Salary rules for fiance visa?

[Drewturner]

Hi guys,

I am having a problem finding out some info on the salary rules for a fiance visa before I start the application. I have asked many people but I cant seem to get a clear answer, hopefully I can get help here

Until December 2012 I was not earning the minimum required to apply for the visa (£18,600) but I received a promotion and I am now earning above the minimum required. From what I have read I will need to prove I have been earning the minimum for 6 months prior to applying, so i take it I can apply in May?

This is where the problem lies...I am paid calendar monthly (every 25th of the month) so that means 4 of my monthly pay slips will contain 5 weeks pay (4 weeks multiplied by 12 months equals 48 weeks leaving 4 weeks left over) so there has to be 4 months that contain 5 weeks. I have tried to explain this to 4 different agencies and the philippine embassy but they just dont get it!

They all say that my lowest monthly pay will be taken and multiplied by 12 to give my salary, if this is correct then my 4 week monthly pay will be taken and I will not make the minimum of £18,600...I feel this is very unfair as I do earn over the minimum and if they were to take my last 6 months pay slips and work those out it would prove that I do! not just take the lowest one.

I hope you can all understand and can let me know if there is anything I can do about it, I am concerned my application will be rejected due to this :(

Thank you for your time.

[imagine]

terpe might answer this better for you,

if however you have to abide by the lowest month pay calculation,

savings for the shortfall ? could be a way round it, but see what advice you get, good luck

[Drewturner]

terpe might answer this better for you,

if however you have to abide by the lowest month pay calculation,

savings for the shortfall ? could be a way round it, but see what advice you get, good luck

Thanks Imagine,

Thats what I thought about the savings too, but wasn't sure if they would allow me to combine the two.

[imagine]

Thanks Imagine,

Thats what I thought about the savings too, but wasn't sure if they would allow me to combine the two.

theres a calculation for the amount you will need,worked on the amount your short, you might need to search to find info on this

[Drewturner]

theres a calculation for the amount you will need,worked on the amount your short, you might need to search to find info on this

Searching now thank you.

[Iani]

Right, I think I understand.

The information which you need to think of is - will your wages fluctuate?

What I mean - for example - I am always paid on the 20th of the month. My salary however doesn't fluctuate, it's always £x,xx per month.

The other thing to maybe think about is - yes they might play silly beggars and take the smallest monthly wage (If it fluctuates), but there's more than one way to go about this.
You are I'm guessing thinking of applying under category A - where you supply 6 months wages, meeting the requirement of over £18,600 - where they will take the average to work out an annual salary.

WHAT IF (And I'm not saying I'm right here) you applied under category B?

This is designed for non standard salary, and if you have more than one job, and for anything which is slightly out of the ordinary.
Now to apply for this, you must show that you have earned the requirement over the last 12 months. Also you must be earning the requirement at the point of application.

Soooooo - a letter confirming your salary will suffice for that presumably. On top of that you obviously need salary slips showing this amount was earned.

This is where however you wouldn't be as well applying under this category - if your salary is only just over the requirement. Work back over the last 12 months and you might not have (yet) earned enough.

IF however you have got a nice increase - say to.....ummm.......21k, then you will probably have earned over the £18,600 in a few months time.
To put it very simply, lets say you used to earn £18,000. If you had a £101 increase a month, then you'll have earned enough in 6 months, to have earned the requirement over a 12 month period.

If this is the case, I'd say to be on the safe side, even though it doesnt necessarily say this - everyone seems to say they want 6 months salary slips from the new job anyway, even if you earned a million in one month. So best not to apply until you've had the 6 months in the new role.

Of course, this becomes unstuck IF they take an average of 6 months, even if you have a letter confirming annual salary, and have earned that amount over 12 months.

I would think in this case they don't use the lowest one to work out a yearly - as you are applying under a different category, but I am no expert!

Hope I'm making sense actually

[imagine]

i dont know if this link might help
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....ll+calculation

[Drewturner]

Thanks Ian,

I understand what your saying

I seem to be caught right in the middle of these categories :( My hourly rate is the same and my hours are always the same, its just that 8 months of the year i will be payed for 4 weeks and 4 months of the year i will be payed for 5 weeks (the extra week in each of the last 4 months will will bring it up to 52 weeks for the year).

So I guess I might be better off waiting for my 12 full pay slips and applying under category B? I wasn't aware of these 2 different categories...

Thank you Ian.

