on public funds

[joebloggs]

as long as he does not claim any extra 'public funds' becuase you are with him, you both should be ok.

[nethlewy]

If your friend that is claiming public funds can get a family member who is working and can give proof of income and is willing to sign the declaration that they are willing to assist with his spouse's living/repatriation costs if necessary (act as co-sponsor). There is no need to be living with this other family member and they should also enclose their own bank statements etc. Then everything should be ok.

[joebloggs]

i'm not so sure about that now, recently there was a case where 3rd party support was no longer allowed, which is confusing many people, i think that it might have been for a work permit, cannot remeber, i would need to check, and as for a spouse visa, 3rd party support is at the discretion of the case worker.. having said that thou, i've always used 3rd party support ( my mom ) and not had a problem, but if its not family, then their is a risk of refusal...

[andypaul]

i'm not so sure about that now, recently there was a case where 3rd party support was no longer allowed, which is confusing many people, i think that it might have been for a work permit, cannot remeber, i would need to check, and as for a spouse visa, 3rd party support is at the discretion of the case worker.. having said that thou, i've always used 3rd party support ( my mom ) and not had a problem, but if its not family, then their is a risk of refusal...

When i was reading up like crazy i think you could have third party support on a finace visa, but not a spouse visa. I also noticed on the ILR form that you could volunteer info on suport from realtives.
AS you say i would think a lot is up to the case worker/eco.

[joebloggs]

yes your right about the finacee visa for 3rd party support, as on the fiancee visa your not allowed to work, thats the reason for the 3rd party support, but not on spouse visa, as you can work on that visa (thou its actually at the discreation of the case worker or was !!, still is ??), crazy thou, as how long do they think it takes to get a job, nat number ?

the ruling on 3rd party support was only recently .. and i'm not sure that all case workers know of the ruling.. also it mentions about benefits, so maybe i'm now wrong with what i said earlier about benefits, i wonder if they are enforcing these rulings ?


Third Party Support no longer permitted in Entry Clearance cases.

Following the decision of AM v Ethiopia 2007 UKAIT00058, the Immigration Tribunal have category stated that third party support is no longer permitted in entry clearance cases being made under paragraphs 2317 (dependent children) and 281 (spouses).

They also seem to have ruled that the benefits being awarded to a UK national cannot be assessed as enough to support a non-UK national spouse, as the assumption is that the benefits are the exact amounted needed to support one individual and not enough to be given in support of a spouse. Although the judgement specified disability benefit and income support, we expect that this will also apply to other benefits.

They have also ruled that family life (Article 8) can be exercised even if the partied of the family are in different countries, and that a delay in making a decision is unlikely to carry more than minimal weight, even if it is a relevant factor. And finally, poor living conditions abroad will have no real bearing on whether Article 8 rights are breached.

It is too early to see how these later points will be applied in cases, but it is clear that the Third Party Support issue is an absolute and not negotiable. We propose that all those on low incomes seeking to bring partners or dependent children to the UK look very carefully at their finances before making an application.


from http://www.medivisas.com/news080807.asp