Hello
Guest

Sponsored Links


Topic: Spousal Visa/Fees???  (Read 1067 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Spousal Visa/Fees???
« on: July 24, 2015, 01:00:21 AM »
OK....here goes....
Hubby has applied for his British Passport. He is American, but eligible due to descent on his mother's side. We have three children ages 8,7, and 1 who I am wanting to get passports for as well. Their eligibility is due to hubby having lived a large part of his childhood in England. I am not sure of the fees besides the 46 quid charge for their passports, do I have to pay to have them "registered" or naturalized? I think the figure I saw was 749? I know this is a Visa forum, but I had to ask in case anyone else has been in my shoes...

Now, on to me...I am so confused as to what I need and what I have to pay.
I think I need a spousal visa and it will cost around 1530 pounds and then a 200 pound health surcharge on top of that, plus 749 to process? We are planning to move by March 1, 2016, can I not apply for my Visa until December? We are waiting on hubby's passport to come back then applying for the kids passports and then mine....I think that's the best order to show they all have access to the country ?? ???

That is just the beginning of my questions....we meet the financial requirement
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 26862

  • Liked: 3589
  • Joined: Jan 2007
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2015, 07:05:42 AM »
I am not sure of the fees besides the 46 quid charge for their passports, do I have to pay to have them "registered" or naturalized? I think the figure I saw was 749? I know this is a Visa forum, but I had to ask in case anyone else has been in my shoes...

Yes, the fee for a child to register as a British citizen is £749.

Then the fee to apply for a child's passport from overseas (the US) is £53 plus £19.86 in courier fees = £72.86 per passport.

See: https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports/y/usa/applying/child/usa

The £46 fee you found is only applicable to passport applications made from inside the UK, but you will need to apply for them from the US as they will need their UK passports before they enter the UK.

Quote
I think I need a spousal visa and it will cost around 1530 pounds and then a 200 pound health surcharge on top of that, plus 749 to process?

Not quite.

The spousal visa fee is £956.

In the US, this is currently charged in dollars as $1,530

The £956 amount is not likely to change until April 2016, but the US dollar fee of $1,530 may increase or decrease with the exchange rate over the next few months.

On top of the spousal visa fee you have to pay an NHS levy of £600
(£200 per year of the visa validity and as it is valid for 2 years and 9 months, you have to pay for the full 3rd year).

So, the visa fees themselves, in GBP, will be £956 + £600 = £1,556.

There is no extra fee to process the application (the processing fee is the £956 for the visa).

However, there is the option to purchase Settlement Priority Processing for £360 ($576) for your application to be put to the front of the processing line.

On top of that, you're looking at shipping costs of approximately $100-150 each way for the application to be processed in Sheffield.

So,

Visa fee = £956 / $1,530
NHS levy = £600
Optional priority processing = £360 /$576
Shipping = approx $200-300

Quote
We are planning to move by March 1, 2016, can I not apply for my Visa until December? We are waiting on hubby's passport to come back then applying for the kids passports and then mine....I think that's the best order to show they all have access to the country ?? ???

The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you wish to move to the UK.

You have to put an intended travel date on the online application, which cannot be more than 3 months ahead of when you apply online.

When the visa has been issued, it will just be a vignette in your passport valid for 30 days... so you will have 30 days to enter the UK and then a further 10 days to pick up a BRP card from a post office in the UK (Biometrics Residence Permit) which will be your actual visa.


  • *
  • Posts: 3897

  • Liked: 342
  • Joined: Sep 2014
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2015, 01:13:52 PM »
Hubby has applied for his British Passport. He is American, but eligible due to descent on his mother's side. We have three children ages 8,7, and 1 who I am wanting to get passports for as well. Their eligibility is due to hubby having lived a large part of his childhood in England.

I answered your other post last night, I don't know if you saw it?
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=85208.msg1124619#new

With your "by descent" husband living in the UK for at least 3 continuous years before his children were born, you can either choose to make your children British citizens by descent and apply for registration before they move to the UK, or British citizens otherwise than by descent by sponsoring them on visas to the UK and then apply after 3 years.

They won't be able to move/upgrade from "by descent" to "otherwise than by descent". You will both need to choose what you want for them.

As you already know from your husband and his mother, the children born abroad to British citizens otherwise than by descent, will be born British.



« Last Edit: July 24, 2015, 01:18:07 PM by Sirius »


  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2015, 08:42:07 PM »
Thanks for the replies! My head is still spinning from all the information, but I think we've got a pretty good plan for how we proceed.

