General Spouse Visa Questions

Hey all,

I introduced myself recently, and figured I would throw out details now, and see what information would be needed, if any, and how closely my boyfriend and I would have to watch our p's and q's with our specific situation.  Maybe not at all but I tend to be somewhat paranoid in certain situations and if we get to the point we do decide to get married, and follow that path, I would prefer to be prepared ahead of time, instead of scrambling.  So here goes.

I mentioned in my introduction that there was somewhat of an age difference between us, with me being older than he is.  I am 44 he is 21.  What I am wondering will this cause them to look more closely at our documentation when the time comes.  I have started documenting our relationship already.  But I really want to know the possibility of close scrutiny.

Thanks,

SM

If I had an answer for you, I would gladly offer it.

What I can say, as I have applied for my Fiance Visa twice, is do make sure that his Sponsor's Financials are correct . It's one of the most important things. We almost had this last visa denied because the current employee making the decision on my visa was saying that my then fiance had to earn a specific amount every month rather than he earned the correct amount OVER 6 months. *shakes head* I did not take that quietly and I was given my visa.

We almost had this last visa denied because the current employee making the decision on my visa was saying that my then fiance had to earn a specific amount every month rather than he earned the correct amount OVER 6 months. *shakes head* I did not take that quietly and I was given my visa.

They may have been correct - the way the income is calculated for the visa depends on the type of employment:

If his employment salaried, then each payslip must be no less than £1,550 per month before tax and if any of the 6 payslip amounts is less than this, the visa will be refused.

If his employment is non-salaried (and therefore is not a fixed amount per month) then the financial requirement is calculated as an average monthly wage over the entire 6 months, multiplied by 12 - and this figure must be at least £18,600.


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Yes, you will get increased scrutiny because of an age difference that large, particularly in a relationship where the woman is older. Normally we advise people not to inundate the ECOs with details of their relationships, but in your case you are going to need to provide plenty of evidence that you are a genuine couple. Photos of you together, boarding passes from visits, phone and e-mail records, go to town with all of it.

As Ksand always says.....As long as you tic all the boxes....but yes, a big age difference is a red flag for them so they will look more closely at it. But as long as you follow the rules and give them everything they need and don't have any other issues, I would think should be fine.

I kind of figured that and we had started working in that direction.  I just wanted to double check things.

Thanks for the input guys.

Transpondia's website has a short section on large age differences for a spousal visa application (http://www.londonelegance.com/transpondia/family-visas/spousal-visa):

Applicants/Sponsors with a large difference in ages
The rules do not state that the applicant and sponsor must be within a certain age differential, but if there is a disproportionate age difference (for example, more than 25 - 30 years), additional care needs to be taken.  If the sponsor (applicant) has grandchildren that are older than the applicant (sponsor), the application can be tenably refused on credibility grounds.  In these cases, professional advice should be sought prior to submitting the application.

Just send plenty of evidence to show that your relationship is genuine and ongoing and that it's not a case of one person just trying to use the other in order to get a visa to the UK, and you should be okay.

They will most likely give your application more scrutiny, but as long as you can show that the relationship is genuine, you should be okay.

They may have been correct - the way the income is calculated for the visa depends on the type of employment:

If his employment salaried, then each payslip must be no less than £1,550 per month before tax and if any of the 6 payslip amounts is less than this, the visa will be refused.

If his employment is non-salaried (and therefore is not a fixed amount per month) then the financial requirement is calculated as an average monthly wage over the entire 6 months, multiplied by 12 - and this figure must be at least £18,600.


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Huh, they did say that in the second application response. The only thing is, it's not stated as such anywhere on the website or in the Guidance Notes. I looked everywhere to see if we'd missed that. It only discusses per annum, never that you have to have a minimum amount per month in a 6 month period. We would have waited in that case. In my first application response, they'd not mentioned that he had to make a specific amount of money per month. They just talked about per annum and during the 6 month period. Since I had that first email, I wonder if that's the reason I got my visa then?

Thanks Ksand24, like I said I kind of figured close scrutiny.  My step kids are significantly younger than my boyfriend, and I have no kids of my own.  So that won't be something brought into this at all.

Just an FYI......you can watch on YouTube a show called Border Patrol (UK) and I think there is another one similar. One of the episodes was for a couple where he was in his 30 and she maybe was in her late 50s or early 60s. Yes, red flags, but in the end, they were able to show the relationship was genuine. They asked them questions separately. They had even more of a challenge as his first language was not English. But in the end, they were successful. You'll be fine.
 

Huh, they did say that in the second application response. The only thing is, it's not stated as such anywhere on the website or in the Guidance Notes. I looked everywhere to see if we'd missed that. It only discusses per annum, never that you have to have a minimum amount per month in a 6 month period.

It's definitely in the official documents, because the guidance notes are where I get all of my information from.

The very first point under Category A is:

5.1. Category A: With current employer for 6 months or more – person residing in the UK
5.1.1. Where the applicant‟s partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work) is in salaried employment at the date of application and has been with the same employer for at least 6 months prior to the date of application, they can count their gross annual salary towards the financial requirement. In doing so 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.

When they say 'throughout the period', that means that their salaried pay must exceed the requirements at all times during the 6-month period. So if their salary is £18,600 per year, they must be paid the equivalent monthly amount of £1,550 throughout the 6-month period.

If any of the payslips is less than £1,550, they use the lowest payslip to calculate the annual salary... so if one of his payslips was £1,500 instead of £1,550, they take that payslip and multiply it by 12 to get the annual salary for the application. In that case, 12 x £1,500 = £18,000... which is less than £18,600 and means that the financial requirement has not been met and the visa should be refused.

This is also stated clearly in the first Case Study of Category A as well:

5.1.7. Case studies – Category A: With current employer for 6 months or more – person residing in the UK

Example (a) In an application for entry clearance the applicant's partner is in salaried employment at the date of application and has been working for the same employer for 7 months prior to the date of application. For the first three months of the 6 months prior to the date of application his gross annual salary was £15,500. Then he was promoted by his employer so that for the next three months (those being the three months immediately prior to the date of application) his gross annual salary was £18,700. The applicant's partner is relying on Category A and so must have earned a level of gross annual salary which equals or exceeds the level relied upon in the 6 months prior to the date of application[/color]. Therefore the figure that can be used towards the requirement will be the lowest level of annual salary received during this 6 month period prior to the date of application which is £15,500.

The couple have no other source of income or savings and so the financial requirement is not met.

In this case, the applicant's partners salary at the end of the 6 months was enough, but because 3 of his payslips were less than £1,550, they were the ones used to calculate his annual salary for the application and so he didn't qualify for the visa... he would have had to wait another 3 months before applying... so he had 6 payslips of £1,550 or more.