V87

Hi, I was wondering if anyone out there may be able to help?
I am a British citizen and my husband is in India. We have applied for a settlement visa for the UK.

We received an e-mail from the Embassy saying:

''Your application falls to be refused solely because you do not meet the income threshold requirement under Appendix FM and/or the related evidential requirements under Appendix FM-SE.
Your sponsor has provided evidence of the shocks she holds but she has not provided evidence of income she generates from these stocks.''


We have a week to submit any additional information that may have been missing at the time of application. It is an Investment ISA which the rules clearly state can be included as cash savings and the money is well over the requirement needed. Surly as it is included as cash savings we do not need to show the income from the stocks and shares.

If any one can help, it would be very much appreciated and no lawyers seem to want to take on this case.

Thanks in advance.

SanDiegogirl

Clause 7.4.4. reads:

7.4.4. For example, in the UK a „stocks and shares‟ Individual Savings Account (ISA) does meet the definition of a savings account and the funds can be considered as cash savings if all the requirements above are met. Likewise, a pension savings account from which savings can be immediately withdrawn (like the 401K in the US).

You said yours was an Investment ISA. Is this different to an individual savings account and does it comply with all the rules to qualify?

All the rules are in clause 7.4.3 of the following document:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...e_20140324.pdf

V87

Thank you for your reply.

The account is a Barclays Stockbroker account, and complies with all the regulations.

The account held is an Investment ISA account which I have sole control over, there are many types of ISA's and an investment ISA is just one of them. It does comply with all the rule, and the solicitor originally, did say it was fine.

I feel that if there is enough evidence submitted then the visa will pass. The problem is I don't know what evidence to include or how to make it strong enough to show they have made a mistake?

V87

To be honest the whole process is soo draining, We feel so close yet so far, and are left to feel helpless when we follow the rules, yet are still faced with so many hurdles. We have been apart for too long and it is extremely difficult. I feel lost.

SanDiegogirl

Have you read clause 7.4.5:

5. Funds that are held in an account at the date of application that do not meet all of the requirements listed in the above table cannot be considered as cash savings that meet the requirements of Paragraph 11 and 11A(a) in Appendix FM of the rules. An example of an account that generally does not meet all of these requirements is a brokerage account in which funds are used by stockbrokers to purchase shares for the account holder. It does not meet the criteria of being a current account or a savings account. A brokerage account may also fail to meet other criteria such as not being held in a bank or building society.

You state that the account is a Brokerage account.

Maybe this is the problem?

As a side issue, if you have a solicitor involved in this application you could pursue the appeal through them.

V87

But the building Society is Barclays bank which is a bank that follows all of the regulations. The main point is that I control all the stocks and shares it is not the bank that invests the money for me.

The type of account I hold is an Investment ISA in a building society. A brokerage account would not be classed as this type of account.

Would the solution be to withdraw all the money and put it into my normal bank account?

SanDiegogirl

Yes....having the money in a standard bank or savings account as cash and instantly available would be a good solution.

englishguygoinghome

The money needs to be in cash on the day of application. A cash isa is ok but an investment isa is not.

Note: it is OK to keep the funds in an investment isa or any other investment form for the qualifying 6 months during which you need to show them as being under your control. But it must be cash on the day you apply.

So you should have cashed in the isa before applying. If your lawyer did not know this and did not tell you then do not use them again.

V87

7.4.4. For example, in the UK a „stocks and shares‟ Individual Savings Account (ISA) does meet the definition of a savings account and the funds can be considered as cash savings if all the requirements above are met.

All the requirements are met. As I was in control of the ISA account, it should be classed as a savings account.

englishguygoinghome

The "requirements above" being 7.4.3 which includes
Were the funds held as cash within you stocks & shares ISA or were they still in other investments within that ISA?
If they were in cash then it looks like the ECO got it wrong and you would have 28 days to appeal (if and when they reject you, which will take at least another year - I'm not sure that you can appeal being put on hold). If they weren't in cash then your lawyer got it wrong.

ncoomber

I am really no expert on this but surely the safe solution is draw out the money and put it in a regular savings account. Show them evidence that this has occurred and maybe they will then accept your application.
Good luck,
Cheers
Nigel

V87

Yes it looks that way. It's just unfortunate the three immigration lawyers I have been to, all said everything was in order. To now be in a position after waiting for such a long time to find out what was submitted was wrong and have to wait for a pass or rejection before anything can be done about it.

I can cash in all the shares now, but the main problem is as it is done after the date of the application submission, this will not count for this application I will have to wait for the outcome and put in a fresh application after this application process is completed.

I have gone back to the original solicitor, but they are taking such a long time to respond to anything and time is not a luxury right know as the date for additional information is looming. I already waited a week, so I thought it best to take things into my own hands.

SanDiegogirl

If you have been consulting immigration lawyers regarding your case then, as I said before, if you decide to appeal the decision you should do it through one of them.

V87

How can I go through the lawyers that passed everything off as ok, I have no faith in them, when the savings are not meeting the requirement?

englishguygoinghome

I'd she with you on that point v87! The big question is: are the savings a) in cash in your isa or b) in other instruments in your isa.

If it's a) then you need a clear explanation in a letter you can write yourself, include a print out of the relevant pages of the guidance and add comments, bank names, ticks etc by each point on the table of requirements. Then highlight that table and the sentence about ISAs.

If it's b) then request to withdraw your application. Cash in the needed amount (but keep it in the isa) then reapply. Consider going after your lawyer for the extra fees if you can be bothered.