Help with my situation/Fiance visa

DB and I have been trying to get all our facts straight, and establish what is required to move forward with our plans to be together. I outlined the situation in another thread a week or two ago, and I'll repost it here, to make it easier to see our circumstances. (please skip it if you remember *g*)


(Quoted from an earlier thread)
Okay, to sum up our situation. My BF graduated with a computer science degree, began working, then later he was made redundant (I think that's what he called it? They no longer did what he did in his job so him and others were laid off?) He had been dissatisfied with his job, so did not seek a job in that field, instead accepting a contract job at a local university. That contract ended in May 2006. At that time, he started seeking a job in the entertainment field. Shortly thereafter our interest in each other came to be, and the upshot of that is, he's now studying to refresh his computer science degree and get a job in another aspect of that field that would be more satisfactory to him while allowing for a steadier income for my immigration to the UK.

So he is currently unemployed and living at home, although he anticipates being employed within a few months. That's part of the problem...we figured that would be the PERFECT time to start seeing what living with each other was like, we'd be around each other a LOT!  By the time the visitor visa ended and we had to apply for the fiance visa, he'd have the 3 months necessary to show ability to support me while I was there and unable to work.

*****

Upon going to Garry's website to investigate what proofs are needed for a fiance visa, we see this --

Financial Standing: The application must be supported by evidence which demonstrates that the applicant will not become reliant upon public funds. In the normal case, this takes the form of the sponsor/applicant (or co-sponsor) providing:

   1. Salary slips for at least the previous 3 months, preferably the previous 6 months; AND
   2. Bank statements for at least the previous 6 months; AND
   3. The sponsor's (co-sponsor's) employment contract (if the sponsor is not independently wealthy); AND
   4. The sponsor's (co-sponsor's) most recent P60.

Okay, there starts the problem. We had assumed 3 months proof of employment prior to application would be sufficient and according to this it is. BUT -- in view of his circumstances, his latest P60 is from 2006.

A. Is this acceptable? What is the P60 needed for, exactly? (what are we trying to prove)
B. Would the SCJP certificate he is working to obtain prior to employment help? Proving he's employable AND working? Also his University degree, in the same field.
C. We do have savings, for each of us. Would this strengthen our application, in view of the weaker work  history? It is approx £10-15k total.
D. We would be staying with his parents until after a spousal visa was obtained, and I could obtain work, making the money situation easier for us --- but would that fact HELP us in view of the above? (I also receive a VA disability for $441/month which would help in finances.)
E. Would putting the above explanation in the extra box, explaining the circumstances help us?
F. Under our current plan, he'd be working 9 months total before a spousal visa would be applied for, making everything much more secure, and I could then begin working.
G. He also has a Grade 5 theory certificate awarded early 2007 showing he was studying his music, and entrance paperwork for a music degree beginning September 2007 -- which he quit to work towards a 'secure' position to facilitate my immigration. (no degree, as he quit) Would this be a help?



In short, is that P60 needed to demonstrate that he has made enough over the past year to support me, and if so, does the fact that he doesn't have a current one til NEXT year mean we would not be able to get a fiance visa until next year, in spite of the rest of the circumstances.  Is the P60 a dealbreaker, all around, for us?

P.S. We both understand that a cosponsor is no longer allowed

I think you are in danger of over-egging the pudding.

You have £10k in savings.  You calculate how much you will spend in 6 months, and prove that the £10k will be enough.  Also, provide evidence that you will find work soon, and further evidence of his employability.

The p60 in your situation is irrelevant.  The balance of your savings account is key.

Vicky

Thank you so much, Vicki! You are quite the life-saver

If I understand correctly, if I can do up a budget, showing how the combination of his income, my disability pay, and our savings can support us, then an 'after' budget, showing how when I'm earning, it will increase our budget, we're okay? I do have to say, at this point, I don't have qualifications like he does, but that I'd be working a (probably) minimum wage job once a spousal certificate were granted. How do I show my intent to work, other than including it in a proposed budget?  While there, I do intend on taking  tests to get my own SCJP (self taught though, no degree) which would further enhance my employability.

As an aside, we're also concerned with what the actual odds are of being refused a fiance visa. We planned on starting on a visitor visa, to ensure maximum time together before applying for a fiance visa, so if we ARE refused, then I'd be unable to enter the country for a year due to having used up my visitor allowance. This is highly undesirable as it would seriously hurt our ability to maintain a close contact. He'd be working and therefore unable to visit me with any degree of frequency. Could you, in your expertise, judge how much of a gamble our application would be? We don't want a guarantee, of course, just an educated opinion on the situation, given the circumstances

'Vicky' with a 'y', please!

 

The before and after budget is a great idea.  For an idea of jobs you could do, just pull some ads off the internet.

I'm not sure where you get the idea of a year visitor allowance...I don't really understand that. 


Vicky

The place I get that is that currently, you're only allowed to visit 6 months in a 12 month period. (I know soon to be changed, probably) So we're worried that I'll go over there, using what remains of my 6 months period (I've currently been over there 44 days, since June of last year, giving us 4.5 months left on the 6 months.) and then be rejected for a fiance visa, thereby disallowing me time in the country for visiting, since I'll have used up my 6 months for that 12 month period.

Budgets will definitely be planned out

and..OOPS! on the Vicky..I've actually read about that before, but for some reason I was thinking it was the 'I' you needed in your name..hehe I'll remember this time

I'm sure Vicky will give you a much more detailed and clear answer, but I don't think that "6 months is a year" thing is actually true.  It is always at the discretion of the IO when you go through passport control whether or not he / she allows you in no matter how long or short a stay you've already had in a year's time.

Also when you leave and then re-enter the UK your passport is stamped and you start a new 6 month period.

And anyway how would they draw the line?  A year meaning a calendar year or a year which starts at your first visit?

This would be LOVELY!! if so But the post I posted last week(or maybe the week before?) was about getting a visitor visa, and would the time already spent count against time given me on the visa, and Garry indicated it would indeed be taken into account, unless there were extenuating circumstances in which it shouldn't. (and just wanting to spend as much time being together as possible before taking the final step wasn't considered good extenuating circumstances hehe)

Thanks though, this will be a good thing to have confirmed, one way or the other Visas and immigration are so VERY confusing...

Oh, in my understanding of it, it was 6 months out of 12 -- ie, I could not have spent more time than 6 months in the UK as of my June visit last year, etc. But, if my total understanding is wrong, that wouldn't apply...hehe

Oh I see....I didn't realize you were thinking of getting an actual visitor's visa as opposed to just the stamp in your passport thing--that changes everything then, I guess!