Questions regarding spouse visas and benefits

[kml2k8]

I have some questions regarding spouse visas and benefits, and housing benefits.

My fiancé and I are getting married this summer. She is British and currently on benefits, I am Canadian. She comes off of benefits in September when she will be receiving student loans for university. While I was visiting in February we met with an OISC consultant who advised us not to file for the visa until after she was officially off benefits. She is still entitled to housing benefit from my understanding, and the council will be charging me something extra in the way of rent. The local council said there were no issues with getting a letter from them with permission to live there. Would it also be advisable to get a letter stating what my rent responsibilities will be?

We plan to marry in Western Canada as my grandparents are not fit for travel any more and most of my immediate family is out there as well. We had hoped to return to England together at the beginning of September but it doesn't sound as if these visas are processed that quickly. There is a statement on the High Commission's web site stating that complicated settlement visas take longer to process. I figure my application will be considered complex as I will be the one who will end up as the main income earner in the household until she is finished with university. Does anyone have experience with situations where the sponsored will end up supporting the sponsor? I understand that I am required to have a certain amount in my bank account before the application is filed. I've never heard an exact number other that a recent post stating 2800gbp was a magic number for those from applying for the HSMP from India. I've never seen any reference to how much you are expected to have for settlement visas though. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Kevin

[martha]

Several points for you to consider.
If your British fiancee is supporting you for your spouse visa, then one of the conditons is that she can financially support you when you apply for it, and will need to show her working status. This is important to the HO.

However after you get the spouse visa she could decide not to work, and you could support her. That is fine. Providing you personally dont try to claim any government benefits.

She can claim benefits ie housing, in her own name, but you cant. The council will have no problem with a housing benefit claim. And yes, if you work then the rate of housing benefit will be judged on your income, as you are then a couple. If your working income is sufficient, then you might even have to pay all the rent. You will also have to pay some or all of the council tax. A letter from the council to the Embassy stating how much rent you pay, wont be necessary as far as the spouse visa is concerned. (I think I'm right on that point)

the biggie is really getting that spouse visa to begin with. She must show the HO that she can support you. Spouse visa usually take 3months from the date they are submitted.

I hope the info I have given is correct. Someone else I hope will correct me in I am wrong, but I thinkI am right Good luck

[kml2k8]

Sorry, perhaps I was not being clear in my original post. She will be collecting a student loan in September and I will not be supported by her financially in anyway. Or did you mean sponsoring me for my spouse visa, not supporting? My savings (at current rate) should be a little over 3000gbp by the time I file for the visa.

I am aware that I cannot claim housing benefit myself, and I have already found out the amount that I will be paying in rent there. I had actually expected to have to pay the entire rent, but apparently not.

Three months to process the visa application? Most applications I've heard of filed by North Americans are usually sorted in weeks, not months.

I thought the test was to show the home office that I can support myself without resorting to 'public funds'.

Kevin

[martha]

Hi again.

I'm not really sure as such. I know my husbands case was slightly different in that he was already in the UK when we married, as a failed assylum seeker. So it that case, until his spouse visa was approved I had to financially support him for his application to be considered.

You should be OK. The main thing is that you dont claim government benefits, and can support eachother. Housing benefits in your wifes name will be ok, as she can claim any kind of benefit for herself.

Just check with your solicitor again to be on the safe side

[John]

If your British fiancee is supporting you for your spouse visa, then one of the conditons is that she can financially support you when you apply for it, and will need to show her working status. This is important to the HO.

I don't think that is quite right. It is not necessarily the case that the British citizen can support the visa applicant, but it needs to be clear that the visa applicant will not need to claim certain Public Funds.

For all we know the visa applicant is extremely rich, in which case the financial circumstances of the British citizen are rather irrelevant.

[martha]

Thanks John,
Did you not see my later post though?

I know my husbands case was slightly different in that he was already in the UK when we married, as a failed assylum seeker. So it that case, until his spouse visa was approved I had to financially support him for his application to be considered.

You should be OK. The main thing is that you dont claim government benefits, and can support eachother. Housing benefits in your wifes name will be ok, as she can claim any kind of benefit for herself.

[kml2k8]

Extremely rich, wouldn't that be nice. I, however am not rich,

My aim is to have 3000gbp in the bank at the time I file for the visa hopefully that will suffice. Seeing as I survived for 5 months on holiday last year on 4000gbp paying significantly more in rent that I will be. Of course the costs of the wedding itself are not insignificant. Hopefully our families will chip in a little on that front.

I'm still uncertain about how long an average application takes to be processed though. That is with the presumption that my application will be straight forward, as it really seems to be proof that I have enough money and that I am able to work.

She will be heading back to the OISC consultant soon, I'm just trying to gather information on any potential pitfalls we might run into so she has all the queries prepared when she has her appointment.

Kevin.

[Frontier Mole]

Sorry but I am not the bringer of good news.

For the spouse visa application to be successful there has to be evidence of accommodation & maintenance. By all accounts accommodation is taken care of. Maintenance, this can be in many forms, including the non UK spouse savings. What you are looking at is a nice simple exercise in how much money the pair of you will have at the time of application. If your wife was working her income would be a material factor. However that is and will not be the case.

