ILR financial subsistence

secondfig · Post by **secondfig** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:26 pm

Hi, in a few months (well Sept. 2008) my wife will need to apply for her ILR having entered the country on a spousal visa in 2006.
Now we have documents showing us living together (joint bank statements, utility bills with both names on and various others with individuals on) and should have no problem showing we are a genuine couple who have lived together for the previous 2 years.
BUT
I'm worried about the financial side of it. I am a PhD student and although I'm on a scholarship (Â£12,100 p.a. tax free) I'm neither employed or receiving public funds and cannot see anywhere on the Set(M) form to state my income.
Added to this my wife has only worked for a few months of the 2 years, mainly because her field of work has few openings and even fewer that allow us to live together.
In addition we don't have any real savings, although we have never missed rent payments or gone over our overdraft facility.

Can anyone advise us on whether we should still apply for her ILR or whether we'd be better off applying for a further 2 year spousal visa?

Thanks in advance!

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:28 pm

Is your wife working now?

Victoria

secondfig · Post by **secondfig** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:37 pm

Thanks for the quick reply!

Currently she is working but she's on a month long contract which expires at the end of Jan with slim chance of it being renewed.
I'd hope that before the application date she'll have worked for a bit longer but it'll never be more than about 6 months of the 2 years.

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:48 pm

I think you need to work out a budget to show that you can afford to support yourselves.

Victoria

secondfig · Post by **secondfig** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:56 pm

Thanks again,

Currently although we're far from rich we have been able to support ourselves without recourse to public funds on either of our parts.
Drawing up a budget sounds like a good idea but we can only really prove that we can support ourselves at the moment, we can't show any ability to save, get a mortgage etc for at least the next year or two.

Part of the problem has been that her field (forensics) is civil service, meaning she can't work in that field until she is naturalised. This has meant that she has had to find jobs that she is less well qualified/experienced for.

Do you think it would help if she tried to find any job rather than have periods of unemployment?

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 4:09 pm

I think that depends on what the budget says.

Victoria

secondfig · Post by **secondfig** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 4:13 pm

It'd basically show that solely on my income we can pay rent, utility bills, groceries etc., and loan (mine) repayments. But that that's about all we can afford (the essentials).

So in that sense her income is secondary, but that in the past 2 years we've been unable to afford holidays etc

Sorry, secondary question:
If we did apply for a further 2 year spousal visa instead of ILR would they look upon it as strange that we didn't apply for ILR?
If that makes sense

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 4:16 pm

'Basically' is not good enough.

If you would like me to assist you it needs to be claculated to the last penny.

What's a holiday?

Victoria

secondfig · Post by **secondfig** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 4:21 pm

"What's a holiday? "

Ain't that the truth!

I'll go away and try to draw up an annual budget for us as a couple.
Thanks again for the help

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 4:23 pm

Monthly will do.

If you don't want to make it public, you can PM me.

Victoria

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ILR financial subsistence

ILR financial subsistence