Income requirement changing from April??

[mosesmoses]

Hi guys, quick question

I heard that from next month they will make it a requirement to have £21~£26k per year income, is this true???? if anyone knows where I can find this information I would be extremenly greatful as my first application for spouse visa was refused on other grounds and we are looking to re-apply in april but if this is true then I am totally screwed

[MelC]

Hi guys, quick question

I heard that from next month they will make it a requirement to have £21~£26k per year income, is this true???? if anyone knows where I can find this information I would be extremenly greatful as my first application for spouse visa was refused on other grounds and we are looking to re-apply in april but if this is true then I am totally screwed

there will indeed be a higher income threshold than there is currently, along with several other changes, some are already being phased in, some will hit the spouse applications no doubt around april, but i think its more likely to be June when the income threshold is going to raise.

the other grounds ~ are they not appealable?

[ghuraba]

Surely they have to give dates when these things are going to be changed? Or people like the original poster and I could be affected with applications that fall between these changes not knowing the dates they come into effect. Which would mean our applications being refused. For example if I decide to apply in June and all of a sudden in June it is anounced that these changes begin from June. As opposed to saying in April that from June the changes will take place so you have 3 months to meet the criterian.

[MelC]

Surely they have to give dates when these things are going to be changed? Or people like the original poster and I could be affected with applications that fall between these changes not knowing the dates they come into effect. Which would mean our applications being refused. For example if I decide to apply in April and all of a sudden it is anounced that these changes begin from April. As opposed to saying in April that from June the changes will take place so you have 3 months to meet the criterian.

when changes take place there is usually something on the UKBA website.
there was a consultation on family route migration that looked at the proposals, and a MAC report on what the income threshold could be, which will most likely, if it set at the MAC figures put 60% of current applicants out of the running!

when the English test was introduced there were many people who did not know, they did not keep up to date via at least the UKBA website, the onus is on the applicants to KNOW the situation at the time of their application.

IF the changes were to be announced in April the chances of people being able to meet them (financially) by June would be pretty nigh impossible unless they suddenly got a great job, worked 2 full time ones or had a lottery win!

I'm sure the press will be all over it as it goes through parliament.

I'm also sure that a lot of people who are planning to marry this year and apply for a spouse visa are going to find their hoped for plans cut off with no chance of any future together in the UK.

Price you pay for chosin to marry a visa national unfortunately.

[mosesmoses]

Hi guys, quick question

I heard that from next month they will make it a requirement to have £21~£26k per year income, is this true???? if anyone knows where I can find this information I would be extremenly greatful as my first application for spouse visa was refused on other grounds and we are looking to re-apply in april but if this is true then I am totally screwed

there will indeed be a higher income threshold than there is currently, along with several other changes, some are already being phased in, some will hit the spouse applications no doubt around april, but i think its more likely to be June when the income threshold is going to raise.

the other grounds ~ are they not appealable?

Hi Mel,

we were refused on 2 grounds 1st my wife didnt have the required english mark (she did ielts and we thought she had enough marks) and 2nd not enough proof on contact. We did appeal but as expected they simply dismissed it because of the english :\

I have been searching and trying to find this information on the ukba website but I can't seem to see it anywhere and now my father has confirmed that he heard it on a immigration program on tv that this requirement will be set in april

[mosesmoses]

Surely they have to give dates when these things are going to be changed? Or people like the original poster and I could be affected with applications that fall between these changes not knowing the dates they come into effect. Which would mean our applications being refused. For example if I decide to apply in June and all of a sudden in June it is anounced that these changes begin from June. As opposed to saying in April that from June the changes will take place so you have 3 months to meet the criterian.

Hi ghuraba,

I agree, its absolutely rediculous that they can make such big changes without giving sufficient notice / time. We were going to apply in april as my wife lives in a small town and her mother is not well and in hospital but now I might have to urgently courier all the documents to her and have her apply before april.

I decided to ask a immigration solictor and he told me I need 3 months bank statements showing minimum £2000 savings and minimum £150 weekly income.