For the purposes of the visa the issue of who will be supporting who once you are in the country is of no consequence. Your expectations of how much you might earn etc are future gazing and does not amount to anything as far as considering the application.

With your wife to be with no income and reliant on a student loan essentially it will come down to how much savings you have between you. The threshold expectation is that £7500 per person is required to survive per year. Given that there is no guarantee you will get employment it would be a reasonable figure to have in the bank from the point of view of an ECO. Anything less than that amount and they can start to question the maintence aspect. With £4000 in the bank you are not in the comfort zone. With £4000 savings and wife earning an avarage wage in the UK there would be no problem.

You will find that the student loan funds will be excluded as they are exactly what it states - a loan. Any debts or overdrafts (excluding the student loan) from the sponsor will be off set against savings, something to bear in mind when applying!

Do you have the right to work in the UK at present? Are you working now?

If you are struggling with the savings angle it is far more meaningful to the application if you have a job offer in hand for the UK or better still your current employer is able to offer to keep your job open for your return.

Time scale for application. Canada knocks them out fairly rapidly. More than a month to process would be unusual. Your circumstances dictate the ease of process. Doubts as to maintenance may delay the process as more checks are performed.

Hope that helps.

[John]

The threshold expectation is that £7500 per person is required to survive per year.

What? Where on earth have you got that idea from?

[kml2k8]

Err... 7500gbp? That seems a little steep for all but the rich.

I do not currently have the right to work in the UK hence why I am back in Canada. There was never a thought that I would be being supported by her student loan, I could easily get a job offer from my old local, but pub work pays poorly there so it's not something I'd really be wanting to do. I would think that a statement of what my rent, and council tax payments will be would be factored against my savings and would come out favourably with what i had saved. The OISC consultant we met with also advised me to send current job vacancies in my area(s) of expertise with my application to show what work in my own field are available. 7500, I'd like to know where that figure came from an American I knew only needed 2000gbp when he filed for his papers, granted that was seven years ago but that seems a rather extreme increase.

Kevin.

[Frontier Mole]

John & Kevin,

PM sent to answer your queries.

All the best

Mr Mole

[kml2k8]

Sorry, there is nothing in my PM inbox. I'm not certain why this needs to be discussed in secrecy either. Would open discussion not be beneficial to others who may find themselves in my situation in the future?

Kevin.

[John]

Frontier Mole, no PM sent to me either. Please post your comments openly in this topic.

Again, where on earth have you got this idea about £7500 per person?

kml2k8, I have never heard about a £7500 per person rule, and not even seen it discussed at all on this Board, or other Boards. It "merely" needs to be clear that the visa applicant will not need to claim certain Public Funds, and that is achievable on less income than that.

What income figure is required? Totally impossible to say, given that housing costs vary so much. Can you say how much the housing costs will be in the UK?

[Frontier Mole]

Sorry guys, my newbie status is showing through. The PM messages - what hppened to them I don't know.

Ok - the £7500 figure. It represents the safe zone of savings when a sponsor has zero income & minimal /no savings. Why £7500 - it is the amount an individual needs to survive in the UK for one year without likely recourse to public funds. Where did the figure come from - it is the upper end estimation produced from consultation by DWP/UKBA/FCO to act as a marker to gauge the cost of unsupported accommodation and maintenance to live in the UK. Obviously it varies in respect of accommodation costs depending on which part of the coutry you reside.

[John]

Frontier mole, noted, but if you have a link to the source of that I would like to read it. And if is the upper end estimation, what is the lower end estimation?

Given that accommodation costs vary so much, it is really a pretty meaningless figure.

[raviyuka]

it concerns about the eligibilty for child tax credits for the year 2007 - 2008. we have a 2 year old girl. my wife is a british citizen and i was on spouse visa untill march 2008 when i obtained my ILR and have applied for naturalisation awaiting reply.
during the financial year april 2007 - april 2008 i was doing some locum work between april 2007 and dec 2007 but didnt have a regular full time job but i earned decent money and hence i did not have trouble when i applied for my ILR in march.
also my wife used to work part time during that period and hence our total salary we earned would still make us eligible for child tax credits.
my question is as i was on limited leave to return with no recourse to public funds in 2007 is it illegal or fraud to apply for child tax credits with my wife as the main applicant? and will it have any impact on my naturalisation application done in march 2008 and awaiting decision ?
many thanks

[John]

my question is as i was on limited leave to return with no recourse to public funds in 2007 is it illegal or fraud to apply for child tax credits with my wife as the main applicant?

No, as mentioned numerous times on this Board, reg. 3(2) Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003, as reinforced by Rule 6B of the Immigration Rules, makes the joint Tax Credits claim totally OK.

[kml2k8]

Well considering I found out that my rent will be a whopping 30gbp per week, 2,000gbp would more than pay for an entire year of rent. So I still feel that the 7,500gbp figure is a little unrealistic, and I will certainly not have that much in the bank when I file my application.

Kevin,