# UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement?



## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm a British citizen who is has been living in Lima, Peru with my Peruvian wife & our two kids, anyway we are now planing to move to my country (the UK) & my wife needs to apply for a spouse visa to move to the UK to live with me & our two kids, our two kids are already registered as British so won't require a visa just my wife, just a bit confused regarding the my wife needs to apply for a spouse visa to move to the UK to live with me & our two kids, the two kids are already registered as British so won't require a visa just my wife, just a bit confused regarding the financial requirement, as my plan was to move back to the UK alone first then get a full time job then after a month or so use that as supporting evidence for my wife to be able to meet the financial requirements, but from what i understand i would need to return to the UK alone work for 6 months before i could use my employment status in the UK as supporting evidence for my wifes visa! which would mean i would be apart from my wife & two kids anything from 6 months to a year! that don't seem right & anyone is familiar with how my wife can fulfill the financial requirement i would be really grateful for some help & advise 

Thanks, as my plan was to move back to the UK alone first then get a full time job then after a month or so use that as supporting evidence for my wife to be able to meet the financial requirements, but from what i understand i would need to return to the UK alone work for 6 months before i could use my employment status in the UK as supporting evidence for my wifes visa! which would mean i would be apart from my wife & two kids anything from 6 months to a year! that don't seem right & anyone is familiar with how my wife can fulfill the financial requirement i would be really grateful for some help & advise 

Thanks


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## Leanna (Oct 22, 2012)

chelsearob77 said:


> I'm a British citizen who is has been living in Lima, Peru with my Peruvian wife & our two kids, anyway we are now planing to move to my country (the UK) & my wife needs to apply for a spouse visa to move to the UK to live with me & our two kids, our two kids are already registered as British so won't require a visa just my wife, just a bit confused regarding the my wife needs to apply for a spouse visa to move to the UK to live with me & our two kids, the two kids are already registered as British so won't require a visa just my wife, just a bit confused regarding the financial requirement, as my plan was to move back to the UK alone first then get a full time job then after a month or so use that as supporting evidence for my wife to be able to meet the financial requirements, but from what i understand i would need to return to the UK alone work for 6 months before i could use my employment status in the UK as supporting evidence for my wifes visa! which would mean i would be apart from my wife & two kids anything from 6 months to a year! that don't seem right & anyone is familiar with how my wife can fulfill the financial requirement i would be really grateful for some help & advise
> 
> Thanks, as my plan was to move back to the UK alone first then get a full time job then after a month or so use that as supporting evidence for my wife to be able to meet the financial requirements, but from what i understand i would need to return to the UK alone work for 6 months before i could use my employment status in the UK as supporting evidence for my wifes visa! which would mean i would be apart from my wife & two kids anything from 6 months to a year! that don't seem right & anyone is familiar with how my wife can fulfill the financial requirement i would be really grateful for some help & advise
> 
> Thanks


Okay, as for the financial requirement, you will need an income of £18,600 only as your children, already being British citizens, do not factor in when considering the figure. See Figure 2.8 on UKBA Financial Requirement Annex. 

Regarding how your situation will work. Wait for an official answer from a more-experienced member of the forum here, but as far as I understand you have two options:

1) If you have been earning more than the equivalent of £18,600 in Peru over the past 12 months, all you need is a confirmed job in the UK earning £18,600 with a start date within 3 months. 

or

2) You need to return to the UK alone, as you stated, find a job earning more than £18,600 a year (or £1550 a month gross), wait 6 months and have your wife apply then. 

I agree its not the best situation to be apart from your family for that period of time. Are you currently working? What is your annual salary?

Again, wait for someone here with a better knowledge of this exact situation, but I'm pretty sure those are the options you've got. 

The UKBA website can be difficult to navigate, but if you Google "Financial Requirement UK Spouse VISA" you should get taken to the (very long) document where you will find more information about the types of documents you'll need to submit as evidence.


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## RedCello (Jan 3, 2013)

Leanna said:


> Okay, as for the financial requirement, you will need an income of £18,600 only as your children, already being British citizens, do not factor in when considering the figure. See Figure 2.8 on UKBA Financial Requirement Annex.
> 
> Regarding how your situation will work. Wait for an official answer from a more-experienced member of the forum here, but as far as I understand you have two options:
> 
> ...


I am also not the most experienced person here but it is my understanding that the above is correct. The rules have definitely changed.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Leanna has provided correct advice.
Other options include savings - left untouched for 6 months - of £62,500. This can be combined with employment options already cited, but only to make up the shortfall in your UK job offer or UK job you will be employed in. It cannot help if you haven't earned the required amount in Peru during the past year.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

So basically our options is for me to leave my family here in Peru, work for 6 months in the UK before my wife can even start applying for her visa or we need to have £62,500 saved up in the bank again untouched for 6 months!

