Help with Finance/Maintenance with Spouse Visa

Hello!

I'm quite a newbie when looking into applying for the Spouse Visa, so apologies for all the questions!

My husband and I are looking into moving over to the UK, if he is able to secure a job over there.

Unfortunately, we just found out he was laid off from his American company (COVID-19 Cutbacks  ). I am realizing this might cause an issue with our application, even is he does receive a UK job offer in the next couple months. He was making more than enough to cover the minimum maintenance requirements, but will this blip of unemployment be an issue? How would we get around it? I don't think we have enough savings for the 6 months of 62,500 . We are both pretty stressed with this whole process - is it worth considering talking to a lawyer?

I'm feeling a bit discouraged that this might not end up being possible, so any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Hey there,

If cash savings is not an option for you, and he can find a UK job that meets the requirement, you could still apply for the visa under Category B, as long as:
- the UK job is guaranteed, pays at least £18,600 and starts within 3 months
AND
- his total pre-tax earnings over the last 12 months before applying are at least £18,600... this means that it doesn't matter if he is not currently employed in the US, as long as his total earnings (all his payslips) from the last 12 months add up to at least £18,600.

So, it would really depend how long it takes him to find a UK job, and how long it will be before his total earnings from the last 12 months drop below £18,600.

I don't think we have enough savings for the 6 months of 62,500

If you are able to meet the £62,500 savings requirement, it is the easiest category to meet, because you can apply for the visa using just the following financial evidence:
- 6 months of bank statements
- a declaration of the source of savings
It also means you can apply for the visa and move to the UK without him needing to find a job in advance.

- What savings do you currently have and how long have you held them?
- Do either of you have money in a 401K that you can withdraw if needed (with or without penalty)? That can be used as well.
- Money that has been gifted by a friend or family member can be used as well, as long as it is a gift, not a loan, and it has been in your account for 6 months
- Also, you can use proceeds from the sale of property you own, and the money does NOT need to have been held for 6 months as long as you owned the property at the beginning of the 6 months before applying.

Thank you so much for your response!

That makes much more sense, and gives us a lot more leeway. I think this would probably be the easiest option for us, since we wouldn't have to wait 6 months. We could probably get together the savings, but then would have to let it sit for 6 months before applying, which isn't ideal. Maybe we can look at that as our "Plan B" if the job hunt doesn't work out!

I also forgot to mention that I am currently employed by a US company, but I'm assuming my income doesn't count towards this since I would need to leave that job before moving?

I also forgot to mention that I am currently employed by a US company, but I'm assuming my income doesn't count towards this since I would need to leave that job before moving?

No, your income cannot count, though it actually has nothing to do with the fact that you would have to leave the job before moving (because your husband would have to leave his job too if he was still working in the US).

The reason your income cannot count is because you do not have the right to work in the UK yet. Once you have the visa, which gives you the right to work in the UK, your income can count for future visa applications.