# UK Spouse VISA - Financial Requirement Query



## AutumnBeds (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi All,

Me and my wife recently married and are preparing our application for a spousal visa.

I have a query on the financial requirement;

My current salary is over 18600, but was only just increased prior to Christmas 2012. Prior to this date my basic salary was just under, but I worked over time to boost up salary.

We are planning to apply at the beginning of as I believe I will have met the financial requirements based on submitting previous six months pay slips.

Over the last six month my salary has been over £358 pw (£18600 / 52 weeks). Some pay slips below the threshold, but increased by over time and the rest over as pay was increased.

If any one could comment, offer advice, or need further explanation I would be grateful.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

You need to be above the threshold for the _entire_ 6 month period.

For the past 12 months, have you earned more than £18600? This includes base salary _plus_ overtime. If you have, you can still apply (I think it's Category B) for the visa... it doesn't matter if your weekly pay slips fall below the threshold, as you just need to show that in the past 12 months you've met the £18600 minimum. You will need to provide 12 months worth of payslips and bank statements to back this up.

Good luck to you.


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## pinkikay (Mar 23, 2013)

Hi there.
I have a question also regarding the financial requirement.
My husband and I are currently living here in the UAE. Based on computation of his basic salary- we are not meeting £18600. However, our accommodation is provided by his employer, since we are not getting his leave out allowance. Can the leave out allowance can be added to his basic salary so we can meet the £18600 requirement? And will they not lower the requirement for us who are leaving in the tax free country since £18600 is computed before tax?
Thanks so much


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## ahidges (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi, My name is Hidges, I am not too techy savy, I have managed to join the site, and over the last week been desperately trying to find the tab for starting a new Thread!! I am a British Citizen, applying for a Spouse Visa for my Indian Partner and have a few questions regarding the entire application. I am wondering if somebody could please tell me how to start my own thread! Thanks so much...


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

pinkikay said:


> Hi there.
> I have a question also regarding the financial requirement.
> My husband and I are currently living here in the UAE. Based on computation of his basic salary- we are not meeting £18600. However, our accommodation is provided by his employer, since we are not getting his leave out allowance. Can the leave out allowance can be added to his basic salary so we can meet the £18600 requirement? And will they not lower the requirement for us who are leaving in the tax free country since £18600 is computed before tax?
> Thanks so much


No. None of that will be taken into consideration. If you can't show that your husband--is he the UK citizen?--has been earning £18,600 in UAE then he will have to return to the UK and obtain a job earning that much and after he has had that job for 6 months and can provide 6 month's worth of pay slips over £1550/month each, then you can apply from the UAE for a spouse visa.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

ahidges said:


> Hi, My name is Hidges, I am not too techy savy, I have managed to join the site, and over the last week been desperately trying to find the tab for starting a new Thread!! I am a British Citizen, applying for a Spouse Visa for my Indian Partner and have a few questions regarding the entire application. I am wondering if somebody could please tell me how to start my own thread! Thanks so much...


On the Britain Forum home page there is a tab on the top left that says : Post a new thread.


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## ahidges (Mar 20, 2013)

Thanks so much I found it!!!


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

*Base pay + OT?*



WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> You need to be above the threshold for the _entire_ 6 month period.
> 
> For the past 12 months, have you earned more than £18600? This includes base salary _plus_ overtime. If you have, you can still apply (I think it's Category B) for the visa... it doesn't matter if your weekly pay slips fall below the threshold, as you just need to show that in the past 12 months you've met the £18600 minimum. You will need to provide 12 months worth of payslips and bank statements to back this up.
> 
> Good luck to you.


Hi WCCG! Your post caught my eye as you mentioned being able to include overtime into the income requirement.

My fiance in Scotland works OT regularly and his annual income is approximately 8-10k pounds over the $18,600 requirement with overtime included. I thought we could only use his base salary to meet the requirement as thinking the UKBA wouldn't consider overtime reliable enough to count. Will they just look at his total income and not care which source it is from?

I will be applying for the UK Spouse Visa immediately after our wedding here on August 3rd (as soon as biometrics are done). We are intending to send the 2012 P60 and 6 months of payslips (as long as none fall below $1550). Should we include the 2011 P60 as well, to show that he consistently earns above $18,600 annually? If, by chance, any payslips fall below the $1550, then we will go with the 12 months. (I'm still confused as to which is Cat. A and which is B. )

One other thing - he gets paid monthly, at the end of the month. He is arriving here on 7/31 and staying until 8/18. As we are getting married August 3, he will not have July's payslip or bank statement. Will this cause us a problem with applying after 8/3?

I think I have the rest of the application accounted for pretty well. It is now the financial part that I want to be sure of. Any help is greatly appreciated - thank you!
Laurel


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Water Dragon said:


> Hi WCCG! Your post caught my eye as you mentioned being able to include overtime into the income requirement.
> 
> My fiance in Scotland works OT regularly and his annual income is approximately 8-10k pounds over the $18,600 requirement with overtime included. I thought we could only use his base salary to meet the requirement as thinking the UKBA wouldn't consider overtime reliable enough to count. Will they just look at his total income and not care which source it is from?


Provided that every single month's pay-slip shows £1,550 or more before tax, that should be fine. If meeting that minimum actually relies on overtime (ie without overtime his pay would have been less than £1,550 in any month), it would be a good idea to ask his employer to confirm in a letter that overtime is routinely available.



