# UK Spouse Visa for Chinese Wife



## bigkev81 (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi forumeurs,

I really hope someone can shed some light on the situation myself and my wife are in before we go ahead and splash out £800+ for a visa. 

A little about me/us: 

I'm British, 31 years old, been living in China for 2 and a half years, have a job lined up if I can go back to the UK with my wife, will stay with parents until we find a place to rent, don't have 3-6 months worth of bank statements(In China) I live in China with my wife of 3 months( Together for year & half) My wife has also recently past the Pearson English exam. 


We have just shy of £20,000 in our Chinese bank account which has been in the bank for just shy of 4 months. according to some document which requires a deep search on the UKBA website, they require any evidence relating to savings to be held for at least 6 months.

Q: Is this really going to give us an instant refusal as we don't meet this requirement. 


I also read from the same document from the UKBA website something to do with having £62,500. Can't remember the exact figure or the reason why. 

If someone can explain any or all of the above from experience, or if someone has seeked advice or any info that would be a help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Kevin


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## sabs (Aug 18, 2012)

in a similar situation. my understandingis that if u want to go back to uk with wife, ur income here in china in te last 12 months has to be over 18600 pounds and the joblined up has to be able to bring in an income exceeding that number too. 

savings above 16000 pounds can make up for inadequate income regarding the future job in uk, but cant be used to meet the shortfall of the previous income. with 62500 pounds as savings which must have been held by uor ur wife or jointly for over 6 months, ur wife will be in the clear for entry even if u dont have a job offer in the uk

hope it helps, spent halfa day reading aboutspouse visa on ukba, its te most confusing thing ive read in english


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

bigkev81 said:


> Hi forumeurs,
> 
> I really hope someone can shed some light on the situation myself and my wife are in before we go ahead and splash out £800+ for a visa.
> 
> ...


To rely on a job offer in UK starting within 3 months of your return (together), you need to have earned £18,600 during the last 12 months in China. The evidence for this will be bank statement, pay stubs, employment contract and letter from employer. While you need all four, missing one from the four may be acceptable, if other items confirm your pay.

If you need to rely on savings, the shortfall must be multiplied by 2.5 and £16,000 added, so if you are £3000 short, you need 2.5 x 3000 + 16000 = £23,000. And the required amount must be in your account untouched for 6 months. £62,500 is the amount in savings you need if you have no salaried employment.

So you are almost there with job offer and income during the past 12 months, if you can find acceptable evidence for it.


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## bigkev81 (Aug 18, 2012)

Joppa said:


> To rely on a job offer in UK starting within 3 months of your return (together), you need to have earned £18,600 during the last 12 months in China. The evidence for this will be bank statement, pay stubs, employment contract and letter from employer. While you need all four, missing one from the four may be acceptable, if other items confirm your pay.
> 
> If you need to rely on savings, the shortfall must be multiplied by 2.5 and £16,000 added, so if you are £3000 short, you need 2.5 x 3000 + 16000 = £23,000. And the required amount must be in your account untouched for 6 months. £62,500 is the amount in savings you need if you have no salaried employment.
> 
> So you are almost there with job offer and income during the past 12 months, if you can find acceptable evidence for it.


Hi,

Thanks for the reply. All very confusing and very annoying. Being British, it seems we don't get any preferential treatment at all. Fortunately I have access to more money, but this means transferring to my current savings account ( Approx £19,000) meaning moving £43,500 to make up the £62,500 ( Which is earning good interest for me) and having to wait a further 6 months, right? It's ridiculous. 

I have been out of work in China for at least 6 months as I was working on a small business venture that was running well and earning money ( Cash in Hand) however my Chinese college has gone awol :-( 


So, or though I have more than £16k in my bank now and have a job offer lined up in the uk. Would having a confirmed letter from the UK company and waiting another 2-3 months so that the £19k currently in my savings account would of been held for 6 months be sufficient enough to apply for the spouse visa?


