have to be included. I was advised to tick NO on question 4.2 as the child in our particular case is 23, non-dependent and not coming to the UK. 

I hope this clarifies things. It would be so much easier if a paragraph explaining this was added to the notes at the beginning of section 4, as this part is badly worded and the exact information required is unclear. 

I was also advised just to enter 'Immediate family and friends' on question 10.14 Please state what ties you have with:

• The country where you were born.
• Any other country whose nationality you hold.
• Any country where you have lived for more than five years.

I was told that there was no need to enter names, ages or relationship details.

 

I am going to go down the adequate maintenance route, as we have everything prepared regarding the required evidence, also I've completed everything apart from where to add my savings. I am therefore assuming that I enter them in the box on page 39 of form FLR(M) as I cannot see anywhere else in section 7B which allows them to be entered. The table in 7.7 only allows income sources already indicated in 7.5 and 7.6, or is this incorrect and I should use the method in Para 12B for the calculation used to 'convert' them to income and then add them to the table as an income source? 

 

Apologies if this is a stupid question, I'm probably too tired to process it all currently!

[7by7]

17 hours ago, CCity Rocker said:

I am going to go down the adequate maintenance route, as we have everything prepared regarding the required evidence, also I've completed everything apart from where to add my savings. I am therefore assuming that I enter them in the box on page 39 of form FLR(M) as I cannot see anywhere else in section 7B which allows them to be entered. The table in 7.7 only allows income sources already indicated in 7.5 and 7.6, or is this incorrect and I should use the method in Para 12B for the calculation used to 'convert' them to income and then add them to the table as an income source? 

 

As savings are not asked about in Qs 7.5 and 7.6 then I would not enter them in the table at 7.7.

 

Instead I would, as you suggest, enter them in the box on page 39.

 

You should enter the total amount, but I don't think you need to do the calculation; although it wont hurt to do so. Something like "Using the calculation in Para 12B of the Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE this equates to an income of.........."

[CCity Rocker]

Thanks 7by7 for clarifying matters as usual. It seems I am prone to overthinking things as I appear to have been on the right track. 

 

Many thanks again, your help has been invaluable.

[CCity Rocker]

Hi again

 

This is just an update for those in the process of applying for the FLR(M) visa. I submitted the application on 13th of November and confirmed its receipt by Royal Mail track and trace on the 15th. I had been expecting a letter of acknowledgement to officially confirm receipt of the application unless there was a problem concerning the payment of the fee, as stated in section 11 of the FLR(M) guidance notes version 11/2015. 

 

I had not received anything as of today, so this morning I rang the enquiries number as given in the guidance notes 0800 3898 289 which just rang out for over 5 minutes. I then called on  0300 123 2241 which was answered immediately, and was informed that letters of acknowledgement are no longer being sent out for any visa applications.

 

I checked the relevant account and noted that the fee of £811.00 had been taken out on the 15th of November.

 

Just a heads up, for anyone waiting for a letter of confirmation. 

[rasg]

We submitted back in September and I found almost the same as you but we did get written confirmation after about two weeks. The BRP letter arrived after around 3 or 4 weeks and the visa took 7 weeks in  total.

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by rasg

[CCity Rocker]

Hi again,

 

Just an update to this thread. My wife received her biometric residence permit this morning, 8 weeks and 2 days after the application was submitted. Many thanks again to everyone who helped me with this application. 

 

[rasg]

Good to hear. Congrats.