I'm not sure if this is right though! can anyone confirm? I'm living with parents rent free, house is freehold.

[AcrossBorders]

Hi Mel,

we were refused on 2 grounds 1st my wife didnt have the required english mark (she did ielts and we thought she had enough marks) and 2nd not enough proof on contact. We did appeal but as expected they simply dismissed it because of the english :\

I have been searching and trying to find this information on the ukba website but I can't seem to see it anywhere and now my father has confirmed that he heard it on a immigration program on tv that this requirement will be set in april

Hi Moses,

What evidence did you provide as proof of contact in yout original application?

[mosesmoses]

Hi Mel,

we were refused on 2 grounds 1st my wife didnt have the required english mark (she did ielts and we thought she had enough marks) and 2nd not enough proof on contact. We did appeal but as expected they simply dismissed it because of the english :\

I have been searching and trying to find this information on the ukba website but I can't seem to see it anywhere and now my father has confirmed that he heard it on a immigration program on tv that this requirement will be set in april

Hi Moses,

What evidence did you provide as proof of contact in yout original application?

as we only speak on the phone daily we only submitted phone bills but they were numerous and very detailed showing all calls and sms sent, durations, costs etc... and some photos of us together when I went to visit + my flight ticket

but it was rejected and it was said we need to show greeting cards, emails, letters, skype etc....

[MelC]

Hi guys, quick question

I heard that from next month they will make it a requirement to have £21~£26k per year income, is this true???? if anyone knows where I can find this information I would be extremenly greatful as my first application for spouse visa was refused on other grounds and we are looking to re-apply in april but if this is true then I am totally screwed

there will indeed be a higher income threshold than there is currently, along with several other changes, some are already being phased in, some will hit the spouse applications no doubt around april, but i think its more likely to be June when the income threshold is going to raise.

the other grounds ~ are they not appealable?

Hi Mel,

we were refused on 2 grounds 1st my wife didnt have the required english mark (she did ielts and we thought she had enough marks) and 2nd not enough proof on contact. We did appeal but as expected they simply dismissed it because of the english :\

I have been searching and trying to find this information on the ukba website but I can't seem to see it anywhere and now my father has confirmed that he heard it on a immigration program on tv that this requirement will be set in april

when you say you appealed, do you mean an appeal at the AIT or the review at the embassy? if that was the time scale?

IF it was the review at the embassy:
what scores did your wife get on IELTS? and if you don't mind me asking, what country is she from? the reason I ask is there has been a real kerfuffle at one particular embassy, and possibly more, where the staff were insistent that the ONLY test was KETS and were refusing people who had passed IELTS.

one of the refusals was funny but not funny as the ECO was quite adamant that passing reading writing speaking and listening was obviously not suitable because the requirement was for speaking and listening ???
obviously something the ECO didn't do at their own training session?

there is also something I read last week, about the english test, in particular just what did amount to equivalent to "A1" ~ you might want to check on that.

"contact" its not one of the 5 sections of Para 281, it IS part of what they look at in genuine and subsisting, but contact per sae, is part of intervening devotion and goes towards credibility, and how and when couples "contact" each other, varies from couple to couple, again there is recent case law on this.

Maybe you could take a look at the case law, and objectively (if you can) have a look at what you submitted....

you don't have to spend hours on the computer staring at each others faces saying "i wuv u bunnykins" to have intervening devotion?

every couple ARE different!

So are you sure that the marks were not high enough?

it is quite possible, probable that in april it will be set, and passing through parliament but as its not there yet its unlikely to hit the scene in april, the "feeling" is June, thats the UKBA feeling anyway and they are the ones having to rewrite the guidance.

[MelC]

Hi Mel,

we were refused on 2 grounds 1st my wife didnt have the required english mark (she did ielts and we thought she had enough marks) and 2nd not enough proof on contact. We did appeal but as expected they simply dismissed it because of the english :\

I have been searching and trying to find this information on the ukba website but I can't seem to see it anywhere and now my father has confirmed that he heard it on a immigration program on tv that this requirement will be set in april

Hi Moses,

What evidence did you provide as proof of contact in yout original application?

as we only speak on the phone daily we only submitted phone bills but they were numerous and very detailed showing all calls and sms sent, durations, costs etc... and some photos of us together when I went to visit + my flight ticket

but it was rejected and it was said we need to show greeting cards, emails, letters, skype etc....