[Drewturner]

i dont know if this link might help
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....ll+calculation

Thanks Imagine I will take a look.

[Drewturner]

Have the rules changed again in the last few months?

From what I read a few months ago on the UK immigration site you either needed £18,600 in earnings OR £16,000 in savings. I was just reading about a guy that was £700 short of £18,600 earnings and he had to make that up with £17k of savings!

Why would it work that you need more savings if your only £700 short on your earnings?

[imagine]

because the rules are inhumane

[Drewturner]

because the rules are inhumane

Yes your right...ridiculous rules!


Thanks for all your help.

[Terpe]

Drew, your right on a number of counts and (sorry to say) completely wrong on some others.

As you rightly intimate, the rules have again been changed quite recently and only published April 2013.
So not much time to really evaluate those changes.

Your assumption about salary and savings is not correct. In order to be able to use savings to support the application in any way at all you will need to show savings amounts significantly ABOVE £16000.

The latest changes just published only make things far more complex rather than simpler and easier to understand.

Anyway Drew, I'll attempt to explain as simply as I can and I hope I don't slip up. If there's anything at all that doesn't seem right please shout out.

The very first and most important thing I want to say is this, please be aware that if you do not FULLY comply in every detail with the Financial Requirement, the application WILL fall for refusal. Period.

Secondly, I'll apologise now, but this is going to be a long and detailed reply, so please be patient with me, it's not my fault it's simply down to the complex immigration rules. Anyway here goes.

If you are an employee with an earned income, then you MUST be earning a salary of £18,600 for a couple.
Under these circumstances you will be applying under Category A

Category A is defined as being with your current employer for 6 months or more and also residing in the UK

There are some different ways to demonstrate this and in principle it depends on whether you are in salaried employment or you're in non-salaried employment.

Non-salaried employment includes that paid at an hourly or other rate or paid an amount which varies according to the work undertaken.
The only difference under Cat. A between 'salaried' and 'non-salaried employment' is how gross annual salary or employment income is calculated.

Where the person is in 'salaried employment' they must have been paid throughout the period of 6 months (prior to the date of application) at a level of gross annual salary which equals or exceeds the level relied upon in the application.(eg £18600 for a couple only)
This really means each monthly payslip should be a minimum of £18600 divided by 12 = £1550

Where the person is in 'non-salaried employment', the level of gross annual employment income relied upon in the application can be no greater than the annual equivalent of the person‟s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application (where that employment was held throughout that period).

To calculate this annualised average for non-salaried employment in Category A the following calculation is used:-

(Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement.

Now, also as an employee with an earned income there are circumstances where you may need to apply under what is called Category B
Category B is defined as being with your current employer for less than 6 months OR having a variable income and also residing in the UK

Under this category you can be in salaried or non-salaried employment at the date of application, but you have not been with your employer for 6 months OR you have not been earning the income level needed for at least 6 months prior to the date of application.
So this means category B should be used by those who have been with their current employer for less than 6 months, OR who have been with their current employer for at least 6 months BUT earning a variable income and wish to be considered in this category rather than under Category A.

To be compliant under Category B you must meet show evidence in two parts

Firstly
Where you are in 'salaried employment' at the date of application, and you have been with the same employer, or earning the amount relied upon, for less than the last 6 months, you can count the gross annual salary at the date of application towards the financial requirement.

Gross income from 'non-salaried employment' will be counted on the same basis as income from 'salaried employment' where you have been with the same employer, or earning the amount relied upon, for less than 6 months at the date of application. Again, 'non-salaried employment' includes that paid at an hourly or other rate or paid an amount which varies according to the work undertaken.

If you are in 'salaried employment', the level of gross annual income will be, that at the date of application.
When you're in 'non-salaried employment', the level of gross annual income relied upon in the application can be no greater than the annual equivalent of your average gross monthly income from 'non-salaried employment' in the 6 months prior to the date of application, regardless of whether that employment was held throughout that period.

So, the calculation will include all non-salaried employment undertaken during that 6 month period, and will be calculated over that 6 month period regardless of how much of that period was actually spent in employment.

The calculation for this annualised average of 'non-salaried employment' in Category B is made like this:-

(Total gross income from all employment undertaken during the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement.

Secondly

You must ADDITIONALLY have received in the 12 months before the date of application that level of income required to meet the financial requirement.

Drew, if you need to consider the addition of other income. Such as non-employment income, cash savings above £16,000 or pension payments the please
let us know as they can be included but do add some extra complexity.

