spouse visa queries

[zakria]

hi , i am Zakria from Pakistan.
my spouse is british national and we got married 6 months ago.
i want to apply for a spouse visa now
could you pleas help me about my case.
i am worried about weekly income of my spouse.her weekly income is 130 pounds.she is university student and completing her degree on 20th may 2011. many solicitors told us that the income should be about 180 to 200 pounds per week.
is this an adequate income to support spouse?
ECO will accept it ?
she lives with her parents. they have big own house , no mortgage.all the house taxes and bills paid by her parents.
i will be very thankful if you guide me in right way
regards ,
zakria

[batleykhan]

Read the link below my name.

If you are then not sure about anything come back and ask question

[zakria]

thank you brother for quick response.
1.my brother has a good job ,salary and bank statement . he is brithish national .so if i want to include my brothers sponsorship as 3rd party support. will it make my case strong ?
some body told me if u add 3rd party ,it will make ur case weak and go to appeal.
2. my wife receive 50 pounds every week from her grand mother.she puts this amount in bank every week and statement will show it ,but its cash amount .
she earns 130 pounds weekly from her job .so can we show her weekly income 130+50=180 pounds on my visa application . what should we do for this ? should we get a letter from her grand mother ?
hope you will guide me in right way
thanks n regards

[zakria]

I have been advised by a solicitor that the ECO's do not consider the £105.95 (as advised on your website) as a sufficient amount for settlement cases from Pakistan, please could you shed light on this ?.<br style="line-height: 17px; ">I have also been told that a couple on an income of £105.95/wk or £130/wk are eligible for claiming some benefits (e.g Housinf Benefit); is this true? If so, an income of this amount is surely detrimental to a settlement case.
Thankyou.

[zakria]

hi bately khan , could you pleas answer to my questions?
Your assistance will be very appreciated.
thanks

[Greenie]

I have been advised by a solicitor that the ECO's do not consider the £105.95 (as advised on your website) as a sufficient amount for settlement cases from Pakistan, please could you shed light on this ?.<br style="line-height: 17px; ">I have also been told that a couple on an income of £105.95/wk or £130/wk are eligible for claiming some benefits (e.g Housinf Benefit); is this true? If so, an income of this amount is surely detrimental to a settlement case.
Thankyou.

It is not the case that an income of £105.95 per week is sufficient, rather than you would need £105.95 after rent and council tax had been paid, the actual income would therefore need be more than this. Perhaps this is where the solicitor has come up with the figure of £180/200 per week. Of course if the sponsor does not have to pay rent or council tax because for example he/she lives with family members and does not pay rent then £105.95 would be enough.

The fact that the sponsor is in receipt of benefits will not necessarily mean that the case is refused as long as the sponsor is not heavily dependent on benefits and the spouse's arrival would not cause the sponsor to have additional recourse to public funds. Therefore just because the sponsor is entitled housing benefit will not necessarily mean the case is refused as long as the spouse's arrival would not mean that the sponsor had a higher entitlement to housing benefit.

[zakria]

It is not the case that an income of £105.95 per week is sufficient, rather than you would need £105.95 after rent and council tax had been paid, the actual income would therefore need be more than this. Perhaps this is where the solicitor has come up with the figure of £180/200 per week. Of course if the sponsor does not have to pay rent or council tax because for example he/she lives with family members and does not pay rent then £105.95 would be enough.

The fact that the sponsor is in receipt of benefits will not necessarily mean that the case is refused as long as the sponsor is not heavily dependent on benefits and the spouse's arrival would not cause the sponsor to have additional recourse to public funds. Therefore just because the sponsor is entitled housing benefit will not necessarily mean the case is refused as long as the spouse's arrival would not mean that the sponsor had a higher entitlement to housing benefit.[/quote]

do you know about any spouse case,visa granted with income of 130 pounds ? if its on this forum could you pleas give me the link ?
i want to apply for a spouse visa and weekly income of my spouse is 131 pounds. i advised by a solicitor that its not sufficient ,income should be about 180 to 200 pounds per week.she lives with parents so no other expenses like rent,council tax,bills. your replies have given me a hope but i am still confused.
can anybody tell me about any case, for which visa granted with such income( £110 to £130 )
your assistance will be highly appreciated.
regards

[Greenie]

do you know about any spouse case,visa granted with income of 130 pounds ? if its on this forum could you pleas give me the link ?
i want to apply for a spouse visa and weekly income of my spouse is 131 pounds. i advised by a solicitor that its not sufficient ,income should be about 180 to 200 pounds per week.she lives with parents so no other expenses like rent,council tax,bills. your replies have given me a hope but i am still confused.
can anybody tell me about any case, for which visa granted with such income( £110 to £130 )
your assistance will be highly appreciated.
regards

Perhaps you should ask your solicitor where s/he is getting her figures from. It is generally accepted that these are the figures that can be relied upon, because these are the income support rates.

Please also read Maintenance and Accommodation ECG

"There is no explicit minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany him / her to the United Kingdom, resources must be available for the whole family unit to be maintained.

The ECO should bear in mind the position taken by the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UKAIT):

In 2006, the UKAIT in UKAIT 00065 KA and Others (Pakistan), strongly suggested that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the Income Support level for a British family of that size.
More information is available on the British & Irish Legal Information Institute website (BAILII)

If it is more likely than not that the total amount that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds."

[zakria]

"If it is more likely than not that the total amount that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds

On the contrary then, is it safe to say that if i apply with an income of above £105 (i.e. £130) it would be 'against the law' for the ECO to refuse a settlement visa on the basis of 'not enough income' ?
. (greatly appreciate it if some sort of reference to the particular law might be quoted to just to ease my conscience).
Thankyou

[Kitty]

zakria, Greenie has given you the relevant law.

If you and your wife have no rent or council tax to pay, then you must be able to show that you have at least £105.95 available to you each week. If your wife is earning £130 per week, then it seems that you will satisfy this requirement.

There is only likely to be a problem if the ECO believes you aren't able to live free of rent and council tax, or that you have other regulkar outgoings like loan repayments that must be deducted. Make sure you supply full evidence of the house where you will live and your permission to do so.

Bear in mind also that on a spouse visa you will be allowed to work: include evidence of your own qualifications or any relevant vacancies you have found in the UK (your wife can check for these), or any job offers.