Thai Spouse Entry Clearance to the UK

[Smileforwaffles]

Hello there.

 

I'd like to bring my Thai wife, through an entry clearance application to come and live with me in England. 

 

I believe we satisfy most of the conditions, but I would be grateful for clarity on a few points.

 

My father died last year, leaving a pension pot which i will, hopefully, soon inherit.

 

1. My question is whether this inherited sum will count as CAT E- Pensions- Whereby it need only have been held in excess of 28 days, or alternatively will it be classified as CAT D- As cash savings, since it is not my own pension, but an inherited one, and thereby subject to a 6 month waiting period before it can be used for evidentiary purposes.

2. I understand in CAT D- Cash Savings- FM:SE- along with 6 months of showing ownership of savings that i’ve accrued,   I must also submit a declaration.

 

 “(b) A declaration by the account holder(s) of the source(s) of the cash savings. “

 

What is the substance or format of this declaration? This is a big point of concern of me, as there’s no guidance i can find on the matter. Mine are a collection of salary/ savings, and gifts.

 I don’t want to waffle, but neither do i wish to omit information deemed to be integral to the success of a prospective application.

 

 

3- Will a failed spouse entry clearance application have its £1000k+ fee refunded?

 

Any other advice, or resources you may see fit to advise me upon would be cherished.

Thanks so much for reading so far, and I truly wish you well

 

 

[theoldgit]

I'll look at your questions 1& 2 later, or somebody may answer in the meantime, but in respect of question 3, if an application is refused then no, the application fee is not refunded, though the NHS Surcharge would be.

[7by7]

Q.1 You say you are inheriting your father's pension pot; which presumably means you will be receiving this as a lump sum, not as a pension income.

 

In which case it will come under Category D: cash savings.

 

7.4. Cash savings – further guidance para 7.4.8 does say

Quote

Under paragraph 11A(c) funds held as cash savings by the applicant, their partner or both jointly at the date of application can have been transferred from investments (including funds liquidated from a pension pot), stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds within the period of 6 months prior to the date of application, provided that:
 
(i) The funds have been in the ownership and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly for at least the period of 6 months prior to the date of application.

(7by7 emphasis)

 But the funds in the pension pot were not in your ownership nor under your control, they belonged to your father and were under his control.

The guidance makes no mention of inherited money, but in my opinion such would be counted as a gift and so must have been in your possession for at least 6 months prior to the application.

 

On the other hand, if you have inherited the pension as pension income, if such a thing is possible, then I think it would come under Category E: Pension.

 

I must stress that all of the above is my opinion only; I am not a professional.

 

Q.2  A simple signed declaration by the account holder along the lines of "I (full name) declare that the source of the money held in (account details) was............." will suffice.

 

Q.3 As theoldgit says, the NHS surcharge will be refunded if her application is unsuccessful; but the application fee wont be. The government's argument for this being that the fee is to pay for processing the application, not for the visa.

 

An argument I would agree with, were the fee set at a reasonable level.

 

But, by the governments own figures, processing a settlement visa costs them £423; yet the fee (w.e.f. 6/4/17) is £1464 (plus another 5ish% due to the government charging in USD at an exchange rate favourable to them)!

 

20 hours ago, Smileforwaffles said:

Any other advice, or resources you may see fit to advise me upon would be cherished.

If you've not already done so, have a read through:

• Family visas: apply from outside the UK
• Financial requirement appendix
• Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence
• Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application
• Tuberculosis testing in Thailand
• You may find the pinned topic UK settlement visa basics useful, although it is out of date in some areas.