I hadn't read down this far ~

sorry but that is BULLSHIT! not on your part, the alleged requirement that the ECO refused on!!

there is NO set of specific evidence of contact, not everyone uses computers, not everyone texts, and now adays (sadly) not everyone writes letters and cards, most cards are "e-cards" these days, which in my old fashioned opinion is quite sad, but thats a personal opinion!

I am truly sorry because THAT really is BS!!!!

if you look at the guidance for the VAF completion is states there that its up to you what documents you submit, there is NO specific Criteria and to say that people MUST submit greeting cards or skype conversations etc sorry no way!!!

there is no way that this was at the AIT surely?

if what you state is accurate, then you are being duped!!!

you give up too easily? again, if what you state is accurate then you need to have a look at it and don't give up on the application at this point ~ I know there can be some weird and wonderful rulings out there, but i cannot beleive that this was an AIT ruling, please tell me it wasn't!

[lucy_2011]

Hello,

plz refer to this judgement as its points out some imp facts abt spouse relationship based on evidence of contact...

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cg ... od=boolean
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It says:

"Parties who intend to conduct a relationship by telephone do not also have to demonstrate that they conduct a relationship by written correspondence in order to show that they intend to live together as man and wife. The suggestion that they may have texted each other is speculation on the judge’s part. As we understand the position it would be more expensive to text and the telephone cards cannot be used for that purpose."

[Greenie]

Hi guys, quick question

I heard that from next month they will make it a requirement to have £21~£26k per year income, is this true???? if anyone knows where I can find this information I would be extremenly greatful as my first application for spouse visa was refused on other grounds and we are looking to re-apply in april but if this is true then I am totally screwed

there will indeed be a higher income threshold than there is currently, along with several other changes, some are already being phased in, some will hit the spouse applications no doubt around april, but i think its more likely to be June when the income threshold is going to raise.

the other grounds ~ are they not appealable?

it is not guaranteed that they will increase maintenance requirement although this is what they have proposed. I imagine that the reason for the delay in the announcement is that they have run into problems with their proposals and they are aware that if the threshold is too high they are going to face legal challenges. There are no changes that will effect spouse visas that have been announced yet-i am not sure what you are referring to when you mention changes being phased in in April?

They need to give at least 21 days notice of any statement of changes to the immigration rules. Given the significance of the changes i think they will give more notice than this by releasing a statement of intent a few weeks before the 21 days which is what they have done with announcements in other categories. It doesn't appear from their most recent announcement that the changes will take place in April. They have only said it will be 'later this year'

[mosesmoses]

Hi guys, first of all thanks to all for the replies!

Let me just clear up what happened with my first application. My wife took ielts and scored overall 5 but she was refused because her listening score was only 4! Stupidly on my part I had thought they would look at her overall score but turns out only speaking and listening is looke at *sigh*

now onto the contact, i was talking of the eco's decision and his reasoning. I had the exact same reaction as u guys. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Having then spoken to a few solicitors they all seemed confident this would be overturned on appeal but they all said the appeal would be refused because of the english requirement.

So not expecting much but on hope we appealed and as expected it was rejected, they simply wont budge on it!! So for anyone thinking of Ddoing eilts, DONT!! Not for spouse visa anyway, after alot of research i found out there is no eilts equivalent of A1 !!!

Can anyone give me a link to the information regarding income change, i've been searching but cant seem to find it on the ukba

[mosesmoses]

Hi guys, first of all thanks to all for the replies!

Let me just clear up what happened with my first application. My wife took ielts and scored overall 5 but she was refused because her listening score was only 4! Stupidly on my part I had thought they would look at her overall score but turns out only speaking and listening is looke at *sigh*

now onto the contact, i was talking of the eco's decision and his reasoning. I had the exact same reaction as u guys. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Having then spoken to a few solicitors they all seemed confident this would be overturned on appeal but they all said the appeal would be refused because of the english requirement.