What's the simplest way to get a Spouse visa. I mean for god sake, we will stay with parents in the Uk till we arrange an apartment and pretty much start earning in my first week of arrival. Why make it so difficult. If these things can be proved, why why why!!! ahhhhhhhhh

Again, thanks for the help. You all deserve a beer.


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## bigkev81 (Aug 18, 2012)

sabs said:


> in a similar situation. my understandingis that if u want to go back to uk with wife, ur income here in china in te last 12 months has to be over 18600 pounds and the joblined up has to be able to bring in an income exceeding that number too.
> 
> savings above 16000 pounds can make up for inadequate income regarding the future job in uk, but cant be used to meet the shortfall of the previous income. with 62500 pounds as savings which must have been held by uor ur wife or jointly for over 6 months, ur wife will be in the clear for entry even if u dont have a job offer in the uk
> 
> hope it helps, spent halfa day reading aboutspouse visa on ukba, its te most confusing thing ive read in english



Thanks for your reply,

Really so frustrating. We also have a child on the way ( Due next Jan) ideally I would like to have my child delivered in the Uk. Does this have any bearing on the application? 

The only way is to rely on savings as I have not been in full time employment since Early Jan. So, with the Baby and Job offer confirmed! would I still need £62,500 saved and untouched for 6 months?

Thanks


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Having a child on the way will have no impact on the conditions of obtaining a spouse visa for your wife.


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## sabs (Aug 18, 2012)

bigkev81 said:


> Thanks for your reply,
> 
> Really so frustrating. We also have a child on the way ( Due next Jan) ideally I would like to have my child delivered in the Uk. Does this have any bearing on the application?
> 
> ...


Congrats on the child!

To answer your second question, I am afraid the answer is yes, which means if you choose to rely on savings, your child will have to be born here in china. 

We are really in a very similar situation, so I hope you don't mind my using your topic to throw in some questions I have.

I am a Chinese national married to an Englishman. Our daughter was born this February here in China, and we have been planning to move to England ever since. Things are looking grim after the new policy came into play last month. 

My husband has been working here for five years and his income last year was about 12,000 pounds. Mine was about 7,000 as I was, most of the time, on maternity leave. Our savings are about 13,000 pounds which haven't been touched in the last three months. We have property that we can sell for 40,000 pounds and my parents are willing to lend us at least 10,000 pounds, which we can pay back whenever. 

Our solution to the financial requiremmnt so far is for him to return to England and work for six months, when the salaried work requirement is met, we will apply for a spouse visa. It's a depressing plan because it means our little daughter will miss her first Christmas in England, and her father will miss her first birthday. 

So, my big question is, Is there a better way around it? A why that's shorter in time and doesn't require so much seperation time? It's almost impossible to find a Chinese job that pays as well as an English one. So it seems unfair to British expats living in China and wanting to move back together with a Chinese family.

My other question regards my daughter, she is now registered as a Chinese citizen. So is it wiser for her to leave China as a British citizen or vice-versa? And if it's better for her to leave holding a british passport, how can we apply?

And lastly, I passed BEC higher ten years ago, and the certificate I have is very different from the ones they issue now, thus it doesn't have everything they ask for. I don't have a 'secret number' that they can go online to verify the authenticity of my certificate. So does that mean I will need to sit in another language test?

Thanks in advance for reading and answering my long post. And Kevin, I hope our approach has helped you in some way.


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## bigkev81 (Aug 18, 2012)

sabs said:


> Congrats on the child!
> 
> To answer your second question, I am afraid the answer is yes, which means if you choose to rely on savings, your child will have to be born here in china.
> 
> ...



Many thanks 

I'm really pissed with the changes to be honest. How unfair. I mean, who are people that sit behind desks earning from the government to decide the future of ones family by a few votes. 

I really do not want my child born and raised in Horrible Beijing for various reasons and my wife feels the same way. It seems I will have to now wait another 6 months+ ......

There must be alternatives.?


