# Spouse visa changed requirements - we're stuck!



## en09art (Jun 23, 2013)

To anyone who can help:

I'm from the UK and my Girlfriend is from the US. I met her the first week when she came to England to study for three years at university (and we fell in love soon thereafter). Once we had graduated, we had to part our separate ways. We graduated in July 2012 and have been doing long distance for a year now. 

I stayed with her at her parent's house for three months during Nov, Dec and Jan and she stayed with me at my parent's house for two weeks in May. We have plenty of photographs, skype logs and emails to prove that our love is genuine. 

Our plan was that I would land a grad job, marry her and then bring her over here to live with me and my parents until she found a job and we moved out.

I was working at a restaurant for a while, and my girlfriend is working at an art gallery ($8k per annum) whilst we were searching for grad jobs - so we've saved up some cash.

So I finally got my grad job - but as it's only a startup, I'll be earning 14k until we expand our repertoire of clients. I am therefore falling short of the amount deemed suitable to sponsor her. We were also surprised that the opportunity to have my parents co-sponsor her visa has been removed due to the recent revision of the rules. We know there is the gifted money choice but the amount is absolutely ridiculous, so now we're kinda... stuck.

My question is: does anyone have any suggestions as to the best route we should take (if any) to get her over here and what our options are?


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

en09art said:


> To anyone who can help:
> 
> I'm from the UK and my Girlfriend is from the US. I met her the first week when she came to England to study for three years at university (and we fell in love soon thereafter). Once we had graduated, we had to part our separate ways. We graduated in July 2012 and have been doing long distance for a year now.
> 
> ...


Since you need to be making a minimum of 18,600ppa for at least 6 months for either a fiancee or spousal visa, you could consider taking a part time job to make up the difference and delay applying until 6 months have passed.

Otherwise, you would need savings to make up the difference with an additional base amount. The formula is 16,000p + 2 x 4,600 (amount short) = 25,200 in an account where it is immediately accessible, left untouched for 6 months.

I don't know much about the other visas that are available, so will leave that for more experienced mod's to comment on.

Good luck!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Quite limited because she is a US citizen. 
She can come over on a student visa for postgraduate studies (tuition fees and £800 to £1,000 a month in living costs needed).
Or she can be sponsored for Tier 2 General, but unless she can qualify for a shortage job, it will be quite difficult, as any job has to be advertised and given first to suitably qualified candidate not needing a visa.
To qualify under the family route, in addition to your salary of £14k, you need savings between you of (18600-14000) x 2. 5 + 16000 = £27,500, which has to be in cash account(s) for at least 6 months (Cat A + C).


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

*Oops - Joppa's right*



Joppa said:


> Quite limited because she is a US citizen.
> She can come over on a student visa for postgraduate studies (tuition fees and £800 to £1,000 a month in living costs needed).
> Or she can be sponsored for Tier 2 General, but unless she can qualify for a shortage job, it will be quite difficult, as any job has to be advertised and given first to suitably qualified candidate not needing a visa.
> To qualify under the family route, in addition to your salary of £14k, you need savings between you of (18600-14000) x 2. 5 + 16000 = £27,500, which has to be in cash account(s) for at least 6 months (Cat A + C).


Sorry! I left off the ".5" on the calculation.....it is the amount short (4,600) times 2.5, not 2.

Thanks for catching that, Joppa!


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## Pultet (Sep 17, 2013)

U can still sponsor her whichever category you want even if the sponsor is earning less than 18,600 a year as long as u have savings up to £16k


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Incorrect. See my calculation above.


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## Pultet (Sep 17, 2013)

Ops


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## en09art (Jun 23, 2013)

Hey all! If I didn't say it already, thanks for the help 

SO I'VE BEEN GIVEN A RAISE! 18.6k babyyyy WOOO

I wanted to ask; how much evidence do I need to provide in terms of proof of salary?

e.g. Do I *just* need payslips for six months? Or do I need to provide bank statements as well?

