robrien87

My wife and I are staring the visa process to move from Chicago back to the UK in early 2020. I'm a UK citizen, she is a US citizen and we will be going through the spouse visa for her. As we don't have the required amount in savings I understand the UK gov requires me to have a UK job offer at the point of applying (please let me know if that's actually incorrect).

Questions:
- I have to have a job offer at the point of applying?
- If so, if the visa processing time is 2-12 weeks, has anyone had a new company wait potentially up to 12 weeks with an unknown start date work out?

I know the obvious solution is that I would move back before her to satisfy the job requirements..but we are hoping to leave here together at the same time. Has anyone been through this?

Thanks!
Rich

SanDiegogirl

Yes, thousands have been through emigrating to the UK from the US and complying with UK immigration regulations.

Read the following document carefully, to see how you qualify under the financial requirements:

https://assets.publishing.service.go...ment-ext_1.pdf

Briefly: You can only obtain the visa and leave the US together if a) you have 62,500 GBP in savings; b) you have been earning the equivalent of 18,600 GBP in the US AND you have a job offer in the UK also earning 18,600 GBP; c) you have consistent non employment income earning you 18,600 GBP per annum.

Yes, people have obtained jobs starting within 3 months of their applications.

robrien87

Hi SanDiegogirl, thanks for sending the link across. I couldn't find an answer for if I stay with the same company.

My current company is very flexible and they if they want me to work remote from the UK, (there's also a small London office but I would still be working with the USA team/clients) would they draft the offer letter stating the employment offer/change, along with the other required information like salary, date etc? I didn't see info relating to keeping the same job with the same company from USA to UK.

Thanks
Rich

SanDiegogirl

Yes, if you are retaining your old job, your current company would need to supply an employment letter stating such together with all details about your job, how you would be paid in UK etc.

robrien87

Ok thank you for the information. Since my last post my company has agreed to let me keep this job and relocate. My only question is - Will the UK visa processors reach out to them to verify? Our HR team is notoriously slow and most of the time don't respond to calls/emails. I want to know so I can make them aware to be on top of it.

Thank you

Rich

SanDiegogirl

Can't say for sure whether or not the UK ECO would try to contact your US office to verify.

They ARE going to want to know how you are going to be paid in the UK and how taxes are going to be taken in the UK.

robrien87

Hi SanDiegogirl , I have a few question about accommodation and adequate maintenance for you if you don't mind. We are at the point of gathering documents and my wife and I will be staying with my parents when we land in the UK. I know they have to provide a letter and proof of the mortgage information etc. but I need to clarify a few things.

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5.7.Housing costs Under paragraph 12(f) of Appendix FM-SE, the applicant must provide evidence of the monthly (or weekly) housing and Council Tax costs for the accommodation in the UK in which the applicant (and any other family members who are or will be part of the same household) lives or will live if the application is granted.

Housing cost question:
- Does this apply also to my parents house? Or is this just for the applicants accommodation as it says? We don't pay council tax as we're in the states. I'm not sure if this will become obvious when the processor goes through the application or if we have to state it somewhere?

Accommodation letter questions:
- Should the letter include anything more than them giving us the permission to stay, the address, how long they have lived there, how many room/occupants?
- Should they write that it is temporary stay until we find a place to rent of our own, or just leave that out?
- They will be paying the mortgage off in January so will they still need to provide statements? If so on the letterhead paper from the bank, dated, signed, stamped?

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3.1.How to assess adequate maintenance
a) Establish the sponsor’s and/or applicant’s (if they are in the UK with permission to work) current total weekly net income (A).
- Does this mean the current net total for my current company or the new employment I will get in the UK? As at that point I will know the new employment monetary breakdown.
- I haven't seen anything on this Appendix breakdown of people applying outside of the US. Would the processor know at this point that that's the case and when they talk about National Insurance and council tax it's obvious to them that doesn't apply here?

spouse of scouse

If you're meeting the financial requirement through your job/s, adequate maintenance doesn't apply to you. That's only for sponsors who are on a particular benefit.

If it's only your parents in the house and they have two bedrooms or more, all they need to do is write a letter inviting you to stay, declare the amount of bedrooms and living rooms, and provide proof that they own the property (you can get a copy of the land registry document online for a few dollars). A copy of the bio page of your parents' passports would also be useful to include.

SanDiegogirl

Why are you looking at a document regarding how to apply for a spouse visa using the criteria Accommodation and Adequate Maintenance - a category used by those with disabilities or other benefit related situations? This does not relate to you at all.

You should be referring to the document I linked for you with regard financial requirements.

When you commence your application - done from the view point of your wife (the applicant) - you will be asked to provide evidence of your proposed UK accommodation. If staying with relatives, you provide evidence of them owning/renting a property and the property details.

YOU will need to provide proof that you have income to support your wife -payslips, bank statements etc.