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## bigkev81 (Aug 18, 2012)

sabs said:


> Congrats on the child!
> 
> To answer your second question, I am afraid the answer is yes, which means if you choose to rely on savings, your child will have to be born here in china.
> 
> ...


Everyone's help has been very much appreciated.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

sabs said:


> Congrats on the child!
> 
> To answer your second question, I am afraid the answer is yes, which means if you choose to rely on savings, your child will have to be born here in china.
> 
> ...


Your daughter is a dual Chinese-British national from birth, whether you apply for her passport or not. 



> My husband has been working here for five years and his income last year was about 12,000 pounds. Mine was about 7,000 as I was, most of the time, on maternity leave. Our savings are about 13,000 pounds which haven't been touched in the last three months. We have property that we can sell for 40,000 pounds and my parents are willing to lend us at least 10,000 pounds, which we can pay back whenever.


Loan from your parents is inadmissible. It has to be a cash gift, and in your account untouched for 6 months, like all other savings. 



> Our solution to the financial requirement so far is for him to return to England and work for six months, when the salaried work requirement is met, we will apply for a spouse visa. It's a depressing plan because it means our little daughter will miss her first Christmas in England, and her father will miss her first birthday.


That seems the only realistic way. 



> So, my big question is, Is there a better way around it? A why that's shorter in time and doesn't require so much seperation time? It's almost impossible to find a Chinese job that pays as well as an English one. So it seems unfair to British expats living in China and wanting to move back together with a Chinese family.


Not really. Selling your house and getting cash gift from your parents will still mean you have to wait at least 6 months in order to keep £62.500 untouched in your account,



> My other question regards my daughter, she is now registered as a Chinese citizen. So is it wiser for her to leave China as a British citizen or vice-versa? And if it's better for her to leave holding a british passport, how can we apply?


China doesn't allow dual citizenship, so you need to proceed with caution. Read carefully the embassy site on nationality of a child born in China: http://ukinchina.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-china/Registering-a-birth



> And lastly, I passed BEC higher ten years ago, and the certificate I have is very different from the ones they issue now, thus it doesn't have everything they ask for. I don't have a 'secret number' that they can go online to verify the authenticity of my certificate. So does that mean I will need to sit in another language test?


Almost certainly you need a fresh pass.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

bigkev81 said:


> Thanks for the reply. All very confusing and very annoying. Being British, it seems we don't get any preferential treatment at all. Fortunately I have access to more money, but this means transferring to my current savings account ( Approx £19,000) meaning moving £43,500 to make up the £62,500 ( Which is earning good interest for me) and having to wait a further 6 months, right? It's ridiculous.
> 
> I have been out of work in China for at least 6 months as I was working on a small business venture that was running well and earning money ( Cash in Hand) however my Chinese college has gone awol :-(
> 
> ...


You don't need to transfer your savings to China, provided they are cash (no-notice) account. All you need to do is all elements that make up £62,500 must be held in your account(s), in different countries and in different currencies where necessary, for 6 months, untouched.

As you haven't been earning the required amount in China for the past 12 months, you can't apply on the basis of your job offer. So either savings or working in UK for 6 months earning at least £18,600. 

There isn't any obvious alternative route for your wife to join you in UK, other than as visitor (for 6 months; visitor visa needed). She will then have to return to China to apply for her spouse visa. There are student and sponsored work visas, but not really viable with a new-born baby.


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## sabs (Aug 18, 2012)

Thanks Joppa for your advice. I am very glad that I found this place to ask questions and I feel a lot less anxious now that I have a better understanding of the situation. 

I guess we will just stick to our plan and focus on the bright side. To join my husband in England with a place to live sorted and him earning will be easier on the family especially the baby.


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## kreisler1730 (Aug 20, 2012)

bigkev81 said:


> Hi forumeurs,
> 
> I really hope someone can shed some light on the situation myself and my wife are in before we go ahead and splash out £800+ for a visa.
> 
> ...


