markm0101

Hi all I will use cash savings as income proof to apply for dependant visa for my HK wife as we plan to move back to UK, but my cash is typically invested in stocks and other investments. I can meet the required GBP62500 limit comfortably, but this amount has not been held in cash for 6 straight months as I have bought and sold stocks. Does anyone know if they will look at the aggregate value of cask and stocks held when the review is done/
Tx!

Bobjon

well according to the direct gov website it does not specifically say where the cash saving has to be held so I think your fine but I would ask an immigration adviser or contact Citizens advice bureau who can help free of charge.

mikelincs

I believe the cash has to be in an instantly available bank account, and so stocks and shares held will NOT count.

markm0101

thanks all I guess I need to speak to someone in authority as there is not a clear answer available online - not that I could find anyway!

mikelincs

This is from a previous thread on the same subject and might help you.

<Indirectly linked to the OP problem and might assist if holding an offshore pension..

There is another recent development that might help people who have transferred their UK pension into a QROPS scheme when they left the UK. I am not a financial wizard so relying upon my finace guys' help and my interpretation of the financial requirments document from UKgov.

In that document it states that savings must be in a cash ccount at the time of application. It also states in an example 7.4.15 :

The applicant’s partner has an investment portfolio worth approximately £1m, although this value fluctuates. In order to meet the financial requirement, she liquidates part of her investment 2 months prior to the date of application and transfers £62,500 in cash to her personal savings account. She is able to provide a portfolio report showing that the value of the liquidated assets was at least £62,500 7 months prior to the date of application. The cash savings meet the requirements of Appendix FM-SE at the date of application and, by combining the period the money was held as investments with the period the money has been held as cash savings, the funds have been owned by the applicant’s partner and under their control for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application.
So the financial requirement is met through Category D cash savings.


So if someone has a pension fund in investments and it can be released into cash at any time then those funds are countable provided they are liquidated into actual cash savings account before the application.
Up until very recently QROPS schemes could only be drawn down from at a fixed annual amount, but, according to recent reports, from 1st April 2016 such schemes will be made the same as SIPPS pension funds, where you can draw down up to 150kUKP at any time.
Therefore.. as i see it, but might be wrong, as long as that QROPS has more than 62,500UKP in it as of 6+ months before the application and is turned to cash prior to the application then that investment fund can count as the cash requirement.>

SanDiegogirl

No, the ECO won't look at the aggregate value of cash and stocks; it is not their job to work out the value of your holdings.

You need cash in a readily available account; and you need to have held it for a minimum of 6 months. You need to liquidate your stocks.

ryongsong

Still different opinions, as you can see. It seems possible, as Mike said, to liquidate stocks just before the application and therefore have the cash requirement in the savings account. The danger would be that they don't accept the valuation document from 6/7 months earlier for some reason. Safest way would be to sell stocks and hold in cash for 6 months, but it does seem possible to sell close to the application date. But you definitely can't use stocks held at the time of application.

HKG3

Does your wife has British National (Overseas) status? If she does, I would suggest her to apply for her UK spouse visa using her BN(O) passport.

HKG3

The link below is provided by the UK's Home Office, so it is something 'with authority'. Read the link below for details (starting from page 47) -

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

If you stocks investments take the form of physical share certificate, then I don't think these will count towards the £62,500. (See section 7.4.3 - point 1)

Another point is that if your stocks investments are held with a stockbroker, does the stockbroker gives you regular statements for your investment account? You will need them for your application (See section 7.4.3 - point 4)

HKG3

I am not 100% sure. In section 7.4.4. of the link below, the Home Office guidelines suggested that -

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.

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

HKG3

A number of points for the OP to consider -

1) Did your wife pass a driving test in Hong Kong? She can exchange her Hong Kong driving licence to an UK one without test. She will need to exchange her Hong Kong driving licence to an UK one within 5 years.

https://www.gov.uk/exchange-foreign-...tain/hong-kong

2) She can also set up an UK bank account in Hong Kong before leaving. Both the Bank of East Asia and HSBC Hong Kong offer this service.

https://www.hkbea.com/html/en/bea-in...-services.html

https://www.hsbc.com.hk/personal/hsb...s-account.html

markm0101

Tx again to all - v much appreciated. Seems like there should be a way to avoid holding 65k in actual cash for 6 months...

HKG3 you mention BNO passport - my wife holds this as well as the HKSAR passport. It appears that from visa application perspective the process is the same - but does the BNO offer an easier / faster route do you know?

HKG3

Using a BN(O) passport instead of a HKSAR passport for UK settlement visa only offers marginal benefits, some of which not applicable to spouse visa holders. Here is the list -

1) BN(O) passport holders, as Commonwealth citizens, are entitle to register to vote in all UK elections, while HKSAR passport holders cannot vote in any UK elections. Being on the electoral roll helps your wife to build up her own credit history in the UK.

2) BN(O) passport holders can apply for UK civil service jobs open to Commonwealth citizens while HKSAR passport holders cannot do so.

3) BN(O) passport holders with long term UK residential visas are not required to register with the local police while HKSAR passport holders, as Chinese nationals, need to register with the local police in the UK.

4) BN(O) passport holders can register to become a British Citizen using form B(OTA), which is a cheaper process than naturalisation using form AN.

However, your wife, as a spouse visa holder, will only benefited from points 1 & 2 listed above, as she is not require to do point 3 as a spouse visa holder. For point 4 - if she is still married to you by the time she got Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK, it will be quicker for her to naturalise - as she can do this as soon as she got ILR. You can only register using form B(OTA) if you have ILR for at lease 12 months.

markm0101

Tx again HKG3 and all!

scot47

"there should be a way to avoid holding 65k in actual cash for 6 months..."

You are not required to hold it "in cash" but to have it in a bank account. Hardly the same thing.