Craig1987

I can't verify the 15k sum, as I read it somewhere. Not sure it was either up to date or correct. I read it on another site. Not sure where though to be honest.

As for the proposed earnings. The most I have ever earned was 17k and that was back before the recession. If it is indeed 18k or so, I have no chance earning that at this time.

Personally, I could support my wife on 13k. It would be tough, but do-able.

sallysimmons

You're reading it wrong - but even if you weren't, how are they greedy? They're not asking you to hand over two years salary to them!

It doesn't say you need to have 2 years of savings - just that you need to be able to support your wife for two years because she won't get benefits if anything happens. That seems reasonable to me.

Squirrel

Well I'm 99% sure you will be OK to move your wife to the UK if that's what you want. Applying before 1st April would be good if possible.

It is possible to get free immigration advice in the UK. Make sure the advisor has the relevant backup I think called OSCIS or something like that. I'm sure an advisor would be able to reassure you.

Craig1987

Up front. With cash savings that seem excessive. I'm 24 years old, I don't have significant savings. The reason they are greedy is because despite all that my family has done for this country, I'm left with no choice other than to leave it to be with my fiancee.

Squirrel

Niow you're just being over dramatic. We have told you you don't need 2 years' savings. We have told you you can get free immigration advice.

End of the day if you want to move to Canada over a misunderstanding, feel free.

Craig1987

But I will need significant cash savings. Which a young guy like me just doesn't have. The time I spent in Canada bled me dry. As it happens, I'm heading for Japan. The wheels are already in motion.

DigitalGhost

It's just the way that UK immigration are these days unfortunately. I do agree with you to some extent in that they seem to be targeting the wrong people and are making it difficult for some younger people to secure sponsorship for their spouses/partners, particularly in areas of the country which have a lower average salary anyway but there isn't much that anybody can do and the requirements are only likely to get even more strict as time progresses.

DigitalGhost

The problem is that many people outside the South East do not earn that kind of money and can live quite comfortably without it, particularly in the likes of Scotland and the North East of England.

If those laws do come into effect though then I wouldn't be surprised if the European Court of Human Rights have something to say about it in the not too distant future. They managed to get the British to overturn the COA requirement and that procedure was far less intrusive in my opinion.

Craig1987

Exactly. And I think it's a disgrace. Aside from the three family members that died during world war 2, Numerous members of my family have served in the Military during various conflicts. There is also the matter of my estranged father who has been in the top rate of tax for over a decade. Of course, he wouldn't put his hand in his pocket to help me even If I was dying of starvation.

The rest of my family are very supportive of my impending wedding and love my fiancee, but aren't really in a position to help.

As a result of that, I have no choice but to leave the UK. I am outraged, and other than to visit family, when I leave I have no intention of ever coming back.

Call me dramatic if you wish, but a country that imposes no limitations on the EU immigrants who aren't even required to speak English, yet turns away the wife of someone who was not only born and bred in this country, but can also trace their family history back countless generations is not one I wish to have any part of anymore.

DigitalGhost

You don't necassarily have to leave and I have discussed this with you in your other thread in the Japan subforum. You have the option of an EEA visa from Ireland or Germany etc or you could apply for a UK fiancee visa right now and I am quite sure that they would approve that.

The UK is also much better at judging each case individually than a lot of other countries I believe but obviously you pay a premium for UK partner/spouse immigration.

Craig1987

Well there is that. I'll admit I wasn't aware of it until you pointed that out. But it's something I'd feel slightly uneasy about. It's basically a loophole that could close soon. I'm a very proud (stubborn) person and I think there is a fatal flaw with the UK immigration laws.

Having been disillusioned in the past, this whole incident has just pushed me over the edge and regardless what happens to me in the future, I am planning on heading to Canada. I've just had enough. I'm sure I'm not the only Brit on here that has felt this way before.

DigitalGhost

Dependant upon your circumstances, you may find that you experience more issues and beauracracy with Canadian immigration than UK because at least with the UK one of you is a citizen already and you will have a legitimate reason to be there.

The EEA spousal visa system isn't a loophole, it is part of your rights as an EU citizen to be able to move freely across the Union and as such as you are also able to sponsor any of your dependants from outside the EU for valid immigration status. The UK on it's own could not change this unless the law was somehow changed to include on Schengen countries but I haven't heard anything about that happening and if your partner is granted an EEA spousal visa in another country then that will entitle her to full working and resident rights in the UK under European law.

I know that compared with the UK, Japanese immigration seems far more simplistic and fair but as someone who is very familiar with both countries I can honestly say that comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges and this is likely something which you will see for yourself if you decide to immigrate there. Japanese immigration laws are actually among the strictest in the world, they are in fact one of the few major developed nations which imprison people for overstaying prior to deporting them, they are just more open to spousal routes these days because their population is ageing rapidly and they need young couples (even if one half of said couple unfortunately happens to be a gaijin) to even out the balance and keep the country going.

Craig1987

But I don't really mind the fact that things would be more difficult to go to Canada as none of us are from there. Anyway, I have found an "easy" but extremely expensive way for us to get there. Inspired by some friends who took the "Studying in Canada route".

sallysimmons

It doesn't say that!!!

Craig1987

Fair enough, but they have basically put it out of my price range.


Fyi, have been reading the spousal visa thread and it seems that I would need to have a surplus of around 105 pounds per week after all bills to support my fiancee/wife.

It just so happens that she lived with me here for four months and we were able to get by comfortably with far less than that. I only earned 200 a week at that point. Of that, 120 per week went towards bills, 15 per week on travel and the rest went on feeding the two of us and on our entertainment budget. Edit: Shouldn't forget my ten pounds per week for Tobacco.

In this climate, the chance of me getting a job that pays considerably better is unlikely. But what I have already done is proven it is possible for me to support her for far less than our government believes.

Edit2: If the government believes that it costs 105 per person per week to live after all bills are paid, then why is the jobseeker allowance much lower?

Edit 3: That is where the word "Greedy" comes in to play.