Spouse Visa Financial Requirements

[CabbageMan]

We will be applying for a spouse visa for my wife in 2019 and I wanted to hear feedback regarding the financial requirement from others that have already done this.

I am an expat, returning to the UK with wife (non-EU) and child. I understand that I must show an annual income of GBP 22,400 or savings of around GBP 72,000. My business is abroad, so I don't earn any income in the UK.

In practice, I will be resident in the UK for 6 months prior to applying for the spouse visa (with wife on visit visa and child on student visa until then). I am wondering if regular salary or dividend payments into a UK bank account from my company abroad for 6 months prior to the spouse visa application would be sufficient to meet the spouse visa income requirement, or whether I really have to go the savings route.

[seagul]

If you have sufficient qualifying savings (excluding loan/third party finance) from at least 6 months then it's the most quickest and fastest route.

[CabbageMan]

Thanks seagul.

Has anyone else ever tried to prove foreign income for the purpose of spouse / family visas?

[Englandhome18]

If your child is a british citizen you dont have to earn extra do you? So if your child has a british passport you only have to earn 18,600 year

[CabbageMan]

Hi, my question is about meeting the financial requirements for tier 1 visa.

My mother and her American partner have been in the UK for two years now, and they will need to renew his visa in about 6 months. They are both retired. When they arrived, they had enough in savings to meet the requirements, but they won't for the renewal at the 2.5 year mark.

He receives US pensions exceeding GBP 35k per year, and my mother receives a fixed salary from a non-EU based company of around GBP 25k per year, but their immigration lawyer / adviser is telling them neither of these is sufficient to meet the income requirement.

I feel like this may be bad advice - they did a package deal (with "guaranteed results") but I feel like they are just a bunch of pencil pushers who can't be bothered to deal with situations out of the ordinary. So I'm looking for advice on a couple of things:
a) Feedback from anyone in a similar situation.
b) Recommendations for lawyers who we can pay by the hour for proper advice for unusual scenarios like this, rather than package deals where they don't want to deal with anything out of the ordinary.

Cheers,

Cabbage

[vinny]

Posts merged.

Do let me know if your post is unrelated to this topic.

[vinny]

Are you asking about Tier 1 or Appendix FM? If they are both retired, then what category of Tier 1 are they under?

If under Appendix FM, then why doesn’t the US pensions satisfy Appendix FM-SE?

[CabbageMan]

You're right vinny, I got the wrong end of the stick. They are going the Appendix FM route (which means this thread is in the wrong place, sorry) and need to satisfy FM-SE.

They were advised that it is better to use my British mother's income rather than her partner's pension to satisfy the visa requirements, but then they started to question the nature of the income as it isn't derived from a UK-based company, and said it may be tricky to use that, without offering much in the way of solutions.

To me, using her partner's US pensions to meet the income requirement would be the simpler approach as it is certain and provable (unlike the income of my mother, in the eyes of the government at least). Is there any issue with using this pension income to meet the requirements? I don't know why their adviser would have steered them away from that.

[CR001]

For a spouse visa extension on FLR(M), they can use EITHER spouse's income.

[vinny]

If your mother is retired, then isn't she receiving a pension, rather than a salary from a foreign company?

Foreign pensions seems acceptable in both Appendix FM-SE and Guidance (Appendix FM 1.7: financial requirement). It may even be combined with cash savings, etc.

(e) To evidence a pension:
(i) Official documentation from:
(1) The Department for Work and Pensions (in respect of the Basic State Pension and the Additional or Second State Pension) or other government department or agency, including the Veterans Agency;
(2) An overseas pension authority; or
(3) A pension company,
confirming pension entitlement and amount (and, where applicable, reflecting any funds withdrawn from the pension account or fund).
(ii) At least one personal bank statement in the 12-month period prior to the date of application showing payment of the pension into the person’s account.
...

Have a read.

[CabbageMan]

Many thanks all, that's reassuring.

My mother is likely due some sort of UK pension as she did work as an RN for a few years.

All others (European pensions) were supposed to be split with my father when they separated, but weren't. Long story.

[sadmanonatrain]

Are you sure your spouse can switch from a visitor visa to a spouse? I know you can from a select few student visas, mainly only tier 4.

[CabbageMan]

This topic has all become a bit of a mishmash because separate topics were merged. My most recent post was about my mother's American partner's visa extension, and meeting the financial obligations for that (specifically whether foreign pension would be acceptable).

Anyway, in response to sadmanonatrain, why would my spouse not be able to switch from a visit visa to a spouse visa when the time comes? We have been married ten years and have been living outside the UK as expats. In the coming year we anticipate returning to the UK and putting her on a spouse visa and my son on a family visa (although both my parents are British I was born outside the UK so my son is not eligible for British citizenship). Would there be an issue with that if she has previously had a visit visa?

[CR001]

Anyway, in response to sadmanonatrain, why would my spouse not be able to switch from a visit visa to a spouse visa when the time comes? We have been married ten years and have been living outside the UK as expats. In the coming year we anticipate returning to the UK and putting her on a spouse visa and my son on a family visa (although both my parents are British I was born outside the UK so my son is not eligible for British citizenship). Would there be an issue with that if she has previously had a visit visa?

Assuming you mean switch within the UK, the rules do not permit a visitor to 'switch' to another visa category within the UK. There have been many refusals with applicants trying to do this. If she visits and then leaves to apply for a spouse visa from her home country, then no issue at all.

[CabbageMan]

I see, got it thanks. She would definitely be applying from her home country, that's clear.