£25,700 Maintenance Requirement from June 2012 according to Leaked Cabinet Letter

[AnAmericanInScotland]

Originally Posted by Joppa

No, you don't have to notify the Home Office or anyone else to do with immigration. The only people who are obliged are those who have to register with the police (used to be every non-EU national but now only certain nationalities - Americans are exempt).

Thank-you!

[dc7]

Hi all

I've posted a couple of times on here and have been grateful for answers.
In light of this leaked letter, I need to be clear on the current setup so that if the rules do change, we can get onto it asap.

Under the current regulations, £226 a week is needed to be earned between the couple, correct?

1) Is this after tax or pre tax
2) Say I am earning £180 a week, will that matter if I have £10,000 savings?
3) If I am earning this money through working 4/5 different jobs, is that going to be ok? I have become self employed, working in two bars and am teaching privately and for a adult college.
4) Both my parents have offered flats for rental. Is a tenancy agreement all that's necessary to be shown (i.e. one that shows under current earnings, we could afford?)
5) I have been working these jobs since March. If I could only proof of earnings for March, April, May...is it unlikely (if the rules did change in June, that they would accept only three months of pay stubbs?

As some background, my fiancee is a primary school teacher in America, with an IVY league university degree (graduated at a high level last year). She is applying for all sorts of jobs and has been for a while.

Thanks for any feedback

Dan

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by dc7

Hi all

I've posted a couple of times on here and have been grateful for answers.
In light of this leaked letter, I need to be clear on the current setup so that if the rules do change, we can get onto it asap.

Under the current regulations, £226 a week is needed to be earned between the couple, correct?

£105.95 cash after paying housing (mortgage or rent plus council tax).

1) Is this after tax or pre tax
2) Say I am earning £180 a week, will that matter if I have £10,000 savings?
3) If I am earning this money through working 4/5 different jobs, is that going to be ok? I have become self employed, working in two bars and am teaching privately and for a adult college.

It translates to around £13,800 a year before tax. So with your savings you have enough to meet the minimum requirement, depending on your housing cost. Doing 4/5 jobs isn't as good as one steady one, as your income may vary - you have to send in up to 6 months' bank statement and they will look out for fluctuations.

4) Both my parents have offered flats for rental. Is a tenancy agreement all that's necessary to be shown (i.e. one that shows under current earnings, we could afford?)

If they expect you to pay rent, yes. If you are allowed to live rent-free, then a letter offering this signed by them.

5) I have been working these jobs since March. If I could only proof of earnings for March, April, May...is it unlikely (if the rules did change in June, that they would accept only three months of pay stubbs?

May be ok, but the longer, the better.

As some background, my fiancee is a primary school teacher in America, with an IVY league university degree (graduated at a high level last year). She is applying for all sorts of jobs and has been for a while.

US teaching qualification (certification) isn't recognised in UK, so she can only work as unqualified teacher. Primary jobs are tough to find as there is a lot of competition from unemployed teachers with UK qualification and experience.

[dc7]

Thanks Joppa. This is helpful.



£105.95 cash after paying housing (mortgage or rent plus council tax).
Ok, but this isn't an essential, weekly amount to be earned as a minimum IF you have savings?


It translates to around £13,800 a year before tax. So with your savings you have enough to meet the minimum requirement, depending on your housing cost.
Right, so more savings will definitely help things?

Doing 4/5 jobs isn't as good as one steady one, as your income may vary - you have to send in up to 6 months' bank statement and they will look out for fluctuations. Sorry I don't understand- you have to send 6 months of bank statements or you can send say 3 months, with 6 months the maximum you can?


US teaching qualification (certification) isn't recognised in UK, so she can only work as unqualified teacher. Primary jobs are tough to find as there is a lot of competition from unemployed teachers with UK qualification and experience.
She doesn't have a teaching qualification, she has a degree in English. Because it's a private school, they took her based on referral/merit. How much do they take into consideration job potential?

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by dc7

£105.95 cash after paying housing (mortgage or rent plus council tax).
Ok, but this isn't an essential, weekly amount to be earned as a minimum IF you have savings?

Savings are divided by 26 and added to your weekly income.

It translates to around £13,800 a year before tax. So with your savings you have enough to meet the minimum requirement, depending on your housing cost.
Right, so more savings will definitely help things?

Yes.