Now to my next question(s), my husband works for a private company police, has been there for the last 9 years and we've banked at the same place for the last 15 years, I do not work, but he is the UK sponsor(after he gets his British Passport). So am I correct in that we need a year of his pay stubs and a year of his bank statements? I was looking at some of his bank statements today and while they show deposits made, they don't show the full amount of his check because  we pull cash to pay our rent on the day we deposit his check(yes his company is still old fashioned in that they cut paper checks, no direct deposit here!, will that be an issue or do I just need to make a notation with the actual check amount, or will that be shown through his pay stubs?
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 26862

  • Liked: 3589
  • Joined: Jan 2007
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2015, 09:26:20 PM »
So am I correct in that we need a year of his pay stubs and a year of his bank statements? I was looking at some of his bank statements today and while they show deposits made, they don't show the full amount of his check because  we pull cash to pay our rent on the day we deposit his check(yes his company is still old fashioned in that they cut paper checks, no direct deposit here!, will that be an issue or do I just need to make a notation with the actual check amount, or will that be shown through his pay stubs?

No, if he has been with his current US employer for more than 6 months, you will only need to include 6 months of original bank statements and 6 months of original payslips showing that his US salary is at least £18,600 (i.e. each monthly payslip must show at least £1,550 before tax). The bank statements must show that each payslip has been deposited into the account, and UKVI need to be able to match these numbers up.

Since you mentioned you won't be moving until March 2016, is there anyway you can start depositing the full amount into the account in one go and then take out the money for rent afterwards?

Providing he stays with the same employer and continues to earn at least £18,600 with them, you should only need to include the payslips and bank statements from September 2015 to February 2016 (or October 2015 to March 2016 depending when you apply)

However, that's not the only criteria for the visa - there are two requirements:

For Category A applications:
1) He has been at his US job, earning £18,600 or more for at least 6 months with the same employer

AND

2) He has a guaranteed job offer in the UK, starting within 3 months of moving and paying at least £18,600

Or, if he hasn't been with the same US employer for 6 months and/or hasn't been earning a salary of at least £18,600 for 6 months, he would need to meet the following 2 criteria:

For Category B applications:
1) He has earned at least £18,600 in total in the US in the previous 12 months

AND

2) He has a guaranteed job offer in the UK, starting within 3 months of moving and paying at least £18,600


  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2015, 09:39:52 PM »
He is not a salaried employee so one check for the beginning of the month may be 1350 while the next check may be around 1200-1250(after tax of course) It just depends on his overtime, which is also consistent, so I know it can be used. He basically has overtime built in to his hours, but then he works beyond that.
At this point we have a line on a job in the UK, making the requisite amount, so that isn't a concern at this moment, though I do wonder when and what we have to provide  to show he has a job lined up in the UK.
Yes, that is a good idea about his paycheck, we will start depositing and then pulling rent so it will show the whole amount. If we are planning to leave March/April then we will need to start with the pay stubs and bank statements in August I believe, since I plan to apply in January for my visa? Does this sound correct to you? Sorry I'm still wrapping my head around everything I have to do. I have lists of lists of things all around my house at the moment :)
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 26862

  • Liked: 3589
  • Joined: Jan 2007
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2015, 10:12:01 PM »
He is not a salaried employee so one check for the beginning of the month may be 1350 while the next check may be around 1200-1250(after tax of course) It just depends on his overtime, which is also consistent, so I know it can be used. He basically has overtime built in to his hours, but then he works beyond that.

Ah, okay - in that case, the income is worked out by taking the total he has earned over the 6 months, dividing by 6 and multiplying by 12 to get his overall annual salary... as long as it's equivalent to £18,600 or more, that's fine :).

Quote
At this point we have a line on a job in the UK, making the requisite amount, so that isn't a concern at this moment, though I do wonder when and what we have to provide  to show he has a job lined up in the UK.

He will need to provide evidence when you apply for the visa - so around January 2016 (depending on when you apply).

He must provide the following from the new UK employer:

Quote
4. In respect of a job offer in the UK (for an applicant's partner or parent's partner returning to salaried employment in the UK at paragraphs E-ECP.3.2.(a) and E-ECC.2.2.(a) of Appendix FM) a letter from the employer must be provided:

(a) confirming the job offer, the gross annual salary and the starting date of the employment which must be within 3 months of the applicant's partner's return to the UK;

or

(b) enclosing a signed contract of employment, which must have a starting date within 3 months of the applicant's partner's return to the UK.