I'm currently not employed here in Peru as I don't have the correct documents to be able to work here & even if i did the average monthly wage here in Peru is S/ 1000 which is about £250 around just under £3000 per year!

My wife is a part owner of a business & is currently running an employment agency with her mother which isn't really making any profit so we can't even use that as supporting evidence!

The house we live in here in Peru is owned by my wife & is currently valued at around $150,000 

I understand that the UKBA has those rules in place to stop people coming to the UK just to try & claim benefits & not wanting to work, but for me having to leave my family for over 6 months to fulfil a financial requirement on my part is not very practical, I mean part of the visa application process is proving that mine & my wife's relationship is genuine & me having to leave her for so long will also make our relationship look suspect for them!

Surly me having a permeant job when I arrive in the UK & an official letter from my employer verifying my employment & annual salary should be satisfying enough for them!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> So basically our options is for me to leave my family here in Peru, work for 6 months in the UK before my wife can even start applying for her visa or we need to have £62,500 saved up in the bank again untouched for 6 months!
> 
> I'm currently not employed here in Peru as I don't have the correct documents to be able to work here & even if i did the average monthly wage here in Peru is S/ 1000 which is about £250 around just under £3000 per year!
> 
> ...


It won't and your wife's application will fail. If you don't have savings of £62,500 which has been sitting in an account untouched for 6 months prior to application, then your option is to work in the UK for 6 months with a salary of at least £1550/month before your wife can apply. Your marriage and kids prove that your relationship is genuine.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

nyclon said:


> It won't and your wife's application will fail. If you don't have savings of £62,500 which has been sitting in an account untouched for 6 months prior to application, then your option is to work in the UK for 6 months with a salary of at least £1550/month before your wife can apply. Your marriage and kids prove that your relationship is genuine.


So the only options is we have loads of money saved up in the bank for 6 months, me to leave my family to return to the UK alone to work for 6 months!

It seems then my wife has no chance of ever getting grated a visa as we don't have the kind of money required saved & there's no way i will leave my family to live alone in the UK for over half a year to fulfil the financial requirement!

Well looks like we are stuck here in Peru & 3 of us are British citizen

British justice!


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> So the only options is we have loads of money saved up in the bank for 6 months, me to leave my family to return to the UK alone to work for 6 months!
> 
> It seems then my wife has no chance of ever getting grated a visa as we don't have the kind of money required saved & there's no way i will leave my family to live alone in the UK for over half a year to fulfil the financial requirement!
> 
> ...



Why don't you sell the house and use the money from that to move. If you don't have a job and your wife is also not earning anything, how do you intend to live in the UK if you arrive with nothing anyway?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

chelsearob77 said:


> So the only options is we have loads of money saved up in the bank for 6 months, me to leave my family to return to the UK alone to work for 6 months!
> 
> It seems then my wife has no chance of ever getting grated a visa as we don't have the kind of money required saved & there's no way i will leave my family to live alone in the UK for over half a year to fulfil the financial requirement!
> 
> ...


UK government, in order to reduce the huge number of immigration (net inflow is running at around 190,000 a year) has made it a rule that the British sponsor (usually spouse or partner) has to earn certain amount or that there are savings with equivalent value to show they can fully support their non-EEA family member(s) without becoming a burden on the state. Other countries have similar rules, though details will vary. Do you think it right that simply because someone has a British passport, they should be free to bring in any number of dependants without any regard to how much they will be costing the public purse, which British taxpayers contribute to? While £18,600 may be a lot in Peruvian terms, it's a lot less than the average salary in UK, which is around £25k, which the government has calculated to represent a figure that can support a migrant without undue burden on the state and its public services, such as NHS and education.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

Crawford said:


> Why don't you sell the house and use the money from that to move. If you don't have a job and your wife is also not earning anything, how do you intend to live in the UK if you arrive with nothing anyway?


I find a job first (which I have already had a few good leads) then once my wife's visa is grated she is free to to work,
& we wouldn't be arriving with nothing as we have enough money to get us started there, & I didn't say my wife wasn't earning anything, just not enough to use to support the financial requirement for her visa claim


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

Joppa said:


> UK government, in order to reduce the huge number of immigration (net inflow is running at around 190,000 a year) has made it a rule that the British sponsor (usually spouse or partner) has to earn certain amount or that there are savings with equivalent value to show they can fully support their non-EEA family member(s) without becoming a burden on the state. Other countries have similar rules, though details will vary. Do you think it right that simply because someone has a British passport, they should be free to bring in any number of dependants without any regard to how much they will be costing the public purse, which British taxpayers contribute to? While £18,600 may be a lot in Peruvian terms, it's a lot less than the average salary in UK, which is around £25k, which the government has calculated to represent a figure that can support a migrant without undue burden on the state and its public services, such as NHS and education.


