Bank account/statements in name of applicant partner only

Hi all,

I've raised the issue before and it seemed it wasn't one that anyone had concrete info on, but want to ask again

I was going to apply using my (applicant) income, which is all paid into my wife's account, which is solely in her name

To support this I found the relevant passage in the Version 8 AppendixFM: SE Financial requirements (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapter-8-appendix-fm-family-members), which stated that the statements had to be in the applicant's name, applicant's partner's name, or both

However in the application itself, it states that my evidence of bank statements will be in my name or in both names jointly

Turning to the Specified Evidence page (at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence) in the first section about bank statement evidence, it states that it has to be in applicant's name, applicant partner name, or both jointly as appropriate. This as appropriate seems to fly low and doesn't ring any alarm bells until scrolling down to the UK Salaried evidence section, where this is reduced to in the applicant's name or both jointly

So when I first sought out this info, I concluded that it was fine to for the statements to be solely in my partner's name despite being my income going in

Now however I've reached a different conclusion, that actually the statements have to be in my name or both jointly

Questions:

1. Has any one any concrete evidence one way or the other about whether it can be my income but on statements solely in my partner's name?
2. Is it ok to just solely use my partner's income then and leave mine off? Or should we rely on hers, but then include mine as well, in spite of the above circumstances?


Thanks for any input, greatly appreciated 

Seeing if anyone has thoughts on this... sweating bullets 

The entirety of our lives is paid out of the account for which I'm providing statements, e.g. the rent of the house we live in, the nursery fees of our child, all the groceries we eat, etc.

My employment letter confirms the account details and the payslip amounts

My only transgression here is that my salary isn't paid into an account that has my name on it... it has my wife's! But as obvious as this seems, I can't rest on good faith that this will be treated in the way that seems obvious

Can anyone provide some guidance as to what might be expected?

Would they review the evidence, see how intimately our finances are tied (they're one and the same), that I earn clearly above the financial req. and have provided ample evidence (payslips, P60s, HMRC filings)? Or would they simply remain firm on the point that my name isn't on the account into which my salary is paid, in spite of it being my wife's and all of mine and her expenses being paid out of the account that has both our earnings paid in, but only bears her name?

If they refused on this basis, what would the next steps be? Obviously I could just get a joint account and reapply with 7 further months of payslips, but this seems like something that wouldn't work as I'd obviously be applying 7 months after a refusal? So what happens in between, or, what other options would there be?

Please, any info goes straight to the nervous soul!

1. Has any one any concrete evidence one way or the other about whether it can be my income but on statements solely in my partner's name?

The official guidance states that the salary must be paid into an account in either:
- your name
- joint names

So, that's what you have to go with.

If your name is not on the account at all, then according to the official rules, you cannot use it as evidence of your income.

2. Is it ok to just solely use my partner's income then and leave mine off? Or should we rely on hers, but then include mine as well, in spite of the above circumstances?

It's perfectly fine to use your partner's income only (as long as it meets the requirement), in which case, you should NOT mention your income at all.

If one partner meets the requirement on their own, UKVI only need to see that one income, and will not care about the other person''s income.

Therefore, you just fill out the application form as if you do not have any income, and you do NOT include any evidence of your income at all.

Ksand - thank you so much for your response.

The issue is that I changed jobs in April so I have been working there 6 months next Monday but would need to present 7 wage slips and bank statements to prove every single day of the 6 month employment.

So we can only really use my husbands income.

If his visa is rejected on the pure basis of his wave entering my account, what are the options? We have a child together so our life would come to a complete halt. I wouldn’t be able to afford to live.

Are you familiar with the next steps? Can he appeal?

So anxious here. Thanks for your help.

The issue is that I changed jobs in April so I have been working there 6 months next Monday but would need to present 7 wage slips and bank statements to prove every single day of the 6 month employment.

So we can only really use my husbands income.

Before you start worrying about visa refusals and next steps… since you said you changed jobs in April (rather than previously being unemployed), are you able to qualify under Category B instead, using all your income from the last 12 months?

You would need to show:
-  you have been employed by your current employer and earning at least £18,600 for LESS THAN 6 months (or more than 6 months but you can’t meet Cat A)
AND
- your total earnings from the last 12 months were at least £18,600 in total before tax

If you can provide 13 months of bank statements showing a total of £18,600 pre-tax earnings AND the usual evidence of your current employment, you can meet the requirement under Category B.


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Unfortunately I was on maternity until Jan 2022. Then did 3 months of agency work before getting permenant employment in April 2022 with the company I’m with now.

How does it work with being on maternity leave. I was claiming statutory maternity pay till mid December 2021

Thank you. We REALLY appreciate your guidance

Maternity qualification would only help if you had been using it in the last 6 months before applying, so that won’t help here.

Honestly, I think you should talk to a solicitor and see if they can help with a letter and/or the application.  We usually recommend Medivisas here. It is possible that it’s a non-issue, but we can’t tell you that in good faith.  This isn’t something I’ve come across before. 

I’m really surprised your bank allows pay for someone not named on the account to receive their salary into your account.  I find that disturbing. 

Hi,

I just wanted to update to say that I did get my visa approved

I wrote a cover letter that was concise, direct, and clear on the issue/facts-of-the-matter (described above)... and other than that I did have an airtight application. (I did make it clear that I wasn't aware of the issue until it was far too late; I think it's reasonable to expect that if someone was aware of an issue like this when they still could have remedied it, yet they chose not to, it would be a different story)

So if you're in my situation, don't give up hope, maybe take a page out of my book, but definitely don't panic, just do your best

If the income you are relying on for your application isn't going into an account that has your name on it (single or joint), GET ONE NOW!!*  Maybe it isn't that big a deal, maybe it's because I was honest with UKVI about it, maybe it's other factors in my application, who knows, but I really wish I'd saved myself the anxiety of uncertainty with some simple decisions ahead of time!

Best of luck to all!



*Obviously use your best judgment; I'm definitely not in any way qualified to give advice that should be solely relied upon, and you need to be very cognizant of your own situation, and just see my experience as a little bit of information out in the world which you may or may not judge as having relevance to your own. I did feel it was right to share my experience though, so that people knew what became of my application, since it seemed it was a bit of a blind spot. No way to know how the UKVI ultimately evaluated things, but, I think we can say it's not a situation of "all hope is immediately lost each and every time", which is how anyone applying for a visa is going to feel as soon as they feel the slightest bit of jeopardy to their right to live with their family in the country they've chosen to call home!

Congratulations! I can feel your relief from here!