Claiming Benefits & Fiance Visa

[clarrygill]

My fiance in Jamaica is about to apply for his settlement visa for the UK. What I'm not sure about is the condition of "no recourse to public funds". I understand that he can not claim public funds, but I am currently in receipt of working tax credits, housing benefit & council tax benefit. Will this affect the visa application, or am I entitled to claim these as a UK citizen?? Please help, this is so confusing!!

Also is the visa fee to Jamaica payable any other way than Visa Or mastercard Credit card (only)

[batleykhan]

You are legally entitled to claim them for yourself, but you cant claim additional amount for your to be fiance /spouse.

The fact that you are claiming these benefits will of course cast some doubts on whether you will be able to support ,maintain and accommodate your fiance if and when he comes here.

[clarrygill]

Thankyou, thats really helpful. I am entitled to housing & council tax benefit because of my child, so I presume that will also be taken into consideration? I also have savings, do they look on this favourably when assessing application?

[batleykhan]

Yes they will. If its enough to last you till your fiance find a job, the better it will be for both of you.

[John]

clarrygill, the financial test that needs to be passed is that your fiancé will not need to claim certain Public Funds. Especially as he will not be able to work in the UK until after the marriage and after the fiancé visa has been converted in the UK to a spouse visa, the admittedly blunt question that needs to be asked is .... how will he try to pass that financial test?

How much savings do the two of you have?

[clarrygill]

I understand that my fiance will not be able to work until after we are married & have the relevant visa. a family member is transferring money to my bank account, but I'm not sure exactly how much would be considered sufficient by the border agency?? Do you have any idea about this?

[John]

How soon after he arrives in the UK do the two of you plan to get married? As soon as you can? Or near the end of the 6-month fiancé visa?

[batleykhan]

a family member is transferring money to my bank account,

This is fine ,but you must explain how this money came about, as depositing a large sum of money into a bank account shortly before applying for a visa will raise suspicion in the mind of the ECO when he looks at your income and outgoing expenses from your bank statements that you will be required to supply..

As to how much money one should have in an account before applying, its a difficult question to answer, but most people on this forum have stated something between £2500 -4000 should be enough.

Like John has stated the sooner you get married, the sooner your fiance will be able to work thus reducing the burden on your finances

[clarrygill]

We intend to get married asap. OK so if I have £5000 savings in my bank account, that should be sufficient. I intend explaining it as a gift from family to help towards supporting my fiance.

[batleykhan]

This amount should be fine providing all the rest of the documents etc are fine.

What are the prospect of your finance getting a job in UK?. What does he do for a living there?
If there is a good prospect of him getting a job quickly on arrival, it will make it easier for him to be granted visa.

Good luck with your application.

[clarrygill]

My fiance has a job offer for as soon as he is able to work & i have written confirmation of this to submit.
Also I am wondering how much per week I should earn to support myself, fiance & 18 year old daughter (student) that is still living at home??

[clarrygill]

would it be any easier to get visa if we got married in my fiances country first?

[Casa]

No difference as far as finances are concerned. The only difference would be that your husband would be able to work immediately on a spouse visa.
You need to show that you will have a minimum of £105.95 remaining weekly as a couple after rent or mortgage, council tax and any loan repayments and £62.33 weekly for your dependent daughter.

[clarrygill]

Is that £105.95 remaining per week each?? So £105.95 for me & £105.95 for fiance?? Should we get married in my fiances country what would be the procedure for him coming to UK, I presume he would still have to apply for a spouse visa in his country & not be granted immediate entry to UK?

[batleykhan]

£105 per couple.(separate amount for your daughter if she is living with and you are responsible for living cost)

The procedure and docs required for spouse visa are exactly the same as fiance visa.

However it will mean you will need to travel to Jamaica to get married. Your husband would then be entitled to work straight away on arrival . If you want my advise spouse is better option than fiance,but you will need to look at your own circumstances to decide which is more convenient and cheaper to carry out.