Ok

Firstly when a visa is grated it is stated that the applicant is unable to receive public funds of any kind, & as my wife is married to me she will be eligible to work straight away from when she would arrive in the UK, so the burden you say my wife would be putting on the British taxpayer is couldn't be any further from the truth!
I never said that because I have a british passport that I feel I can bring anyone I want to live in the UK & for the record our two kids are British citizens & have the same right to live there as any British person that was born in the UK!

& like I said before even if I was working here in Peru for the last year the average wage here would never be enough to meet the financial requirement! & just feel some parts of the rules are absolutely ridicules! 

Me having to leave my family here in Peru to work for 6 months in the UK is wrong & the UKBA really need to think & use some common sense, either I find £62,500 out of thin air or I have to move back to the UK to work & live alone for anything from 6 months to a year!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

chelsearob77 said:


> Ok
> 
> Firstly when a visa is grated it is stated that the applicant is unable to receive public funds of any kind, & as my wife is married to me she will be eligible to work straight away from when she would arrive in the UK, so the burden you say my wife would be putting on the British taxpayer is couldn't be any further from the truth!


UK government doesn't rely on prospective employment for migrants, as it may not materialise and can't be counted on. Even though your wife is ineligible for benefits, she will still be using public services like NHS, funded by taxpayers.



> I never said that because I have a british passport that I feel I can bring anyone I want to live in the UK & for the record our two kids are British citizens & have the same right to live there as any British person that was born in the UK!


True, but your wife isn't British or EEA citizen therefore has to meet financial requirement.



> & like I said before even if I was working here in Peru for the last year the average wage here would never be enough to meet the financial requirement! & just feel some parts of the rules are absolutely ridicules!


Ridiculous you mean? I understand the differences in wages and cost of living, but the fact is UK isn't a cheap country to live in and those who hope to move here need financial resources sufficient to meet their needs. 



> Me having to leave my family here in Peru to work for 6 months in the UK is wrong & the UKBA really need to think & use some common sense, either I find £62,500 out of thin air or I have to move back to the UK to work & live alone for anything from 6 months to a year!


I don't find it lacking in common sense. There is a figure - £18,600 to support one migrant in UK (not in Peru, Bangladesh or Angola) and you just have to earn that figure or cover with savings.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> Ok
> 
> Firstly when a visa is grated it is stated that the applicant is unable to receive public funds of any kind, & as my wife is married to me she will be eligible to work straight away from when she would arrive in the UK, so the burden you say my wife would be putting on the British taxpayer is couldn't be any further from the truth!
> I never said that because I have a british passport that I feel I can bring anyone I want to live in the UK & for the record our two kids are British citizens & have the same right to live there as any British person that was born in the UK!
> ...


You haven't worked in Peru for 12 months, because of 'not having correct documents" . Mmmmm...... what does that mean?

Sounds like a good idea that you have to enter the UK, find work and do so for 6 months at least.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

I don't have the correct documents to work here in Peru due to being given the wrong information about becoming a permanent resident here & as a result I am unable to legally work here & am currently here on a visa that expired 11 months ago!


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

I was just reading up on the financial requirement forms & regarding the savings me & my wife would need to have it says £16,000 or more, not the £62,500 I have been informed on here?


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## Leanna (Oct 22, 2012)

chelsearob77 said:


> I was just reading up on the financial requirement forms & regarding the savings me & my wife would need to have it says £16,000 or more, not the £62,500 I have been informed on here?


What it is, is that the UKBA will only look at savings you have over £16,000. So if you have savings under that amount, they don't care. 

However, in order to make a successful application where you aren't depending on any income, you need £18,600 for each year of the visa (30 months or 2.5 years) plus the base of £16,000. That's where the figure of £62,500 comes in. If you read further into the financial requirement guidance, UKBA explains this £16,000 + shortfall x 2.5 figure.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> I was just reading up on the financial requirement forms & regarding the savings me & my wife would need to have it says £16,000 or more, not the £62,500 I have been informed on here?


Emphasis on "or more" in your case. £16,000 is the base as stated. Since you haven't been working and don't have a guaranteed job in the UK making at or above £18,600, if you want to meet the financial requirement by using savings then you will need £62,500.