Doing 4/5 jobs isn't as good as one steady one, as your income may vary - you have to send in up to 6 months' bank statement and they will look out for fluctuations. Sorry I don't understand- you have to send 6 months of bank statements or you can send say 3 months, with 6 months the maximum you can?

What I meant was ideally you should send 6 month-worth of statement, showing regular income. If you only have 3 months, that may be acceptable but your case isn't as strong, and relying on multiple sources isn't as good as having one steady job. It all depends on how UKBA interpret your financial state. Having good amount of savings certainly helps.

US teaching qualification (certification) isn't recognised in UK, so she can only work as unqualified teacher. Primary jobs are tough to find as there is a lot of competition from unemployed teachers with UK qualification and experience.
She doesn't have a teaching qualification, she has a degree in English. Because it's a private school, they took her based on referral/merit. How much do they take into consideration job potential?

OK. Job potential is considered, based on qualification and experience.

I know that this thread has taken several directions since it started but I've been reviewing the original article in The Telegraph, and it's really bothering me. In particular, this quote from Theresa May:

"The package which I propose to implement from June 2012 will reduce the burdens on the taxpayer, promote integration and tackle abuse."

I'm not sure if all spousal visas specify "no recourse to public funds", but mine certainly does. So how would this proposal "reduce the burdens on the taxpayer", seeing as those on these visas cannot claim public benefits anyway?

Why don't they just develop better ways to scrutinise as to whether a relationship is genuine or not? I would not mind going through an interview process or any other method they deem necessary to see if my relationship with my husband is genuine.

I know that it is pointless to speculate on the motivations behind all of this as it doesn't do any good, but this just seems like they are trying to limit what immigration they can -- i.e., they can't limit EU immigration, so they are taking it out on non-EU immigrants. It is bizarre to me that a couple from an EU country - neither of them British - could come to the UK AND receive public funds (as is my understanding from documentaries that I've seen about UK immigration policy), yet my husband (a lifelong British resident/citizen) and I may not be able to stay in the country that we've chosen as our home because we do not (currently) meet proposed income requirements?

I've been very excited about starting my life with my husband, together, but these proposals are really scary and could potentially mean that we can't be together in the long-term. It also makes me less eager to make the UK my home. It puts a lot of uncertainty into my life that I thought we'd gotten past by getting through the initial visa process and the many years that we had to spend apart previously. I think it's just a really emotional time for me moving to a new country, so I'm blowing it out of proportion, but I feel really discouraged by all this uncertainty and speculation. I just want to be happy and focus on our life together and this really puts a damper on that.

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by mark_and_laura

I know that this thread has taken several directions since it started but I've been reviewing the original article in The Telegraph, and it's really bothering me. In particular, this quote from Theresa May:

"The package which I propose to implement from June 2012 will reduce the burdens on the taxpayer, promote integration and tackle abuse."

I'm not sure if all spousal visas specify "no recourse to public funds", but mine certainly does. So how would this proposal "reduce the burdens on the taxpayer", seeing as those on these visas cannot claim public benefits anyway?

Why don't they just develop better ways to scrutinise as to whether a relationship is genuine or not? I would not mind going through an interview process or any other method they deem necessary to see if my relationship with my husband is genuine.

I know that it is pointless to speculate on the motivations behind all of this as it doesn't do any good, but this just seems like they are trying to limit what immigration they can -- i.e., they can't limit EU immigration, so they are taking it out on non-EU immigrants. It is bizarre to me that a couple from an EU country - neither of them British - could come to the UK AND receive public funds (as is my understanding from documentaries that I've seen about UK immigration policy), yet my husband (a lifelong British resident/citizen) and I may not be able to stay in the country that we've chosen as our home because we do not (currently) meet proposed income requirements?

I've been very excited about starting my life with my husband, together, but these proposals are really scary and could potentially mean that we can't be together in the long-term. It also makes me less eager to make the UK my home. It puts a lot of uncertainty into my life that I thought we'd gotten past by getting through the initial visa process and the many years that we had to spend apart previously. I think it's just a really emotional time for me moving to a new country, so I'm blowing it out of proportion, but I feel really discouraged by all this uncertainty and speculation. I just want to be happy and focus on our life together and this really puts a damper on that.

As the article makes clear, the majority of those who take the family migration route into UK are from the Indian subcontinent. The new proposals aren't targetting people from US or other Western countries who have living standards comparable to UK, but any measure that seeks to tackle third-world immigration inevitably affects all other non-EU countries. They cannot single out third-world countries as they may be accused of racism. They do try to limit immigration from the third world, for example, by making personal interview compulsory for all applicants, but clearly a stronger measure is needed.

