BritInParis

£16,750 is correct if you earn £18,300. I would bank at least £17,000 to be safe.

niv619

I hope everyone is keeping well?

Just back from seeing my wife in France, well needed.

Now to get her here permanently to start our family.

In relating to the cash savings route as mentioned £17,000 to be safe.

Can this be given to me from a friend as a gift? My friend not write a letter that he is giving me the money as a gift for my marriage for example? Or does it need to be from family? As my mother can not organise this from the re-mortgage of the house.

If this is ok, I keep reading "cash savings". Can I just keep this in my savings account for six month or does it need to be in a certain bank account?

Thanks all...

BritInParis

It can be from a friend so long as it’s a gift. Keeping it in a savings account which you can instantly withdraw from is fine.

niv619

Hi I would be giving it back however as a later stage, is this ok?

All wouldnt I require some letter from friend explaining this, doesnt it look suspicious?

Thanks BritInParis as always

BritInParis

It has to be a gift with no expectation of repayment. If it’s a loan then it won’t count.

niv619

Hi all firstly thanks again for all the kind help and advise everyone gives!

- I earn £18,300 PA
- have started a weekend job and receive £94 per month to top up my income to meet the £18,600. Total income = £19,728
- Also have £17,582.82 in savings as a safety measure.

1) Is this all ok for example if I keep the money in my account for six months and continue to work the other five months in my weekend job? As I have two safety measures.
2) Also my payslip from my weekend employer arrived one week earlier, 10/12/2018 and I have received payment into my account today, 17/12/2018. Is this ok?
3) My weekend job salary must be consistent, for example it must not drop but can go higher? Or does it need to stay the same over the six month period

Please confirm all is ok and I am on the road to redemption?!!! Haha

Wa8ing

You will have to mention your both jobs on the form as you have to give all information regarding your employment. However, HO has been known to mix things up with 2 jobs and also remember that if £18,300 is a salary then your lowest salary per month will be used to calculate annual. So for example if you receiving 1600 in one month and 1450 in the other than they will take the 1450 and multiply that to make it annual. In addition all your salary on wage slips must match exactly in your bank or else an explanation need to be provided.

With regards to the savings, you want to be sure that it is a gift and if so then it shouldn't leave the donor in dire financial position. You will have to get a written confirmation from them explaining it is indeed a gift without repayment.

niv619

Thanks for your precise response.

Once I submit it and will disclose both my income and savings then I should be doubly covered?

As I have covered all avenues? Both income wise and salary?

Wa8ing

Yes you can add savings above 16000 divided by 2.5 along with your salary and non-salaried income. So if you had savings of £18000 then (18000-16000)/2.5 = 800 annual equivalent of salary.
However, if you could meet the requirement simply through your earnings then this would be more beneficial since with savings you have to prove that they are a gift without leaving the donor in dire position.

Please note that if in your salaried income you are not receiving monthly payments of the same value i.e 18,300/12= 1525 a month then they will take the lowest and multiply that by 12. In the non-salaried income they will take an average of the income earned. So lets suppose you receive an average of £90 per month from your part time job then this is equivalent to annual income of 90x12= 1080. Hence, your total income from employment would count as 18300+1080= 19380.

I strongly recommend that you create a personal account on HMRC website to view your earnings and confirm that RTI ( real time information) is being sent regularly to HMRC from both your salaried job and part time. HO will check this as a meassure to confirm whether the employment actually exists or not. They could also interview you for further information. I am telling you this because I am an accountant and I know people have been denied visa because HO made checks with HMRC and found no information.

niv619

Brilliant response I get more help on this forum then my own solicitor.

I took your advise and contacted HMRC and yes my tax code was incorrect. I should be paying tax 20% on my second job meaning left with no income at all from second job, loll. however that is a different issue and main aim is to bring wife over here.

HMRC stated this is common and they will write to my employers to put me on the correct tax code and also myself.

This shouldn't be any issue for the previous month should it? As correct tax was not paid?

Also the money given to me as a gift should be fine as a back up, will the home office require a letter from my uncle/mother stating they are not in any financial difficulty? Will they need to send bank statements etc as a backup from them?

Once I submit I will disclose the savings and income.

However what route will I be going down, for example should just say that I meet both the financial income requirement and savings, please see proof?? Is that correct

spouse of scouse

You'll need to specify in your application which financial requirement category/categories you're applying under, and provide the relevant evidence. The ECO isn't going to work it out for you. If you meet the income requirements, then just use your income. If your income in short and you need to make up the difference with savings, then you'll need to nominate two categories (A OR B plus Cash Savings) - and you'll need to do the calculations for each category yourself.

Your Uncle/mother will need to write a letter explaining that the money is a gift that doesn't need to be repaid, and sign the letter in ink. They don't need to provide bank statements and they don't need to prove that they can afford to gift you the money. They may want to include a copy of the bio page of their passports.

spouse of scouse

I have to ask, why are you paying a solicitor for advice that you can't/don't trust?

niv619

Brilliant, I want to use both my income and savings for the requirements can that not be done? If I can only use one route then I may not continue my second job as the only reason I am doing that is to meet the criteria to bring spouse over, not for any financial gain? So I am fully covered in all areas, as had a rejection before.

In response to solicitor, I had a solicitor before who had a good reputation and let me down and my current one does not look any better. However they all seem to be very incompetent and busy when approaching them, people like yourself give helpful and needed advise and I may not even use a solicitor now.

spouse of scouse

Yes, you can use both the income and savings routes. What I was trying to say is you have to decide before putting in your application if your income alone is sufficient to meet the financial requirements. If it is, then just use your income under whatever category is correct for that income, either A or B, and show the evidence that it does indeed meet the requirements.

If your income isn't sufficient to meet the requirements, then you can make up the shortfall with the Cash Savings category, as previously discussed on this thread - ie use both income and cash savings to qualify. So - if your income meets all the requirements under Category A, then you just nominate Category A and provide the evidence. If your income meets the requirements of Category B, then you just nominate Category B and provide the evidence. If your income under either Category A or Category B isn't enough to meet the requirements, then you can make up the shortfall by also nominating the Cash Savings category.

What you can't do is just apply under Category A or B, and tell the ECO that if this isn't enough income to meet the requirements then can they please have a look at your bank statements because you have some savings. You have to work it all out before you apply, and then apply under the correct categories - whether this be just Category A, or just Category B, or one of those plus the Cash Savings category.

Hope that's a bit clearer.

Wa8ing

If you are applying under the 6 months route then this will be Category A and you will state that you meet the financial requirement under category A so for example you can say I meet the requirement through my gross annual income as follows:

Full time job - £18300
Part time Job - £1080 (£90x12)
Cash savings- £800 (18000-16000/2.5)
Total gross income- £20180

You need to provide an employment letter as well that should state your job role, the type of contract i.e permanent full time, The starting date of the job, Gross annual salary, if possible state the payslips are genuine.

Remember to have the term 'gross' on your employment letter or contract as people have been refused for simply having a letter that reads annual salary.

In regards to your tax code then yes 2nd job falls under BR tax code basically means its taxed at 20%, however, the important thing to note is that you are receiving the money in your bank that is stated on the payslips. The underpaid tax will be adjusted over the future months.

For the savings in my opinion it is good idea to give them bank statements of your uncle or aunt to provide evidence where the money is coming from. Also to show HO that their balance doesn't turn into low or overdrawn which could question the gift being donated. A letter from aunt or uncle stating money is paid as gift without expecting repayment along with their passport copy and bank statement showing the transfer.

Also choose a date of your online application is such a manner that from that date to 6 months back all your payslips need to be in bank and have been received by you.