Questions About Financial and Relationship Evidence

Hello everyone! 

I'm a new member here, but I have been lurking around on this forum and some others for the past few months trying to gather as much info as possible for my first FLR M application.

Let me give you guys a little background to start... I am currently on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme Visa which will expire in January of next year. My now husband and myself have been dating since 2012 and very recently got married on September 21st, 2018.  We are both non-salaried and plan to combine our income using Category A. We have a premium service centre appointment booked for November 13th at the office in Croydon.

Now on to the questions!

#1. How many payslips should I include in my application?

The guidance says to provide 6 months worth, does this mean only 6 payslips or however many you need to cover the 6 month period they require? I've come to realise that even if I submit 7 payslips, they will be 1 day short of covering a full 6 months  and if I submit an 8th I'll be nearly a month over. Since I'm non-salaried this makes figuring out my gross annual income a bit of a headache.

#2. My husband is paid every 4 weeks so, as per my above question, how many payslips should we include for him? He was paid twice in June as well, I'm unsure if this is going to affect the way we calculate his income.

#3. What relationship evidence should we supply in support of our application?

We have been living together in the UK since I arrived on my YMS visa in January 2017. We were planning to submit correspondence (utility bills, credit card statements, NHS letters, HMRC letters etc.) that covers the period we have been living together before and after marriage as well as our marriage certificate.

Is this sufficient or will the ECO be expecting chat logs (many of which have been deleted due to changing phone numbers/providers, MSN being swallowed alive by Skype etc.) and photos of us throughout the duration of our relationship?

Thank you so much in advance and If anyone can help us out we would be thrilled! Thanks a million.

Hi hexamel!  You need a full 6 months worth of payslips and corresponding bank statements. It doesn't matter at all how many there are as long as you are not short even by one day.

Hi hexamel!  You need a full 6 months worth of payslips and corresponding bank statements. It doesn't matter at all how many there are as long as you are not short even by one day.

Thanks for the quick reply larrabee.

So in this case I would add up the gross pay for my 8 months worth of payslips then divide by 6 and multiply by 12 to get the amount I am relying on in the application? I've been told on another forum to only submit 6 payslips as the additional ones may confuse the ECO. 

Thanks for the quick reply larrabee.

So in this case I would add up the gross pay for my 8 months worth of payslips then divide by 6 and multiply by 12 to get the amount I am relying on in the application? I've been told on another forum to only submit 6 payslips as the additional ones may confuse the ECO.

My husband was paid weekly at the job he held during our first three applications.  Trust me, we were providing far more than six payslips (more like 26!).  The number of payslips necessary to cover six FULL months is the number you need to provide.  So put that 8th one in there if 7 aren't enough for six full months.

If it helps, you can list the dates of your payslips and the date range of your bank statements here, and we can reassure you if you've got enough.

I believe you need your husband's payslips and bank statements to cover the same six month period, so that may mean extra ones from him to make sure you get six FULL months covering the same time period.

The ECO will add up six months of gross income for the two of you (from however many payslips it takes to get six months), divide by six and multiply by 12.  If this totals at least £18,600, you'll meet the financial requirement.

My husband was paid weekly at the job he held during our first three applications.  Trust me, we were providing far more than six payslips (more like 26!).  The number of payslips necessary to cover six FULL months is the number you need to provide.  So put that 8th one in there if 7 aren't enough for six full months.

If it helps, you can list the dates of your payslips and the date range of your bank statements here, and we can reassure you if you've got enough.

I believe you need your husband's payslips and bank statements to cover the same six month period, so that may mean extra ones from him to make sure you get six FULL months covering the same time period.

The ECO will add up six months of gross income for the two of you (from however many payslips it takes to get six months), divide by six and multiply by 12.  If this totals at least £18,600, you'll meet the financial requirement.

Wow, 26 payslips! Must've been quite a pile of paperwork!

My husband and I have done the calculation and we believe we meet the requirement with our combined income. When we both receive our last payslips I'll be sure to post the amounts here so I can get some feedback before we submit.

My payslips are:

- March 30, 2018
- April 27, 2018
- May 25, 2018
- June 29, 2018
- July 27, 2018
- August 31, 2018
- September 28, 2018
- October 26, 2018

This covers a period of more than 6 months (mainly due to that ONE day my April - October payslips don't cover  ).

My bank statements are a bit weird, I have a statement which was issued to me in May that covers January 7th - May 21st. All of my other statements are monthly but my wages are always on the next month's statement because I get paid after its issued. When I get my October pay I was planning to get a partial statement from my bank to cover it.

My husband's payslips:

- March 09, 2018
- April 06, 2018
- May 04, 2018
- June 01, 2018
- June 29, 2018
- July 27, 2018
- August 24, 2018
- September 21, 2018
- October 19, 2018

Like I said in my initial post, he's paid every four weeks which is why he has two June payslips. If we include his March slip it's well over the amount required (about 32 weeks). I think we'd feel more comfortable submitting his slips from April onward as it covers 28 weeks which is still a little over what's required.

His bank issues him monthly statements so covering the period of payslips won't be an issue.

The only thing that's worrying me about this is how we will calculate what we are relying on for the application because of the amount of time my payslips cover. (Well over the 6 month period by nearly a month.)

Since we are both non salaried we are going to have to calculate this and enter it into the box on the form as well as tell our employers what to write on our employment letters. Any ideas?

