# UK Spouse Visa refusal



## Gordon1967 (Mar 10, 2013)

I have been trying to bring my wife to the UK to join me. I have been back in the UK from May 2012 and I started work on 06/08/12 with a Salary of £19K per year and on 03/12/12 we applied through Worldbridge in Belgrade for my Wifes spouse visa. On 14/01/13 I was promoted and my salary is now £21K with a £1000 sign on bonus. My wife is a journalist and writer but the nature of most serbian employers are they pay their staff in cash with no papers. Therefore the financial requirement is all down to my salary. A bit of History - in 2009 I left the UK after taking voluntary redundancy with a 2 year salary payment with was approximately £50K and for 2 years in Serbia I was living off this redundancy package/savings. I returned to the UK as a necessity as I am not a Serbian speaker and could not find employment. I went back to Belgrade to visit my wife and also I visited the British Embassy in Belgrade to give them updated papers including further payslips and evidence of my new position which they took at the gate (not being allowed into the embassy).

On the 07/03/13 my wife went to pick up her papers from Worldbridge and her application has been refused due to financial requirement. I accept that I wasnt working for 6 months but we were under the impression that a permanent contract of employment showing £19K and further evidence of promotion and salary of £21000 was suffficient to prove my finance.

Also on the refusal they said that we didnt have savings of* £62500*. I am absolutely astonished at this figure as is everyone I have told about this. We have savings in cash but we are now in the position of how do we prove these savings.

If we appeal the decision will they take into account further documents after the date of initital application? 

Has anyone ever came across this amount of £62500 before? 

Any thoughts or advice would be most welcome.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Gordon1967 said:


> I have been trying to bring my wife to the UK to join me. I have been back in the UK from May 2012 and I started work on 06/08/12 with a Salary of £19K per year and on 03/12/12 we applied through Worldbridge in Belgrade for my Wifes spouse visa. On 14/01/13 I was promoted and my salary is now £21K with a £1000 sign on bonus. My wife is a journalist and writer but the nature of most serbian employers are they pay their staff in cash with no papers. Therefore the financial requirement is all down to my salary. A bit of History - in 2009 I left the UK after taking voluntary redundancy with a 2 year salary payment with was approximately £50K and for 2 years in Serbia I was living off this redundancy package/savings. I returned to the UK as a necessity as I am not a Serbian speaker and could not find employment. I went back to Belgrade to visit my wife and also I visited the British Embassy in Belgrade to give them updated papers including further payslips and evidence of my new position which they took at the gate (not being allowed into the embassy).
> 
> On the 07/03/13 my wife went to pick up her papers from Worldbridge and her application has been refused due to financial requirement. I accept that I wasnt working for 6 months but we were under the impression that a permanent contract of employment showing £19K and further evidence of promotion and salary of £21000 was suffficient to prove my finance.
> 
> ...


You can't appeal this decision, as you haven't quite met the income requirement and have failed miserably (i.e. not at all) to meet the savings requirement.

On a positive note, once you've been working at your current job for 6 months and have 6 months (or more) worth of payslips showing a pre-tax income of £1550 per month and bank statements to support this, you will have satisfied the minimum income requirement.

In regards to the £62500 savings requirement...

On July 9, 2012, the Home Office changed the immigration rules for non-EEA citizens wishing to come to and settle in the UK. They published a Statement of Intent in June 2012... because of this, there was a mad rush of people trying to apply by midnight local time in order to qualify to be grandfathered in under the so-called "Old Rules" immigration laws.

Since you couldn't prove the £18600 p.a. minimum income benchmark that was introduced last July, the ECO looked to see if your amount of savings was sufficient to cover... to determine this, they use the following formula

( _*n*_ x 2.5 ) + 16000 = Minimum Required Savings

where

_*n*_ = difference between £18600 and your current annual income (which, in your case was assessed to be £0, for all intents and purposes)

2.5 = the duration of the first of two Further Leave to Remain visas the applicant will require to achieve Indefinite Leave to Remain

16000 = the minimum income benchmark above which the average Briton no longer qualifies to receive public funds. Since the applicant will not be able to receive any public funds, the UKBA wants to be sure that the sponsor has sufficient funds to support both themselves and the applicant.

(18600 x 2.5) + 16000
46500+16000
= 62500

I would imagine from your reaction to this information, you don't have this amount in cash savings.

While this is a disappointment, there _is_ hope for your situation. As mentioned before, as soon as you have 6 months worth of payslips showing a _*gross income* (i.e. pre tax)_ of £1550 or more per month, plus 6 months worth of original bank statements (covering the same time period as the payslips), then you'll have satisfied the income requirement and should be able to lodge a successful application... I cannot say that the re-applicaiton _will be_ successful, as I am not a UKBA entry clearance officer, but based upon what you've told us, you appear to be well on the way to an approval.

Good luck to you!


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## MacUK (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi there!
I would write in Serbian but I think it's against the rules of the forum.
I applied 4 days ago, in Macedonia, but my documents were sent off to Belgrade.

Could you type out the exact wording of the refusal letter, so Joppa or some of the heavy weights can answer you more accurately? 

From what you have stated, it looks like they refused your wife because you didn't earn the amount specified by Category A continuously for 6 months prior to the date of application. 

Again, I am not sure, best to wait for Joppa to reply to your queries, but the refusal letter would be a great start so that some of the more experienced members can help you.


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## Gordon1967 (Mar 10, 2013)

Thank you very much from both of us. 

