Using Savings to Meet the Spouse Visa Financial Requirement
Not everyone can meet the spouse visa financial requirement on income alone. That’s why it may be best to check and see if you can use savings or investments to meet the financial requirement.
In this blog, our immigration solicitors take a detailed look at how to meet the family visa financial requirement.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For advice on spouse visas and UK immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The spouse visa financial requirement
You need to meet the financial requirement if you are applying for a spouse visa, family visa or partner visa. Often applicant’s rely on the income or capital and savings of their sponsoring partner to meet the financial requirement. In other situations, a combination of the visa applicant’s capital and the sponsor’s income (or other variants) may be used to meet the financial requirement.
The financial requirement is set by the government. It does not take into account individual circumstances. For example, you may have anticipated low outgoings in the UK as you have been offered free accommodation by family or your partner may have a big mortgage to pay. The financial requirement is still set at an income of £18,600 gross per year unless your partner is in receipt of a qualifying state benefit.
The financial requirement goes up if you have dependent children that you are bringing with you and the children are not British citizens. The financial requirement is a further £3,800 for the first child and
an extra £2,400 for each additional child. Therefore, the financial requirement for a partner with 3 children is a minimum gross annual income of £27,200.
Where a visa applicant is moving to the UK and hopes to work, the Home Office will not factor in anticipated earnings even if the applicant is highly skilled and their profession is in demand. The Home Office will only take the visa applicant’s income into account if the applicant is transferring their employment to a UK base of their overseas employer or if they are continuing in their same employment but working remotely from the UK.
One of the main reasons why family visa applicants ask Spouse Visa Solicitors about using savings to meet the financial requirement is because it can be hard for a sponsoring partner to prove their income if they have started up a business or if their financial affairs are complicated or if their income is erratic.
Using cash savings to meet the financial requirement
You can only use cash savings to help you meet the financial requirement if you have cash savings of at least £16,000. If you have less than that you can't use evidence of your savings to help you meet the financial requirement. However, the cash can be held by the visa applicant, by their sponsoring partner, or jointly. The money can have come from a family member, such as a parent, wanting to help reunite the family.
The immigration rules on third-party money say that savings must have been held for at least the 6 month period prior to the date of the spouse visa application and the savings must be under the control of the visa applicant or their sponsor. In other words, a parent can't agree to stand as guarantor to their child or their son-in-law or daughter-in-law’s visa application based on the fact that the parent has cash or investments or equity in their family home.
UK and overseas cash savings and the spouse visa financial requirement
Under the immigration rules, cash savings can be held in a UK bank or overseas. If monies are held overseas in a non-sterling currency, then the value of the cash savings will be calculated using a specified currency conversion website.
The maximum cash savings to meet the financial requirement
If you want to rely purely on cash savings so you don’t have to prove your income, or that of your sponsoring partner, then you or your partner will need cash savings of £62,500. Often people have a lower level of savings and want to use savings to top up meeting the financial requirement on income. For example, a start-up business owner or an employee who is heavily reliant on erratic commission and bonus payments for their income.
Evidence of cash savings
Spouse Visa Solicitors say that you need to follow the immigration rules carefully to produce satisfactory evidence of cash savings. If you do not then your application will be refused even if you have substantial accessible cash.
Evidence of cash savings should include bank statements to show that the cash has been held in the account of the applicant or their partner or in a joint account for at least 6 months. The last statement should be dated no earlier than 28 days prior to the date of the visa application.
The bank account can be a current, deposit, or an investment savings account, including an ISA account provided that:
- The bank or the financial institution is regulated by an appropriate regulatory body
- The funds can be withdrawn immediately – there is no notice period to withdraw cash
- The money is under the individual or joint control of the visa applicant or their sponsoring partner
A declaration or evidence of the source of the funds is required. For example, evidence of the sale of a property or a family business or a parental or other gifts of money, provided that the cash was received over 6 months ago and is in the control of the applicant or their partner. A 6-month loan of money from a parent or extended family member made to get around the spouse visa financial requirement is not acceptable as the money has to be under the long term control of the applicant or their partner.
Implications of getting the spouse visa financial requirement wrong
If you do not produce evidence of your savings then the Home Office will reject your spouse visa application if you are relying on savings to meet the financial requirement. Spouse Visa Solicitors say it often isn’t as easy as producing 6 months of bank statements as there may be issues over the accessibility of the funds because of the nature of the account, the regulation of the financial institution or the source of the cash. That’s why it is best to carefully check that you have met all the immigration rules on cash savings before submitting the spouse visa application.
If you are found to have made a false statement about how you are meeting the financial requirement then this will also affect the outcome of your spouse visa application as well as form part of your immigration record. For example, if you say that money was a gift from someone when evidence shows it comes from a different source.
If you need help with working out the easiest and simplest way of proving that you meet the spouse visa financial requirement then our specialist Spouse Visa Solicitors can guide you through the family visa application requirements and submit and progress your visa application with the Home Office.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For advice on spouse visas and UK immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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