And thanks so much for your help, the people here seem super friendly and willing to lend a hand. It's very appreciated! 

Sorry to add another question, but I'm so full of nerves.

My husband was paid twice in June due to him being paid every four weeks. He received his yearly bonus in his second June payslip, will this make a difference in our application?

When we calculate his earnings based on these payslips its way over what he actually makes for the year so it has me concerned....

Sorry to add another question, but I'm so full of nerves.

My husband was paid twice in June due to him being paid every four weeks. He received his yearly bonus in his second June payslip, will this make a difference in our application?

When we calculate his earnings based on these payslips its way over what he actually makes for the year so it has me concerned....

No, it won't make a difference, however, the bonus won't be considered towards any future income he makes.

It might be a good idea for his employer letter to state that he received his annual bonus in June (and the amount of the bonus), so that UKVI can see where the extra money came from.

No, it won't make a difference, however, the bonus won't be considered towards any future income he makes.

It might be a good idea for his employer letter to state that he received his annual bonus in June (and the amount of the bonus), so that UKVI can see where the extra money came from.

Alright, perfect. So we will calculate his income with the bonus or without it?

For simplicity, would you rather apply under Category B?

Category B is the last 12 months of payslips.  You would just need the total of your payslips to be at least £18,600. 

You've said you are not salaried.  What about your husband?  Is he salaried?

For simplicity, would you rather apply under Category B?

Category B is the last 12 months of payslips.  You would just need the total of your payslips to be at least £18,600. 

You've said you are not salaried.  What about your husband?  Is he salaried?

Neither of us is salaried and I wouldn't be able to apply under category B as I have only been with my company for 11 months.

Alone neither of us meets the requirement, we do meet it combined (he makes about £16000 a year and I would make about £10000).

Also, my Tier 5 visa will expire in January and I don't want to wait until December to apply. In the event my visa is refused I want to have all of my affairs in order before I move back home.

Neither of us is salaried and I wouldn't be able to apply under category B as I have only been with my company for 10 months.

Alone neither of us meets the requirement, we do meet it combined (he makes about £16000 a year and I would make about £10000).

Category B is for the people who don't meet A.  You guys are perfect Category B people.  You can use your combined income.  Pick 12 FULL months ending within 28 days of your application date, and provide bank statements and payslips for both of you spanning those 12 months.  Since you have only been in your job for 10 months, provide the full 12 months of bank statements and what payslips you have.  You don't need to have been working for the whole 12 months. You just need to have combined income of £18,600 going forward, and will need to have made £18,600 combined in the last 12 months.  You'll need a letter confirming the employment details for each of you from each of your employers, as well.

Category B is for the people who don't meet A.  You guys are perfect Category B people.  You can use your combined income.  Pick 12 FULL months ending within 28 days of your application date, and provide bank statements and payslips for both of you spanning those 12 months.  Since you have only been in your job for 10 months, provide the full 12 months of bank statements and what payslips you have.  You don't need to have been working for the whole 12 months. You just need to have combined income of £18,600 going forward, and will need to have made £18,600 combined in the last 12 months.  You'll need a letter confirming the employment details for each of you from each of your employers, as well.

This.  Sounds like you guys will easily meet the requirement under Category B.  It doesn't matter that you've been there less than a year.  And it will keep things really simple and zero chance of confusing the case worker.

Plus, you are applying in person, so no fear of confusing them anyways.  As you'll be there to explain if they have any questions. 

This.  Sounds like you guys will easily meet the requirement under Category B.  It doesn't matter that you've been there less than a year.  And it will keep things really simple and zero chance of confusing the case worker.

Plus, you are applying in person, so no fear of confusing them anyways.  As you'll be there to explain if they have any questions. 

Sorry, I think I might be slow...

I don't really understand how this makes sense if I haven't been working for a full 12 months?  Before I got this job, our combined earnings would not have met the threshold as I was working very basic hours and made very little money with my past employer. I also thought you had to show that you were making the requirement throughout the entire 12 month period with our combined earnings...

Sorry this is all new information to me,  ???my husband and I were set on applying under cat A.

For Category B, you provide 12 months of bank statements.  And then all the payslips associated with those 12 months.

It's 100% okay that you've only been at your job for 10 months.

If you look back 12 months and add up all of your payslips and your husband's payslips, is the total greater than or equal to £18,600?  If so, just use Category B.

With you being non-salaried and your husband being salaried and paid every 4 weeks, the category A calculation is going to be unnecessarily complex.  Whereas with Category B, it's simply the total of what's been made in the last 12 months.  You could have made all your earnings in only one month of that 12 months and still qualify under Category B.

For Category B, you provide 12 months of bank statements.  And then all the payslips associated with those 12 months.

It's 100% okay that you've only been at your job for 10 months.

If you look back 12 months and add up all of your payslips and your husband's payslips, is the total greater than or equal to £18,600?  If so, just use Category B.

With you being non-salaried and your husband being salaried and paid every 4 weeks, the category A calculation is going to be unnecessarily complex.  Whereas with Category B, it's simply the total of what's been made in the last 12 months.  You could have made all your earnings in only one month of that 12 months and still qualify under Category B.

My husband is NON SALARIED like me.

Would I need to include a payslip and employment letter from my previous employer to cover that one month?.... I'm sorry if I'm being super stupid but cat b is very new to the both of us.