Have a read through this:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/s...DIs/chp8-annex/section-FM-1.7.pdf?view=Binary


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

OK thanks for that
a question that may be a little bit of topic, but what if my wife had an Italian passport? would that change things regarding the financial requirement?


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## Joanne_Manchester (Feb 18, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> OK thanks for that
> a question that may be a little bit of topic, but what if my wife had an Italian passport? would that change things regarding the financial requirement?


If your wife is Italian, she doesn't need a visa to work/live in the UK.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

Joanne_Manchester said:


> If your wife is Italian, she doesn't need a visa to work/live in the UK.


well she's not, but she can claim Italian citizenship though her grandfather who was Italian & born in Italy!

so your saying with an Italian passport she won't need a visa?


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> well she's not, but she can claim Italian citizenship though her grandfather who was Italian & born in Italy!
> 
> so your saying with an Italian passport she won't need a visa?




No she won't need a visa but it will take a couple of years to go through all the paperwork and red tape to get get an Italian passport.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

Ia couple of years?

All we would need to do is get all the relevant documents for her to clam Italian citizenship then apply for her Italian passport


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> Ia couple of years?
> 
> All we would need to do is get all the relevant documents for her to clam Italian citizenship then apply for her Italian passport



Yes, it will take a couple years. Sorry mate but it's just not that simple.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

nyclon said:


> Yes, it will take a couple years. Sorry mate but it's just not that simple.


i know it won't be a simple process, but once shes been given Italian citizenship, which i'm told she will be able to do via the Italian embassy here in Lima it's just a matter of applying through the embassy for the Italian passport & that can take up to six weeks!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

chelsearob77 said:


> i know it won't be a simple process, but once shes been given Italian citizenship, which i'm told she will be able to do via the Italian embassy here in Lima it's just a matter of applying through the embassy for the Italian passport & that can take up to six weeks!


All I can say is good luck. I've known a couple of people who have gone through this process and it's taken a couple of years. Bureaucracy.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

Well this seems an easier option then having to go though the whole process of my wife having to apply for a visa & me having to leave her & my kids for anything from 6 months to a year! & even then the UKBA could knock back her visa application & then all would have been for nothing!

Anyway I'm going to get her to go to the Italian embassy here in Lima ASAP to see what exactly she will need to do to acquire Italian citizenship & a passport as she is certainly eligible!


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

My wife has looked into her Italian citizenship claim & it is going to take some time for it to go though,
So in the mean time I've has an idea of all of us moving to the Republic of Ireland as I has family & friends that live there, it's an English speaking country (so we both should not have any trouble getting jobs there) & the information I have read so far states that as she is married to me (an EEA passport holder) she is eligible to move there to live & work with me & apparently will be exempt from paying a passport fee! 
I've only read brief parts of this & wonder how this will be possible or do I have to be an Irish passport holder to be able to bring her to live & work in Ireland?


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## Carasek (Apr 8, 2013)

My wife are going to to make an application for a spousal visa to the UK and while looking for information I stumbled across this thread. While the advice posted so far is good and the last post was Jan of this year, I might be able to add a couple of pointers in case someone else also comes across this thread. I assume Rob's now in Ireland - hope all is well? It is maddening that in some ways EU nationals have more rights in Member States other than their own.

Anyway, back to the topic and as has been mentioned, the financial requirements have been put in place by the UK Govt to restrict straightforward and immediate access to the UK's benefits system through the Spousal Visa route.

The UK Govt has set out guidance specified as to:
(a) the permitted sources of income/savings; and
(b) the time periods and permitted combinations of sources applicable to each 
permitted source relied upon; and 
(c) the evidence required for each permitted source relied upon

As of today's date, the regulations and guidance can be found at UKBA Appendix FMSE and UKBA Policy Instruction annex FM1.7. The second link is a lot more straightforward for non-lawyers.

In essence (for those without children):

1) The applicant's partner is called the 'sponsor'. The sponsor ordinarily needs to provide evidence that he/she earns a minimum gross annual income of £18,600 (£1550 p/m gross). The sponsor does not need to provide any information about income/savings beyond this

2) A sponsor with salaried or non-salaried employment income is not required to prove they have already earned £18,600 in the past 12 months if he/she can provide 6 months' worth of wage slips with the same employer up to the time of the application. This is a Category A applicant. Note that the average salary in each month must be at least £1550 gross. The wage slips must be accompanied by evidence to confirm the employment is genuine. Salary, overtime, commission-based pay and bonuses will be counted as income. If this employment was outside of the UK, there are rules setting out the additional requirements imposed (e.g. a confirmed UK job offer within 3 months).

