Help with financial requirement..Which category do I apply, A or B?

[BenRicca]

Hi everyone

I'd like your advice please, on which category i should apply under, as the guidelines in Appendix FM are not clear to me, and it seems I might qualify to apply under either.

My wife and stepson will soon apply for their settlement visas. As the sponsor, I am aware my minimum income must be £224000.
I work for an agency, in non salaried employment, and have been with them for 14 months. I am paid hourly, and my payslips, which are paid weekly, always differ, according to any overtime or bonus i have received that week.

Appendix FM Annex 1.7 states:

Category A 5.1.3.
Non salaried employment includes that paid at an hourly or other rate (and the number and/or pattern of hours required to be worked may vary) or paid an amount which varies according to the work undertaken.
Category A 5.1.4.
The only difference in Category A between salaried and non salaried employment is how gross annual salary or employment income is calculated:
Where the person is in non salaried employment the level of gross annual employment income relied upon in the application will be the annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from non salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application (where that employment was held throughout that period).
To calculate this annualised average for non salaried employment in Category A the following calculation should be used:
(Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement.

So it seems i fall under Cat A right? As i am payed weekly, i have added my last 26 payslips together, divided by 6, and multiplied by 12, which gives me a total gross of £22494, which means i am just £94 over the required amount. Way to close for comfort! My 12 monthly gross is also over the required amount at £22668, which i think means i qualify under category b as well, so I'm confused as which to apply under.

Can i also declare my cash savings i hold, even though i am over the required amount, just in case the entry clearance officer should miscalculate (or myself)? I am so close to the threshold its worrying, and it would be nice to have it as a cushion in case of a miscalculation.
Thanks everyone, lastly at what point, or on what form do you declare which category you will apply under, i haven't seen it been asked anywhere yet.

Thank you

[Terpe]

Hi BenRicca,

Firstly do be aware of this:-

The prospective sponsor of an application for entry clearance as a partner is in non-salaried employment with a construction firm in the UK. He is paid weekly in cash and receives payslips showing this net income, together with the gross amount and the correct deductions for tax and National Insurance. He currently deposits around half of his net income in his bank account each week and uses the remainder of the cash to pay his rent and some of his living expenses. He will need instead to bank all of his net income each week so that this income is reflected in his bank statements for a period of at least 6 months prior to the date of application in order to be able to rely on the gross amount of this employment income in sponsoring his partner’s application. Failure to do this would mean that the unbanked cash income could not be counted towards meeting the financial requirement.

Taken from the Appendix FM Section 1.7 Financial Requirement of the Immigration Directorate Instruction.

Secondly, there is no specific tick box for CAT A non-salaried. The submitted evidence and a clarification note will suffice.

However, as your so close to the threshold please do review both CAT A and CAT B requirements. Also actually do the calculations based on the evidence you'll submit to be extra sure you meet the requirement.

Please review this important section carefully:-

5.1.4. The only difference in Category A between salaried and non-salaried employment is how gross annual salary or employment income is calculated:
Where the person is in salaried employment – they must have been paid throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application at a level of gross annual salary which equals or exceeds the level relied upon in the application. Therefore the figure used towards the requirement will be the lowest level of annual salary received during the 6 month period.
Where the person is in non-salaried employment – the level of gross annual employment income relied upon in the application will be the annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application (where that employment was held throughout that period).
To calculate this annualised average for non-salaried employment in Category A the following calculation should be used:
(Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement.

Be aware the UKVI caseworkers WILL calculate "the annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application"

I've highlighted the key phrase for CAT A non-salaried.

If in any doubt whatsoever about your own averaged monthly income level please consider CAT B application.



Regarding savings

An amount based on the cash savings above £16,000 held by the applicant’s partner, the applicant or both jointly for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application and under their control. At the entry clearance/initial leave to remain stage and the further leave stage, the amount above £16,000 must be divided by 2.5 (to reflect the 2.5 year or 30-month period before the applicant will have to make a further application) to give the amount which can be added to income

[BenRicca]

Thank you Terpe

Firstly, i am gross paid weekly straight into my bank account, so i'm ok there.

