Uk immigration as a spouse from south africa

[jomaho10]

hello everyone I was wondering if someone could please give myself and my husband some advice?

I am Scottish citizen, I visited my South african father and stepmother last year and met my south african husband through them. Shortly after, we were married and I have been living here on a temporary visa which doesnt entitle me to work.

Our long term plan was to be married in South Africa and return to UK to live and work so my husband can explore Scotland with me and he can meet my family. However, with the new financial requirement we are finding this difficult to understand and worry we may be separated for a year or more before we can get the uk spouse permit submiited.

My husband is an ex law enforcement officer and is on an early pension as he was shot on duty. He earns the equivalent to 3,000 pounds a year from his small pension which is due to be increased to 8,000 pounds per year. Obviously this is very little because the rand is very weak to the pound. He also has the equivalent to 16,000 pounds in savings depending on the exchange rate. He also draws a salary from this investment of 1,000 pounds a year. He has a driving school but uses this money for us to live on and he doesnt bank this cash as is it expensive to deposit money in south africa. He owns a car which could be sold for the equivalent of 5,000 pounds.

I am returning to Scotland to work mid October and will receive a basic starting salary of 13,500 pounds and potential bonus of 2,400 pa. We plan to stay with my mother when we get to the uk as she owns a house which is paid off and is happy for us to stay rent free with her as long as we help with other costs. We dont plan to stay with my mother permanently although she does not mind this and wants to act as our sponsor, she earns 25,000 pounds per year.

Myself and my husband plan to work and stay off benefits and we are capable of doing this. I have never relied on public funds and my husband has skills to offer the uk. He has experience in transport management and could also work as a driving instructor teaching a variety of licence codes and advanced skills.

We heard that if we combine our salaries they want to see evidence of this for 12months. Does this mean we must be separated for at least that long?? I though a away around this he could come on a visitors visa but we were advised by a friend not to do this as he would be rejected??!

Can anyone please give us some advice on which visa to apply for and whether we would qualify for the spouse visa?

thank you so much and good luck to everyone going through their own immigration troubles x

[MPH80]

Ok - at a basic level for a spouse visa - you need to be able to prove an income of £18,600.

On the face of it - your £13,000 income and your husband's £8000 pension will meet this.

In terms of evidence - the requirements (and I'd check this yourself by googling 'UKBA FM-SE' - which will take you to the rules) are:

If you've been with your employer less than 6 months - you must show your income over the last 12 months

If, on the other hand, you've been with your employer for more than 6 months - you only need to show the last 6 months of payslips and bank statements.

The pension seems even easier to prove - being just the official confirmation of the payment and one bank statement showing it being paid in.

So on the face of it - you'd be separated for the time from October + 6 months + time to apply for visa + time to arrange travel.

M.

[jomaho10]

Thank you so much for your quick reply

Do you think if I go over to work in uk for a year that my husband 6 month visitors permit would be rejected? Even if he wrote an affidavit to swear he would return? He is an ex law enforcer so I don't know if they would take character into consideration?

[jomaho10]

Can anyone advise if my husbands visitors visa is likely to be rejected whilst I work there for a year?

[MPH80]

The key question the ECO will ask is 'how likely is he to return at the end of his visit'.

So the question for you is how you prove strong ties back to his home country to allow him to prove he'll return. Normally this involves family, property, money ties.

In terms of character - it does play into ECO's thinking - but I wouldn't hold out much hope. In some parts of the world (not saying your husband is!) - the police/law enforcement are some of the most corrupt people there are!

On the 'sworn affidavit' thing - what difference would it make? If someone wants to come over here and overstay - they say and sign anything wouldn't they?

The best way to approach an application like this is to take all the emotion out of your thought and think "If I was an ECO - how would I assess this person?". In your case - all we know right now in terms of the balance is that his wife will be living and working in the UK ... so you need to take that and figure out the answer of 'why would he return?' - and that's how you prove it to the ECO.

M.

[jomaho10]

Thank you so much for your previous post.

Now I am in the uk and am looking for a job so that we meet the financial requirement for the spouse visa..

I just wanted to know...if we apply for him to come and visit in the meantime and if it is rejected will this have a negative effect on our 2nd spouse application.

?

Also you mentioned about proving he would return? He has a pending lawyers investigation/court case to win a higher settlement for his pension. He's been told he most likely will have to go to court again or at least be present in jobburg to sign the docs, if he walks away at this stage he will also be liable for the thousands of rands in lawyers fees. Also, he is planning to return for his sisters wedding and is busy finishing renovations on the family property as they want to rent it out so his parents can move to a small holding (the house is far too big for them). He also has a driving school there and lots of family he would like to return to before he makes the big move. He also has shares there, an investment and a small loan...do you think these things woild prove a strong case he would return. I'm sure his lawyers would be willing to write a letter. He just wants to visit first to see if he could adapt to scotland, meet my family and have a small wedding party for my side before we proceed with the main spouse app.

Again, thank you for your advice