Permanent vs. Temporary job for spouse visa application?

Hello all, this my first time posting, but I've often read the boards and find them very useful.

I am American soon to be engaged to my UK boyfriend, and we have a question regarding the income requirement.  In August he started a new job which finally pays above the £18,600 threshold, however it's on a temporary, 2-year contract.  In all likelihood it will lead to something permanent, but our worry is that the temporary status will be an issue.  I haven't seen anything in the guidelines about employment needing to be permanent. I'm hoping it will be fine for our initial visa application, as long as when we have to reapply that at least one of us is still earning above the requirement.

I look forward to any and all advice on here.  We won't be able to apply until March to meet the minimum 6-month requirement but I'm sure I will have many more questions!  Thanks y'all!

As it's a 2-year contract, I shouldn't think it will be an issue for the first visa. It might be a problem if the contract was close to its end because you would need evidence that it will become permanent/continue after it ends, but as he will only be 6 months through it will probably be okay.

Are you planning to apply for a 6-month fiance visa (to marry in the UK) or a 33-month spousal visa (you marry in the US first before applying to move to the UK).

With the fiance visa, you wouldn't be allowed to work until you have the next visa (late 2015), so your boyfriend would need to meet the requirement again after you are married (within 6 months of the fiance visa being granted)... by which time, there will be less time left on his contract and so it may be more risky for showing he can meet the financial requirement.

But, if you were to marry first and then apply for a spousal visa before coming to the UK, you could work immediately, and you wouldn't have to apply for the next visa until late 2017, which would give plenty of time for you both to get a job to meet the requirement.

I see, you raise some good points.  I'm actually in the UK at the moment on a student visa (just finished a Master's), I will have to leave when it expires Jan. 20, and we weren't sure whether or not to marry before I have to leave.  From what you say I think it makes more sense to get married sooner rather than later, that way we can apply for the spouse visa and not have to jump through extra hoops with the fiancé visa.

DEFINITELY getting married in the US before my spouse application was made turned out to be the best option (and the easiest) for us.  Now I will be going home to Scotland in only 7 days!!! The hardest part is the waiting.

It's up to you when you marry - whichever works best for your personal situation . You are allowed to marry in the UK on your student visa, so it shouldn't be a problem to do that.

So, you can marry in the UK before you leave if you like, or you could marry in the US after you have gone back home (but then there's the cost of him flying to the US for the wedding).

If you were able to meet the financial requirement before your student visa expired, you could just apply to switch directly to an FLR(M) visa from inside the UK without having to leave the UK at all (and your student visa status would be extended while it is processing).

However, if you aren't going to be able to meet the requirements until March, you'll obviously need to go back to the US anyway and then apply for the spousal visa to come back when the 6 months for the financial requirement are up.

One possible option:

- Have you been working in the UK at all?
- Have you and/or your boyfriend jointly earned £18,600 in total over the last 12 months?

One way to meet the financial requirement is if he has a new job paying £18,600 but hasn't been earning it for 6 months yet, you can still meet the requirement if he (or both of you jointly) have earned a total of £18,600 in the last 12 months.

If you were able to meet this requirement, you could marry in the UK and switch to FLR(M) in the UK, using Category B of the financial requirement.

I haven't been earning, and unfortunately before he started this new job he had been earning £18,500, which as you could imagine was really frustrating knowing the rules.  At this point it looks like I will have to leave before my current visa expires, then apply for the spouse visa in March once we've reached the 6 month minimum.  As I said previously, we just want to be sure that his having a "temporary" job status wouldn't lead to a denial of our application.  Hopefully it won't be an issue so I could then return on the spouse visa, find a job, and we would have no problems when we have to apply again after 33 months.

I haven't been earning, and unfortunately before he started this new job he had been earning £18,500, which as you could imagine was really frustrating knowing the rules.

He didn't happen to make an extra £100 from ANYWHERE over the last 12 months, did he? Or is there any way he can make an extra £100 in the next few weeks?