I hope I've managed to explain the issues sufficiently well enough so you can figure it out.
But if not please don't feel shy to ask any questions.

UKBA love to make these things as complicated as possible with 'civil service speak'

Now, which category are you ?
I suspect from what you've divulged that you'd be going for Category B ?
But anyway read this a couple of times and decided where you sit.

[Drewturner]

Thank you Terpe,

I understand most of what you have explained. To start, I fall under the non-salaried employment category, I am paid an hourly rate and although I will work the same hours every week, some months I will be paid under £1550 gross and some months well over £1550 gross, but averaged out over the year I will earn over £18,600.

I can prove this by supplying 6 months pay slips but if I were to supply 12 months pay slips I would fall short of £18,600 because I only started to earn enough to meet the minimum requirements when I received my promotion in December last year.

Also I dont have any other sufficient income/savings that can count towards my funding.

I hope this makes sense

[Terpe]

Thank you Terpe,

I understand most of what you have explained. To start, I fall under the non-salaried employment category, I am paid an hourly rate and although I will work the same hours every week, some months I will be paid under £1550 gross and some months well over £1550 gross, but averaged out over the year I will earn over £18,600.

I can prove this by supplying 6 months pay slips but if I were to supply 12 months pay slips I would fall short of £18,600 because I only started to earn enough to meet the minimum requirements when I received my promotion in December last year.

Also I dont have any other sufficient income/savings that can count towards my funding.

I hope this makes sense

Yep, it does.
Glad to have been of some help.

Read the rules again just to be sure which category applies to you.

Good luck

[Drewturner]

Yep, it does.
Glad to have been of some help.

Read the rules again just to be sure which category applies to you.

Good luck

One last question Terpe

Looking at my options I have decided that if I wanted to apply under category B then I would have to wait until December so I can supply 12 months of pay slips that will average out at over £18,600 (assuming the goal posts are not moved) but I would really like to start sooner so my question is...if I apply under category A and supply 6 months of pay slips, will they take all the 6 and average them out? (which would work out well for me) or will they do what the last agency told me and take my lowest monthly pay from the 6 and go by that? (which would not be enough).


Thanks.

[Terpe]

One last question Terpe

Looking at my options I have decided that if I wanted to apply under category B then I would have to wait until December so I can supply 12 months of pay slips that will average out at over £18,600 (assuming the goal posts are not moved) but I would really like to start sooner so my question is...if I apply under category A and supply 6 months of pay slips, will they take all the 6 and average them out? (which would work out well for me) or will they do what the last agency told me and take my lowest monthly pay from the 6 and go by that? (which would not be enough).


Thanks.

Drew,

To immediately answer your key question, my own take on this is that UKBA will not base the computation on the payslip at the lowest level.

Apologies again for this long reply, but I just want to take this opportunity to clarify for everyone how I come to that conclusion.

These Financial Requirements have just recently been ammended.
They are so new (published April 2013) that there are no actual experiences of how UKBA may or may not view 'variations' from rule. In my opinion best practice for anyone considering visa applications now is to set your targets/strategies according to the immigration rules as they are today and make any adjustments as and when they get released and published.
I never try to 2nd guess how UKBA will or will not react.

In summary,

ALL applications under Category A will involve providing evidence based on income in the 6 months prior to the date of application

ALL applications under Category B will involve providing evidence based on income in the 12 months prior to the date of application.

Drew, of course you want your fiancee to make an application as soon as possible. But you must make certain it's fully compliant.

Based on your desire to submit an application within the 6 months salary qualifying period, then this would need to fall under Category A

Means you'll need to tick all the following 'boxes':-

1 You have been with the same employer for 6 months or more prior to the date of application
2 You are in a non-salaried employment (means employment income is paid at an hourly or other rate or paid an amount which varies according to the work undertaken)
3 You have been paid throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application at a level of gross annual salary which equals or exceeds the level relied upon in the application.

These latest ammendments make no mention at all about computing salary from the payslip with the lowest level.
Instead, they now include a specific calculation method for establishing an annualised average for non-salaried employment.

where:-
Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement =
((Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period) divided by 6) multiplied by 12

Here's a case study suggested by UKBA

The applicant‟s partner is in non-salaried employment in the UK. He works on a weekly rota basis and does not receive any paid holidays. He has earned £450 each week in the same job for the last 7 calendar months, except for the week prior to the date of application when he earned £150 owing to a holiday.