Now I can see where this amount has come from. By the end of this week I will have 8 payslips which are all over £1550 gross apart from the 1st one which is just below as I started employment 1 week into the month. However they dont all add up to, year to date, of £18600. Does this matter ? Will I then have to make this up with savings?

Thanks again


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## Gordon1967 (Mar 10, 2013)

@MacUK 

Quite true. It is because of the six months. I was at the UK embassy in Belgrade last Monday and they told me they deal with all the Balkans applications there which is why all applicants seem to be waiting over 3 months now.


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## MacUK (Jul 3, 2012)

I know I think they are cutting back on staff, and this is creating a looong wait for everyone. I was warned to expect a decision within 12 weeks.

If you wish to apply again under Category A, be sure that you have a full 6 months worth of payslips, and corresponding bank statements, and be aware that all of those payslips MUST NOT dip below £1550 at any time during the 6 months prior to the application. 
Sadly, UKBA staff have been instructed to implement the new financial requirement rigorously, and that is why, although you do meet the minimum threshold of £18 600, you were refused. However, if you do apply again under Category A, and if all the other aspects of your application are OK, then I think you have a high chance of success, but again I don't know all the exceptional circumstances of your application, so I really can't say for sure.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Gordon1967 said:


> Thank you very much from both of us.
> 
> Now I can see where this amount has come from. By the end of this week I will have 8 payslips which are all over £1550 gross apart from the 1st one which is just below as I started employment 1 week into the month. However they dont all add up to, year to date, of £18600. Does this matter ? Will I then have to make this up with savings?
> 
> Thanks again


As long as the 6 most recent payslips show a _monthly_ pre tax amount of £1550 or more, then you're "in it to win it," as it were...

£18600 (pre-tax annual income requirement) ÷ £1550 (pre-tax monthly income) = 12 months... the UKBA assumes that if you have been gainfully employed for a minimum of 6 months then the odds are that you'll remain employed long term/permanently, so they'll take you on your word that your income will indeed meet the income requirement (substantiated with payslips and bank statements).

So, using those 6 months worth of payslips, you will apply under "Category A" and proceed from there.

Good luck to you... chin up and hang in there - things are looking up, for sure!


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## Gordon1967 (Mar 10, 2013)

Your sponsor is not exempt from the financial requirements as defined paragraph E-ECP.3.3 I am not able to take into account any potential employment you have available to you in the UK or any offers of financial support from third parties. In order to meet the financial requirements of the Rules your sponsor must show that either he has been in employment for 6 months or more with the same employer and meets the financial threshold requirement of £18600 or if your sponser must be able to show evidence that in the 12 months prior to your application a joint level of income required to meet the financial threshold.

I note that your sponsor has provided evidence of his emplyment with XXXXXX which shows his income at £19000. Furthermore, I acknowledge receipt of further documents submitted on 06th March 2013 at the British Embassy in Belgrade which shows that you husband has been promoted and now earns an annual income of £21000. I have considered all documents relating to your sponsors employment but have noted that at the time of your application - dated 3rd December 2012 your sponsor had only been in employment in the UK for 4 months, not the required 6 months.

Furthermore I acknowledge that you have provided evidence of your previous employer, XXXXX which states that you were employed with them from January 2012 until November 2012 however you have not provided any evidence of your income from this employment to show that you and your partner had a koint income of £18600 for the 12 months prior to your application date.

In light of the above you have not satisfactorily evidenced that you meet the financial requirements through salaried employment. I have therefore considered whether you meet the requirements relying on cash savings. However the inly up to date documents you have provided relating to cash savings are bank statements from XXXXX dated 15th February 2013 which state that in this date your sponsor held £2121.44 in his account. In order to meet the financial requirements relating to cash savings your sponsor needs to show £62500. This is not sufficient to meet the financial requirements. I therefore refuse your application under the paragraph EC-P.1.1(d) of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. (E-ECP.2.1)


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Gordon1967 said:


> Your sponsor is not exempt from the financial requirements as defined paragraph E-ECP.3.3 I am not able to take into account any potential employment you have available to you in the UK or any offers of financial support from third parties. *In order to meet the financial requirements of the Rules your sponsor must show that either he has been in employment for 6 months or more with the same employer and meets the financial threshold requirement of £18600* or if your sponser must be able to show evidence that in the 12 months prior to your application a joint level of income required to meet the financial threshold.
> 
> I note that your sponsor has provided evidence of his emplyment with XXXXXX which shows his income at £19000. Furthermore, I acknowledge receipt of further documents submitted on 06th March 2013 at the British Embassy in Belgrade which shows that you husband has been promoted and now earns an annual income of £21000._* I have considered all documents relating to your sponsors employment but have noted that at the time of your application - dated 3rd December 2012 your sponsor had only been in employment in the UK for 4 months, not the required 6 months.*_
> 
> ...


You _right now_ have enough documentation to show that you meet the minimum salaried employment requirement as stated in the reasons for refusal letter (the red bits), so you don't have to even think about what they've said about your savings (or supposed lack thereof) for the application.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes. It's pretty clear to me.
You were turned down because:
a) On your application date, your sponsor wasn't employed for the required 6 months but only 4 (Cat A).
b) During the past 12 months, you failed to show your sponsor has earned the required amount because you didn't send in evidence relating to income in his previous job (Cat B).
c) Your sponsor doesn't have enough savings to meet the requirement (Cat D).

So you were correctly turned down. When you reapply, you should show evidence of employment over 6 months earning £1550 gross every month (Cat A), or income during the past 12 months through two jobs meeting the minimum requirement (Cat B).


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