ILR for Spouse of British Citizen - Finances

[jamieb]

Hi, I am currently on a 2 year spouse visa and will be eligible to apply for ILR in March 2012 on the basis of my being married to a british citizen and having been in uk for 2 years.

My question relates to the financial aspect of the application. My spouse (British) is a full time student and I am unemployed. I have savings of around 10K pounds. Total monthly outgoings around 1K a month. So far we have been living on my savings and some support from my parents (which isnt that much and is not regular, maybe once or twice a year - total maybe around 4K/year).

I've not been employed at all for the 2 years I've been in UK. I am currently studying for professional exams which I hope will land me a job when after I've passed them. However this is self-study and i'm not on any course or anything, therefore not formally classed as a student.

Will my situation be a problem?
Is employment or regular income a necessary requirement to be granted ILR on marriage basis? if so, what is the minimum montly income that will satisfy the ukba?
if this will be a problem then what are my options?

Please advise as we're very worried about this. Thanks.

[chrisrich]

Hi, I am currently on a 2 year spouse visa and will be eligible to apply for ILR in March 2012 on the basis of my being married to a british citizen and having been in uk for 2 years.

My question relates to the financial aspect of the application. My spouse (British) is a full time student and I am unemployed. I have savings of around 10K pounds. Total monthly outgoings around 1K a month. So far we have been living on my savings and some support from my parents (which isnt that much and is not regular, maybe once or twice a year - total maybe around 4K/year).

I've not been employed at all for the 2 years I've been in UK. I am currently studying for professional exams which I hope will land me a job when after I've passed them. However this is self-study and i'm not on any course or anything, therefore not formally classed as a student.

Will my situation be a problem?
Is employment or regular income a necessary requirement to be granted ILR on marriage basis? if so, what is the minimum montly income that will satisfy the ukba?
if this will be a problem then what are my options?

Please advise as we're very worried about this. Thanks.

With set M, they are more concerned about the relationship being genuine, as long as you have the correct paperwork (cohabitation documents) you will be ok. There is no minimum income for Set M. Have a look at the link below, i hope it helps.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=91024

[jamieb]

Hi. I have an appointment this month for my ILR application. My circumstances havent changed and are as described above. Its clear to me that my application will still fall under the old rules for family route.

However, while reading the new rules from the statement of intent regarding changes to the family route (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... am-mig.pdf) , I noticed it is mentioned that the old rules regarding financial requirement were as follows:


"75. This new financial requirement, which will apply to a grant of six months’ leave as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner and to the five year route to settlement as a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or same sex partner, will replace the existing maintenance requirement for those routes in the Immigration Rules, which under case law operates, after housing costs have been deducted, at the equivalent of Income Support levels. That existing requirement will apply where the applicant is exempt from the new financial requirement because their sponsor is in receipt of a specified disability-related benefit or Carer’s Allowance."

This seems to contradict the advice given above:

With set M, they are more concerned about the relationship being genuine, as long as you have the correct paperwork (cohabitation documents) you will be ok. There is no minimum income for Set M. Have a look at the link below, i hope it helps.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=91024

Can anyone advise as to which one it really is? i.e. there IS a minimum income equal to that of Income Support level OR there is NO minimum income and the genuineness of the relationship takes priority.
Or is it a case of it being at the discretion of the caseworker of granting the ILR or not when a Set M applicant fails to meet financial requirement?

Please advise as i'm quite worried because if I am refused the ILR , i wont qualify for a spouse visa if i were to reapply under new rules. Any advice would be very much appreciated thank you.

[geriatrix]

Changes to the family immigration rules: Who they affect

[jamieb]

Just to be clear. According to my understanding, the old/current rules will apply to my ILR application, NOT the new. My query relates to financial requirements of the OLD/CURRENT RULES.

[jamieb]

Can anyone advise as to which one it really is? i.e. there IS a minimum income equal to that of Income Support level OR there is NO minimum income and the genuineness of the relationship takes priority.
Or is it a case of it being at the discretion of the caseworker of granting the ILR or not when a Set M applicant fails to meet financial requirement?

Can someone please help with the above query? This is the current/old rules I am referring to.

[geriatrix]

I am applying for ILR soon based on having spent 2 years in UK married to british national. However I am unemployed and my partner is a student. We are living on our savings and a get small financial help from my parents.

My questions are:

1.is there a minimum income level for SET(M) according to old/current rules?

2. can i be refused ILR solely based on the fact that we do not have a regular income and are both unemployed? (under current/old rules)

3. how do i answer question 8.5 on the application form (i.e. Does a relative or friend of you or your partner, or both of you, regularly give you money? If so how much do you receive each month?) The funds I received from parents was/is not on a monthly basis. Its around 8K in total transferred to my bank account in 3 chunks over last two years. So how do i put in how much i receive each month seeing as the money is sent to me in a non-regular fashion??

Could anyone advise on any of the above please? My appointment is only days away now. Many thanks

[geriatrix]

1. No.
2. You will need to provide evidences that your sponsor can accommodate and maintain you without recourse to public funds.
3. Truthfully, with evidence and perhaps a brief explanation.

[jamieb]

Just to provide an update: my application was successful, thank God. they weren't interested in the finances so much, the cohab documents and life in the uk pass are what they focused on. so to anybody who's in the same situation (applying under old rules), make sure these are in order.

anyway, thanks everyone for the advice!

[khaledadda]

Hi could you please share your experience and we're did youapy for you ilr and all supporting document you provid many thanks