Terpe
16th March 2012, 20:29
Andy received a letter from the UKBA in response to his e-mail
correspondence relating to settlement visa changes.
Andy asked me to post the response here as it was sent in PDF format and he was unable to convert it to text.
The UKBA response is typically guarded but nevertheless provides some good 'first hand' information about the current and potential future settlement visa issues regarding maintenance.
So with Andy's kind permission (thank you Andy) here is the UKBA letter in full:-
March 2012
Dear Mr xxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you for your email correspondence of 2 February to the Immigration Minister
about your partner, who wishes to apply for entry clearance to come to the UK. Your correspondence has been forwarded to Visa Customer Services for reply, as this unit responds to enquiries about entry clearance matters arising overseas.
We propose to introduce a new minimum income threshold for sponsors of spouses
and partners, to bring greater clarity to maintenance requirements and to ensure
family migrants are supported at a reasonable level that ensures they do not become
a burden on the taxpayer and allows sufficient participation in everyday life to
facilitate integration. We have asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee
to advise on what the threshold should be.
Those wishing to bring a non-EEA national spouse or partner (and dependants) to
the UK already have to show they can maintain and accommodate them, However, it
can be difficult for us to apply this requirement consistently, and for sponsors to
assess whether they meet it. The threshold is set at Income Support level, and there
are two possible thresholds for those wishing to sponsor dependents: one based on
the pre-September 2005 benefits system and one based on the post-September
2005 benefits system of child tax credits.
The current maintenance threshold is set at Income support level following a court
ruling in 2006 in which the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal suggested that it would
not be appropriate to have migrant families existing on resources that would be less
than Income Support level for a British family of that size. The joint income of the
couple is currently taken into consideration when assessing the adequacy of the
funds available. To satisfy caseworkers that the couple will be able to maintain
themselves without recourse to public funds, they have to provide evidence of the
following:
- Sufficient independent means
- Employment for one or both of the parties
- Sufficient prospects of employment for one or both parties
A couple who are unable to produce sufficient evidence to meet the maintenance
requirement may provide an undertaking from members of their families that they will
support the couple until they can support themselves from their own resources.
If the dependants to the applicant are going to accompany them to the UK, resources
must be available for the whole family.
Each applicant for entry clearance to come to the UK must demonstrate that they
meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules at the time of their
application
Yours sincerely
Tracy Horlock
Visa Customer Services
correspondence relating to settlement visa changes.
Andy asked me to post the response here as it was sent in PDF format and he was unable to convert it to text.
The UKBA response is typically guarded but nevertheless provides some good 'first hand' information about the current and potential future settlement visa issues regarding maintenance.
So with Andy's kind permission (thank you Andy) here is the UKBA letter in full:-
March 2012
Dear Mr xxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you for your email correspondence of 2 February to the Immigration Minister
about your partner, who wishes to apply for entry clearance to come to the UK. Your correspondence has been forwarded to Visa Customer Services for reply, as this unit responds to enquiries about entry clearance matters arising overseas.
We propose to introduce a new minimum income threshold for sponsors of spouses
and partners, to bring greater clarity to maintenance requirements and to ensure
family migrants are supported at a reasonable level that ensures they do not become
a burden on the taxpayer and allows sufficient participation in everyday life to
facilitate integration. We have asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee
to advise on what the threshold should be.
Those wishing to bring a non-EEA national spouse or partner (and dependants) to
the UK already have to show they can maintain and accommodate them, However, it
can be difficult for us to apply this requirement consistently, and for sponsors to
assess whether they meet it. The threshold is set at Income Support level, and there
are two possible thresholds for those wishing to sponsor dependents: one based on
the pre-September 2005 benefits system and one based on the post-September
2005 benefits system of child tax credits.
The current maintenance threshold is set at Income support level following a court
ruling in 2006 in which the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal suggested that it would
not be appropriate to have migrant families existing on resources that would be less
than Income Support level for a British family of that size. The joint income of the
couple is currently taken into consideration when assessing the adequacy of the
funds available. To satisfy caseworkers that the couple will be able to maintain
themselves without recourse to public funds, they have to provide evidence of the
following:
- Sufficient independent means
- Employment for one or both of the parties
- Sufficient prospects of employment for one or both parties
A couple who are unable to produce sufficient evidence to meet the maintenance
requirement may provide an undertaking from members of their families that they will
support the couple until they can support themselves from their own resources.
If the dependants to the applicant are going to accompany them to the UK, resources
must be available for the whole family.
Each applicant for entry clearance to come to the UK must demonstrate that they
meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules at the time of their
application
Yours sincerely
Tracy Horlock
Visa Customer Services