Source of savings declaration- level of detail required?

[escoppycoppy]

Hello all!

I'm just about to apply for a 'family of a settled person' visa for my wife, who is from outside the EU. As I have been working for fewer than six months and was a student before that, we can't use my employment as a basis, but fortunately I have consistently had over £62,500 in savings in instant access bank accounts for six months. Which brings me to my question... when the form asks for

"A declaration by the account holder(s) of the source(s) of the cash savings"

how much detail are they expecting/asking for? Most of the money has been in my accounts for quite a few years and is from scholarships during my studies supplemented with some freelance work (I can live very cheaply...). There is also however a gift from a family member given a little over six months ago, which I suspect I should mention. I can supply a letter from my family member stating that it is indeed a gift, but the issue does make me nervous. As for the rest of the money, though, how much detail would they want? Years-old scholarship letters (I may have them somewhere)? A mathematical breakdown?

If anyone has advice (or, even better, examples of successful declarations) that would be fantastic.

Thank you!

[escoppycoppy]

...oh, and an extra question. Would it be advantageous to submit statements going back longer than the six months, to show that most of the money (though not the full £62,500) has been there for a long time? If so I would certainly explain the gift as that is what puts my savings above the required level.

[Rayking]

7.5. Cash savings – specified evidence 7.5.1. The evidence required for cash savings is specified in Appendix FM-SE : 11. In respect of cash savings the following must be provided:
(a) Personal bank statements showing that at least the level of cash savings relied upon in the application has been held in an account(s) in the names of the person and their partner jointly throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application. (b) A declaration by the account holder(s) of the source(s) of the cash savings.

You're simply to declare the source,not an elaborate evidence required, just state it's an accumulated savings+gifts from whoever with letter from the person stating the amount he gave.
You only need to show 6 months statement, showing the required amount was in your account 6 months ago,in other words,you need 6 bank statements, 1 for each month consistently showing £62500
*Note,the total required amount must have been in your account for 6 months before you can use it or the application would be refused.

[escoppycoppy]

Great, thank you very much. It's the 'declaration of the source' part that seems ambiguous- it's easy if it's from the sale of a house or something, but trickier to know how much to say when it's multiple sources over a long time. I guess I'm worried that if I say it's a scholarship, they might not believe me since you're not typically expected to save much money from those... which is where I thought showing the accounts over a longer period might come in handy, since it shows that the money wasn't all dropped in overnight before the six month period.

I may be overthinking this though...

On the subject of how much detail to include... since I'm going through the savings route, do you think I should also include payslips, contract and employer's letter for my current job? In practice we will be living off my salary, and the earnings so far help explain why I haven't dipped into my savings, but on the other hand I definitely don't want to give the impression that my salary is the basis for the application since I don't meet either the 'one job for six months' or the '£18,600 over the last twelve months' requirements. Obviously I'll be ticking the 'savings' box on Appendix 2, but will it then confuse things if I add employment details?

[escoppycoppy]

...and again I think of another question after posting!

At the time of application, my wife will still have a UK visitor visa- she visited in the summer and is now back in her home country, but the visa still hasn't expired. This doesn't cause a problem does it? I assume they would either cancel the existing visa or let her have both.

[Rayking]

If you're relying on your savings, I think it's better to simplify things by not providing what's not required. You don't want to confuse them supplying all that really,but it's a personal opinion, supplying it shouldn't affect your application,just explain yourself better with additional info.
Secondly, the visitor's visa shouldn't be a problem, provided your wife hasn't concealed any information in the process of applying for it,for instance stating in the form she hasn't got anyone, friend, husband or stuffs like that in uk,if she did,then you'll need to explain that CLEARLY because that can actually cause a refusal.
Anything else you think might not be cleared to them should be explained.

[escoppycoppy]

Thanks again! I think if I do put them in I'll be sure to have a letter attached which makes extra-double-clear that they are not the basis of the application. Of course I'll also only tick the cash savings box on section 3.3 of Appendix 2- from googling around it seems at least some people fall down by ticking more than one box when they only actually meet the requirements for one.

Following the same logic, I suppose it's also best not to fill in employment details in part 3A? Arguably they could be included as an extra, but again there seems to be potential for ambiguity as to the 'main method of meeting the financial requirement'.

On the sources of savings, Appendix 2 has a scary part at the bottom which reads 'If you or your sponsor has more than one source of cash savings, you must provide full details in Part 5 and submit the specified evidence for each source'. 'Specified evidence' doesn't seem to be a problem, as in fact the relevant section of the rules simply refers to six months of bank statements, but the 'full details' part is a bit concerning- I don't think my memory (or records, for that matter) go that far back! I think I can only really be imprecise about it.

[escoppycoppy]

Urgh, more questions time (sorry!)

I just realized that one of my online accounts only allows withdrawals into other accounts, and it says it may take up to three working days to process. Does anyone know if this is 'immediate' enough for the cash savings requirement? Are they likely to interpret 'immediate access' as same-day withdrawal? If so, I guess I need to do a last minute transfer...

[Rayking]

Last minute transfer? Don't understand your question but get this clear. If you're relying on savings, ALL the money must have been in the account 6 months ago,that was what I said,nothing like transfer of anything. You need to show 62500 has been in your account 6 months ago,not just putting it bit by bit from 6 month,don't know how else to say that. May be senior members can explain that further.
Of course it doesn't matter if in different accounts, in fact transferring or putting them together now can technically ruin your plan if that's what you meant.

