CallumBarker

Hi all, long time participant on these forums. I'm finally getting around to applying for a UK spousal visa since I have to return Home in September. The new Visa website seems to be more complicated than the last one, if that was possible. So I just have a few questions...

Would this Spousal Visa for my wife be considered 'settlement'? There's conflicting info, i.e. You can only apply for settlement if already in the UK and the like. We're both currently in the USA, if that helps, and it seems like 'family of a settled person' would be the way to go. I'm a British citizen by birth, but from the options 'settlement' seems the only applicable option, then 'wife' rather than 'marriage'?

Since we're looking to bypass he financial requirement with savings, is it just the standard VAF4A, Financial Requirement form were required to fill out? There's no mention on the form of the £62,500 or so requirement, though I'm aware there at least used to be in supplemental guides. It only goes as far as saying

'If you cannot meet the nancial requirement through income, you can use relevant cash savings to enable you to do so. Relevant cash savings are those which you and/or your sponsor hold which (i) exceed £16,000, (ii) have been held by you and/or your sponsor for at least 6 months prior to the date of this application, (iii) are held at the date of application and (iv) are under the control and available to be used by your and/or your sponsor. Only complete this section if your cash savings meet all the criteria above. This section contains the Category D way to meet the nancial requirement. Refer to the policy guidance notes for an explanation of how cash savings above £16,000 can enable you to meet the nancial requirement.'

Is it still applicable, and just not written on the form itself?

Thanks for any help, as always.

HKG3

As a British Citizen, you are consider settle in the UK when you arrive in the UK. The spouse visa holder needs to travel with the British Citizen to the UK or arrive in the UK after the British Citizen.

Visa fees are going up on 18 March 2016, if you already meet the requirements, apply ASAP.

CallumBarker

Oh man, yeah, we'll do it as soon as we can. So if I'm traveling with my wife on the date, is it still the same 'wife', 'settlement' application? Apologies for my frenzied ignorance.

Also how do we submit the VAF4A and the appendix 2? The new online system doesn't make that clear at all... By post? Is it tied to a reference number? Are they the only two forms we need to fill out? Aghhhhh.

CallumBarker

Also am I correct in thinking that with the £65,000 I don't need to have a guaranteed offer of employment upon return? I'm returning to study, and while I fully intend to get a job while at home it'd be difficult to have that arranged beforehand...

Also. Is it only the 2nd appendix that needs to be completed, or also the main form, aside from all the business online?

Am I correct in thinking that these are the steps to follow?
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...isa-in-the-usa

The site is absolutely all over the place now, and nothing on the site individually links together.

angie_329

they make it as hard as possible as they want to reduce immigration...and the wording is very confusing. So if you make a mistake or leave out paperwork you lose your fee.
Friends have used 1stcontactvisas/.com in the past-they can check or make your application for you-it will probabaly go thru faster as well. I think in today's climate it is becoming necessary to use a professional just to be extra sure. In the past,some years back, it seemed more straightfoward and there were less hoops to jump through!

The Sorceror

Yes, you have identified the right forms to use. My wife and I were in the same situation as you, both living together outside the UK (in Beijing), but - just to complicate things - my official address on my various documents was in Hong Kong and we also gave our new UK address for me, as her sponsor! To make things simple, my wife clearly explained my address situation as part of a short summary that she prepared and attached to her application, explaining every answer where my address was referred to. To put your mind at rest, I have no proof of residence in the UK, I used my mother's UK address as sponsor. My mother of course wrote a letter confirming that my wife and I could stay with her.

As regards the financial requirements, we also used cash savings and nothing else. So you are right, you don't need any offer of employment in the UK. We completed Part 3F of the Appendix only, showing the sterling savings in boxes 3.75(h) and 3.76. We have savings other that what is in the sterling account, but we just ignored these. Again, we wrote a short note explaining that we were only presenting information about the sterling savings.

I agree with angie_329 that the wording on the forms and the website is confusing. That said, we did the whole application ourselves and were successful first time. It took a huge amount of time to prepare a file that was accurate, internally consistent and neither too fat nor too thin, but to be honest I felt more comfortable this way, at least we were in total control of everything.

CallumBarker

Oh wow, thanks for the reply! That's all really helpful and reassuring, brilliant news. We're going for the biometrics tomorrow so fingers crossed!

jimmyuk

On Complete Part 3F, did you just tick the box stating cash savings only, filling in those boxes to that section stating 62500 etc and where it came from, disregard filling in any of the work appendix`s.