As for reducing burden on public purse, it's not so much about public funds as general pressure on public services such as education, health, social housing and care, which in principle is available to all UK residents regardless of immigration status, and this you can only do by cutting the numbers entering the country. The Home Office expects to reduce yearly immigration by 15,000, which isn't particularly large in view of net migration running at 250,000, but it's a start. It means a reduction of around a third in family migrations.

As long as UK stays in EU, they are powerless to stop EU migrants and they have the same rights as any UK citizens, though a transitional limit has been in place for some newer EU members like Romania and Bulgaria. This is a dilemma faced by all established EU countries so they have all tightened criteria for non-EU immigration, though the UK proposals seem tougher than most (perhaps the problem is more acute here, as there seems to be a belief that UK is a soft touch among economic migrants camped out in Calais).

The new proposals, esp for those with dependants, will be a crippling burden for many would-be migrants. Maybe the UK is limiting their citizens' right to marry or enter into partnership with anyone they choose and bring them into UK. The government will say that one's right must be balanced by responsibility, and in view of the parlous state of economy, the country cannot continue with a relatively generous system they have operated thus far. So they are basically raising the bar from the subsistence level under social security to national average salary.

So many couples will be faced with a stark choice of whether to make their home in UK or elsewhere, and the nationality of your potential life partner will become a big factor. It will really be tough for someone like you who is already in relationship or in marriage and is having to reassess your options.

I am concerned as to what happens if we get to 2 years from now (or 5) and my husband and I don't meet the requirements, most especially if we have a child which has been our plan. Also whether my income would even be considered, since he is the sponsor and I am the applicant - I am not sure how that works for ILR, as opposed to the probationary visa that I've had approved under the current rules.

I won't have a job in the US since I'll have been in the UK, so therefore it is unlikely that we would be able to pursue the options of my husband emigrating to the US right away -- I'd have to come back to the US, find a job and get re-established in the States, and then we begin the application process for him to come to the US. One of the many reasons that we originally decided that I should move to the UK (other than both feeling much more at home there, having stronger family ties, etc.) is that it sounds like the immigration process in the US takes longer, and at the heart of it, we just want to be together and thought this would be the best way to do it. I have been really excited about getting over to the UK, working, volunteering, and establishing a life in a place that I love, with someone I love with all my heart.

Not that anyone in the UK government or anyone other than me and my husband cares about our individual situation. It's just something we'll have to figure out. Sorry for venting.

[manny.j]

Originally Posted by mark_and_laura

I am concerned as to what happens if we get to 2 years from now (or 5) and my husband and I don't meet the requirements, most especially if we have a child which has been our plan. Also whether my income would even be considered, since he is the sponsor and I am the applicant - I am not sure how that works for ILR, as opposed to the probationary visa that I've had approved under the current rules.

I won't have a job in the US since I'll have been in the UK, so therefore it is unlikely that we would be able to pursue the options of my husband emigrating to the US right away -- I'd have to come back to the US, find a job and get re-established in the States, and then we begin the application process for him to come to the US. One of the many reasons that we originally decided that I should move to the UK (other than both feeling much more at home there, having stronger family ties, etc.) is that it sounds like the immigration process in the US takes longer, and at the heart of it, we just want to be together and thought this would be the best way to do it. I have been really excited about getting over to the UK, working, volunteering, and establishing a life in a place that I love, with someone I love with all my heart.

Not that anyone in the UK government or anyone other than me and my husband cares about our individual situation. It's just something we'll have to figure out. Sorry for venting.

I can empathize with your situation but I believe US immigration process may take longer, with in person interview etc, but if the new UK immigration rules are implemented, the US rules will look far more lenient than the UK ones. Although I understand for US green for a US foreign spouse usually does not take more than 6 months. I hope it all works out for you.

[pedalmonkey]

Not that anyone in the UK government or anyone other than me and my husband cares about our individual situation. It's just something we'll have to figure out. Sorry for venting.

Don't lose heart!

I have been through the immigration process on both sides of the Pond. It isn't as bad as you think. My husband got his Permanent Residency back in the US without too much hassle. You just have to follow the rules and pay a small fortune. The same here in the UK.

I would like to think there will be some level of common sense involved in all of this.
You can't live by waiting to see what the government is going to do.

Live life