Property and the Financial Requirement for Spouse/Partner/Fiancée visas (and positive changes from October2013)

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -

When the New Rules were introduced on 9 July 2012 using the value of property was not allowed at all. Rental income from it - Yes, but not the value of a house or a flat. The only way was to sell a property, put the proceeds in a cash account, wait for 6 months and then apply for a visa using a Savings category to meet the Financial Requirement. 

The same was applicable to the funds held in investments (stocks, bonds, funds etc), however, from April 2013 the 6 months period can be combined of the time the funds were held in investments and the time when the money was transferred to a cash account. 

Finally, a similar change in the Rules is coming on 1 October 2013. Instead of waiting for 6 months after selling a property, it will be possible to sell a property, put the proceeds (after mortgage and fees) on a cash account and apply for a visa right away. As long as the last 6 months period can be made up of the time the property was owned by the applicant/Sponsor and the time the proceeds of a sale were held on a cash savings account. 

Although the amount of savings needed is still very high, it is a positive development, especially for the couples where both partners are returning to the UK after living abroad and are planning to sell their property overseas anyway. 

For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com 

If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CDP website: www.1st4immigration.com/training

Popular posts from this blog

Updated May 2020: UK visa work continues - latest update

By -
UK immigration authorities continue to process visa applications, albeit not as fast as they normally would. The visa centres are beginning to gradually re-opening from 1 June 2020 in the UK and abroad. Regardless of when your particular centre re-opens, it is still possible to submit your application online. If your visa expires soon, you can apply for your next visa "on-time", i.e. before your current visa expires, by making such an application online and then waiting for the further steps. This keeps you within the Rules and does not make you an overstayer.  Even better, the actual documents (supporting evidence) can be submitted later, thus giving you even more time to prepare while remaining within the Rule on visa expiry dates. We usually have 45 days to provide the documents (ie upload them online to the Government portal) after the online "submission" mentioned above. This is extended for as long as it will take to clear up the backlog.  If you
Read more

How long can a visitor stay in the UK? 6 months from each entry? In a year? In a calendar year?

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
Visitors can come to the UK for purposes of tourism, visiting friends, business visits and similar. Visitors can stay for maximum 6 months in each 12 months . Not 6 months from each entry to the UK. Even if your visitor visa is for 5 or 10 years you can still stay for maximum 180 days in each of those years. How to count ‘6 months in 12 months’? A 12 months period starts from ‘now’, date in question or date of entry etc and you need to count backwards (not a calendar year). If you stayed in the UK for the whole 6 months then you have to stay away for the whole 6 months. If you come and go several times during a year then the total must be 180 days cumulatively in the last 12 months. Visitor rules are the same for all. Visitor visa rules aren’t. Visitor rules include: purpose of visits, no right to work, no right to use the NHS, no right to use the public funds (benefits), no right to switch to more serious visas inside the UK, ie no right to switch to a Spouse
Read more

💸 10 common mistakes when meeting the Financial Requirement £18,600 for a UK Spouse visa

By -
Image
#1 Most common - submitting “everything I have’.  Some payslips, a tax return, some savings plus a property deed for good measure. Surely, should work? It may sound logical to provide as much as possible, this is often a nightmare scenario for immigration lawyers and often a direct path to a visa refusal. Financial Requirement is strictly based on the ‘rules’: what income can be used, how various sources can be combined and what documents are needed. We often say there is 75-page office guidance just on the finances: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/636618/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf  #2 Savings - it’s not £18,600 and not £16,000.  The real amount (for this purpose) is calculated using this formula: threshold you need to meet (such as £18,600) x 2.5 plus £16,000. If you are using savings alone, it would be £18,600 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £62,500!  #3 Employment -  the minimum is 6 months for the sa
Read more