T1 - Maintenance Funds - Joint account statements as proof!

[neosumit]

Hi All,

I have a query regarding the proof for submitting maintenance funds for Tier 1 General category.

My salaried account and other personal bank account has been staying below the required 2800 GBP for the last 3 months on few occasions.
Hence I would need to submit statements from other joint accounts as well which I hold with my parents.

Now my query is:

1. When I take out the statements, do I need to highlight the combined minimum balance in the accounts for the last 3 months on the cover letter?

Also, this would mean me highlighting the period on each of the individual account statements during which the combined minimum amount has been observed in the last 3 months.

I plan to take out all the statements on the same day (till date) to avoid any confusion.

2. Does the reviewing officers really calculate the sums of the individual accounts to ascertain the minimum balance for the last 90 days?

3. Is a NOC from the joint account holders required. The VFS UK call center executives instructed me to get one. However how does one prove the authenticity of the submitted NOC letters?

This query may sound a bit trivial, but unfortunately this is the only grey area in my application packet.
Thanks to everyone who would go through my query. Also, I hope it helps others on this forum as well.

[rushiparikh]

you might want to consider not submitting statements of joint account held with anyone other than your spouse.

i have read about alot of rejections based on the joint account being held with parents or other people even when an NOC was submitted along with the statements.

also try and keep your application as simple as possible and dont try and confuse the Entry clearance officer (ECO).. you do not want to even touch the grey areas of the policy guidance.

do not send statements from 2 accounts. it would ideally work, but there are chances it might not. u might just wanna wait for a little more time before you apply for your visa and maintain the required amount of funds in your personal account.

its just an opinion/advice..
take it or leave it.

good luck

- Rushi

[dhruv]

Hi All,

I have a query regarding the proof for submitting maintenance funds for Tier 1 General category.

My salaried account and other personal bank account has been staying below the required 2800 GBP for the last 3 months on few occasions.
Hence I would need to submit statements from other joint accounts as well which I hold with my parents.

Now my query is:

1. When I take out the statements, do I need to highlight the combined minimum balance in the accounts for the last 3 months on the cover letter?

Also, this would mean me highlighting the period on each of the individual account statements during which the combined minimum amount has been observed in the last 3 months.

I plan to take out all the statements on the same day (till date) to avoid any confusion.

2. Does the reviewing officers really calculate the sums of the individual accounts to ascertain the minimum balance for the last 90 days?

3. Is a NOC from the joint account holders required. The VFS UK call center executives instructed me to get one. However how does one prove the authenticity of the submitted NOC letters?

This query may sound a bit trivial, but unfortunately this is the only grey area in my application packet.
Thanks to everyone who would go through my query. Also, I hope it helps others on this forum as well.

Here is an text from the tier 1 guidance manual. Point 211. If the applicant wishes to rely on a joint account as evidence of available funds, he/she must be named on the account along with one or more other named individual.

214. Where evidence from two or more accounts are submitted, we will assess the funds available to the applicant using:
• the most recent closing balance of one account, plus
• any additional money available to the applicant on the date of that closing balance, for which the applicant has provided the required evidence.
We will always use the closing balance date from the account that most favours the applicant.

there is no reason for them to reject ur application on the basis of joint account

[neosumit]

Yeah. The policy clearly states that one can use joint account statements and that too without any No Objection certificate.

I have called VFS helpline and they mentioned that probably you can submit a NOC from the Joint Account holders to further clarify any doubts and highlight the relationship with the joint account holders.

However I think people have kind of started interpreting rules on their own and have started to read in between the lines.

If inspite of this the ECO probably rejects the application, then I would say that UK is not the country for Highly Skilled workers

[houman1979]

I saw a case for Tier 4 in Tehran and the applicant submitted joint account with his sister and accepted. Guidance is very clear about it.

Another point, never trust the answers you get on the phone and always send them email or write them letter. The people who answer the phone do not know anything.

[neosumit]

Yes. Clearly joint account statements have been specified as a source of Maintenance funds (without any pre condition of whom they can be held with).

As I said earlier, reading between the lines and then getting paranoid is an amazing quality in few. I hope people get away from self doubt and interpret the rules correctly.