zak863

First time poster, apologies if this is in the wrong section. Would really appreciate any and all help regarding my situation.

I recently got married in Bangladesh and am hoping to bring my wife over on a Spouse Visa. She has the necessary English requirements but I am needing to meet the financial requirements.

As I am completing my PhD at the moment I am unable to to show the necessary £18600 pa. However friends and family have offered to borrow me money to add to my £15000 in savings so I can apply through the Cash Savings route.

1) Do I need to show proof of where the money came from? If so how?
2) Do I need to explain why the money was given to me?
3) What must I do once I have the £62000 in savings?
4) How should I go about applying for the Visa once the money has been in the account for 6 months?
5) Finally is it worth hiring an immigration solicitor or is applying through the cash savings method relatively straightforward?

Apologies for asking so much but would appreciate any and all help with the matter.

Many thanks in advance

michali

The first thing to do is read the Wiki at the top of this forum
Spouse Immigration-UK : British Expat Wiki

Friends and family can GIVE you money to make up the required amount. They cannot LEND you money. They would need to each write a letter to show that whatever they are giving is a gift and not a loan.

The savings must be in your account and readily accessible for six months before you apply. The amount must never drop below the required amount.

You really do not need an immigration lawyer or advisor if your situation is quite straightforward. We have some very helpful posters on this forum!

Pulaski

Gifting that much money may have tax implications, which should be considered.

zak863

Thank you for the quick response.

Does the letter need to include a reason for the gift and by notorised?

az2014

So they are going to give you £50k and you won't be paying them even £1 back? Really?

spouse of scouse

At the risk of you telling me to 'crawl back into whatever hole I came from' of words to that effect, as you so charmingly did last time I dared to comment on something you said - why do you seem to primarily only appear in this section of the board to have a go at someone? It just seems odd that you very rarely participate except to do that.

And - if you do reply to me, I'd appreciate you doing so without being abusive again. Thanks

SanDiegogirl

The letters need to be from the persons gifting the money, stating that they are gifting the money and where the money has come from. Bank statements and accounts are helpful to prove where the money was acquired.

az2014

Fair enough. I don't know enough about all the rules/regs to contribute more often, when I do then I answer.

As for criticism you are right. I am one of those people that will challenge what someone says/does (not just online) if I think it is wrong. Eg. This topic - it is clear as day the OP asked a few friends to send him money for the visa and he will pay them back in 6 months.

SanDiegogirl

We don't know for certain that this is the case (although from the original posting, I too, think you might be right).

If the poster wants to go this route then, he's perfectly at liberty to do so. Hopefully the authorities would catch him out. We can only tell him what he should, legally, do.

spouse of scouse

Your reply was so courteous and reasonable that I'll get off my high horse now and talk with you properly (I was getting dizzy up there anyway)

I agree, the OP certainly gave the impression that the money was to be a loan. SanDiegogirl's right though, we forum members can only advise posters on the correct and legal processes - if people deviate from that they're taking a huge risk.

Zac, if your friends are going to gift you the money then no problem. If it really is going to be a loan then there's a couple of things you need to consider.

The obvious one is that it would be immigration fraud, and if detected it would stuff up your life in a major way.

The first spouse visa gives leave to enter only. At the 33 month next stage, further leave to remain, your finances are examined again.

If fraud was detected, it's likely (certain?) that your wife would be deported and face an exclusion period from the UK. An adverse immigration history is the last thing you want when you're married to a foreign national. Some things are just too important to play fast and loose with.

All that said (and in a well meaning way), I hope you're lucky enough to have good friends who are quite happy to gift you the funds necessary to bring your wife to the UK. Best of luck.