# Fiance Visa ?: How much Money do I need?



## kkidd85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Hello! I'm new to Expat, but I'm NOT new to researching this whole fiance visa process, ha ha... have been for about 9 months now, and now it's time to ask the nitty gritty questions! If ANYONE can help, please do! 

My fiance (UK) and I (US) have about $7000 (estimated from our British and American accounts) combined in savings... and my fiance has just started a job at 22,000 pounds (but has not gotten his first payslip) yet. I keep reading through this forum, and others, that I need to show I can support myself for the time I'll be in the UK until we get married.... obviously it looks like we have enough funds... but I have some pretty specific questions:

1. How do I express to the UKBA that my fiance and I will BOTH be supporting me, but more so him? Through a letter? I read about a sponsor letter on forums, but not on the UKBA website.... is this something he needs to write up? Get notarized? 

2. Do I actually have to have enough money in my personal account to ACTUALLY support myself for a whole 6 months.... so like $10-15,000??? I know this isn't the case, and we'll be getting married within a month of me getting there, but it's the impression I keep getting.... HOW MUCH should I actually have in my account? Is the $3-4,000 enough?

3. I'm going to be using the money I have in savings to pay for my visa ($1337), so I'm getting my bank info now before I apply online... so that money shows up in my statement. Will this be a problem? Do they want the bank info AFTER I apply?

4. I'm the one moving to the UK, so what is the point of them having my job payslips other than to prove I HAVE HAD a consistent income? Because my job and its payslips are irrelevant once I move. Does it just prove, also, I'm active in the workforce and have potential to be a worker (and not a drain on society) once I move? 

5. My fiance doesn't have a payslip from his new job yet, but has payslips from his job at his pub backdating to June... so should he provide these payslips along with his contract for his new job?

Sorry such a LOOOOONGGG post! I hope someone can shed some light! CHEERS!! ))


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kkidd85 said:


> Hello! I'm new to Expat, but I'm NOT new to researching this whole fiance visa process, ha ha... have been for about 9 months now, and now it's time to ask the nitty gritty questions! If ANYONE can help, please do!
> 
> My fiance (UK) and I (US) have about $7000 (estimated from our British and American accounts) combined in savings... and my fiance has just started a job at 22,000 pounds (but has not gotten his first payslip) yet. I keep reading through this forum, and others, that I need to show I can support myself for the time I'll be in the UK until we get married.... obviously it looks like we have enough funds... but I have some pretty specific questions:
> 
> 1. How do I express to the UKBA that my fiance and I will BOTH be supporting me, but more so him? Through a letter? I read about a sponsor letter on forums, but not on the UKBA website.... is this something he needs to write up? Get notarized?


Your financial details will go on your application form with supporting documents. Your fiancé is your visa sponsor and his details too will go on the form. So it's taken for granted that you will both be contributing to your maintenance (upkeep) in UK, so further letter or statement is unnecessary. You can, in addition, have external sponsors like parents and other relatives. If they are willing to help, they do need to complete a sponsorship undertaking form and supply financial evidence. 



> 2. Do I actually have to have enough money in my personal account to ACTUALLY support myself for a whole 6 months.... so like $10-15,000??? I know this isn't the case, and we'll be getting married within a month of me getting there, but it's the impression I keep getting.... HOW MUCH should I actually have in my account? Is the $3-4,000 enough?


No. It's your combined resources, including savings, your partner's income and any external help that must be judged to be sufficient to keep you going for up to 6 months (the length of your visa). It doesn't really matter how much you actually have with you, provided combined resources are available to you.



> 3. I'm going to be using the money I have in savings to pay for my visa ($1337), so I'm getting my bank info now before I apply online... so that money shows up in my statement. Will this be a problem? Do they want the bank info AFTER I apply?


You have to supply your bank statement going back at least 3 months, 6 months is better. Just use credit card (if you have one) to pay for visa fees. That way the fees won't appear on your bank account for some time after.



> 4. I'm the one moving to the UK, so what is the point of them having my job payslips other than to prove I HAVE HAD a consistent income? Because my job and its payslips are irrelevant once I move. Does it just prove, also, I'm active in the workforce and have potential to be a worker (and not a drain on society) once I move?


Yes, that's the main reason. Many people supply a list of qualifications and experience that will help you in your search for employment in UK, or a resume (called CV in UK), and maybe a sample job vacancy in UK that you can possibly apply for. 



> 5. My fiance doesn't have a payslip from his new job yet, but has payslips from his job at his pub backdating to June... so should he provide these payslips along with his contract for his new job?


Yes, he can supply those as well, but it may be best to wait until he has been in the new job for a few months to show he has steady UK income.



> Sorry such a LOOOOONGGG post! I hope someone can shed some light! CHEERS!! ))


Very sensible questions, and you have done your homework well.


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## kkidd85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Thanks Joppa! I really appreciate your response, it has helped a lot 

The only thing I think we might do differently is not wait for my fiance to stay in his job longer....we've been waiting to do this application for 8 months now. He's had a steady income for 3 months... it's just that now it has changed to a different source/a newer job.... I know it sounds like we're being stubborn, and that's fine ha ha, but I'm just curious: do you think it will greatly affect the outcome of our application?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kkidd85 said:


> Thanks Joppa! I really appreciate your response, it has helped a lot
> 
> The only thing I think we might do differently is not wait for my fiance to stay in his job longer....we've been waiting to do this application for 8 months now. He's had a steady income for 3 months... it's just that now it has changed to a different source/a newer job.... I know it sounds like we're being stubborn, and that's fine ha ha, but I'm just curious: do you think it will greatly affect the outcome of our application?


