One of the conditions and maybe the most important one.

[andy222]

Ok guys there is a condition which you require in applyiing for a spouse or fiance visa which I am not clear about. I have made a telephone call to the uk border agency about this but they cant tell me exact figures. Like most on here when I am going to pay a lot of money for a visa we dont want to lose it. The question I have for you experts is: How much do you need to show you can support your spouse and a dependent in th uk? What amounts of money are they looking for?. Thanks Andy.

[hawk]

they want to know what you have after you pay your bills ie say you have £300 after but if you only have 50 then they will look as you cant support on that i would say around £200 thats min budget single about £160 again it will go up as you have kids this is only minumum so anything higher will be better others will give more advice hope this gives you some insite

[stevewool]

one thing you must look at is a constant flow into your account weather its hundreds or thousands, try and make it constant, plus what hawk says too, if you have any spare money at the end off the month thats what they mean

[Terpe]

Andy

There really isn't any actual amount stated in the 'immigration rules' that indicate just how much is considered as 'sufficient'. It's up to the sponsor and applicant to prove there is sufficient for them to maintain themselves.

Basically, the UKBA will be looking at the amount of money left after any regular non-discretionary expenditure (such as rent or mortgage payments, council tax and secured loans etc)
Everyone has have different non-discretionary expenditure.(eg payments of Child support would also be considered a key fixed/regular payment)

Various Immigration Tribunal's have concluded that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the 'Income Support Level' for a British family of the same size. This is probably the best guide available.

In principle this means that if it is more likely than not that the total amount of money that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds.

The 'Income Support' rates do vary each tax year - so make sure you know the current amounts. Key amounts for tax year 2011/2012 are £105.95 per week for a couple and £62.33 pounds per week for a dependent child.

In many ways it's a bit of a myth that you absolutely must show plenty of savings. Maintenance (sufficient funding) can be proven by reference to both savings and/or regular income. However, most of those who have gone though the Spouse Visa process would advise on having savings.
It clearly costs quite a bit to cover the costs of Visa Application, Air fares, and supporting someone in settlement in UK. It would be reasonable to expect something like £2000 in the form of savings.

Your bank statements will normally show your income and your outgoing expenditure. ECO's are not accountants but, if you are generally living within your means and can afford the cost of another adult consumer joining the household, this should be immediately obvious.

Only those people with a discretionary amount of money close or equal to the equivalent of means-tested benefit might feel the need to make a budget plan to signpost how they can afford another consuming person in the house.

[andy222]

Thanks for the great advice guys. This site is a godsend. I did a bit of searching and found the contact number to the uk border agency and phoned them with my concerns. You are all correct. They asked where i worked. They told me there would not be a problem because I have a regular monthly income. There is no limit on savings. Thanks again guys. It just worried me that a couple on here had been refused. I was getting worried.

[stevewool]

we all worry andy, we men and ladies cant help ourselves, but after the fact when its all sorted thats when you can help others say its ok

[andy222]

Thanks steve I will be really stressed out when the time comes. In fact I am stressed now and she has not taken the english test yet. Im just afraid of the heartbreak it will cause if she cant come here. Never mind the £1620 in lost visa fees. The ukba advisor said it will be ok though so we will see.

[Terpe]

Thanks steve I will be really stressed out when the time comes. In fact I am stressed now and she has not taken the english test yet. Im just afraid of the heartbreak it will cause if she cant come here. Never mind the £1620 in lost visa fees. The ukba advisor said it will be ok though so we will see.

I'll stick my neck out here and say it's NOT that difficult to comply with UKBA requirements for settlement route visa's.
Refusals remain low.
Even then more than 60% of appeals win through.

The key is simply to comply fully with the requirements. Don't fall into the trap of taking risks on a weak submission.

[andy222]

I will take your advice steve. Everything will be above board checked and double checked. Thanks mate.

[Arthur Little]

Like most on here when I am going to pay a lot of money for a visa we dont want to lose it.

Too true, Andy! What bugs me, though - and I'm practically blue in the face from repeating this so often on here - is not so much the fee in itself (although it's extortionate!) but the fact that a Brit has to "pay through the nose" to bring a non-European partner to the land of his birth ... whereas, by virue of another anomalous legacy of the EEA Agreement, it doesn't cost a bean for someone from ANY of the member States - other than the UK - to do so. Sure ... a visa's still needed ... but at least there's no huge amount of money wasted in the event of a refusal.

Having got that tirade off my chest (for the umpteenth time!) congratulations on your marriage and back.

[lastlid]

Thanks for the great advice guys. This site is a godsend. I did a bit of searching and found the contact number to the uk border agency and phoned them with my concerns. You are all correct. They asked where i worked. They told me there would not be a problem because I have a regular monthly income. There is no limit on savings. Thanks again guys. It just worried me that a couple on here had been refused. I was getting worried.

You did well getting the UKBA to advise on this. I never managed to get through to the visa section of the UKBA. And the receptionist always said that VFS were handling all visa related matters.

Terpe seems to have all the answers on this kind of question. I think it was a posting of his sometime back that clarified things for me in what is a very unclear area of the application.

I think that if you have a reasonable income and a couple of grand in savings and tend to stay in the black then your chances of a successful application are much higher (along with being strong in the other requirement areas of course).

Until we got our result, I worried on this one as I tended to spend all my income each month for all different reasons. And wondered if they might see this as living beyond my means, or potentially so with the additional costs of a spouse in the UK. But as it turned out it was fine.

(It was the outlay and time and effort involved that made me sweat even more profusely).

[andy222]

To be honest the girl I spoke to was very considerate. I was surprised how much advice she gave me. Very reassuring too. Although she did say VFS would be dealing with the visas. Its just the stress it causes. I can imagine what you went through waiting for the visa lastlid. I will be the same.