Quote
If we are planning to leave March/April then we will need to start with the pay stubs and bank statements in August I believe, since I plan to apply in January for my visa? Does this sound correct to you?

Well, it's up to you to work it out depending on the date you actually submit the application :).

He must provide the 6 full months of payslips and bank statements and the most recent one must be dated no earlier than 28 days of applying.

So, say you apply mid-January, you might not have the January payslip yet, so you would need to provide the following payslips:
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015

But if you apply after you have the January payslip, you would instead need to include August to January payslips.

Or if you aren't moving until April, you could theoretically apply in March (depending on processing times) and use the September to February payslips.


  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2015, 10:15:59 PM »
Thank you thank you thank you for your quick reply! I'm sure I'll have so many more questions, I'll try not to take over the forum ;)
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • Posts: 117

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Mar 2015
  • Location: Massachusetts
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2015, 01:03:46 PM »
My husband is a British citizen by birth and lived there for most of his life. Our child was born in the U.S., since she qualified for citizenship, I just applied for her passport directly without registering and it was sent in about 2 weeks with no additional fees. I believe it cost more because it was a first passport.  I spoke with someone at the passport office via email and they said registration wasn't required, I am not sure if citizenship is different in your husband's case, but just wanted to share that as it could save you a ton if it can work that way for you too!
Met in 1999 online
Married in 2002 on US Visa
Applied for UK Visa May 2015
Waiting dramatically for a response.
Plan to move to the UK Early Autumn 2015


  • *
  • Posts: 18235

  • Liked: 4985
  • Joined: Jun 2012
  • Location: Wokingham
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2015, 02:05:42 PM »
My husband is a British citizen by birth and lived there for most of his life. Our child was born in the U.S., since she qualified for citizenship, I just applied for her passport directly without registering and it was sent in about 2 weeks with no additional fees. I believe it cost more because it was a first passport.  I spoke with someone at the passport office via email and they said registration wasn't required, I am not sure if citizenship is different in your husband's case, but just wanted to share that as it could save you a ton if it can work that way for you too!

Her husband is not British by birth.


  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #10 on: July 27, 2015, 02:32:16 PM »
Nope, hubby was born in the US, darn the US Air Force ! :) on the child's passport application, it asks if the child has a certificate of registration or something like that, and that is what they need to prove their right to citizenship and a British passport :)
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • Posts: 117

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Mar 2015
  • Location: Massachusetts
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #11 on: July 27, 2015, 05:41:32 PM »
Her husband is not British by birth.
Doh! Sorry. Ignore me.
Met in 1999 online
Married in 2002 on US Visa
Applied for UK Visa May 2015
Waiting dramatically for a response.
Plan to move to the UK Early Autumn 2015


  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2015, 05:28:00 PM »
NO problem! Thanks for trying to help! :) I'm sure I'll have maaaaaaaaany more questions you'll be able to help with while I go through this mess of a process :)
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • Posts: 60

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jul 2015
  • Location: North Carolina on my way to Chipping Norton 3/16!!!
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2015, 03:07:46 PM »
OK, just a quick question while its on my mind...Hubby is waiting for his UK passport, as you know, I'm in the process of renewing my middle daughters US passport and my sons first US passport. My two daughters are flying back with my inlaws after Christmas so we can get them into the Spring term for school.  Could we....wait and get their British passports when I get into the country in March, or do you think I'd need the British passports for registering them for school and such? It doesn't matter either way, just trying to space all these costs out a bit :)
I am a North Carolina girl born and raised, yes I love sweet iced tea, Texas Pete and biscuits and gravy....but England is where my soul feels at peace and I can't wait to get there.


  • *
  • Posts: 18235

  • Liked: 4985
  • Joined: Jun 2012
  • Location: Wokingham
Re: Spousal Visa/Fees???
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2015, 03:11:22 PM »
OK, just a quick question while its on my mind...Hubby is waiting for his UK passport, as you know, I'm in the process of renewing my middle daughters US passport and my sons first US passport. My two daughters are flying back with my inlaws after Christmas so we can get them into the Spring term for school.  Could we....wait and get their British passports when I get into the country in March, or do you think I'd need the British passports for registering them for school and such? It doesn't matter either way, just trying to space all these costs out a bit :)

Well, you'd be opening a can of worms that you don't want to open.  If they enter the UK on their US passports, they will be stamped in as visitors.  They won't be able to access NHS, schooling, etc., as a visitor.

Also make sure you send the grandparents with a letter granting them permission to enter the UK with your children.  They might not be asked for it, but best to be prepared.


Sponsored Links





 

coloured_drab