mark_sheffield

Hi,

We will be going down the savings route to get a spouse visa for my Taiwanese wife. I currently have the following funds locked away in bonds/investments etc:

Stocks and shares investments – £32,000
Peer-to-peer lending account – £35,000
Two-year fixed-rate bond (maturity in Aug. 2019) – £38,800
One-year fixed-rate bond (maturity in Nov. 2018) – £12,605

This more than covers the £62,500 worth of savings required for the settlement visa, however as it is all locked away do I need to start cashing some of them out now to have the required funds in an easy access account? Do these funds need to be in an easy access account for six months before we can apply? We want to move back to the UK at the start of next year.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

spouse of scouse

Hi Mark. If your fixed rate bonds allow you to immediately withdraw the funds, with or without a penalty, then they may be ok to use, but I can't say this with any certainty. Your stocks and shares investments and your peer to peer lending account most certainly could not be used to meet the financial requirement, you'd need to liquidate them prior to applying for the visa.
If you haven't already seen it, this document may assist - go to Cash Savings on page 47 https://assets.publishing.service.go...ment_Final.pdf

BritInParis

It would be best to liquidate the required amount and park it in a single UK bank account for the next five years. That way there are no exchange rate worries and it can be used to meet the financial requirements for FLR and ILR.