So not expecting much but on hope we appealed and as expected it was rejected, they simply wont budge on it!! So for anyone thinking of Ddoing eilts, DONT!! Not for spouse visa anyway, after alot of research i found out there is no eilts equivalent of A1 !!!

Can anyone give me a link to the information regarding income change, i've been searching but cant seem to find it on the ukba

[pazpatel]

Hi guys, first of all thanks to all for the replies!

Let me just clear up what happened with my first application. My wife took ielts and scored overall 5 but she was refused because her listening score was only 4! Stupidly on my part I had thought they would look at her overall score but turns out only speaking and listening is looke at *sigh*

now onto the contact, i was talking of the eco's decision and his reasoning. I had the exact same reaction as u guys. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Having then spoken to a few solicitors they all seemed confident this would be overturned on appeal but they all said the appeal would be refused because of the english requirement.

So not expecting much but on hope we appealed and as expected it was rejected, they simply wont budge on it!! So for anyone thinking of Ddoing eilts, DONT!! Not for spouse visa anyway, after alot of research i found out there is no eilts equivalent of A1 !!!

Can anyone give me a link to the information regarding income change, i've been searching but cant seem to find it on the ukba

Thats is BS, I have heard and read so much that IELTS is accepted and also that 4 band in Speaking and Listening is enough? I have just submitted the VISA application for my wife in India and she got overall 5 band. Listening 5.5 and Speaking 4.5. now I am worried too. I thought it was enough.

[harv]

Hi mosesmoses

For IELTS if your spouse has scored minimum of Band 4.0 in both Listening and speaking, you meet the English language requirements. If anything below this band, it is not measurable by the European Framework.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... -tests.pdf

Thanks
Harvinder Singh

[mosesmoses]

My apologies I was stating off the top of my head! She actually scored 3.5 not 4!! Sorry again, just checked the mark sheet

[krssubbu]

just a bit of clarification. my wife has done her bachelors that is equivalent to uk degree (her university is recongnized on points based calculator). so she doenst have to do ielts, isnt it ?


i was thinkg of attaching her marksheets + letter from college (saying its affliated to the university)

[harv]

Hi krssubbu

As long as the degree is recognised in the Points Based Calculator its all good, for completeness sake you are suppose to enclose full evidence of the course i.e. Degree Certificate etc.

I think that should be fine.

Also since you have a section in the Application form asking for details on how the applicant meets the language requirements, you can mention that the degree completed is recognised as equivalent UK degree, thus meeting the English language requirements.

[krssubbu]

thanks harv

[AcrossBorders]

mosesmoses, thanks for the information.

Is it possible to type out the exact wording the ECO used in their letter regarding the contact/subsisting relationship. Sometimes the detail is in the wordings they use.

I know this might not help you due to the IELTS issue, but might help alot of others - thanks!

[mosesmoses]

Sure I'll post the eco's decision letter word for word tomorrow as I'm at work today!

I had just sent phone bills, photos and proof of me visiting my wife but as this wasnt enough I've prepared lots more for the next application:

Phone bills
Emails
Screen shots of video calls
Skype messages
Hand writen letters
Greeting cards
More photos and another flight plan as I visited again a few months ago

Seems abit much but why take chances?

The skype and email messages ive just sent to myself from her accounts as she doesnt have internet at home. The video calls were made when she was visiting relatives that have internet.

While I was there we got her to complete a different test fir the english requirement and she passed first time getting A1 result and a certificate valid for 2 years, much better option than ielts as she found it much much harder!

Hope this helps ppl!!

Regarding the original post, does anyone have any links to this income change? Still cant find this on the internet!

Thanks

[Greenie]

Regarding the original post, does anyone have any links to this income change? Still cant find this on the internet!

Thanks

the income change has not happened yet, it is just a proposal. they are due to announce changes later this year.

[mosesmoses]

My friend where did you find this information?

[lucy_2011]

This is just a proposal till now...

However, the link is given below:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 63427.html