[clarrygill]

Ok so we think we are going to get married in Jamaica & then apply for spouse visa. Do I as a UK citizen need to have any permission to marry in Jamaica??

[John]

Do I as a UK citizen need to have any permission to marry in Jamaica??

No, except of course you need to comply with Jamaican marriage law, whatever that says. You certainly don't need permission from the UK Government to get married outside the UK.

[MPH80]

Just back to your gift from family for a moment - I would suggest you should include a letter from the family member declaring it as a gift, and the intention, if any, of you paying them back.

I'd also suggest that they should prove they can afford it with their financial details - e.g. some bank statements.

Otherwise - the ECO will be saying "well - you've said it's a gift, but no evidence of where it's come from - you might just send it back once you've got the visa".

It's a fairly common trick you see. They are wise to it.

M.

[sally12345]

hiya having been granted a visa from kingston jamaica i wanted to share with you my doc list. this is the kind of thing the ECO wants to see. please see below:

1) GENERAL

Cover letter from applicant addressed to ECO – listing supporting documents enclosed with application
Form VAF4A application (printed version after completing online) – my hubby was given this back at the VAC and told it wasn't needed as they already had it on their system, but I would recommend you include it anyway

Letter of support from applicant's wife and sponsor (i.e. - me) – includes how and when we met; how we kept in touch; how and when we got engaged; how and when we got married; etc

Support letters from family & friends x 4 – from those who have met both of us


2) APPLICANT'S IDENTIFICATION (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph 281 (i) (a)(ii) & (iii))


Copy of current passport highlighting details of previous travel history (Actual passport handed in with application also)
Original birth certificate + copy
Expired passport with details of previous travel history + copy
Copy of TRN & Driving Licence
JPS utility bill


3) SPONSOR'S IDENTIFICATION (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph 281 (i), (ii) & (iii))


Certified copy of current passport highlighting most recent trip to visit Applicant
Two expired passports with details of trips to visit Applicant + copies
Original birth certificate + copy


4) EVIDENCE OF MARRIAGE (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph 281 (i))


Original marriage certificate + copy
Selection of receipts from Jamaica, England and US for the wedding and honeymoon expenses
Selection of wedding cards from well-wishers x 7
Wedding invitation and program
Selection of wedding photographs x 6 – mounted on card and labelled
Selection of honeymoon photographs – montage arranged on 1 page
Screenshots of wedding website (we set one up at weddingpath.co.uk)


5) EVIDENCE OF SUBSISTING RELATIONSHIP (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph281 (ii) & (iii))

(We noted in the cover letter under this section that my husband was unable to obtain evidence of calls made from him to me as he did not have proof of purchasing his Digicel sim card(s)and as such Digicel would not provide him with copies of past calling history due to data protection.)


Receipts of Digicel phone credit sent from Sponsor to Applicant (x 6 years)
Details of online Digicel phone credit sent from Sponsor to Applicant (x 2 years)
Details of Digicel's international calling plan – printed out from Digicel's website
Copies of Sponsor's home phone bills detailing calls between Sponsor & Applicant (x 1 year)
Sponsor's mobile phone bill detailing calls to Applicant (x 6 years)
Flight receipts, tickets and booking confirmations detailing previous visits between Applicant and Sponsor
Selection of photographs of Applicant and Sponsor throughout relationship x10 – mounted on card and labelled
Selection of written correspondence between Applicant and Sponsor x 4 (we didn't have much as mainly kept in touch over the phone)
Selection of money transfer receipts from Sponsor to Applicant
Letter confirming joint bank account of Applicant and Sponsor (opened in Jamaica a few years back)

6) ACCOMMODATION DETAILS (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph 281 (iv). MAA6;MAA8; MAA11; MAA12; MAA13)

Original tenancy agreement + copy (agreement includes provision to add my husband to tenancy once he arrives in UK)
Confirmation of deposit protection scheme for original accommodation deposit