Thanks in advance!


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

en09art said:


> Hey all! If I didn't say it already, thanks for the help
> 
> SO I'VE BEEN GIVEN A RAISE! 18.6k babyyyy WOOO
> 
> ...


Hi there,

for employment you need to provide:

*- IF your applying under CAT A 
- 6 payslips (£1,550 a month)
- 6 bank statements
- Employment contract 
- P60 - if possible
- Employment letter signed by employer stating earnings, etc *

Good luck


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## en09art (Jun 23, 2013)

Thanks Sel; yep we'll be applying under Cat A.

Regarding the Employment letter, what exactly are the requirements for that?


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

en09art said:


> Thanks Sel; yep we'll be applying under Cat A.
> 
> Regarding the Employment letter, what exactly are the requirements for that?


Confirming salary,length of employment, detailing time of work paid unpaid.


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## Simsim22 (Jul 26, 2013)

Sel said:


> Confirming salary,length of employment, detailing time of work paid unpaid.


+ Hours of work + type (temp/Permanent)


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## dr09cao (Mar 27, 2014)

Hi all,

Same couple, different account.

Had a question regarding the salary required to bring my girlfriend over on a spouse visa & the 6 months worth of payslips and bank statements.

I've been with my current employer for 7 months earning more than the minimum amount. I didn't work before this.

Therefore, my total and net pay amounts have fluctuated over the past 7 months due to salary changes and NI + Tax allowances and recalculations.

How will .gov see this when they review our application? Could they scrutinise and reject it due to the fluctuation?

What amount are they looking for on my bank statements if it's 18.6k after tax?

From April 2014 onwards I will have consistent net pay amounts, but can't wait until October to bring my girlfriend to London.

Please advise.

Thanks


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

dr09cao said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Same couple, different account.
> 
> ...


As long as none of your payslips are below 1550 pounds BEFORE tax, you are fine. Your bank statements need to match the amounts on your payslips. When I applied, I attached a small Excel spreadsheet showing the pay date, pre-tax amount, amount deposited, and the bank account used (because my husband opened a new account part way through the 6 month period). I just did this so it would be perfectly clear what was pre-tax and what was deposited. The minimum is an annual income of 18,600 pounds PRE-tax.

Are you planning on marrying in the UK so your girlfriend will be coming over on a fiancee visa? If you were to get married in the US, she could then apply for spouse visa, saving you roughly $1400 USD.


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## dr09cao (Mar 27, 2014)

Water Dragon said:


> As long as none of your payslips are below 1550 pounds BEFORE tax, you are fine. Your bank statements need to match the amounts on your payslips. When I applied, I attached a small Excel spreadsheet showing the pay date, pre-tax amount, amount deposited, and the bank account used (because my husband opened a new account part way through the 6 month period). I just did this so it would be perfectly clear what was pre-tax and what was deposited. The minimum is an annual income of 18,600 pounds PRE-tax.
> 
> Are you planning on marrying in the UK so your girlfriend will be coming over on a fiancee visa? If you were to get married in the US, she could then apply for spouse visa, saving you roughly $1400 USD.


So are you saying that my pay before tax has to be 1,550 every time for six months? 

Mine are having to fluctuate due to the nature of my work having only started in September - but if the payments are averaged out it'll clearly be evident I am earning 18.6k.

Also, do you have any relevant official links as to how this is calculated?

Thanks in advance.


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

dr09cao said:


> So are you saying that my pay before tax has to be 1,550 every time for six months?
> 
> Mine are having to fluctuate due to the nature of my work having only started in September - but if the payments are averaged out it'll clearly be evident I am earning 18.6k.
> 
> ...


18,600/yr = 1550/month (18,600/12). I can't remember the exact formulas for each method that can be applied under (Cat. A or B), but in one case, if one payslip fulls under 1550, they use it to calculate the annual income, in which case, you would be denied as not making enough. Since you weren't working previously, you can't use the method that averages 12 months of income (I think that's Cat. B).

