Best way to have my Russian partner live in UK

[Barabas]

I am still kinda new to this and feel neck-deep in research and information.
My partner and I plan to get married literally as soon as our circumstances allow for it. Once married (hopefully in the UK), we will find a way to live together. My partner is a Russian citizen living in Russia and I am British citizen living in UK. Aside from vacations and visits, we haven't actually lived together for more than 4 weeks at a time. So far, I have only researched the spouse visa route and here are my findings so far: I claim DLA (making me exempt from the £18,600 income rule but only having to prove that I have enough to support her) but my income is kinda small still. I've been advised by another service that this support money is only £115 disposable income per week leftover after bills. So does that mean that I only need to make sure I have £115 minimum leftover in my account constantly? For how long- 6 months?
Also, how to I prove a genuine relationship with her?
Can anyone give me any just general tips to help me along my way?
Perhaps spouse visa isnt the best route for us, at time time?

[SimonS]

Hi Barabas,

I recently married my Russian wife (April) and am going through the Spouse Visa process right now. You might find it useful to read my thread on here if you have not already.

immigration-for-family-members/spouse-v ... 26338.html

It essentially contains all of the information you will need in order to get married in Russia should that be of interest. We weighed up the pro's and con's of geting married in the UK vs Russia and decided that in our case it was much easier and more cost effective to do this in Russia and then apply for a spouse visa.

As to your income question, my understanding is that while you are exempt from the £18,600 threshold, you still need to meet the adequate maintenance requirement. This basically stipulates that your disposable income after housing costs must be greater than or equal to what a married couple would receive in the UK in terms of income support. This is currently £114.85 per week, rounded up = £115 per week.

It does not include bills or debts in the calculation but I think it does include Council Tax if you have to pay this.

The formula is A-B >/= C.

A = Income, B = Housing Cost (Incl. Council Tax), C = £115/week

It is not about making sure you have this money left over in your account, rather it is demonstrating that after the calculation, you have this money available every week, regardless of whether you spend it or not.

See this document

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... x_1_7A.pdf

You are required to demonstrate for the 6 months prior to date of application, this income was there and I think for at least 3 months beyond, it will still be there.

You should ensure that you are saving all of your flight tickets and accommodation receipts and photographs of the two of you together in a file now as these will be required to demonstrate subsisting relationship. Believe me, it is an enormous task to pull all of this together in one go, best to start now.

I'm not an expert or a lawyer, this is just my understanding. Hope it is useful for you.

Kind regards
Simon