VAF4A - Financial Requirements

[matt.dalton.81]

I am an Australian citizen, my Welsh fiance and I live together in Melbourne (Australia) and were making arrangements to get married in Wales (where her and her family are from) May next year and then return to Australia where she currently holds a de-facto Visa.

Her father has been given 6-12 months to live and we were told by the medical specialist(s) to bring our wedding forward if we wanted him to be fit and healthy for the big day. As well as this we intend to stay with her family (to provide moral support) in Wales indefinitely.

Have looked into filling out a VAF4A (Family settlement application) but I am unsure that my fiance (sponsor) and I will be able to meet the financial requirements as outlined in Appendix 2. She has earnt over the equivalent of £18600 ($28251) in the last 12 months but it has all been in Australia...

1. Is this sufficient for us to meet the financial requirements?
2. If not, is there some way the rest of our circumstances be taken into consideration to support my application

MD

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by matt.dalton.81

I am an Australian citizen, my Welsh fiance and I live together in Melbourne (Australia) and were making arrangements to get married in Wales (where her and her family are from) May next year and then return to Australia where she currently holds a de-facto Visa.

Her father has been given 6-12 months to live and we were told by the medical specialist(s) to bring our wedding forward if we wanted him to be fit and healthy for the big day. As well as this we intend to stay with her family (to provide moral support) in Wales indefinitely.

Have looked into filling out a VAF4A (Family settlement application) but I am unsure that my fiance (sponsor) and I will be able to meet the financial requirements as outlined in Appendix 2. She has earnt over the equivalent of £18600 ($28251) in the last 12 months but it has all been in Australia...

1. Is this sufficient for us to meet the financial requirements?
2. If not, is there some way the rest of our circumstances be taken into consideration to support my application

In addition, she either needs a job offer in UK paying the required amount starting within 3 months of return, or she has to return to UK and start working and earning £18,600 pa for 6 months.

There are other ways for you to be allowed to live in UK. If you have a UK-born grandparent, you can get an ancestry visa valid 5 years, or if you are aged 30 and under and haven't used up working holiday or youth mobility scheme visa, you can get Tier 5 YMS visa valid 2 years. Or you can get Tier 4 student visa, or a sponsored Tier 2 work visa if you have shortage skills. Or an Irish ancestry may lead to Irish citizenship.

I am sorry to hear about your future father-in-laws' state of health, but I'm afraid it will not be considered a compasionate ground to waive visa conditions. It might be different if it was your own father.

[matt.dalton.81]

Thanks for the reply Joppa.

Sounds like we need to get my fiance a Job offer prior to applying might be the most likely. Not sure what the chances of her getting an offer might be though?

Has anyone else got a job offer through just emailing and applying prior to returning?

I can not do an ancestry and have also used up my T5 YMS. I would prefer not to aply for a T4 due to the restrictions.

I am a civil engineer working typically in civil construction as a Project Engineer in Australia.

To qualify for a T2 do I need not just to be on the 'Shortage occupation list' (I am not sure that my occupation is specified on this list as it is not clear in the field of Engineering) but I would need a job offer (including sponsorship) to meet the T2 criteria?

Once again I would appreciate any feedback.

MD

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by matt.dalton.81

Thanks for the reply Joppa.

Sounds like we need to get my fiance a Job offer prior to applying might be the most likely. Not sure what the chances of her getting an offer might be though?

Has anyone else got a job offer through just emailing and applying prior to returning?

Most unlikely, unless she has a very good connection (like her former employer giving her job back).

I can not do an ancestry and have also used up my T5 YMS. I would prefer not to aply for a T4 due to the restrictions.

I am a civil engineer working typically in civil construction as a Project Engineer in Australia.

To qualify for a T2 do I need not just to be on the 'Shortage occupation list' (I am not sure that my occupation is specified on this list as it is not clear in the field of Engineering) but I would need a job offer (including sponsorship) to meet the T2 criteria?

Some types of civil engineers are on current shortage list:
geotechnical design engineer
geotechnical specialist
reservoir panel engineer
rock mechanics engineer
soil mechanics engineer
geomechanics engineer
mining geotechnical engineer
mining and coal engineer
wells engineer
tunnelling engineer
petroleum engineer
drilling engineer
completions engineer
fluids engineer
reservoir engineer
offshore and subsea engineer
control and instrument engineer
process safety engineer

UK Border Agency | How to employ migrants to do jobs on the shortage occupation list

You still need a job offer and sponsorship, but employer doesn't have to pass resident labour market test.

[matt.dalton.81]

... I would say my fiance has more chance of securing a job offer than I do.

it looks like we might have to settle for a visitor marriage Visa and be forced to live apart while her family is going through this very difficult time

Has anyone heard of any precedence with regard to a partners direct family member being given a limited time to live influencing a settlement visa application?