You can do some searches here for the multitude of posts which explain all this, or wait for a more knowledgeable reply. I just don't happen to have the details at my fingertips since it's been quite a while since I applied. However, the math shown above is correct and has no leeway.


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## dr09cao (Mar 27, 2014)

gov . uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285873/FLR_M__12-13.pdf

Checking here @ 7.3A (iii) & (xiv) - it says mark your _annual _ salary and I have been earning that despite the fluctuation. :/


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

dr09cao said:


> gov . uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285873/FLR_M__12-13.pdf
> 
> Checking here @ 7.3A (iii) & (xiv) - it says mark your _annual _ salary and I have been earning that despite the fluctuation. :/


That information is for FLR(M). Will your girlfriend be applying for that, or for the spouse visa for her initial entry into the UK?

This is from a previous post by another experienced person who is on here regularly: 
"The UK sponsor's salary will only count if they are on a salary meeting £18,600 and have been earning it either for 6 months or more in one job (in other words, they must have payslips showing they earnt £1,550 or more for a full 6 months), or if they have earnt a total £18,600 in one or more jobs over a 12-month period, even if some months are lower or there has been more than one employer."

Catagory A is when you are earning at least the minimum in one job, with no payslips under 1550/month. Category B is if you have more than one job, or if your monthly amount fluctuates, then you have to have 12 months proof of income.

It appears that until your pay stabilizes at 1550 or more per month, you will not be able to apply. If you apply anyway, you risk having your application put on hold (which means it's in limbo until the government finishes debating the income issue) and you will lose your application fee. This means your documentation, including passport, will be held up in Sheffield indefinitely. The choice is up to you.


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## LRK (Oct 26, 2013)

Hi,

You can apply in Cat A with a fluctuating salary provided that when divided by 6 and doubled (to make 12 months) your six months of earnings prior to appication amounts to £18,600 or more. It used to be that no payslip could fall below £1550.00 but that is no longer the case.

Page 17 of the FM Financial requirement appendix gives the explanation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285985/IDI6.doc.pdf


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Minimum income of £1,550 a month stills applies to salaried job if you don't receive bonuses, overtime or commissions.
So for example if during the 6 months you have taken unpaid leave and your pay for that month dropped, that lowest amount will be used to work out your annual income.


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## JAJ (Mar 27, 2014)

Hi, just a quick question, I work for Tesco and they refused to write me a letter of employment, as they only send letters for reference to new employers. So my HR will write me a letter of employment but they can only include in the letter:

the date I started working there, my contracted hours and overtime I do.

Due to there privacy policies they can not include my total earnings to date or per month. do you think this will be a problem? I have everything else, my contract states my hourly pay and how much I get per week, and my payslips show my total earning to date, do you think this will be ok?


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## en09art (Jun 23, 2013)

Hey you bunch of helpful peepl:

Another question!
So a few months down the line and now me and my fiancé are organising the various documents that we need to submit in regards to the spousal visa application.

If I were to include a notarised copy of my biodata page of my passport instead of my birth certificate, how important is the date of the notary?

Could I get it notarised now and keep that document till our application in September?

thanks in advance


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

The UK partner only needs to supply a plain photo copy of the bio pages of their passport. Birth certificate is not necessary.


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## en09art (Jun 23, 2013)

Cheers Nyclon - by plain i'm gonna make the assumption that you're saying there is no need for notarisation?

Also: to start the online visa application and make my potential wife's biometrics appointment, do we need the marriage certificate?

Or can we make the biometrics appointment before it arrives?


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

en09art said:


> Cheers Nyclon - by plain i'm gonna make the assumption that you're saying there is no need for notarisation?


No.



> Also: to start the online visa application and make my potential wife's biometrics appointment, do we need the marriage certificate?
> 
> 
> Or can we make the biometrics appointment before it arrives?


You have 14 days from the biometrics appointment to get your documents sent.


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