Spouse Visa - Financial Requirement > 18,600

[RagsKasthuri]

Hi,

In the Financial Requirements Section 7. Cash Savings, it is mentioned that:

Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control. This is referred to as Category D. See section 7 of this guidance.

It would be really great if you can help me with the following:

1) I have ISA Savings account which has £11,142.83 and this money is held in the account for more than last 6 months. But then as the clause mentions about the savings being above £16,000, am I able to count this £11,142.83 towards the total financial requirement of £18,600?

2) My wife has been working in India and her salary has been around Rs, 7 lakhs per annum. Are we able to count (My UK Cash Savings + My UK Salary + My wife's Indian Salary) towards the £18,600?

3) I am paid salary per month and an annual dividend per annum. Am I able to count (My UK Cash Savings + My UK Salary + My UK Dividends + My wife's Indian Salary) towards the £18,600?

Look forward to your reply. Advance thanks in anticipation.

Regards
Rags

[Lucapooka]

What is your actual annual income in the UK?

[RagsKasthuri]

Thanks. Details below:
My Annual Income = £9600 (Gross)
Cash ISA Savings = £11142.83
Wife's Annual Income = Rs.500000 = £5660.37
My UK Dividends = £9000

[Lucapooka]

You can't use your wife's income but your salary and dividends are exactly the required sum if you are sure about your accounting. Gross income for SE employment would be after business expenses were deducted. Less than 18,600 would require savings to bridge the shortfall, but you don't have sufficient.

[RagsKasthuri]

Thanks. While I understand that (My Gross Salary + Dividends) = 9600 + 9000 = 18600 would be ideal to make an application, my dividends are not paid out yet and it could take up to April this year before they are paid out.

If we want to make an application earlier and not wait till April'13, I was wondering if I can do something like this:

(Cash ISA Savings + Gross Salary) = (£11142.83 + £9600) = £20742.83

I kind of gather from your reply that as my cash savings is less than £16000, this might not be possible. But then thought it would be good to get this confirmed.

Thanks
Rags

[Lucapooka]

16,000 is the entry level for cash. The shortfall in the income (18,600 - actual income) is multilpied by 2.5 and then added to 16,000. So you can see that your savings are not sufficient to that requirement. You would need 38,500.

[RagsKasthuri]

Thanks very much for the clarification.

I was just thinking of another option. Instead of waiting till April this year, are we able to apply for a Visitor Visa for my wife so that she can be here for 6 months at the end of which we could apply for the dependant visa?

This is what I happened to learn form Page 3 of the Visitor Visa Supporting Documents guidance notes:

[i]Family Visitor
The family members you are visiting must be permanently settled or have asylum/humanitarian protection status in the UK. They must also be related to you in one of the following ways:
- Spouse, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister;
- Grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter;
- Spouse or civil partner’s father, mother, brother or sister;
- Son or daughter’s spouse or civil partner;
- Stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or
- Unmarried partner where the couple have been in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least the two years before the day the application is made and the relationship is genuine and subsisting
If you are not related to the person you are visiting in one of the specified ways listed above or if they are not permanently settled or have asylum/humanitarian protection in the UK, then you should apply as a general visitor and complete VAF1A.

[/i]

[Lucapooka]

she can be here for 6 months at the end of which we could apply for the dependant visa?

Yes, but she would have to leave the UK and submit the application in her home country.