3) If the sponsor has been in employment with a single employer for fewer than 6 months and/or if the sponsor has had a variable income of less than £1550 per month over the 6-month period before making the application, the financial provisions may still be met provided the sponsor can demonstrate he/she has earned at least £18,600 gross in the 12 months preceding the date of the application (a Category B applicant)

4) If the sponsor earns less than £1550 p/m gross through employment, then he/she can make up the difference using particular combinations of non-employment income (e.g. rent income, pensions, share dividends etc), cash savings or self-employed income (note the latter element cannot be used in combination with cash savings). The following formula is used for cash savings [£(annual gross shortfall x 2.5) + £16,000), however the sponsor/applicant must have had these savings for the entire 6-month period before applying for the visa.

5) Self-employed income (from employment and/or share dividends) works in much the same way, but the evidential requirements are far more onerous (see para 9 of UKBA Appendix FMSE), for example annual tax returns will need to be filed (which may seriously delay any application for expats returning to the UK to start a business). Furthermore, self-employed sponsors cannot use savings to 'top up' shortfalls of gross income

6) One can avoid the income requirements entirely if the relevant cash savings between the sponsor and the applicant partner amount to £62,500 and have been held for at least 6 months prior to the application. Note that any sources of these savings deemed to be loans will not count towards the total, so gifts will likely be investigated.

In conclusion, if the sponsor has been working in the UK for over a year then for many it is likely that there will be no delay for their partner in making an application for a spousal visa. However, if the sponsor cannot prove that they have earned £18,600 in the past year (very common for expats), he/she is permitted to claim that they will earn at least £18,600 provided their wage slips from a single employer over 6 months indicate that to be the case. This introduces the potential for a 6-month delay in applying for the visa while the sponsor builds up the proof of sufficient income.

The 6-month delay can only be overcome if:
(a) the sponsor/applicant between them hold at least £62,500 in cash savings for 6 months prior to the application (this can be in bank accounts overseas), or
(b) the sponsor demonstrates that he/she has already earned at least £18,600 gross in the past 12 months

A side effect of (b) above is that expats who return to the UK and earn over £37,200 gross annual income will be able to qualify as sponsors in under 6 months, the higher the income the faster the qualification.

I haven't covered the other income possibilities (for example income from pensions, rent and self-employment) as they have quite complicated evidentiary burdens, nor have I covered children (as your kids don't need to be sponsored).

Hope that helps.


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## chelsearob77 (Jan 18, 2013)

Carasek said:


> My wife are going to to make an application for a spousal visa to the UK and while looking for information I stumbled across this thread. While the advice posted so far is good and the last post was Jan of this year, I might be able to add a couple of pointers in case someone else also comes across this thread. I assume Rob's now in Ireland - hope all is well? It is maddening that in some ways EU nationals have more rights in Member States other than their own.
> 
> Anyway, back to the topic and as has been mentioned, the financial requirements have been put in place by the UK Govt to restrict straightforward and immediate access to the UK's benefits system through the Spousal Visa route.
> 
> ...


Hi there

No we aren't in Ireland yet, I returned to the UK alone about a month ago to try to get some part time work over to raise the money to pay for my wife & kids flights , but I'm having trouble finding regular work here as I can only apply for jobs that don't do a credit check on myself (as I owe the banks & credit card company's here well over £20000 due to debts occurred while I was with my first wife & the costs I had to pay for my divorce from her) 

I've done a little bit of work near where i have been staying for a builder, but it's has only been for some days!

So I'm getting very stressed & worried that I won't have the money in time for when my wife's Irish visa will be granted to pay for hers & the kids flights!

If it was not for my financial problems I have here with the creditors here in the UK then things would be so much easier for me!

There are ways that I could contact the creditors & reach an amicable agreement with them where I would go bankrupt & would be debit free, but that usually works better when it is someone that has a family to support & the fact my family not here in the EU with myself & are currently in Peru (outside the EU) they would not want to reach an agreement of that nature as the way they would see it as I am a single man, not a married man with 2 kids to support! 

Their future is here (well Ireland to start with) as my wife can't stay there in Peru alone with 3 kids without any means to support them!
& whenever the kids are sick it costs them a lot of money they don't have to take them to the doctors (where as it is free both here & in Ireland) 
Also in Peru the kids don't have child benefit (which they would get in Ireland which is about €130 per month per child €260) 

Everyone says I would stand a far better chance getting work in Ireland, yes that is true but the type of visa my wife has applied for is an accompany spouse (EEA National) so in reality we need to be entering Ireland at the same time

That's why I came here to the UK first to try to raise the money needed for their flight tickets & money to start off there,

So there you have it so far it seems I've come back to the UK for nothing


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