Currently on Tier 4- planning ahead for potential FLR

Hello, it'd be great if anyone can offer me general advice on my situation.

I'm a US citizen that moved here in 2011 with my partner at the time to do my masters. He's dual US/UK (born and raised in UK to US mum). We had been together three years when we moved; however after a year living in the UK we split up in 2012.

I continued on living here after I finished my masters, starting a PhD exactly a year ago. My PhD funding lasts until January 2016. My Tier 4 is granted until January 2017. Depending on internships or financial situations, I will likely be done somewhere in  between these two dates (ie, Summer 2016).

My question is this: my partner and I just got back together after 1.5 years apart. We are now looking at building a life together (we weren't before...) and I want to do everything from this point forward to leave as many visa/logistical options open to us.

Really the best thing we can do is start living together ASAP, open joint accounts, and save as much money as possible, correct?

I am not sure what either of our employment situations will be as I near the end of my PhD and potentially apply for a partner visa (married or non married, as far as I understand the financial requirements are the same). I am concerned that we will not meet the financial requirements by our employment as both of us will likely have low starting salaries or part-time work. However, if we plan ahead we may be able to  get resources from our families in savings to set ourselves up well for a visa.

Additionally, we might like to have a child in the next 2-4 years and I'm just wondering if anyone has general advice in regard to visa and settlement with timing given our situation....

Thank you!

Honestly, I would say that your best bet would be to apply for the partner visa sooner rather than later... because your 5 years to ILR cannot start until you have been granted FLR(M), and so the longer you stay on your Tier 4 visa, the longer it will take you to gain settlement and citizenship (if you want to become a citizen).

What's your current financial situation, with your PhD and any income he may be earning?

If your PhD funding is in the form of a grant or stipend, it can count towards the £18,600 income requirement as long as you will continue to receive it for at least 12 months after the FLR(M) is granted.

So, say you were willing to get married sooner, rather than live together for 2 years and apply as unmarried partners, you may well be able to switch into FLR(M) in the near future (a year or so before you finish your PhD) as it may be easier for you to meet the income requirements using your PhD funding than waiting to see if you can get a job afterwards.

From the financial requirements document:

6.1.6. Income from a maintenance grant or stipend (not a loan) associated with undergraduate study or postgraduate study or research received by the applicant‟s partner or the applicant can be counted towards the financial requirement. The person must be currently in receipt of the grant or stipend or will be within 3 months of the date of application, and the grant or stipend must be payable for a period of at least 12 months from the date of application or from the date on which payment of the grant or stipend will commence. Where the grant or stipend is paid on a tax-free basis, see section 6.4. of this guidance for further information.

Honestly, it would be at least a year before we got married. And by then, my PhD funding (£14,000 /year) would have less than 12 months left anyway. So I doubt the PhD funding is going to come into play- not that its enough?

It is very likely that I will not be relying on a partner visa to stay in the country when I am done with my Phd- there are two other options- the special Tier 4 one-year PhD extension visa, or a Tier 1 visa with a job offer. However, the more visa options is better. And  like you said, the sooner I get off Tier 4 the sooner I can start towards citizenship. Although, if I make it until 2021 on a valid work or partner visa, I think I might be able to apply for citizenship via the 10 year route- having been settled here since 2011?

I really  have no way of knowing what our salaried income will look like in a year or two. Obviously, it would be nice if we both had 18k + jobs, but it might take me a while to find something after I graduate and/or he might be getting less money than that.

Is it our combined salaries to meet the financial requirement? I thought it was just the sponsors, but the documentation seems to imply its both?

If we plan ahead, we might be able to get family to loan us funds or move funds to accounts such that we can have this as backup savings if our incomes don't cut it when the time comes. However, I can't figure out how much cash we'd have to have in an account to have this work. If we were both unemployed completely for example, what would the 'magic number'  of savings be for a partner visa?

Honestly, it would be at least a year before we got married. And by then, my PhD funding (£14,000 /year) would have less than 12 months left anyway. So I doubt the PhD funding is going to come into play- not that its enough?

It's not enough on it's own, but if your funding is £14,000, then your partner only needs to be earning £4,600 per year for you to meet the requirements.

Although, if I make it until 2021 on a valid work or partner visa, I think I might be able to apply for citizenship via the 10 year route- having been settled here since 2011?

Yes, you may be able to. It would be ILR that you could apply for after 10 years, not citizenship though. There's no 10-year route for citizenship, it's a 10-year route for ILR.

Is it our combined salaries to meet the financial requirement? I thought it was just the sponsors, but the documentation seems to imply its both?

It's your combined salaries if you are already living in the UK on a visa with permission to work.

It's only just the sponsor's salary if you are not yet living in the UK and don't yet have permission to work.

So, for an initial fiance or spousal visa applied for outside the UK , it's just the sponsor's salary, then for every visa after that (FLR(M) and ILR), it's your combined salaries.

As you would be applying for FLR(M) in the UK as your first visa, you can use both your salaries - which is why I suggested perhaps applying earlier and using your PhD funds, because you have the majority of the income requirement already covered.