Non-salaried income = (gross earnings from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) x 12
= ((25 weeks x 450 + 1 week x 150) ÷ 6) x 12
= (11,400 ÷ 6) x 12
= £22,800

So the financial requirement is met through Category A non-salaried employment.

Note that one 'salary point' (£150) is the lowest.
It does not meet a notional weekly level (£18600/52 = £357.69) nor does it meet a notional monthly level if combined with the previous 3 weeks pay.((£450x3)+£150=£1500)
So in my view the computation is NOT based on a payslip at the lowest level in the the 6 month period, but is based on the result of a calculation for annualised average of preceding 6 months

To me, as long as the calculated 'annualised average' meets the financial requirement level, then the individual variablity of actual payslips is not considered as the basis.

Hope that helps.

If anyone reading this has an alternative view, please shout out now.

[Drewturner]

Hi Terpe,

I have started to gather my documents together and will apply at the beginning of June. Thank you very much for your help.

[Terpe]

Good luck with your application

There's plenty of great info here in the forum please take advantage of the resource available to optimise the application and minimise risks.
Your fiancee/wife will be the one to make the application. This will be made online. The application fee must also be made online.

Take the chance to review the Visa section of the forum, especially the various 'stickies'.
The devil really is in the detail, so try to cover all angles.

[Iani]

Hey Drew, if you're going to apply under category B, then could there be a chance that you have already earned over the £18,600 over a 12 month period?
If this is the case, then no reason you can't apply much sooner - now even.

It all depends exactly what your wage rise was. It obviously needs to be considerable enough to have let you "catch up".

Get your last 12 months slips, and add up what you've earned.

This is pretty much what I did. I started working a second job of all things. I did though wait for 6 months of wageslips from that one - because that's what everyone said I must do, including a solicitor.

Again, all depends on what you used to earn, and what you earn now.

Hey good luck in your application anyway.

Oh and don't forget the financial requirement is only part of the application - get loads of evidence that you have a consisting relationship.

[Terpe]

Hey Drew, if you're going to apply under category B, then could there be a chance that you have already earned over the £18,600 over a 12 month period?
If this is the case, then no reason you can't apply much sooner - now even.

It all depends exactly what your wage rise was. It obviously needs to be considerable enough to have let you "catch up".

Get your last 12 months slips, and add up what you've earned.

This is pretty much what I did. I started working a second job of all things. I did though wait for 6 months of wageslips from that one - because that's what everyone said I must do, including a solicitor.

Again, all depends on what you used to earn, and what you earn now.

Hey good luck in your application anyway.

Oh and don't forget the financial requirement is only part of the application - get loads of evidence that you have a consisting relationship.

Ian, please be aware that the rules and the details have changed significantly since you made your application.

[Iani]

Ian, please be aware that the rules and the details have changed significantly since you made your application.

OMG really. Ok you're a mod will you delete my post, I don't want to be giving the wrong info. Thanks fella

[Terpe]

OMG really. Ok you're a mod will you delete my post, I don't want to be giving the wrong info. Thanks fella

No need to delete it.
Just for your information, the latest immigration rules for Financials were Published April 2013.
Prior to that it was December 2012

There are so many changes it's very difficult to keep abreast of all the 'nitty gritty' but important stuff.

[imagine]

good luck drew

[andy222]

Its a nightmare now.

[andy222]

Thanks to terpe he has put my mind at rest for bit. Thanks mate.

[Drewturner]

Hey Drew, if you're going to apply under category B, then could there be a chance that you have already earned over the £18,600 over a 12 month period?
If this is the case, then no reason you can't apply much sooner - now even.

It all depends exactly what your wage rise was. It obviously needs to be considerable enough to have let you "catch up".

Get your last 12 months slips, and add up what you've earned.

This is pretty much what I did. I started working a second job of all things. I did though wait for 6 months of wageslips from that one - because that's what everyone said I must do, including a solicitor.

Again, all depends on what you used to earn, and what you earn now.

Hey good luck in your application anyway.

Oh and don't forget the financial requirement is only part of the application - get loads of evidence that you have a consisting relationship.

Thank you Ian, If I worked out my salary for the last 12 months I would be short by around 1k. I will be able to apply under category A when I get my May wage slip Thanks anyway for the info fella

[Drewturner]

good luck drew

Thank you Imagine, and thanks for all your help

[Drewturner]

Thanks to terpe he has put my mind at rest for bit. Thanks mate.

Big thanks to Terpe from me too for making everything clear. cheers fella