Spouse Visa Savings Route - is 6 months enough?

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are planning to apply for a UK spouse visa this summer. June marks month 6 of meeting the savings requirements, so we were planning to apply in July. The only thing is, I've seen a lot of people recommend having proof of at least 7 months of savings instead of the required 6. Is this really necessary? Is there a reason that's suggested? We'd really like to apply ASAP, but I just wanted to make sure we're not missing anything.

I'm hoping we have a straightforward case as we have enough savings, we've been together for 11 years (married for 7), and we'll be booking an AirBnB for 1 month as proof of accommodation (we both live together in the USA right now). Any insight you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your help

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are planning to apply for a UK spouse visa this summer. June marks month 6 of meeting the savings requirements, so we were planning to apply in July. The only thing is, I've seen a lot of people recommend having proof of at least 7 months of savings instead of the required 6. Is this really necessary? Is there a reason that's suggested? We'd really like to apply ASAP, but I just wanted to make sure we're not missing anything.

I'm hoping we have a straightforward case as we have enough savings, we've been together for 11 years (married for 7), and we'll be booking an AirBnB for 1 month as proof of accommodation (we both live together in the USA right now). Any insight you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your help

While 6 months is the requirement for savings, it's fairly common for people to miscalculate the time by just a day or two which is enough for a refusal so we always suggest going over a bit for safety.
You don't necessarily need to wait a whole month for the next statement, just call your bank and have them send an interim statement or visit your branch and have them print an extra weeks worth at the end, just to be on the safe side.

One month of temporary accommodation may be a little on the short side. It could be ok but I'd go for something a little longer that can be cancelled when you find your own place.

Brilliant, thank you for your reply. That makes a lot of sense and I think we'll use at least 6 1/2 months of bank statements for our application.

As for the temporary accommodation, can you recommend how long we should book an AirBnB for? Would 3 months be long enough? Thank you again

Brilliant, thank you for your reply. That makes a lot of sense and I think we'll use at least 6 1/2 months of bank statements for our application.

As for the temporary accommodation, can you recommend how long we should book an AirBnB for? Would 3 months be long enough? Thank you again

I think that would be safer.

Thank you! I also have one other questions that I figure I'd ask here instead of making a new post.

My husband and I are getting together supporting documents to show proof of our relationship. We've been married and living together in the US since 2014. Is it enough to just include the first 2 pages of our joint tax returns to prove we've been living together? If so, are photocopies good enough? Or should we request copies directly from the IRS? We'd be providing tax returns from 2014-2020.

Thanks so much for your help

Thank you! I also have one other questions that I figure I'd ask here instead of making a new post.

My husband and I are getting together supporting documents to show proof of our relationship. We've been married and living together in the US since 2014. Is it enough to just include the first 2 pages of our joint tax returns to prove we've been living together? If so, are photocopies good enough? Or should we request copies directly from the IRS? We'd be providing tax returns from 2014-2020.

Thanks so much for your help

Photocopies are fine. And you just need the page which shows your names and address.

You should aim to provide a couple of items of proof for each year. You can use bank statements,  insurance documents, rental/mortgage statements, utility bills etc.
You also need to include a couple of photos of the two of you together and if you have any, some letters or cards you've given each other.

Okay great! If we use past bank statements, can they just be printed out copies? Or do I need to get official copies/letter from the bank manager like I do for the proof of savings section?

We have a few cards, but some have hand-drawn illustrations by my husband and they're really special to me. Do I have to send the original cards or can I send photocopies of them? If I send the originals, will they return them?

Apologies for having so many questions, I feel like every answer I get brings up more questions!

Okay great! If we use past bank statements, can they just be printed out copies? Or do I need to get official copies/letter from the bank manager like I do for the proof of savings section?

We have a few cards, but some have hand-drawn illustrations by my husband and they're really special to me. Do I have to send the original cards or can I send photocopies of them? If I send the originals, will they return them?

Apologies for having so many questions, I feel like every answer I get brings up more questions!

The bank statements for the financial evidence must be originals or certified by the bank.

For the relationship evidence, I think copies would be fine but have the originals at hand just in case.

Okay great! If we use past bank statements, can they just be printed out copies? Or do I need to get official copies/letter from the bank manager like I do for the proof of savings section?

They ideally should be original statements that you received in the mail in the months they were issued, but copies may be okay.

All you really need to provide for evidence of living together is:
- annual tax returns
- 1 or 2 utility bills per year

We have a few cards, but some have hand-drawn illustrations by my husband and they're really special to me. Do I have to send the original cards or can I send photocopies of them? If I send the originals, will they return them?

Everything is scanned and uploaded to the VFS Global website now. The only evidence document you have to mail is your current US passport, so that they can stick your visa vignette inside it.

However, as you have been married and living together in the US since 2014, the cards are not that important. If you have any from before you got married, you can include those, but you don't really need anything recent because you will be providing evidence of living together for the last 7 years instead.

The bank statements for the financial evidence must be originals or certified by the bank.

For the financial requirement, all of our bank statements are online. Can I just print them out and get a letter from the bank saying they're real? Or is it better to get the bank to provide me with copies? I was also wondering, is there anything specific the letter from the bank needs to include? I couldn't find a template or example of that.

I was also wondering - as we're going the savings route - do we need to keep the exact amount of savings in our account until we arrive in the UK? Or is it okay to dip under once I have the vignette in my passport? We were hoping to use a little of it to help with the moving expenses! As always, thanks so much for your help

For the financial requirement, all of our bank statements are online. Can I just print them out and get a letter from the bank saying they're real? Or is it better to get the bank to provide me with copies? I was also wondering, is there anything specific the letter from the bank needs to include? I couldn't find a template or example of that.

The requirements are that the bank statements must:
(v) be:
(1) on official bank stationery;
OR
(2) electronic bank statements which are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.
(from Appendix FM-SE: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence)

I was also wondering - as we're going the savings route - do we need to keep the exact amount of savings in our account until we arrive in the UK? Or is it okay to dip under once I have the vignette in my passport? We were hoping to use a little of it to help with the moving expenses! As always, thanks so much for your help

Yes, you should keep at least £62,500 in your account until AFTER you have arrived in the UK on the visa.

This is because when you enter the UK on your visa, they may check to make sure that your visa is genuine and that you still meet all the requirements.

If they find that you no longer have enough money to meet the financial requirement, in theory they could cancel your visa at the border and send you back to the US.

For the financial requirement, all of our bank statements are online. Can I just print them out and get a letter from the bank saying they're real? Or is it better to get the bank to provide me with copies? I was also wondering, is there anything specific the letter from the bank needs to include? I couldn't find a template or example of that.

I was also wondering - as we're going the savings route - do we need to keep the exact amount of savings in our account until we arrive in the UK? Or is it okay to dip under once I have the vignette in my passport? We were hoping to use a little of it to help with the moving expenses! As always, thanks so much for your help

If they are willing to, a letter from the bank verifying their authenticity is fine. That's all the letter needs to say, there is no template. Copies sent by the bank is probably the easier way as is having the statements stamped on every page.

You should keep at least the amount you are qualifying with (£62,500) in the account until you enter the UK. After that, you can spend it down as long as you have a way in mind to qualify for FLR when the time comes.