Help - ILR M "further information" needed by Home Office

Hi, please help me respond to this request:

<<We are considering your application and need further information from you. Please provide the following within 10 working days of the date of this request:

In respect of cash savings the following must be provided:
(a) UK Personal bank statements showing that at least the level of cash savings relied upon in the application has been held in an account(s) in the names of the person and their partner jointly throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application.
(b) At least one personal UK bank statement in the 12-month period prior to the date of
application showing payment of the pension into the person’s account for your pension.>>

For background, I am using the cash savings route. I have savings in a state-government-run pension which I can withdraw at any time (£27,000). I also have a retirement account with Fidelity rolled-over from previous employment, in which I sold all my stocks into cash position before my ILR application (£41,000). I included one more retirement account with Vanguard--in retrospect I didn't need to submit this, but I was trying to make my application as similar as possible to my previous successful application for FLR.

Judging by the email I received, they did not understand that my pension was not offered as evidence of income but as evidence of
available cash, though I stated this in my letter. Also, it seems they are requiring me to show evidence of transferring my money to a UK bank account, which I'm pretty sure isn't a rule.

What should I do?!

Thanks for any guidance,
Mary

Hi, please help me respond to this request:

<<We are considering your application and need further information from you. Please provide the following within 10 working days of the date of this request:

In respect of cash savings the following must be provided:
(a) UK Personal bank statements showing that at least the level of cash savings relied upon in the application has been held in an account(s) in the names of the person and their partner jointly throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application.
(b) At least one personal UK bank statement in the 12-month period prior to the date of
application showing payment of the pension into the person’s account for your pension.>>

For background, I am using the cash savings route. I have savings in a state-government-run pension which I can withdraw at any time (£27,000). I also have a retirement account with Fidelity rolled-over from previous employment, in which I sold all my stocks into cash position before my ILR application (£41,000). I included one more retirement account with Vanguard--in retrospect I didn't need to submit this, but I was trying to make my application as similar as possible to my previous successful application for FLR.

Judging by the email I received, they did not understand that my pension was not offered as evidence of income but as evidence of
available cash, though I stated this in my letter. Also, it seems they are requiring me to show evidence of transferring my money to a UK bank account, which I'm pretty sure isn't a rule.

What should I do?!

Thanks for any guidance,
Mary

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear this.  Yes, you've confused them.

Firstly, the cash amount for ILR is 16k plus 18.6k = £34,600  You don't happen to have that amount in a savings account do you? That would be easier.

Failing that, I would  use the Fidelity account £41k in cash only. (presuming you are safely at that number and currency variations are not an issue) You do need to prove that you owned the shares from which the cash was derived  at the point in time 6 months from the application date and that the value at that time was at the level required. Did the statements you sent make that clear? If not, you need to provide that information also.

I would also quote them the relevant passages from the guidance. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1039148/1.7_-_Financial_requirement.pdf

Have a look around page 47 and include the passages relevant to your situation. For example-

.Under paragraph 11A(c) funds held as cash savings by the applicant, their partner or both jointly at the date of application can have been transferred from investments (including funds liquidated from a pension pot), stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds within the period of 6 months prior to the date of application, provided that:
• the funds have been in the ownership and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly for at least the period of 6 months prior to the date of application
• the ownership of the funds in the form of investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds; the cash value of the funds in that form at or before the beginning of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application; and the transfer of the funds into cash, are evidenced by a portfolio report or other relevant documentation from a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating
• the requirements of Appendix FM-SE in respect of the cash savings held at the date of application are met, except that the period of 6 months prior to the date of application in paragraph 11(a) will be reduced by the amount of that period
  Page 48 of 71 Published for Home Office staff on 7 December 2021
in which the relevant funds were held in the form of investments, stocks,
shares, bonds or trust funds
• for the purposes of sub-paragraph 11A(c), ‘investments’ includes funds held in
an investment account which does not meet the requirements of paragraphs 11 and 11A(a)

.The bank/savings account can be a current, deposit or investment account, provided by a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating.

You are going to have to spoon feed them in your reply. Make it crystal clear that you are only using category D. and what evidence you are including and why.

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear this.  Yes, you've confused them.

Yes, I think what's happened is that they believe you are using 2 different categories to meet the financial requirement:

1) Category D: cash savings
(6 months of bank statements showing the savings)
AND
2) Category E: monthly pension income, which is being paid into your bank account every month
(which is why they want 1 bank statement from the last 12 months showing the pension income being deposited)

So, as larrabee said, you'll need to make it extremely clear that:
- you are ONLY using Category D: cash savings
- you have evidence of at least £34,600 of accessible savings held in bank account(s) and/or pension account for at least 6 months.
and that:
- you are NOT using Category E
- you are NOT receiving monthly pension payments as income

Thanks guys! What a relief to know I didn't just read the guidelines incorrectly. I will be  more careful with my wording this time.

P.S. I've been reading these boards so long now that I feel a little starstruck getting your responses!

Thanks guys! What a relief to know I didn't just read the guidelines incorrectly. I will be  more careful with my wording this time.

P.S. I've been reading these boards so long now that I feel a little starstruck getting your responses!

  Best of luck! Please keep us posted.