Hi there,

It would seem that the UK government wants to make it as difficult as possible for we expats to take our Chinese wives to the UK.
I have lived and worked in China for nine years and been married to my wife for almost as long and my recent investigations into immigration left my head spinning!!!
I have never read anything so confusing, and am still unsure of what forms to fill in and how we can ensure that we qualify.
After filling in a VAF4A form on-line it then asked me to select an appendix form from the five listed. This was interesting because none of them were specific to me.
In the end I chose appendix 1 as 'a refugee wanting to resettle in the UK', but I am sure this cannot be right!
Also within the VAF4A and appendix 1 it asks about a sponsor. Naturally I am unable to do this, and although my wife can raise the 62,500 pounds I do not think that she can fill in the sponsor part because it asks about employers in the UK and National Insurance numbers, yet more confusion.

Can some kind person please advise us on what forms we need to fill in.

Some background:

I have no job in the UK ( a friend has promised to get me one however).
I have no home in the UK.
We own our home here in China.
Our children (three) are all grown up.
We have savings in excess of 62,500 pound
My wife is a Chinese citizen.
I am a British citizen.

Please help.


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## sabs (Aug 18, 2012)

kreisler1730 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> It would seem that the UK government wants to make it as difficult as possible for we expats to take our Chinese wives to the UK.
> I have lived and worked in China for nine years and been married to my wife for almost as long and my recent investigations into immigration left my head spinning!!!
> ...


Hi, there,

You are the sponsor if your wife wants to go on a spouse visa. It doesn't matter who raised the money. 

I think you should be qualified if the savings have been untouched for six months.


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## sabs (Aug 18, 2012)

Quick question Joppa, 

Just to double check, if we can raise 62500 and wait for six months, does that mean the family can move over together? Regardless what income the sponsor made in the past 12 months or will be making in the future? 

If so, it might work for all three cases here.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

sabs said:


> Quick question Joppa,
> 
> Just to double check, if we can raise 62500 and wait for six months, does that mean the family can move over together? Regardless what income the sponsor made in the past 12 months or will be making in the future?
> 
> If so, it might work for all three cases here.


Yes, provided it's really your money (not loans), and there are no other non-UK dependants.


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## kreisler1730 (Aug 20, 2012)

sabs said:


> Hi, there,
> 
> You are the sponsor if your wife wants to go on a spouse visa. It doesn't matter who raised the money.
> 
> I think you should be qualified if the savings have been untouched for six months.


OK thanks for the advice!


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## bigkev81 (Aug 18, 2012)

Oh well, £62,500 and 6 months it is then. Seems Britain and China both are **** governments ( China more than....) good luck.


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## kreisler1730 (Aug 20, 2012)

bigkev81 said:


> Many thanks
> 
> I'm really pissed with the changes to be honest. How unfair. I mean, who are people that sit behind desks earning from the government to decide the future of ones family by a few votes.
> 
> ...


I am in complete agreement with you. These bloody bureaucrats that sit behind desks just thinking up ways to gain votes it's not fair at all. Especially when you consider that we are trying to do this thing legitimately, but many are travelling to the UK on family visas and then staying there for many year and working illegally.
I personally know of one lady that has a daughter in the UK and she is now planning to return there again. Her first stay lasted 8 years and she worked in London as a 'Nanny'!
I am tearing my hair out trying to calculate the logistics of getting my wife to the UK, but it has been made so difficult now.
During my stay in China (almost 10 yrs) I have helped several ladies with paperwork for US visas and it is so much easier, and there are no english exams required. In fact the last lady I helped had zero ability in all aspects of the English language.
Now our wives have to travel all the way to Beijing to sit this GESE (Trinity college) exam, and there are only two venues there.
Then if you add to this the problems of employment in the UK(not so much for my wife because funnily enough she can find work easier than I) you have a serious headache!!!
It may sound as though I am winging but the recent changes in immigration regulations are simply unfair and unreasonable.
I suppose we could wait until the Labour party get back into office which I don't think will be very long incidentally. It seems that hardly a week goes by when that clown at No.10 stuffs up again!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kreisler1730 said:


> I am in complete agreement with you. These bloody bureaucrats that sit behind desks just thinking up ways to gain votes it's not fair at all. Especially when you consider that we are trying to do this thing legitimately, but many are travelling to the UK on family visas and then staying there for many year and working illegally.
> I personally know of one lady that has a daughter in the UK and she is now planning to return there again. Her first stay lasted 8 years and she worked in London as a 'Nanny'!
> I am tearing my hair out trying to calculate the logistics of getting my wife to the UK, but it has been made so difficult now.
> During my stay in China (almost 10 yrs) I have helped several ladies with paperwork for US visas and it is so much easier, and there are no english exams required. In fact the last lady I helped had zero ability in all aspects of the English language.
> ...


Don't expect any incoming Labour government to repeal immigration changes. They have even admitted recently they made a mistake in immigration policy when they were last in power and weren't strict enough!


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## kreisler1730 (Aug 20, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Don't expect any incoming Labour government to repeal immigration changes. They have even admitted recently they made a mistake in immigration policy when they were last in power and weren't strict enough!


That's what they are saying now, but as both you and I know governments often do U-turns!
What people like us should do is lobby the government into easing up the regulations for legitimate cases, and clamp down on all those illegals that are wondering around in our fair country and taking advantage of the system.
The problem is that it is just so easy to clamp down and make immigration more difficult, just change the rules, but catching illegals is so much more difficult and expensive.
I am furious that I did not take advantage of the situation before the rules changed.
My wife and I are very sorry that we didn't go ahead with our plans 18 months ago, then it would have been so easy, and now we would both be back in Blitey and working, instead we are still here and now stuck.
To be honest we have looked at the myriad difficulties and have decided to postpone returning to the UK until either things ease up or after my wife retires in 6.5yrs time.


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## wikks (Aug 31, 2012)

hi to all,i am new to this forum just want to ask a quick question i am going to sponser my wife in couple of months she is in pakistan atm as i checked ay ukba website my minimum annual salary has to be 18600+ and i am earning 19000 atm but what i am not sure is how much saving i have to show in my bank account
any help would be nice


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Have replied to you in your other thread.

Essentially, wait at least 6 months at your current income level, keep ALL of your payslips and then you'll not have to show any savings.

Alternatively, if you and your Mrs. can show a minimum balance of £17500 that has sat in the bank for AT LEAST 6 months (and the UKBA will require _official_ bank statements to prove that the funds have been there for the stipulated amount of time) then you can apply whenever you wish. You may accept monetary gifts from family to help you get to the £17500 but the £££ must sit in the bank for requisite 6 months or more in order for it to be considered.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kreisler1730 said:


> That's what they are saying now, but as both you and I know governments often do U-turns!
> What people like us should do is lobby the government into easing up the regulations for legitimate cases, and clamp down on all those illegals that are wondering around in our fair country and taking advantage of the system.
> The problem is that it is just so easy to clamp down and make immigration more difficult, just change the rules, but catching illegals is so much more difficult and expensive.
> I am furious that I did not take advantage of the situation before the rules changed.
> ...


I'm not at all optimistic that the government - any government - will turn back the clock on immigration rules to make it easier to migrate to UK. And they have public opinion on their side - the very people who will hopefully vote them into office. Some 80% of the electorate support curbing immigration, including legal migration. While tweaking the rules may be possible, and they may be successful legal challenges on details, I don't think a major backpeddling is on the card. So I suggest to anyone in your sad situation to start making plans without an anticipation of any easing of rules to meet the financial and other requirements for family migration.


