We (spouse and I) just applied for our EC visa, having already obtained an HSMP approval letter. As the previous poster suggested, it's a very subjective and ill-documented process. There's really almost nothing to go on - what supporting evidence you need, what amount of funds you need, etc. The Tier1 programme is documented in far better detail, though, and we used that as a 'minimum' guide. Here's what we included:
- HSMP approval letter
- Financial statements (bank/investment accts/etc) for the past four months
- Official school transcript, showing my degree (proof of ability to secure work)
- Resume
- Pay slips and business cards (for jobs I didn't have official documentation from) from past employment (proof of previous employment)
- Marriage certificate (proof of marriage)
- Old and current passports
- Passport photos
With the Tier1 programme, we'd need to demonstrate something like a minimum of $5400 in our bank account, stable over the course of three months. To be honest, I suspect that to be a grossly insufficient level of funds to survive long enough to find work over there (unless you have an outstanding offer, which the app asks you about and I had to say 'no' to). I moved enough funds to a savings account some months back to allow us to survive on our own over there for about a year, while looking for work. Given the subjectiveness of the current process, and the weakening economy over there, I'd probably want to show something in the five digit range, to be safely convincing. I could be paranoid, though, and many others may have gotten through with much less.
We're still waiting for the EC to be returned from the LA consulate, though, so I'm not sure yet if the above was sufficient. =)
Cheers,
Aaron
