Combined earnings requirements? UK spouse extension

[Warunee79]

Hi

My wife's uk spouse visa has been granted for 33 months as of December 2016. 

She has found herself employment starting mid January 2017. 

I am thinking ahead at the future prospect of the extension after 2 years and the financial requirements.

I am self employed.

 

My Questions are:

Can we combine our earnings?

 

For the extension will I need to show my earnings for the duration of her stay here (over 2 years)? For the annual requirement?

of £18,600 or just the 12 months prior to the extension/application. 

 

After 5 years what is the financial requirement for Indefinite leave to remain?

I read £35,000 , Is this correct? Is this combined? 

 

It it is early days but as I am self employed I  prefer to plan ahead, any help much appreciated 

Thank you 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rasg]

My wife's uk spouse visa has been granted for 33 months as of December 2016. 

She has found herself employment starting mid January 2017. 

I am thinking ahead at the future prospect of the extension after 2 years and the financial requirements.

I am self employed.

 

You are very wise to look at it now as you will need correspondence from the whole period of settlement to prove that you live together. Council tax, doctors, NHS, dentist, bank etc. Six items of correspondence jointly addressed. Six items each if they are addressed individually.

 

My Questions are:

Can we combine our earnings?

 

Yes you can but you can’t combine savings with self employment earnings.

 

For the extension will I need to show my earnings for the duration of her stay here (over 2 years)? For the annual requirement? of £18,600 or just the 12 months prior to the extension/application. 

 

Just the 12 months prior to the extension/application. You just need to do what you did for settlement. When you are self employed you can use a single year or an aggregate of two years to show a figure of £18600.

 

When you are self employed they do make life far more difficult imho but you did it for Settlement so you should be ok as you have done it before. Bank statements, your accounts, SA302 etc etc.

 

After 5 years what is the financial requirement for Indefinite leave to remain?

I read £35,000 , Is this correct? Is this combined? 

 

As far as I know it's the same.

 

[7by7]

As rasg says, if using income then the financial requirement for both FLR (after living in the UK for 30 months) and ILR (30 months after FLR, 5 years in total) are the same as for the initial visa.

 

But if using savings alone then whilst £62,500 is needed for the initial visa and for FLR, this is reduced to £46,500 for ILR.

 

For both FLR and ILR your wife's (the applicant) earnings, can be used in combination with or, if £18,600 p.a. or above, instead of yours (the sponsor).

 

See the financial appendix for more details as well as the evidence required depending on how the requirement is being met.

 

Note that the amounts given here and in the appendix are the current amounts and are subject to change; keep checking to make sure you are not caught out by any future changes.

Edited January 8, 2017 by 7by7

[Warunee79]

Thank you both.

 

So to clarify,If I/we earn below £18,600 on the first year my wife is here this will not be taken into account when in 2019 (extension of visa) comes around?

 

and...

 

earnings from my wifes employment gets gets taken into account/combining the Finacial requirement on the last 12 months before/for application?

[rasg]

So to clarify, If I/we earn below £18,600 on the first year my wife is here this will not be taken into account when in 2019 (extension of visa) comes around?

 

That depends on when your accounts run from and if you are relying on a single year or an aggregate of two years and also how the dates of your accounts run and how they fit in around the expiry of the visa.

 

and...

 

earnings from my wife's employment gets gets taken into account/combining the Financial requirement on the last 12 months before/for application?

 

Interesting question as you are self employed. With self employment you submit your latest set of accounts. My first set were for my wife's settlement visa application that we submitted in February of 2016 so the accounts ran from April 2014 to March 2015. (Almost a yer old). The next were for FLR in September 2016 and the accounts ran from April 2015 to March 2016. I had to get my accounts done much earlier than I normally would...

 

I'm not sure how you combine your wife's earnings from normal employment in that situation as I have never had to do it.

[Warunee79]

I will rely on only the year before the application and not need to use an average of previous year/s

I could not declare all of my self employment expenses when using my Tax return for my wife's recent visa as it would have taken me as a sponsor below the pre-tax threshold. 

If I can combine all my wife's earnings and take that into account each tax year Apr-Apr then I can declare all my rightful expenses and know we are above the financial requirement when it comes to the next extension after 30months. 

 

[7by7]

20 hours ago, Warunee79 said:

Thank you both.

 

So to clarify,If I/we earn below £18,600 on the first year my wife is here this will not be taken into account when in 2019 (extension of visa) comes around?

 

and...

 

earnings from my wifes employment gets gets taken into account/combining the Finacial requirement on the last 12 months before/for application?

 

When applying for both FLR and ILR your wife can use

• your income alone,
• her income alone, or
• your and her income combined

whichever suits you both best at the time.

 

If any of that income comes from Category A: With current employer for 6 months or more –  person residing in the UK then

Quote

5.1.4 The only difference in Category A between salaried and non-salaried employment is how gross annual salary or employment income is calculated: 

Where the person is in salaried employment – they must have been paid throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application at a level of gross annual salary which equals or exceeds the level relied upon in the application.  Therefore the figure used towards the requirement will be the lowest level of annual salary received during the 6 month period. 

Where the person is in non-salaried employment – the level of gross annual employment income relied upon in the application will be the annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application (where that employment was held throughout that period). 
 
To calculate this annualised average for non-salaried employment in Category A the following calculation should be used: 
 
(Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement.

 

If any comes from Category B: Less than 6 months with current employer or variable income – person residing in the UK   then

Quote

5.3.3. Under Category B, the financial requirement must be met and evidenced in two parts. 

5.3.4. First, where the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant (if they are in the UK with permission to work) is in salaried employment at the date of application and has been with the same employer, or earning the amount relied upon, for less than the last 6 months, they can count the gross annual salary at the date of application towards the financial requirement. There is no required minimum period for this current employment, provided that the requirements for specified evidence under paragraph 2 of Appendix FM-SE can be met in respect of it.................

 

5.3.9. Second, the person 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 of the applicant’s partner (in the UK or overseas) and/or the applicant (if they are in the UK with permission to work); 
• The gross amount of any specified non-employment income received by the applicant’s partner, the applicant or both jointly, provided they continue to own the relevant asset (e.g. property, interest from shares) at the date of application; and/or 
• The gross amount of any State (UK or foreign) or private pension received by the applicant’s partner or the applicant.

 

If any of that income comes from self employment then you can either use Category F: Last full financial year or Category G: Average of last two full financial years; whichever suits you best. See 9. Self-employment or Director of a specified limited company in the UK in the financial appendix.

 

Obviously, the categories for persons returning to the UK are not relevant here as you and your wife are and will still be UK residents when she applies.

 

She can also use cash savings above £16,000, whether they be in her name, your name or joint, instead of income or, in some cases, combined with income to reduce the level of both required. See 7. Cash savings. Note, though

Quote

7.1.3. Category D: Cash savings cannot be combined with self-employment income, or with income from employment as a director of a specified limited company in the UK, under either Category F or Category G: see section 9 of this guidance. Category D: Cash savings also cannot be combined with part (2) of Category B: salaried and non-salaried employment: see section 5 of this guidance. 

 

Your wife will need to provide the required evidence for each and every source/category of income and/or savings used; see the appendix and Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence

 

Finally, he does not have to use the same source(s) of meeting the requirement with each application, she can use whichever is the best for her at the time.