If he can, you might be able to meet the requirement and apply from inside the UK before your visa expires.

What's his current new salary, and how long has he been earning it?

If he is now earning over £18,600, surely his current earnings from his new job, combined with his previous earnings from his old job, over the last 12 months would now come to over £18,600 in total?

He only needs to earn an extra £100 this year to meet the requirements.

For example, say he earned £18,500 for the first 9 months of the year  = £13,875.

And then he earns £19,000 for the last 3 months of the year = £4750

That's a total earnings of £13,875 + £4750 = £18,625 for the 12 months... which means he would meet the requirement now/soon, possibly without you having to leave the UK.

Well he's earning over 21,000 now, he's had a few brief gaps in his employment in the last 12 months as he's bounced around from job to job (all at the same employer, a university). I'll have to go over with him everything he's been earning to check.  Sadly I don't think he's kept any of his payslips prior to this current job but he has bank statements and contracts.  We'll need to do some calculations to figure out his gross earnings over the last 12 months, but it does seem possible that it could meet the 18,600 requirement. 

Also, as kind of a side issue, my US passport is due to expire in April.  Thinking that I would be going back in January, I was planning on renewing it then.  But if we're able to apply for a spouse visa before I would have to go back, I presume I should probably go ahead and renew it now...?

Well he's earning over 21,000 now, he's had a few brief gaps in his employment in the last 12 months as he's bounced around from job to job (all at the same employer, a university). I'll have to go over with him everything he's been earning to check.  Sadly I don't think he's kept any of his payslips prior to this current job but he has bank statements and contracts.  We'll need to do some calculations to figure out his gross earnings over the last 12 months, but it does seem possible that it could meet the 18,600 requirement. 

If he doesn't have every single payslip from the last 12 months AND every single bank statement, showing the deposit of each payslip, the visa will be automatically refused.

So, if he doesn't have all the payslips (and can't get hold of new ones), you will need to wait until March to apply from the US, even if you do meet the requirements now... because you MUST have all of the documents.

Also, as kind of a side issue, my US passport is due to expire in April.  Thinking that I would be going back in January, I was planning on renewing it then.  But if we're able to apply for a spouse visa before I would have to go back, I presume I should probably go ahead and renew it now...?

Yeah, that might be a good idea.

First though, I would work out if you can actually apply from the UK - because if you can't because you don't have all the payslips, then you might as well wait until you get back to the US as you can probably get it renewed faster there (I think it can take a few weeks from inside the UK).

If he doesn't have every single payslip from the last 12 months AND every single bank statement, showing the deposit of each payslip, the visa will be automatically refused.

So, if he doesn't have all the payslips (and can't get hold of new ones), you will need to wait until March to apply from the US, even if you do meet the requirements now... because you MUST have all of the documents.

That's what I was afraid of.  If he were able to get a hold of new ones (don't know if it's possible, but might be), would they be accepted?  I know the Home Office is keen on original documents. 

That's what I was afraid of.  If he were able to get a hold of new ones (don't know if it's possible, but might be), would they be accepted?  I know the Home Office is keen on original documents. 

Yes, because assuming they are issued by the employer, they are original documents.

By 'original' they mean issued by an official source and not photocopied or printed from the internet.

If the payslips/bank statements were printed from the internet, they would need to be stamped and signed by the company/bank in order to be accepted.

pocketdem -- if it makes you feel any better, we just got approved with my partner's 'temporary' position. he's been at it for a little less than 2 years, contract is up next june, and they didn't ask any questions whatsoever.

he also works for a university and was able to get copies of payslips from the central finance office, so it might be worth checking in with the equivalent at your partner's uni. good luck!

Well we added up where we think his gross income is up until this point, and it looks like he'd reach the 18,600 mark about the same time where he'd reach 6 months on his current contract, so we'll stick to that. 

Congrats crimson, it brings me great relief to hear that!  This forum is fabulous, it has helped relieved a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights.  I'm sure I'll be back with more questions as we go through the application process.