Hello!
After successfully submitting my last FLR (M) visa with the help of this fantastic community 2.5 years ago, I'm back at it again putting together my application for my ILR. Since Kstarrs and others have begun similar threads recently, I'm going to consult those first so I'm hopefully not repeating anything, but, as I'm gathering together all my documents, I realised I do have one area I'm not so clear on relating to my application that I'm hoping someone here might be able to help with.
For Finances, I know 7 months of payslips, 7 months of bank statements, and a letter from an employer are all necessary. My question is around whose finances to use, mine (I'm the applicant) or my spouse's?
As a bit of background, my spouse has been working for their company for 10+ years, earns over the ILR salary requirement, and can easily get the payslips/bank statements/HR letter.
In my case, I'm worried about things being a little tricker because I changed employers in mid-January 2023. For 3+ years, until January 2023, I held a permanent contract in one role, and then switched to a permanent contract in a new one. In both jobs, I've earned over the ILR salary requirement and, because I started my new role the day after my official end date at my old one, I haven't had a gap in employment.
We plan to submit my ILR application at the end of this month, however, and that means the 7 months of payslips will be for January-July. If we use my job for Finances on this application, my January payslip from my new role is quite small (I was only worked a few days before it was issued), and then I also have a January payslip from my old role.
Also, if I’m reading previous community advice correctly, if we use my finances, because of my job change, I think it means I'd have to submit 12 months of payslips/bank statements, rather than 7, and potentially 2 HR letters, and 2 P60s to cover the entire year and both roles? Would it also be worth including a cover letter to explain all this?
I wouldn't have trouble getting all the above from my current/previous employer and bank, I’m just worried about my situation potentially confusing any visa assessor. Since my spouse’s job/finances are more straightforward, my first thought was to just go with my their payslips/HR/bank statements on this. However, on the other hand, I’m wondering if it maybe makes the application stronger if we use mine and I can then show that I have held continuous employment, as this application is a bit more focused on “me” individually more so than me as “spouse”?
If anyone is able to confirm what I’d need to provide if we use my finances (e.g. 12 vs 7 months of payslips and bank statements; letters from one vs both employers’ HR; and one vs both P60s), and provide any advice on whether we should go with my spouse's financial documents or my own, I would very much appreciate it!