Email from Landlord confirming agreement to extend tenancy agreement from July 2011 (when original tenancy agreement due to end)
Photographs and room measurements of accommodation
Copy of land registry entry for accommodation confirming Landlord's ownership
Original council tax statements for accommodation + copies (last year and current)
Original water services bills/correspondence for accommodation + copies


9) FINANCIAL INFORMATION – SPONSOR (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph 281 (v). MAA5;MAA8; MAA10)

Confirmation letter of current employment
Email confirming current employment assignment and details
Weekly payslips from current employment (x 4 months)
Invoices for freelance work (x 6 months)
Contract for freelance work x 2
Current account bank statements + copies (x 4 months)
Savings account statements + copies (last annual statements)
Booklet detailing access information for savings accounts (got this from my bank – confirms instant access to savings)


10) WORK OPPORTUNITIES IN UK (IMMIGRATION RULES: Part 8, Paragraph 281 (v). MAA8;MAA10)

Applicant's CV (for seeking work in UK upon arrival)
Employment references for Applicant + copies
Reference for Applicant from former School Principal + copy
Applicant's original qualification certificates + copies
Examples of jobs that Applicant could undertake in the UK (printed out from jobcentre website)
Details of careers relevant to Applicant's skills and experience (printed out from internet)
Examples of training and courses which Applicant could undertake in UK whilst seeking or during employment (printed out from internet)
Details of obtaining full UK driving licence for Applicant as relevant to potential employment
Sponsor's CV
Copy of Sponsor's qualification certificates


I presented each section above witha cover sheet (printed on coloured paper to help make it easier to identify/separate sections) which had the title and relevant immigration rule at the top, and then a list of supporting information included under that section, and number of pages for each document. A lot of detail I know, but I didn't want to leave any room for ECO to say there was stuff missing/lost etc...

To finish up I also attached a post-it note to each supporting document which detailed what it was and the particular immigration rule it applied to. I secured with a paper clip and it was a good way of keeping the copies and original documents together. This mayhave been overkill, but like I said – didn't want to leave any room for error.

It's a lot of information, and it was a massive effort to put together (more intense than I imagined!) but of course worth it, and I actually felt a real sense of achievement (and relief) when I packed all of it up to courier off to my hubby (just about squeezed it all into a box-file).

hope this heps you in some way

[clarrygill]

When submitting a copy of my passport for my spouse's settlement visa, does it need to be a certified copy? & if so how do i get this certified??

[sally12345]

When submitting a copy of my passport for my spouse's settlement visa, does it need to be a certified copy? & if so how do i get this certified??

yes it needs to be certifed and you can go to any immergartion lawyer and I think they charge £5.oo per page if you have freinds that attened your wedding in jamaica get theres copied as well this will build up more evedience x

[clarrygill]

I have read on various forums that a settlement visa has been refused due to the sponsor's bank account being overdrawn. My account has an arranged overdraft limit & is within this limit. Does anyone have info on this pls?

[clarrygill]

Also, my husband & keep in touch via skype. However, I do not have proof of Skype calls for 5 months as we both changed our laptops & skype only keeps history for whichever computer you log in with. I do have proof from our new computers. will this effect our application?

[sally12345]

Also, my husband & keep in touch via skype. However, I do not have proof of Skype calls for 5 months as we both changed our laptops & skype only keeps history for whichever computer you log in with. I do have proof from our new computers. will this effect our application?

Hiya Overdarft is fine as long as you go dont go over drawn and things remain in Creidt. with Spke explain all this in your support letter about about change of laptop and explain that your data has been lost etc

[clarrygill]

Thanks for replying. Can I just confirm the overdraft thing. I have an arranged overdraft of £1000 on my account, which I use. So for example, my current balance is £840 OVERDRAWN. However I never go over my set limit of £1000 overdraft. Is this still ok, or would I need to clear this overdraft??