Savings

[marksroomspain]

Due to myself being on DLA I am exempt from financial side regarding spouse visa would £14,000 savings which has been under my control for the past 6 months and still is be a good way to show ECO this would be a good amount to maintain my wife and to prove that through this she would not be a burden on public resources thank you....

[Arthur Little]

Due to myself being on DLA I am exempt from financial side regarding spouse visa would £14,000 savings which has been under my control for the past 6 months and still is be a good way to show ECO this would be a good amount to maintain my wife and to prove that through this she would not be a burden on public resources thank you....

... hmm ... speaking [purely] for myself, Mark, I'd have said that £14,000 in savings would - by a long chalk - be MORE than adequate ... based on the fact that, as MY wife's sponsor, I was able to bring her to the UK in March *2009 ... at which time, I was in receipt of Guaranteed Pension Credit and, moreover, had just over half the amount in the bank that you have now. And - though there's currently a lot LESS in "the kitty" than there was back *then - and my Pension Credit has since been replaced by the State Pension (effective from September 2009) she and I are still in the fortunate position of being able to live comfortably ... despite (in the interim) forking out extra exhorbitant fees for both ILR and British Citizenship.

Also ... my wife taught for no fewer than 22 years at a National High School in the Philippines. But, unfortunately, her BSc degree counts for naught over here in . Oh ... for a while after she first came, she tried applying for a number of non-teaching jobs ... for which she was regarded by some employers as being over~qualified, while others hadn't the courtesy to even reply to her applications. But we continued to manage financially, nonetheless.

So this ... ... proves - beyond reasonable doubt - that it CAN BE DONE! And that is WHY I feel this present Government has gone way OTT with its Income Rules. Because I know, for sure your wife would not be a burden on public resources.

However, as you've correctly indicated, Disability Living Allowance exempts applicants from these draconian new Income Rules. And that is surely a good starting point. Alas, £16,000 seems to be the sum decreed for savings ... but it's possible such exemption may extend to cover savings requirements for people in your situation. Tbh ... I'm not sure, but I would certainly hope so!

[Arthur Little]

Btw ... to our friendly, online filipino/uk community. And hang on in there, as Terpe or Joe Bloggs will be along later to offer you the benefit of their knowledge & expertise.

[marksroomspain]

Thanks Arthur for your input much appreciated I am also in receipt of JSA as my savings are less than £16,000 I initialy said on here before that my savings were £6,000 and not £14,000 because I did not know that my ISA savings account with the other £8,000 in could be taken into account I now realise that this is only for tax purposes thats were I was getting mixed up I now know that this can be shown as savings also I have learnt that because I am exempt from the financial requirement that my savings can be taken into account unlike if i was not exempt then only savings over £16,000 could be taken into account god this is so confusing but I seem to be slowly working my way through this minefield, also Arthur, Terpe has answered quite a few of my queries here and I have been really grateful for that I hope Terpe or Joe can clarify everything i have just said because my wife will be putting the application in soon I am just hoping and praying that everything will be ok thank you...

[Terpe]

Hi Mark,
As far as I recall, with your DLA and your JSA together you exceed the required maintenance disposable income at income support level of £111.45

Now together with a savings amount you mention I don't see any issues.

Don't be tempted to claim sufficiency totally from your savings as UKBA may not consider it enough to support you both for 30 months.
Personally I would stick with the income you have as meeting the maintenance required.

Mark, didn't you mention that you have engaged the services of an immigration advisor?
I believe they would be best placed to advise you on your specific overall circumstances.

The new financial requirement is quite different from the old maintenance rules in that the new rules look back at the previous six months rather than the future.
No regard for the future.

The old maintance rules look more to the future ability to be self sufficient.

[marksroomspain]

Thanks once again Terpe my mind is now at rest, yes I hired an immigration adviser who said the application was very strong but thats what threw me a bit when she gave it an 80% chance of success basically because my wife was a fillipina she said if she was american then she would say 100% I asked her why, she said it was prejudice because people there are sometimes looked at as gaining an economic advantage god I know myself how much my wife loves me but she said thats how it goes so thats why I needed further advice just to settle my mind thanks Terpe once again really much appreciated...

[Terpe]

Thanks once again Terpe my mind is now at rest, yes I hired an immigration adviser who said the application was very strong but thats what threw me a bit when she give it a 80% chance of success basically because my wife was a fillipina she said if she was american then she would say 100% I asked her why, she said it was prejudice because people there are sometimes looked at as gaining an economic advantage god I know myself how much my wife loves me but she said thats how it goes so thats why I needed further advice just to settle my mind thanks Terpe once again really much appreciated...

Hmmm, that's an odd thing for your advisor to say.
It's easy to suggest prejudice, but in any refusal the ECO needs to say which rule(s) have not been met. Of course they still retain some discretion on those requirements that have some subjectivity, but that's where the immigration advisors need to stipulate why the applicant has met the requirement.

Anyway, as I've said the old rules on maintenance requirement looks both back at the adequacy of support and forward to the probability of continuing that level of support.

If you search the forum for pre-July applications and financial standing you will certainly see that your situation would have been good enough then, so must be good enough now. In fact I would suggest your level of savings is significantly higher than most folks whose income was down to the wire.
But Mark, please don't lose sight of the fact that pre-July applications did NOT rely on savings. There was no requirement to shown any specific savings ONLY REGULAR income that met the minimum requirement of income support minus rent/mortgage plus council tax and secured loans etc.
Sorry to keep stating the same thing but it is important. Don't forget that your council tax will increase as you are not living alone, so that will need to be factored into your disposable income.

Good luck Mark, I do hope you can get your wife over asap.

[Arthur Little]

she gave it an 80% chance of success basically because my wife was a fillipina she said if she was american then she would say 100% I asked her why, she said it was prejudice because people there are sometimes looked at as gaining an economic advantage

Hmmm, that's an odd thing for your advisor to say.

... damned RIGHT it's an odd thing for an Immigration Advisor (of ALL people) to say ... and, frankly, she deserves to be taken by "the short and curlies" for such a tactless, insensitive remark in the circumstances. Indeed, that very thought crossed my mind earlier.

But I suppose if she's an otherwise competent person whom you feel you can trust, then ... ... it's probably better in the long run, to simply bite one's tongue. Let's just hope she keeps her costs to a minimum.

Best wishes with your wife's visa application. Please keep us abreast of its progress.

[marksroomspain]

Thanks Arthur thanks Terpe for all ur support and advice will certainly keep everyone posted...