If you were to wait until you had jobs, then you would need to have worked in those jobs for 6 months before you could apply for FLR(M), or if you hadn't been working in them for 6 months, then you would have to show that you had also earned £18,600 in the previous 12 months before applying.

Of course, if you use your PhD funding, you would still need to be able to meet the income requirement again after 2.5 years, but you would have time then to find jobs - and as you can combine income, you could actually both be working at minimum wage and you could still probably meet the requirements.

If we plan ahead, we might be able to get family to loan us funds or move funds to accounts such that we can have this as backup savings if our incomes don't cut it when the time comes. However, I can't figure out how much cash we'd have to have in an account to have this work. If we were both unemployed completely for example, what would the 'magic number'  of savings be for a partner visa?

If neither of you are employed, you need £62,500 in savings and the full amount must have been in your account for a full 6 months before you apply.

Your family are not allowed to loan you funds for a visa - if they give you money towards the savings, they must write a letter for the visa application stating that the money is a gift and won't be repaid.

The first £16,000 of your savings do not count. Then on top of that, you need 2.5 times the differences between your salary and £18,600.

So, if you have no income, then that's £16,000 + (2.5 x £18,600) = £62,500 in savings

If you were to only use your PhD income, for example, you would need £16,000 + (2.5 x £4,600) = £27,500 in savings.

Thanks for all the information, thats increbily helpful.

It's your combined salaries if you are already living in the UK on a visa with permission to work.

It's only just the sponsor's salary if you are not yet living in the UK and don't yet have permission to work.

Thanks, I seemed to have missed this point before. That's comforting- not near as daunting to have it be our combined income as just his. Alas, he's a muscian that's just graduating and even with a teaching job I doubt he'll make that on his own in the next year or two.

I will definitely be living in the UK and with right to work- either from my current Tier 4, the PhD post-doc extension, or a job offer- so that's all really good news.

While I have your ear, is there any particular advice you can offer on timing with having a child? Obviously there are other factors, but I wondered if there are any particular dos or don'ts in our situation or with timing as far as having our first child goes. It seems like it'd be best to wait until we're married and beyond that it shouldn't be complicated as he's a UK citizen and it would be born here.

As far as visas go, there's no issue with having a child.  I'm on the 5 year plan to ILR after changing from a Tier 2 to FLR(M) and am currently pregnant.  The financial requirements don't change as the child will be British via her father.  It also does not improve/detract your position in the eyes of the UKBA (they won't grant you permission to stay simply because your husband and child are British).

The only thing that you may want to consider is if you will still be able to meet the £18,600 (combined) if you were to take maternity leave.  You would be allowed Statuatory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance without affecting your visa.  This benefit is about £5,000 for a year of leave.

My PhD funding lasts until January 2016. My Tier 4 is granted until January 2017. Depending on internships or financial situations, I will likely be done somewhere in  between these two dates (ie, Summer 2016).

Depending on the visa route you hope to take to settlement, don't forget that a Tier 4 visa only has 4 extra months after the course has finished and this


If your course ends earlier than expected (because, for example, your education provider has cancelled your place on the course, or you have finished the course early), we will limit your permission to stay to 60 days. But we will not limit your permission to stay if it will expire in less than 60 days anyway.


http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students/changes/

Depending on the visa route you hope to take to settlement, don't forget that a Tier 4 visa only has 4 extra months after the course has finished and this


If your course ends earlier than expected (because, for example, your education provider has cancelled your place on the course, or you have finished the course early), we will limit your permission to stay to 60 days. But we will not limit your permission to stay if it will expire in less than 60 days anyway.


http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students/changes/

I was referring to the Doctorate extension scheme: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students/applying-inside-uk/

Can I apply for the Doctorate extension scheme for PhD students?
If you are a student completing a PhD at a UK higher education institute you can apply to stay in the UK for a further 12 months after your course completion date.

This applies to Tier 4 PhD students who start after April 2013 and to those already in the route, but who have not completed there studies by April 2013.

On second thought, reading that, it looks like I might not qualify for the doctorate extension scheme as I started my PhD in January 2013 and it says for people starting from April 2013. Isn't that just great!?
*****EDIT:******** Nevermind, I'm just being paranoid I think. It says 'or are already in route but haven't completed their studies', so I think I would qualify for it.

I do not think I would qualify for paid maternity leave on just a Tier 4 status. My university does give paid maternity leave to full-time PhD students, but I think it would revoke my Tier 4 status if it was more than a short break. I'm not actually sure.

Has anyone heard of a school giving an authorized leave of absence (ie not revoking Tier 4 visa status) for maternity leave...for more than a couple months? I have health issues and would likely be high risk. Its likely that I would need a proper break and not just a few weeks off. Which wouldn't be a problem if I was on a partner visa, but certainly would if I was just on a Tier 4 (or I'm guessing Tier 4 extension).

I guess I have no way of knowing what sort of maternity leave benefits I would qualify on for a Tier 4 doctorate extension since its a new thing?

I have a friend who is doing a PhD, and she got the same level of maternity leave as staff. I think it depends on your university and funding body.