[escoppycoppy]

Sorry, I probably wasn't clear enough. I have had over £62,500 in savings over the last six months across three different accounts, all with the same bank and in my name. During the six months I have transferred some money between these accounts (e.g. when the ISA allowance went up in the summer, I transferred funds from my non-ISA account to my ISA account), but at no point have I transferred money out of the accounts, meaning that the total has never gone below £62,500.

However, I just found out that one of these three accounts might not technically count as 'immediate access' as Appendix FM-SE requires- the terms and conditions of the account state that the money cannot be withdrawn directly, only transferred to another account. Apparently this is normally done by the next working day, but can take up to three working days. It seems possible that if the ECO is very literal about 'immediate access' this might cause a problem.

So the 'last minute transfer' I referred to would involve transferring the savings I have in that account to another of my savings accounts (which don't have the same '1-3 working days' withdrawal regulation).

[Rayking]

Well,I don't know, others will add something, this looks a bit controversial to me. I can't find where it's stated the money can't or shouldn't be withdrawn directly, any account(including ISA) can be used as long as the money is in there for duration specified.
May be you'll need to explain to them why you were moving the money around. I said it's controversial because this could have broken the condition that the money has been or spent 6 months in your accounts.
Hope the senior members can help add their experiences, never used savings for application before though.

[escoppycoppy]

Thanks for your help, and I'll pray that it doesn't cause a problem. It doesn't feel like it should, because my savings have never gone under the specified amount (transfers between accounts are instant) and moving your money to get the best interest rate is just basic financial sense, but I understand that's not necessarily the way the decision-makers will see it. God, this whole process is just so unpleasant...

[godfather2233]

Sorry for posting this here but since My question too is regarding the Savings and declaration adn I wanted to get "Rayking" opinion on the matter - there couldnt be any better place to ask. Btw i have posted this before in the forum but couldnt get a clear answer. so id just re post it for RayKing here.

Hello everyone.

I have a query regarding the Cash savings route for Spouse visa. I would state the facts below which would be followed by my questions.
FACTS:
- My wife is a British National currently pursuing her Education in UK
- Since I am not in UK as well so we can not meet the Minimum Income Requirement.
- My wife does not have any savings as well to rely upon.
- Its me (applicant) to be showing the Savings.
- The Savings I have in my account does exceed £62,500 and I will have held it for more than six months by the time I file my application.
- The Savings were a gift to me from my Dad; to which I have got a legal deed.
- The gift was deposited in my account by my father IN CASH - Since he doesn't do banking
- The amount was deposited in my account in instalments (about 7 deposits) by my Father.

QUESTIONS:
1- To show the source for these funds. would it be enough to show the deposit slips that my father has when he deposited the money in my account along with the Declaration/gift deed
2- Since it wasnt a lump sump deposit. I would have to wait Six months after the day my Account reached £62,500 ?
3- Will Home Office accept the many deposit slips which would have amounted to £62,500 ? as a source ?

[Rayking]

Sorry for posting this here but since My question too is regarding the Savings and declaration adn I wanted to get "Rayking" opinion on the matter - there couldnt be any better place to ask. Btw i have posted this before in the forum but couldnt get a clear answer. so id just re post it for RayKing here.

Hello everyone.

I have a query regarding the Cash savings route for Spouse visa. I would state the facts below which would be followed by my questions.
FACTS:
- My wife is a British National currently pursuing her Education in UK
- Since I am not in UK as well so we can not meet the Minimum Income Requirement.
- My wife does not have any savings as well to rely upon.
- Its me (applicant) to be showing the Savings.
- The Savings I have in my account does exceed £62,500 and I will have held it for more than six months by the time I file my application.
- The Savings were a gift to me from my Dad; to which I have got a legal deed.
- The gift was deposited in my account by my father IN CASH - Since he doesn't do banking
- The amount was deposited in my account in instalments (about 7 deposits) by my Father.

QUESTIONS:
1- To show the source for these funds. would it be enough to show the deposit slips that my father has when he deposited the money in my account along with the Declaration/gift deed
2- Since it wasnt a lump sump deposit. I would have to wait Six months after the day my Account reached £62,500 ?
3- Will Home Office accept the many deposit slips which would have amounted to £62,500 ? as a source ?

1. Yes,it should be fine
2. Yes,you'll have to wait 6 months after the amount is 62500
3. Yes,the most important thing is having the money for 6 months with evidence you've got,how the money was deposited isn't an issue as long as the total amount stayed in there for 6 months.

[godfather2233]

Thank You ever so much for the clear and concise reply

[iambakedallday]

Hi there,

Me and my wife are on the same page as the one who posted the thread. We need some enlightenment on our case with regard to cash savings. What if the cash savings was on a time deposit since 2012 and just recently reached its maturity period, would we still need to declare the source of fund? If yes, let's say it's a cash gift, is it just a letter from our parents stating the savings account was a gift since 2012? or do they still need to provide other information. Thanks in advance.

[CR001]

Hi there,

Me and my wife are on the same page as the one who posted the thread. We need some enlightenment on our case with regard to cash savings. What if the cash savings was on a time deposit since 2012 and just recently reached its maturity period, would we still need to declare the source of fund? If yes, let's say it's a cash gift, is it just a letter from our parents stating the savings account was a gift since 2012? or do they still need to provide other information. Thanks in advance.

Kindly refrain from digging up old topics, this one more than 2 years old. Continue in your existing thread where you have been receiving responses.