Kinan91

Hi all,

Applying for a spouse visa for my partner to return to the UK.
I currently work overseas, and unfortunately in last 6 months I had a period of unpaid leave due to government lockdown.

In appendix FM it does state...
"Any period of unpaid maternity, paternity, adoption, parental or sick leave in the 12 months prior to the date of application will not be counted towards any period relating to
employment, or any period relating to income from employment, for which Appendix FMSE provides. For example, if a person takes 2 weeks’ unpaid parental leave, this period will be discounted and will not be considered to have broken any continuous period relating to their employment or to their income from employment, and the person can show that they meet the annualised average income required over a period of 6 months and 2 weeks prior to the date of application."

Question here is, can I count the unpaid lockdown period overseas as "sick leave" and use that to discount 2 months from the last 6 months when calculating my financial annual?

Thanks

SanDiegogirl

This is the latest announcement issued by the UK Gov.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavi...y-uk-residents

In the section

If you’re applying to enter the UK or remain on the basis of family or private life:

Changes to the minimum income and adequate maintenance requirement

If you have experienced a loss of income due to coronavirus, we will consider employment income for the period immediately before the loss of income due to coronavirus, provided the requirement was met for at least 6 months up to March 2020.

If your salary has reduced because you’re furloughed, we will take account of your income as though you’re earning 100% of your salary.

If you’re self-employed, a loss of annual income due to coronavirus between 1 March 2020 and 31 July 2020 will generally be disregarded, along with the impact on employment income from the same period for future applications.


I have not read the whole document so suggest you do so to see what you need to provide to prove your loss of income.

Policy reader

I think unless there hasn't been any distinguished exception as whether it only applies to local income then it may applies to overseas income too where the relevant period might be discounted. For this purpose you will definitely have to supply the employer letter confirming your sick leave. Apart of this also do read the guidance brought forward by san Diego girl too as it may contain relatively easier base.

SanDiegogirl

Missed the fact that the poster is working overseas and that, presumably, the income he is talking about is his overseas income - not earned in UK?

Therefore, I cannot say if the update I linked refers to income earned overseas or what would be required from overseas employers to prove this loss of income.

Sorry.....

Kinan91

Thanks for replying guys! You're all a great source of info and support.

If I were to refer to the info in the Appendix, the discount of months unpaid does fall under the general requirements section for salaried and unsalaried employment, so I'm guessing the discounting does apply for both UK-based and overseas income.

The only worry is whether a governmental imposed locked down is recognised as such by the entry clearance officer - perhaps it all falls down to the wording used in the employer letter and payslips to officially recognise that period as sick leave.

SanDiegogirl

What other income are you going to rely on? Just having an overseas income will not suffice. Do you have a job to go to in the UK?

Policy reader

Many people most often don't know the worth of their idle overseas/UK cash savings as being one of the mode to meet the financial requirement.

Kinan91

I am relying on overseas income (started November 2019, as I was working in the UK before this). Overseas income is actually a gross of £13,300 but in the last 6 months I have received a bonus of £3000 (contractual every few months), and hence it averages out as (3000/6)*12=6000, so annualised income becomes £19,300

As for future income I have an offer of ~£30,000 annual for a job in the UK, starting July or August 2020 (will have a confirmed start date organised with employer soon pending flights availability etc).

In the meantime, I remain employed overseas and hence I am preparing everything I need for my wife's visa.