FLR(M) financial evidence - maternity leave

Hi all - I'm applying for FLR(M) having arrived here on my original spouse visa in August 2019. I lurked hardcore on this forum during that application period, and I first want to say THANK YOU to everyone who posted on here and to those who replied, because I was able to find answers to all of my questions!

This time around, I have a 12 month old baby. With full time parenting and full time working (and very part time sleeping), I either haven't had the time, energy, or dedication to trawl enough to find answers, nor have I done enough advanced preparation for the application  Turns out I shouldn't have left it so late, and I am overwhelmed.

My question is: I thought I needed to provide 6 months of payslips/bank statements, but the application is asking for 12 months. I was on maternity leave until 6 months ago earning SMP. Am I still expected to be earning above the 18,000 whatever minimum income threshold on maternity leave? Or do I go back further in time and include payslips from before I started my mat leave?

I remember there being a gov.uk guidance document for the initial spouse visa application that outlined the evidence we'd need to submit - is there such a document for this FLR(M) application?

If anyone knows, I will be very, very, very grateful.

If you were still on maternity leave at the beginning of the 6 months prior to the application, then you can use your income from the 6 months BEFORE you went on maternity leave to meet the requirement. You do not need to have been earning £18,600 per year during your maternity leave - they will simply disregard the time you were on leave.

When it comes to the application, in this case, you will need to tick the box to say you have been earning 'the same amount continuously, above the requirement' in order for the application to ask for 6 months of payslips instead of 12 months.

Alternatively, if it has been more than 6 months since you went back to work, and you have been earning more than £18,600 for the whole of the most recent 6 months, then instead you provide the last 6 months of payslips and bank statements.

From the official guidance:

Where the applicant’s partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work) is in receipt of maternity, paternity, adoption or sick pay, or has been so in the 6 months prior to the date of application, the relevant date for considering the length of employment and the income from the employment can be either:
• the date of application
• the date of commencement of the maternity, paternity, adoption or sick leave

Example:

Case studies – Maternity, paternity, adoption, parental and sick leave
Example (a)
The applicant’s partner is in the UK, has recently had a baby and returned to work from maternity leave 2 months prior to the date of application. Her contracted salary is  19,400 a year. She has been with her current employer for 2 years but, as she has not been earning the required level of income for all of the last 6 months because of her maternity leave, the period to be assessed can be the 6 months before she began her maternity leave.

Thanks so much - unfortunately the application has not given me any box to tick saying I've been earning the same amount continuously for 6 months.

The only questions for finance are: Which types of income will you rely on to meet the financial requirement? (I tick employment) and then it asks for employment details like start date, salary, etc.

It then tells me the documents I need to provide are:
-Payslips covering any period of salaried employment (current and previous) in the period of 12 months prior to the date of application
-A letter from the employer(s) who issued the payslips confirming
       1. the employment;
       2. the gross annual salary;
       3. how long the employment has been/was held;
       4. the period over which the person has been paid the level of salary stated in their application; and
       5. the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term contract or agency)
-Personal bank statements corresponding to the same period(s) as the payslips showing that the salary has been paid into an account in the name of the person or in the name of the person and their partner jointly.

Re-reading it, does that mean I can choose any period in the last 12 months (as it says "any" period of salaried employment)?

Sorry if this is very basic - I just can't understand what it's asking for and why, as everything I've read says 6 months not 12.

Thank you!

Thanks so much - unfortunately the application has not given me any box to tick saying I've been earning the same amount continuously for 6 months.

It should do... that's how they work out which Category you are applying under:

The options it should give you somewhere on the form where it asks about employment are:
1) earning the same amount continuously, above the financial requirement
2) earning the same amount continuously, below the financial requirement
3) NOT earning the same amount continuously, above the financial requirement
4) NOT earning the same amount continuously, below the financial requirement

If you tick 1) or 3) it should tell you to include 6 months.
If you tick 2) or 4), it should tell you to include 12 months

There used to be a bug in the form where it would only tell you to include 6 months if you ticked 1) and 12 months if you ticked 2), 3) or 4), which was incorrect, but from what others have said, they seem to have fixed it now.

Re-reading it, does that mean I can choose any period in the last 12 months (as it says "any" period of salaried employment)?

No, it means you have to include a FULL 12 months of income evidence, from any and all jobs you have held in the 12-month period ending with the application date.

Usually, though, you need to include either 7 months or 13 months, instead of 6 or 12 months, so that you cover every single day of the 6 or 12 month period.

Sorry if this is very basic - I just can't understand what it's asking for and why, as everything I've read says 6 months not 12.

It depends which financial requirement category you are applying under as to how many months you need to provide... which is why it should ask you the questions I listed above, so that the form can determine if you need to send 6 or 12 months.

- For Category A (employment income), you must have been with current employer more than 6 months, earning at least £18,600 salary for that whole time (not including any period of maternity leave)), and you ONLY provide 6 months.

-  For Category B (employment income), where you have been with current employer LESS than 6 months and/or not earning at least £18,600 for 6 months (not including any maternity leave period), you MUST provide a full 12 months.

- For Category C (non-employment income), you have to provide 12 months

- For Category D (cash savings), you only provide 6 months

- For Category E (pension income), you need to provide at least 1 bank statement from the last 12 months showing pension deposit

- For Category F (self-employment income), you must provide a full financial year of documents

- For Category G (self-employment income), you must provide 2 full financial years of documents

Assuming either:
1)  you were with your current employer for more than 6 months before you went on maternity leave AND you were earning at least £18,600 salary in the 6 months before maternity leave
OR
2) your maternity leave ended more than 6 months ago, and you have been with your current employer, earning at least £18,600, for at least 6 months

Then you will be Category A and will only need to provide 6 months of payslips and bank statements. For 1), you send payslips and bank statements from the 6 months BEFORE maternity leave. For 2) you send the most recent 6 months of payslips and bank statements.

If you know for sure that you are Category A, but the form checklist is still telling you to send 12 months, then just ignore what the checklist says and send only 6 months. The checklist is rather vague and doesn't tell you everything you need to send... and sometimes, it's just wrong.

Thanks so much for such detailed answers! Unfortunately, there's definitely no tick-boxes on the form for me to say that I've been earning the same amount continuously above the threshold, etc. I've been trying to get it to show up by re-doing the entire form but it's not on there whatever I try. And I've tried messing around with my employment start date, salary, etc. and it still keeps asking me for the 12 month period.

I don't suppose anyone has a screenshot of the blank form that shows what it should look like? Am I even using the right form?

I can submit the 6 months like you say as that was my understanding as well, it's just concerning that the form is adamant I should submit 12 months.

Would you mind linking to the guidance you quoted in your first reply? Google isn't getting me anywhere and even searching gov.uk just gives me the link to the form.

Would you mind linking to the guidance you quoted in your first reply? Google isn't getting me anywhere and even searching gov.uk just gives me the link to the form.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1039148/1.7_-_Financial_requirement.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence