10 Common Mistakes - Financial Requirement for UK Spouse Visa - #4 miscalculating earnings under Category B, working for the current employer for under 6 months.
It may seem like a straightforward category but there are so many visa refusals out there because if these miscalculations!
How to calculate can be found on Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules (although you may need a PhD just to read it 😟)
Category B, this is where you haven’t worked for the current UK employer for the past 6 months: here we have 2 Requirements.
Firstly, your current job has to be paying you a salary of £18600. Even if this job started only started now.
Secondly, the total amount you have actually earned in the 12 months prior to the date of the visa application. The total has to be £18600.
Mistake 1: meeting the 2nd requirement but ignoring the 1st one. You will be amazed how many applicants- and immigration advisers too - think it’s only “last 12 months” figure they have to worry about. Particularly if the new job doesn’t pay a fixed salary but wages based on the hours worked. Or if the new job has a lower salary (below £18600) just for the probationary period.
Mistake 2: this is also a very common misunderstanding. By applicants, fellow immigration adviser and even the government visa officers.
The last 12 months in question is a period ending on the date of visa application. It is NOT last 12 months in the previous job. For example, if you only worked 1 month in your current job, had 2 months gap, you could only use 9 months of earnings before that (not 12 months of working from the previous employer as it would take to 15 months in this example). This difference in the Rules may appear subtle at first glance but it will be a 100% refusal of your application if you get it wrong!
Bonus tip: what if you had more than 2 jobs in the last 12 months? Bring it on! “The more the merrier!” You can combine as many jobs as you need to each the total £18600 as long as you still keep within the 12 months’ period.
Do you actually need to have worked for the whole 12 months? This will be the subject of another post!
All the posts of our original series 10 Common Mistakes - Financial Requirement for UK Spouse Visa see link
We also have posts “advising” Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on her UK visa. It’s fun to read but legally accurate and the cover the same Rules as would apply to an ordinary British-foreign couple, including the author of this blog, who had been through this process in 2003 and worked in immigration law since.
For individual advice or to make an application, please visit our website, Spouse Visa page: or contact us: info@1st4immigration.com. We respond emails on the same working day.
1st 4Immigration Ltd, authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. We operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.
How to calculate can be found on Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules (although you may need a PhD just to read it 😟)
Category B, this is where you haven’t worked for the current UK employer for the past 6 months: here we have 2 Requirements.
Firstly, your current job has to be paying you a salary of £18600. Even if this job started only started now.
Secondly, the total amount you have actually earned in the 12 months prior to the date of the visa application. The total has to be £18600.
Mistake 1: meeting the 2nd requirement but ignoring the 1st one. You will be amazed how many applicants- and immigration advisers too - think it’s only “last 12 months” figure they have to worry about. Particularly if the new job doesn’t pay a fixed salary but wages based on the hours worked. Or if the new job has a lower salary (below £18600) just for the probationary period.
Mistake 2: this is also a very common misunderstanding. By applicants, fellow immigration adviser and even the government visa officers.
The last 12 months in question is a period ending on the date of visa application. It is NOT last 12 months in the previous job. For example, if you only worked 1 month in your current job, had 2 months gap, you could only use 9 months of earnings before that (not 12 months of working from the previous employer as it would take to 15 months in this example). This difference in the Rules may appear subtle at first glance but it will be a 100% refusal of your application if you get it wrong!
Bonus tip: what if you had more than 2 jobs in the last 12 months? Bring it on! “The more the merrier!” You can combine as many jobs as you need to each the total £18600 as long as you still keep within the 12 months’ period.
Do you actually need to have worked for the whole 12 months? This will be the subject of another post!
All the posts of our original series 10 Common Mistakes - Financial Requirement for UK Spouse Visa see link
We also have posts “advising” Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on her UK visa. It’s fun to read but legally accurate and the cover the same Rules as would apply to an ordinary British-foreign couple, including the author of this blog, who had been through this process in 2003 and worked in immigration law since.
For individual advice or to make an application, please visit our website, Spouse Visa page: or contact us: info@1st4immigration.com. We respond emails on the same working day.
1st 4Immigration Ltd, authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. We operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.