Probably not, provided his income has remained steady and his new job won't bring in a great deal more than before. So if his previous job was paying him £20,000 a year, fine. If it's only £15,000 or less, it may be wiser to wait.


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## kkidd85 (Sep 11, 2011)

His new income is a great deal more. Well, we're probably going to provide the proper documtation stating I'll be living with his parents until we get married.... Will this help on the finance front since I think this is technically 3rd party support? 

Also, do you have a link for the documentation his parents would have to fill out? Or is a copy of their mortgage and a notarized letter stating their intentions good enough? 

Sorry for all the nutty gritty questions, but thanks so much for your help!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kkidd85 said:


> His new income is a great deal more. Well, we're probably going to provide the proper documtation stating I'll be living with his parents until we get married.... Will this help on the finance front since I think this is technically 3rd party support?
> 
> Also, do you have a link for the documentation his parents would have to fill out? Or is a copy of their mortgage and a notarized letter stating their intentions good enough?
> 
> Sorry for all the nutty gritty questions, but thanks so much for your help!


Yes, that will help and probably offset some of the lower pay he has been getting.
For sponsorship form:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/visas/sponsorship-form.pdf
Enclose their mortgage statement and 3 month-worth of bank statement.


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## kkidd85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Are their bank statements absolutely necessary? I just feel so odd asking for something so personal.... I thought they just had to prove they owned their home and state I'd be living with them.


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

kkidd85 said:


> Are their bank statements absolutely necessary? I just feel so odd asking for something so personal.... I thought they just had to prove they owned their home and state I'd be living with them.


You are basically asking them for a sponsorship with involves more than just a statement, that you will be living in their house. Signing a sponsorship form comes with further obligations and they have to be aware of those.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kkidd85 said:


> Are their bank statements absolutely necessary? I just feel so odd asking for something so personal.... I thought they just had to prove they owned their home and state I'd be living with them.


I'm afraid so. They are entering into a legally binding agreement to support you financially, and should you access public funds, the UKBA through DWP can demand they repay the money.


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## kkidd85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Joppa said:


> I'm afraid so. They are entering into a legally binding agreement to support you financially, and should you access public funds, the UKBA through DWP can demand they repay the money.


I guess what we're confused about now is this... (my fiance and I just got off the phone, lol)....

He and I will technically be supporting ourselves. His parents will only be providing me with a place to stay. My fiance will still give me money as needed for other things, including food, and we will spend most of our time together. I'm just trying to understand all of this... because one of the separate criteria (separate from finances) we had to show was accommodation for me, so we're just going to show they will be housing me; therefore, any monetary resources we have will be covering everything else for me apart from housing. So, we still need to include his financial information, my financial information, and his parents'? 

I'm confusing myself. We just wanted to use our finances.... but just put down his parents' house as my accommodation.


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## MayB (Sep 6, 2011)

kkidd85 said:


> I guess what we're confused about now is this... (my fiance and I just got off the phone, lol)....
> 
> He and I will technically be supporting ourselves. His parents will only be providing me with a place to stay. My fiance will still give me money as needed for other things, including food, and we will spend most of our time together. I'm just trying to understand all of this... because one of the separate criteria (separate from finances) we had to show was accommodation for me, so we're just going to show they will be housing me; therefore, any monetary resources we have will be covering everything else for me apart from housing. So, we still need to include his financial information, my financial information, and his parents'?
> 
> I'm confusing myself. We just wanted to use our finances.... but just put down his parents' house as my accommodation.


ah, I'm kind of on the same page as you. I found this sponsorship form in the early stages of researching (I'm US, he's UK and we're planning on living in the UK). So, the parents only need to fill out this form if they're willing to take financial responsibility if anything goes wrong and the person they're sponsoring needs to go on benefits, correct?

Otherwise, a simple letter stating it's ok that we live with them along with mortgage statements should be enough? Their letter basically stated that my fiance and I are allowed to live with them as long as necessary, we described the number of rooms and size of the house and they stated that only the two of them currently occupied the home. 

Should my finace fill out the sponsorship form or is a letter of intent sufficient?


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## kkidd85 (Sep 11, 2011)

I think we're on the right track... a letter and mortgage IF WE'RE JUST STAYING. And then the sponsor letter IF WE WANT SO SHOW THAT EXTRA SUPPORT. Please.... correct me, ANYONE, if I'm wrong! I think we're going to ask his parents to fill out the sponsor information just to give us that extra safety net.... because finances are the biggest issue with the visa, I understand. 

And, what I also understand is that our fiancees have to only write a sponsorship letter.... not the form... because them being our fiances officially makes them our sponsor without filling out that extra form. Make sense? 

Again, anyone correct me if I'm wrong!! 

Thanks


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

kkidd85 said:


> I think we're on the right track... a letter and mortgage IF WE'RE JUST STAYING. And then the sponsor letter IF WE WANT SO SHOW THAT EXTRA SUPPORT. Please.... correct me, ANYONE, if I'm wrong! I think we're going to ask his parents to fill out the sponsor information just to give us that extra safety net.... because finances are the biggest issue with the visa, I understand.
> 
> And, what I also understand is that our fiancees have to only write a sponsorship letter.... not the form... because them being our fiances officially makes them our sponsor without filling out that extra form. Make sense?
> 
> Again, anyone correct me if I'm wrong!!


Yes, you are correct on both points.
Read guidance on UK Border Agency | Maintenance and accommodation (MAA) for further elucidation.


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