Financial Requirement ILR - Savings

[bsanghvi]

Hi,

I had a query about my partner's citizenship.

My Timeline

May'14 - Entered UK with Tier 2 General Sponsored.
Jun'17 - Married
Sep'17 - Partner entered the UK with Tier 2 general dependent, which was PBS Dependent (BRP Date of Issue 8th Aug 2017)
May'19 - Got my ILR(Date of Issue 18-05-2019)
Jan'20 - Renewed partner Visa, and it got changed to Spousal Leave to Remain ( BRP Date of Issue - 17th Jan 2020)
June'21 - Got my naturalisation.
Jul'22 - Renewed partners Visa with same category Spousal Leave to Remain ( Date of Issue 25th Jul 2022)

Can I check if my partner can now apply for naturalisation though she has stayed on two different visas for the last five years? Given I am a British citizen and she has been married to me for over five years, does that count as 3 years of marriage to a British citizen, or does that counting only start from Jun'21?

[CR001]

She needs ILR before she can apply for British citizenship. ILR is mandatory.

Note the route to ILR is completely irrelevant. Once she has ILR, she can apply for British Citizenship as the spouse of a British citizen provided she meet the 3 year requirements. There is NO requirement that you must be married to a British citizen for 3 years. It is simply married to a British citizen on the date you apply.

[bsanghvi]

Thank you. When can she apply for ILR? Is that 3 years from my British Citizenship or can she do that now, based on the timeliness above?

[CR001]

When you got ILR, did she apply for a FLR(M) spouse visa or a PBS Dependent extension? It is not completely clear from your post.

Jan'20 - Renewed partner Visa, and it got changed to Spousal Leave to Remain ( BRP Date of Issue - 17th Jan 2020)
Jul'22 - Renewed partners Visa with same category Spousal Leave to Remain ( Date of Issue 25th Jul 2022)

What are the exact start and end dates of the 2 visas above? It appears she switched to FLR(M) spouse visa valid for 2.5 years.

If that is the case, she needs 5 years on FLR(M) spouse visa before she can apply for ILR.

Unsure why you change her visa category when you got ILR. There was no need to do that, she could have continued on PBS Dependent visa and extended her visa and applied for ILR in 2022. Changing visa categories has cost you a lot of unnecessary expense.

[secret.simon]

When can she apply for ILR? Is that 3 years from my British Citizenship or can she do that now, based on the timeliness above?

Do not confuse the rules for ILR with the rules for British citizenship. They are separate and unrelated.

She needs to meet whatever are the relevant rules for ILR for the ILR route that she is on. Is she on the spousal route or on a PBS dependent route? And how did you acquire ILR, through the PBS route or a Long Residence application?

[bsanghvi]

Thanks guys; clarifying on the below questions:

1. She came in on PBS dependent on 2017
2. When we renewed her visa in 2020, it went under spousal dependent (I wasn't aware of the right form so it was FLR(M))
3. Does this mean her route has changed and counter reset in 2020? At the time of her renewal, I was on my ILR and became a British citizen in 2021. So for her to get ILR does she need to wait for 5 years from 2020 or 3 years from 2020?

[CR001]

1. She came in on PBS dependent on 2017

She could and should have extended as a PBS Dependent for 3 years when you got ILR.

2. When we renewed her visa in 2020, it went under spousal dependent (I wasn't aware of the right form so it was FLR(M))

Unfortunate you did not ask prior to applying.

3. Does this mean her route has changed and counter reset in 2020?

Yes, she needs to wait 5 years from when her FLR(M) visa was granted before she can apply for ILR on form SET(M).

At the time of her renewal, I was on my ILR and became a British citizen in 2021.

She could have still extended her PBS Dependent visa regardless. The immigration rules allow this.

So for her to get ILR does she need to wait for 5 years from 2020

Yes. She will only qualify for ILR within 28 days before 17 January 2025.

or 3 years from 2020?

There is NO 3 year route for dependents to get ILR. You are confusing the British Citizen rules with ILR rules. They are not the same. They are separate rules and requirements completely.

[meself2]

Thanks guys; clarifying on the below questions:

1. She came in on PBS dependent on 2017
2. When we renewed her visa in 2020, it went under spousal dependent (I wasn't aware of the right form so it was FLR(M))
3. Does this mean her route has changed and counter reset in 2020? At the time of her renewal, I was on my ILR and became a British citizen in 2021. So for her to get ILR does she need to wait for 5 years from 2020 or 3 years from 2020?

