CalitoManchester

Hi there - love the board as it's such a great source of information.

I am a USC, married to UKC, with 2 US/UK citizen kids and we live in the US. I (the applicant) recently received a job offer from a large company in the UK, but we will need to go the spouse visa route in order to move there as the company won’t be able to sponsor me for a work visa.

My wife (the sponsor UKC) has not been working for the last few years as she has been taking care of our young children so there is no salary that can be counted towards the financial requirements, so it looks like the £62,500 savings route is our only path.

We own our home (for 10 years now) and can likely meet the requirement if we sell it, but the sales process can take several months. Has anyone here used the sale of their house to successfully satisfy the requirement? Last question on this front – can we simply wait until the proceeds from the sale hit our bank account and then apply for the spouse visa literally the next day?

Lastly, we have over £62,500 in investment accounts (401k, 403b, IRAs) and I have yet to see anyone confirming that they have used these instruments to satisfy the requirement. The consensus seems to be that as long as you have owned the accounts and had the funds in them for more than 6 months, and as long as you are in a cash position in those accounts on the day you apply, you can apply successfully. Has anyone on these boards actually done that? I’m not saying that you liquidate your 401k and transfer the money to a bank account, for instance, but that you simply would be in a cash position in each of those existing accounts on the day you apply.

I would really appreciate anyone’s advice on how we can most quickly apply for the visa and hopefully have it approved. If there is another route that we can use, we are certainly open to new ideas.

The simple fact that an applicant's job offer can't be used to satisfy the salary requirement is absolutely mind-numbing!!

Thanks for reading this long note. We can't wait to make the move!

Andy

SanDiegogirl

The following is taken from Appendix FM-SE, which you should read carefully as it provides all info regarding non income investments/savings etc which are to be used as part of the financial requirements:

(d) Funds held as cash savings by the applicant, their partner or both jointly at the date of application can be from the proceeds of the sale of property, in the form only of a dwelling, other building or land, which took place within the period of 6 months prior to the date of application, provided that:

i) The property (or relevant share of the property) was owned at the beginning of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application and at the date of sale by the applicant, their partner or both jointly

I read this to mean that you can sell your property, obtain the proceeds, and then apply for the visa. As long as you have held the property for 6 months prior to the application date you are OK.

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

Savings from 401/403B and IRA's have proved a nightmare for some people. The important word in the descriptions is "cash" and in some cases even though the monies has been thought of as cash, the immigration ECO's have not always thought of them as such. i.e they are in brokerage accounts, cannot be immediately accessed, cannot be proved to have been held for xxx months.

Where the monies from these accounts has always been accepted is where they have been cashed out, placed in an ordinary bank deposit and held for 6 months.

With regard your comment about it being mind numbing that the job offer alone does not get you a visa - this is exactly the same as someone being offered a job in the US - a work visa is needed.

CalitoManchester

Thanks for the quick hit back.

But doesn't that seem counterintuitive? If the UK's main concern is that the spouse applicant would immediately use benefits upon arriving, shouldn't they want applicants who have a job offer on a one year contract who therefore wouldn't need to use benefits upon arrival? Don't want to take the thread off-topic, but it still seems strange, especially as you are moving to be with your UKC spouse!

re: house proceeds, I had the same read too, but am glad to hear that someone else agrees. Would love to know if anyone on the board has successfully done it.

Re: 401k, it sounds like selective decision-making that is completely subject to the ECO making the decision. Understand the UK's desire that the applicant has an account that is not subject to whims of the market, but if the IRA has been under your control for more than 6 months and you convert it to a cash position (rather than liquidate it and incur penalties), wouldn't that have the same effect? As in, aren't you, as the applicant, still in a position to cash them out immediately if needed? I know, it's like shouting into the wind, so I'll stop complaining now.

Unfortunately I can't cash out and wait 6 months to start the job now that I have an offer or I'll certainly lose my place. Do you know of someone who was successful holding their 401ks in a cash position and actually being approved?

Thanks so much for your help!

SanDiegogirl

It is not counter-intuitive at all. If the applicant spouse has a job offer with a work visa then the question of a spouse visa does not come into the equation.

If a spouse visa is required for the non British spouse to enter the UK, then the British spouse needs to fulfill the financial requirements.

The two scenarios above are no different to the rest of Europe and the US.

Are you suggesting that a non citizen who has a job offer from the "local cafe" down the road is eligible to enter the UK and become resident?

There are qualifying criteria to get work visas. Unfortunately if your company is unable or unwilling to sponsor you then the only other option for you is the spouse visa.

CalitoManchester

SD, thanks for the feedback, but don't want to derail the thread with a side topic. PM'ing you with my response. Look forward to continuing the discussion.

Has anyone had success with the 401k route without cashing out and keeping the funds in a savings account for 6 months before applying? I would really love to know if anyone has made this path work.

Thanks!!

SanDiegogirl

So would I...... the forum has postings from people who have had issues with investments, but unfortunately they don't write and tell us how they sorted them out!

spouse of scouse

+1

I would have liked to apply for my spouse visa (savings route) using my superannuation for the funds. The account holds well over the requirement, is in a government super fund, and I can (and have) withdrawn money from it with a turnaround time of 4 days. But every time I've asked the question, I'm told that super doesn't meet the 'cash' requirement.

The result is I have had to withdraw 65,000 pounds from my super account, and it's now sitting in an account doing very little (interest-wise). Far worse is that I won't be able to put that money back into super for 3 years, as it would take me over my personal contribution threshold. I'm not kidding when I say that this will make at least an AU$200,000 difference to my super balance by the time I start to draw a pension from it. Fie on them!!

michali

That is tough, SOS! but, in spite of your loss, you did the right thing. It seems it is better to cash in the amount needed to meet the financial requirement to avoid a refusal. I am just hoping they don't raise the amount needed without good notice!

spouse of scouse

Oh yes, I totally agree Michali - that dreaded 'refusal'!! I really don't think that the financial requirements will change for those who already have at least initial leave to enter on a spouse visa. Retrospective legislation is fraught with problems and I really can't see the UK govt. doing that.
<she says, >

feelbritish

Personally I would do the house sale, apparently you can use the money immediately and not wait those 6 months. If I am wrong someone will correct me!