A few questions please: To clarify confusion when applying for ILR for my wife on a five year route

[MubashirHussain]

Dear forum members and moderators,

I have read through the guidance documents available and found them slightly confusing therefore I need your expert opinion and advice. I believe this thread may also be useful for people in my situation.

Brief history:
I am a British National and my wife is a Pakistani National. I got married in December 2016 and my wife received her entry clearance visa in November 2017. She landed in the UK in December 2017. I applied for my wife's further leave to remain in 2020 based on the Cash Savings held i.e £62,500 as I didn't want to complicate things because of Covid-19 reduced income provisions and was granted further leave to remain in October 2020. My wife's current BRP states that her further leave to remain in the UK expires in March 2023.

I went to Pakistan in February 2021 after resigning from my job to look after my elderly mother. I remained in Pakistan for two reasons. primary reason to look after and care for my elderly mother and was also stuck there due to Covid Travel restrictions due to Pakistan being on a Red list countries at that time. but I stayed in touch with wife and two young kids everyday via WhatsApp chat and video calls screenshots and bore all family expenses from my savings and never applied for any benefits other than the child benefits. I returned to the UK in September 2021 with my elderly mother.

I have now started planning to apply for my wife's ILR and have found HO guidance slightly confusing in some areas, therefore need your opinion on this. Apologies in advance if this is a long post.

Question 1: When can I apply for my wife's ILR. HO guidance states that when she has completed her 5 year continuous stay in the UK she is eligible to apply for ILR whilst in the guidance it also states that if she applies for ILR 28 days before her visa expiry (as per BRP) her application is likely to be refused. Can you please clarify if I have to wait until March 2023 to apply for her ILR or can I apply for it in December 2022 as her 5 years stay in the UK completes then.

Question 2: On the page 44 of the Family Migration: Appendix FM Section 1.7 Appendix Armed Forces Document version 8.0, it states 'An amount based on the cash savings above £16,000 held by the applicant, their partner, or both jointly or a child dependent relative who is over 18 for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application and under their control can count towards the financial requirement under Category D. (£16,000 is the level of savings at which a person generally ceases to be eligible for income-related benefits).' and on page 47 it states 'Savings must be held in cash in a personal bank/savings account in the name of the applicant, their partner, or the couple jointly'

Whilst on the other hand the Family Migration: Appendix FM Section 1.7A - Adequate maintenance and accommodation version 10.0 page 12 under Cash Savings section states 'Under paragraph 12A(e)of Appendix FM-SE to the immigration rule, paragraphs 11 and 11A of Appendix FM-SE apply where the cash savings of the applicant or their partner, parent, parent's partner or sponsor are relied upon in full or in part to meet the adequate maintenance requirements under Appendix FM. The level of cash savings must have been held by the person, (or by them and their partner jointly) for a period of at least 6 months prior to the date of application and must be under their control.'

The above guidance has caused confusion in my mind as my cash savings are held under a current account in my sole name. When I applied for further leave to remain for my wife in past, I used my sole current account to show my savings, can I do that again or shall I move my savings from the account in my sole name to me and my wife's joint account? please advise.

Question 3: When I applied for my wife's further leave to remain on the basis of Cash savings, I also provided HO with my previous years SA302, CT600 and company accounts so that they can see my cash savings were accumulated from legitimate means of earning/working. However, this time, due to Covid, since I resigned from my work in February 2021 to go to Pakistan for the reason explained above until now, I have not been able to find work, yet I am still the director and employee of my limited company and receive monthly wage slips from my accountant as an employee of my company (No more dividends). Do I now need to provide HO with my P45 from my employer and SA302s etc from the years prior to 2021 to show them that my cash savings are legitimate or just the bank statement for over 6 months showing the full amount £62,500 present in my bank account should be sufficient?

Question 4: As I was in Pakistan for approximately for 9 months, do I have to provide an explanation to HO in a cover letter for reasons or shall I assume if they wish to obtain further information they will ask me to provide that to them?

Question 5: Since the I applied for my wife's further leave to remain, I used a bank account to show my cash savings in which I was also receiving my income i.e salary and dividends. But since then I opened a separate bank account in my own name and left £62,500 so that I don't use this money as it is needed for my wife ILR when the time comes. Do I have to show HO that the money in my new bank account was transferred from my other bank account that I used when I applied for my wife's further leave to remain?

Question 6: I understand I need to provide evidence of accommodation for my family and I can provide HO with the Council Tax Bills, Utility Bills and my mortgage statements but do I actually have to go to an estate agent to provide me with a letter or a valuation report or can I use the Valuation report dated 2013 (Woolwich) when I applied for the mortgage for my house/home? This Valuation report shows all the details such as number of rooms, condition of the property.

Question 7: Do I have to provide them any evidence (other than the cash savings amount of £62,500) that I shall be able to support my family as I hope I will be able to find work soon?


Again, I am sorry for a long winded post and if any questions I have asked sound silly, I hope you will be tolerate my ignorance in this matter. Please spare some time to read and reply to my post. I'll be grateful as your forum has always been a great help to me and others by just reading different posts. I have only posted a thread as I couldn't find an example of someone in the similar situation/scenario.

Should you need any further information or explanation, please let me know, I will respond as soon as possible.


Best regards

Mubashir

[zimba]

1. She can apply for ILR within 28 days of completing the residence period of 60 months from the date of her first entry. Visa expiry is irrelevant
2. You will do the same as per extension. NO difference
3. None of those are needed. Follow the guide
4. Nothing is needed
5. No as long as it was in the new account for the last 6 months

6. Evidence should demonstrate how the applicant can legally occupy the accommodation. This could be via a copy of the property deeds, mortgage documents, tenancy agreement and/or letter from the landlord confirming that rent payments are up to date and the applicant is allowed to occupy the property. If the accommodation is owned or rented in the name of another family member or friend, they should sign a letter stating the basis on which they are entitled to the property and giving consent for the applicant to live there.
Similarly, where accommodation is rented from a local council, correspondence between the tenant and council confirming the basis on which the legal occupier is residing at the property and that the applicant has permission to live there, can be relied upon. Applicants should also provide evidence of benefits received where these go towards housing costs.

7. Not really

[MubashirHussain]

Hi Zimba

Thank you very much for your advice, I feel very relaxed now...well, overthinking doesn't help people like me.

One the point of accommodation, the mortgage is in my sole name and the title deed mentions my name whilst the Council tax bill is in joint names of me and my wife. If I understand correctly, does this mean I'll have to write a cover letter to the HO to say that my wife and kids can stay in my/our house as long as they want to?

Thanks once again for your help.

[zimba]

Yes you can write that letter but I think you may not even need that

[MubashirHussain]

Wish you well. Thanks for taking time out to read my long post and replying.

Kind regards