How much is enough? (Maintenance)

Family of four, inc. 2 kids moving from USA.

How much is enough to satisfy the maintenance requirement, with or without a job?

Can retirement savings be included? And what about children with UTMA savings accounts, can this be included to add weight?

Thanks

The visa maintenance requirements may well be changing soon (and we don't know the details of when or how yet), but I can tell you what the current requirements are:

- You need to show that you have at least £105.95 (for you and your spouse) plus £62.33 per child left over each week after paying your UK rent and council tax, but before any other bills.

- So, for all four of you that's £230.61 per week, or £999.31 per month, after rent and council tax.

- From next month though (if the requirements don't change), the amount you need will be increasing to £111.45 for the couple and £64.99 per child (so £236.11 per week or £1,023.14 per month) - this is a standard annual increase and is not related to the visa rules (these amounts are what UK families on income support receive from the government).

- This money can come from future UK income (a job offer must be guaranteed though) or from any liquid savings you have - the money must be accessible immediately though, so if it is tied up in investments or in an account that can't be accessed right away, the money won't be considered.

Thanks!

So, assume rent of £700 and council tax of £150 a month for an average house (could be more or less depending where you live).

That's £850 a month or £10,200 a year.

And then there's the requirement of £999 per month left over, after rent and council tax, but before any other bills.

That's £11,988 a year

Total = £22,188

so you would need to be earning at least about £27,000 before taxes. Is this right?

How is this different from the possible upcoming minimum income requirements? Seems to be one and the same thing except now people will know how much they have to earn to apply for a visa.

so you would need to be earning at least about £27,000 before taxes. Is this right?

How is this different from the possible upcoming minimum income requirements? Seems to be one and the same thing except now people will know how much they have to earn to apply for a visa.

In your case, it looks like it would be a similar amount to the potential upcoming changes, however, for couples with lower rent and no children, the new amount could be a lot more.

For example, my current rent on a 2-bed house is £450 a month, plus council tax is just under £100 per month.

If I were to apply for a spousal visa (no kids), then I would only need to show £459.11 per month, or £5,509 per year after rent and council tax.

Adding in the rent and council tax, that would mean a minimum post-tax income of only £11,860 (about £14,000 pre-tax).

So if the maintenance requirement is increased to £27,000, that means that a lot of people on lower incomes will no longer qualify for the visa.

When you apply, do you use rent based on what you currently pay? For example, I rent a 2 bedroom house in the USA, is this what I would base my outgoings on? I don't pay council tax here.

And if we move over, I might be staying with relatives, so how would this affect my outgoings if I have no current tenancy agreement?

Another thing, the requirement says you should have 27 months of funds, this would be £60,750 or almost $100,000!!!

So if the maintenance requirement is increased to £27,000, that means that a lot of people on lower incomes will no longer qualify for the visa.

This is the key isn't it? A lot of people who would like to bring their families over won't be able to go unless they have a sponsor.

I haven't read anything on immigration changes for families who want to settle, the last update was March 15th so fingers crossed!!! There's only 2 weeks between now and April 6th.

When you apply, do you use rent based on what you currently pay? For example, I rent a 2 bedroom house in the USA, is this what I would base my outgoings on? I don't pay council tax here.

No, it's what you will be paying in the UK - they want to see what your income and outgoings will be after you have moved so that they can be sure you will have enough money to live off in the UK... once you leave the US, your current income and rent will be irrelevant, so won't be considered for the visa.

In a lot of cases, the UK spouse is already living in the UK, so will already be paying rent and council tax anyway, so you would just include evidence of their finances in the application.

And if we move over, I might be staying with relatives, so how would this affect my outgoings if I have no current tenancy agreement?

If you are staying with relatives, they will need to provide a letter of support saying you can live with them and how much (if anything) they will be charging you, evidence that they own the property (mortgage statements, land registry document), evidence that the home will not be overcrowded with all 4 of you living there.

If they won't be charging you any rent or council tax, then you would just need to show the £999 (£1,023 from April) per month.

Another thing, the requirement says you should have 27 months of funds, this would be £60,750 or almost $100,000!!!

Well, this is normally where a regular income comes in... you can prove you have 27 months of funds by way of a UK job which gives you a steady regular income for the foreseeable future.

If you don't have any UK jobs yet and you don't have much in savings, you can use third party support... a UK family member who meets the maintenance requirement and is willing to support you all until you get on your feet. They would need to send their payslips, bank statements and a letter of support.

I haven't read anything on immigration changes for families who want to settle, the last update was March 15th so fingers crossed!!! There's only 2 weeks between now and April 6th.

Yes, we were all assuming the changes would come into affect on April 6th, but they still haven't announced anything yet... and usually they should give at least 28 days notice.