Advice on timeline and when to apply for spouse visa

Could you give me feedback on our outline plan please?

I just got to the UK, British citizen. Haven’t worked for the past 7  months as we were on an extended hike. Been out of UK for 11 years.

My USC fiancée is in WA. I am starting a job January 2nd. One year contract for 18,800. I will be making probably more but on freelance hours here and there.

We have had just more than 62500 savings for more than 6mths. We dipped below a little bit in early July ....not relevant now but because of this, we’re wary of the exchange rate . However I’m getting 15k inheritance money this month that will make us very very safely above 62.5k savings but obviously that new chunk is new money and wouldn’t count till late June/early July depending on when it clears to my account. Likely in next week.

Instead of doing the fiancée visa, we’re going to get married in the US and then apply for spouse visa after the wedding. We’ll get married in Washington State in April or May. I’d be over there for a week or two to do that.

The question is, do we immediately apply for spouse visa in May once we have the marriage certificate? That means I’ll have been working for only four months at that stage.  I’m just concerned that the 65k or so we had in say November might drop below 62.5 with a change in the exchange rate (lots of savings in the US).

Or Should We play it safe and wait to apply in early July when I will have  been in work for 6 months and also have had our savings plus the extra 15k (77k more or less) for 6 months? (Do I need to be in job for 6mths ?)

If we did that she could easily come across for a month or two on tourist visa before we apply to make things easier for us.

Decide closer to the time.  As long as the exchange rate holds in your favour, I’d apply as early as possible.  I mean, who wants to wait.   

You can start the online application closer to the wedding, and start collecting the documents you'll need for either route, and then keep an eye on the oanda exchange rate.

Worth noting if your other half wants to change their name, they should do that either before the first visa application, or time it with a future application because the visa/BRP has to match your passport name and its expensive to have them update the BRP.

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The question is, do we immediately apply for spouse visa in May once we have the marriage certificate? That means I’ll have been working for only four months at that stage.  I’m just concerned that the 65k or so we had in say November might drop below 62.5 with a change in the exchange rate (lots of savings in the US).

Or Should We play it safe and wait to apply in early July when I will have  been in work for 6 months and also have had our savings plus the extra 15k (77k more or less) for 6 months? (Do I need to be in job for 6mths ?)

If we did that she could easily come across for a month or two on tourist visa before we apply to make things easier for us.

You can apply as soon as you have your marriage certificate providing you meet the savings requirement at that time. They use the closing spot rate on onadna.com on the day you submit and pay for your online application, so there is no guess work, you will either meet the requirement or not.

If you don't, wait until the rate moves in your favour or until you've been working for 6 months, whichever is sooner.

Hi there. 6 months of income is what I've seen a lot on this webpage. Is that 100% necessary? What if I have practically the top savings and then been in work for 3 months?

Hi there. 6 months of income is what I've seen a lot on this webpage. Is that 100% necessary? What if I have practically the top savings and then been in work for 3 months?

It depends on the financial category you can qualify under, but 6 months is usually the minimum - it will either be 6 months or 12 months depending on the category.

How much do you have in savings and how long have you held those savings?

The categories are:

Category A: Employment Income
- you must be currently employed in the U.K. and have been with your current employer, earning at least £18,600 for AT LEAST 6 months

You must provide 6 months of both payslips and bank statement showing at least £1550 per month before tax on each one (if salaried - calculation is different for non-salaried)

Category B: Employment Income
- you are currently employed in the UK and are earning more than £18,600 but you have been with your current employer for LESS THAN 6 months
AND
- you have earned at least £18,600 in total in the last 12 months from any/all jobs held in that time

You must provide 12 months of payslips and bank statements

Category C: Non-Employment Income
- you earn at least £18,600 per year in non-employment income (rental income, interest from stocks and shares, PhD stipend, child maintenance etc.)

You must provide 12 months of bank statements plus evidence of the income

Category D:
- you have at least £62,500 in savings and have held them in full for at least 6 months

You must provide 6 months of bank statements

Category E: Pension Income
- you receive a pension income of at least £18,600 per year and have been receiving it for at least 28 days

You provide at least 1 month of bank statements showing the pension payment, plus evidence of the pension eligibility from the provider

Category F and G: Self-Employment Income
- you provide either the last full financial year (Cat F) or last 2 full financial years (Cat G) of required self-employment documents showing the requirements are met.

You can combine cash savings (Category D) with Category A and Category B, but ONLY the first part of Category B (i.e. if your current salary is less than £18,600 you can use the savings to make it up)... so if you haven’t earned the required £18,600 in 12 months for Cat B you can’t use savings instead for that bit.


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