> I will be applying for the UK Spouse Visa immediately after our wedding here on August 3rd (as soon as biometrics are done). We are intending to send the 2012 P60 and 6 months of payslips (as long as none fall below $1550). Should we include the 2011 P60 as well, to show that he consistently earns above $18,600 annually? If, by chance, any payslips fall below the $1550, then we will go with the 12 months. (I'm still confused as to which is Cat. A and which is B. )


Category A is 6 months proof - UKBA will use the LOWEST pay in the 6 months and multiply this by 12 months to see whether it meets £18,600. Category B is 12 months proof - immaterial how much is earnt per month or how many employers, provided that overall, £18,600 was earnt in 12 months. Only send the latest P60 (sending older P60s can cause confusion and worse). It's best to stick to the documentation UKBA requests and don't send anything extra.



> One other thing - he gets paid monthly, at the end of the month. He is arriving here on 7/31 and staying until 8/18. As we are getting married August 3, he will not have July's payslip or bank statement. Will this cause us a problem with applying after 8/3?


Yes, a potential problem. The latest wage slip and bank statement MUST fall within 28 days of your application date. If there's a chance either will fall outside that period, you will need to delay your application until you have those too.


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

Hi there, how much savings do you need in your bank account if you earn just under £18,600..e.g. £17,000?


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Sel said:


> Hi there, how much savings do you need in your bank account if you earn just under £18,600..e.g. £17,000?


£20,000

The shortfall of £1600*2.5 plus a base savings of £16,000.


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

a balance of £20,000 if you earn under £17.000 and how much savings do you need if you own exactly £18.600??


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

nyclon said:


> £20,000
> 
> The shortfall of £1600*2.5 plus a base savings of £16,000.



Ok, thank you. so altogether £20.000, how much savings do you need if you meet the requirement?


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Sel said:


> Hi there, how much savings do you need in your bank account if you earn just under £18,600..e.g. £17,000?


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

where 

_*n*_ is the difference between your annual income and the £18600 benchmark

2.5 is the length of the first of 2 FLR(M) visas

16000 is the benchmark above which Britons are ineligible to receive public funds.

So if you earn £17k p.a. it would look like this

18600 - 17000 = *n*

1600 = _*n*_

thus

(1600 x 2.5) + 16000 = Minimum Savings

4000 + 16000 = Minimum Savings

20 000 = Minimum Savings.

You must have this in the bank for 6 months and also must provide bank statements showing this money. If the balance goes to £19999.99 for even _one day_, then the 6 month clock is reset and you must start again.

Good luck to you!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Sel said:


> Ok, thank you. so altogether £20.000, how much savings do you need if you meet the requirement?


Technically, none. If you are earning £18,600/year that covers the financial requirement.


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> (_*n*_ x 2.5) + 16000 = Minimum Savings
> 
> where
> 
> ...



Thanks alot! I just can't believe how difficult it is to be the one you love..its like its a crime..


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## Sel (Mar 17, 2013)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> (_*n*_ x 2.5) + 16000 = Minimum Savings
> 
> where
> 
> ...


so how much would you work out if you own £15,000??


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Sel said:


> so how much would you work out if you own £15,000??



The shortfall times 2.5 plus £16000.

The formula doesn't change and the base savings doesn't change either.


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

*Does missing 1 payslip = Denial?*



2farapart said:


> Yes, a potential problem. The latest wage slip and bank statement MUST fall within 28 days of your application date. If there's a chance either will fall outside that period, you will need to delay your application until you have those too.


We have been discussing possible solutions to this, if in fact he doesn't have July's payslip prior to leaving Scotland (they come from southern England, not a local office). If we have 6 months of payslips (Jan-June) with the matching bank statements that clearly identify his direct deposits, and he can get the July bank statement that shows the July direct deposit, exactly as the other 6 months, could we write a letter of explanation in place of the payslip? Does anyone have any knowledge of a similar situation and the outcome?

If he can't get the July payslip quickly enough to make it here for the wedding, he will have to come and then return home at the end of his holiday and send it to me. That would delay my arrival in Scotland by about 3 more weeks minimum. I know that doesn't seem like much, but I sure hope we don't have to go that route.

I know that the UKBA has its rules and regulations and we are working very hard to meet every one of them. I'm just asking if everything else is very clear and correct, other than that 1 piece of paper, are we guaranteed to get denied? 

Otherwise, our only hope is either the HR office will consider issuing his pay early or the normal day will occur prior to the end of the month as they sometimes do. ray:

(I'm not expecting special treatment and if I'm asking a redundant question, or one whose answer should be obvious, I apologize in advance. Just trying to see if there are any other possible options. Thanks!)


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

We can't say that you're 'guaranteed to be denied'. However, I recall a recent refusal where one of the reasons stated was because this rule was broken.

Experience with recent results tells us that UKBA is failing any application that doesn't meet every stated rule (and the 'within 28 days' is a stated rule). It's up to you at the end of the day (we're not UKBA at all), but you could risk jeopardising the money you're spending and having a visa refusal on your records if it goes wrong (which in turn makes your next application more complex).


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

*Not willing to gamble $1600*

I was afraid of that.....and no, I'm not willing to gamble $1600 and future problems. I guess we will have to wait and see how it all falls out. So far, each hurdle has been managed, so I'm going to try to keep positive that this one will too.

You all have no idea how much your patience and help is appreciated. So many families are impacted by this process, and your advice and input definitely helps to tip the scales in our favor in many cases. Thank you!


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