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

What I don't like about the new rules is the complete lack of sense and flexibility. Although me and my husband together easily earn over 18600 a year, my income if I applied for the spouse visa now would not count as I live outside the UK. The fact I work online and my job can easily be done from the Moon if there was good enough internet connection is irrelevant. The fact my clients can confirm that is irrelevant. I am automatically considered a complete invalid, incapable of work, who is presumably joining her husband as a pet dog which needs to be taken care of and is quite expensive to keep... The entire visa application process has become so much depersonalised. I much preferred the days when you would go into the embassy and be interviewed and asked questions and get a chance to speak English to people there face to face, rather than sit a TOFL style test, available twice a year. But maybe I'm just a bit old fashioned...


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

ashkevron said:


> What I don't like about the new rules is the complete lack of sense and flexibility. Although me and my husband together easily earn over 18600 a year, my income if I applied for the spouse visa now would not count as I live outside the UK. The fact I work online and my job can easily be done from the Moon if there was good enough internet connection is irrelevant. The fact my clients can confirm that is irrelevant. I am automatically considered a complete invalid, incapable of work, who is presumably joining her husband as a pet dog which needs to be taken care of and is quite expensive to keep... The entire visa application process has become so much depersonalised. I much preferred the days when you would go into the embassy and be interviewed and asked questions and get a chance to speak English to people there face to face, rather than sit a TOFL style test, available twice a year. But maybe I'm just a bit old fashioned...


I think the Home Office is focusing on the role of UK sponsors to provide the financial means for family migration. If you read the preamble to the new rules, it says that the applicant's overseas income or job prospect in UK is not a guarantee of a continuing income in UK, where they are moving to. Realising the tough job market out there, what they accept are actual job in UK (usually belonging to the sponsor), firm job offer or sufficient savings. As for online work, as it's a growing area and will increasingly become important, I can see it being considered for meeting the requirement in any future revisions. As things stand, they want to see a job from a British employer performed in UK, for easier verifications and financial security.

Gone are the days when everything was personalised with the vaguest of rules and regulations (before the days of the internet), and cases were decided at the whim of a visa officer. With around half a million people moving to UK each year, it's just not feasible and ways had to be found to process as many applicants as possible with clear rules impartially applied. At least you now know what exactly you must do to meet the visa requirements.


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

Joppa said:


> I think the Home Office is focusing on the role of UK sponsors to provide the financial means for family migration. If you read the preamble to the new rules, it says that the applicant's overseas income or job prospect in UK is not a guarantee of a continuing income in UK, where they are moving to. Realising the tough job market out there, what they accept are actual job in UK (usually belonging to the sponsor), firm job offer or sufficient savings. As for online work, as it's a growing area and will increasingly become important, I can see it being considered for meeting the requirement in any future revisions. As things stand, they want to see a job from a British employer performed in UK, for easier verifications and financial security.
> 
> Gone are the days when everything was personalised with the vaguest of rules and regulations (before the days of the internet), and cases were decided at the whim of a visa officer. With around half a million people moving to UK each year, it's just not feasible and ways had to be found to process as many applicants as possible with clear rules impartially applied. At least you now know what exactly you must do to meet the visa requirements.


Yes, I have to agree that having crystal clear financial requirement does have some advantages as at least one knows exactly what is required. And the streamlining of the process makes everything faster and clearer. But whereas before cases were indeed decided at the whim of a visa officer, I still preferred it as there was something more human about it. I could argue about the impartiality of the 18600 financial requirement for someone living in London renting compared to someone who lives in rural Wales and owns their house outright, or that a certain number of people working over the net are now caught in no man's land, but that's not what's bugging me as much as just being treated solely through numbers and, more importantly, as numbers. But this probably comes from me already working with numbers all day long, I should probably get a "more social" job stacking shelves in Tesco and that will change my mind in no time


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## Hobbt147 (Sep 10, 2012)

*Accommodation*



bigkev81 said:


> Hi forumeurs,
> 
> I really hope someone can shed some light on the situation myself and my wife are in before we go ahead and splash out £800+ for a visa.
> 
> ...




So what living accommodation do you have to provide for you wife as I am going through the same thing ?


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