As her route changed, she has to stay on a spousal route for 5 years from 2020, yes.

[bsanghvi]

Hi,

I had previously posted regarding timelines when my wife can apply for ILR. Current timelines are:

May'14 - Entered UK with Tier 2 General Sponsored.
Jun'17 - Married
Sep'17 - Partner entered the UK with Tier 2 general dependent, which was PBS Dependent (BRP Date of Issue 8th Aug 2017)
May'19 - Got my ILR(Date of Issue 18-05-2019)
Jan'20 - Renewed partner Visa, and it got changed to Spousal Leave to Remain ( BRP Date of Issue - 17th Jan 2020)
June'21 - I got my naturalisation.
Jul'22 - Renewed partners Visa with same category Spousal Leave to Remain ( Date of Issue 25th Jul 2022)

Dec'24: My wife will be eligible to apply for ILR

I have got three questions:

1. If I moved out of the UK in July/August for work and my wife continued to stay here, would her ILR application be affected?

2. She has been out of the country for a family emergency from the 6th of Feb to the 14th of April 2024 and was in India to meet family between the 1st Jan and the 4th Feb 2024, making it 102 days out of the country this year. The gov website says something about the 90-day limit in the last year, which was very confusing. Has she crossed the allowed number of days? Or is it 180 days? If the limit is 90 days and she has crossed it, can she justify it by evidencing a family emergency?

3. Her passport expires in March 2025. Would that be an issue for ILR?

Thanks,
Bhavik

[secret.simon]

The gov website says something about the 90-day limit in the last year

That is for a naturalisation application.

Note that ILR and naturalisation are separate processes, under different laws and with different requirements, and assessed differently.

ILR may have different absence requirements, and others will be better placed than me to advise on them.

Your wife may be eligible for ILR, but not for naturalisation with that level of absence.

[bsanghvi]

Thanks Simon. How about the other points?

[bsanghvi]

Thanks Simon. How about the other points?

[zimba]

There is no such thing as 90-day rule for ILR at all.

[bsanghvi]

Hi,

I wanted to check the savings requirement for my wife’s ILR due in December this year. Timeliness as below:

May'14 - Entered UK with Tier 2 General Sponsored.
Jun'17 - Married
Sep'17 - Partner entered the UK with Tier 2 general dependent, which was PBS Dependent (BRP Date of Issue 8th Aug 2017)
May'19 - Got my ILR(Date of Issue 18-05-2019)
Jan'20 - Renewed partner Visa, and it got changed to Spousal Leave to Remain ( BRP Date of Issue - 17th Jan 2020)
June'21 - I got my naturalisation.
Jul'22 - Renewed partners Visa with same category Spousal Leave to Remain ( Date of Issue 25th Jul 2022)

Dec'24: My wife will be eligible to apply for ILR

We spoke to two layers and these are two different opinion we got:

1. Savings required 46,500. No calculation given.
2. Savings required 45,000. Calculation is 45,000-16,000=29,000 meeting the minimum income requirement

I have three questions:

1. Given my wife was on ILR route before April 2024, shouldn’t the income requirement not be 18,600 and not 29,000?
2. Assuming we don’t have any income, what is the right savings account?
3. My wife is paid PAYE from my company, which is less than a year old. Can we count that income for her application?

Thanks,
Bhavik

[zimba]

The new rules do not apply in her case. Also, the extension and ILR do NOT have the same thresholds for cash savings.
So the requirement is that the cash saving must be above (min salary threshold + £16000) for ILR so £18600 + £16000 = £34,600 minimum

Read the official guide: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... rement.pdf

[bsanghvi]

Thanks for confirming Zumba. Can I also check on the PAYE income question? Can we include that here?

[zimba]

If your company employs her then she is working for a specified company. People working for such companies will have to apply under category F or G.

A specified company is defined as follows:

Paragraph 9(a) of Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules sets out the definition of a specified limited company as being one where:

(i) the person is either a director or employee of the company, or both, or of another company within the same group; and

(ii) shares are held (directly or indirectly) by the person, their partner or the following family members of the person or their partner: parent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin; and

(iii) any remaining shares are held (directly or indirectly) by fewer than five other persons.

However, income under categories F or G cannot be combined with cash savings (category D):

Category D: Cash savings cannot be combined with self-employment income, or
with income from employment as a director or employee of a specified limited
company in the UK, under either Category F or Category G