Secondly this calculation:

(Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement

I guess will be the same for me being paid weekly..the 'Total Gross' bit being the key point. So i will just add my 26 payslips together, divide by six, then multiply by 12 to get my annulised average.

Like i said before, my salary on that formula is £22494, just over the threshold. I have had some people tell me that they multiply the lowest of each combined monthly wage, which if so puts me on £18516, and on another forum was warned they take the lowest payslip of the 26, and multiply by 52, which puts me on £13000 if they calculate on that formula, because i had a sick day and had a low pay week.

Also didn't say, but my cash savings are £49000 (all held for 6 months). So £49000 - £16000 = £33000 / 2.5 = £13200 i can use towards my income.

So i guess what I'm asking is, although i have calculated i'm just over the minimum i need on my salary alone, can i still declare my cash savings in case of a different calculation by the entry clearance officer, as a fall back just in case? That should be ok shouldn't it? Because on Cat B i don't think cash savings can come into it can they? That's why i thought Cat A. Sorry if i've misled you, i didn't disclose the amount of cash savings i have in the previous message.

[BenRicca]

Today i received my weekly payslip, so my new revised annulised gross salary is £22281, £119 short of the £22400 minimum required. That's how quickly it can fluctuate. So I will go with Cat A and meet the shortfall with my cash savings.
When declaring the source of my savings, i was going to produce 6 months statements, plus a statement of the time when the money went in, and a letter from the donor saying it was a gift, not a loan. Will that suffice? The donor is not to keen on giving me a bank statement of their account, showing the money coming out, so i won't push them for it, but i'm hoping that what i am submitting will be enough.

[Michael Parnham]

Today i received my weekly payslip, so my new revised annulised gross salary is £22281, £119 short of the £22400 minimum required. That's how quickly it can fluctuate. So I will go with Cat A and meet the shortfall with my cash savings.
When declaring the source of my savings, i was going to produce 6 months statements, plus a statement of the time when the money went in, and a letter from the donor saying it was a gift, not a loan. Will that suffice? The donor is not to keen on giving me a bank statement of their account, showing the money coming out, so i won't push them for it, but i'm hoping that what i am submitting will be enough.

Good luck, hope everything works out for you Ben!

[Terpe]

Today i received my weekly payslip, so my new revised annulised gross salary is £22281, £119 short of the £22400 minimum required. That's how quickly it can fluctuate. So I will go with Cat A and meet the shortfall with my cash savings.
When declaring the source of my savings, i was going to produce 6 months statements, plus a statement of the time when the money went in, and a letter from the donor saying it was a gift, not a loan. Will that suffice? The donor is not to keen on giving me a bank statement of their account, showing the money coming out, so i won't push them for it, but i'm hoping that what i am submitting will be enough.

Based solely on what you've shared I'm sure you're right.

In basic principle for those folks in employment the rules are applied something like this:-

Category A - Salaried
Annual income is based on the "lowest level of annual salary received"
Means the monthly payslip with the lowest amount of gross salary X 12

Category A - Non-Salaried
Annual income is based on the "annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application"
Means the "Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12

Cash savings may be combined with either Salaried or Non-Salaried to meet any shortfall.

Category B - Salaried
Annual income is based on two part evidence:-
First part - Current annual salary as evidenced by the latest payslip or the signed contract of employment (if a payslip does not provide this information).

Category B - Non-Salaried
Annual income is based on two part evidence:-
First part - Total gross income from non-salaried employment undertaken during the 6 month period, divided by 6 multiplied by 12
The calculation will include all non-salaried employment undertaken during that 6 month period, and will be calculated over that 6 month period regardless of how much of that period was spent in employment.

Cash savings may be combined with either Salaried or Non-Salaried to meet any shortfall.

Category B - Salaried & Non-Salaried
Second part - The person must in addition have received in the 12 months prior to the date of application the level of income required to meet the financial requirement, based on the gross amount of salaried or non-salaried employment income.

Under Category B, the assessment of the financial requirement is based on:-

1. The gross annual salary or income from salaried or non-salaried employment at the date of application. This source can be combined with Category C: non-employment income, Category D: cash savings and Category E: pension

And

2. The actual amount of gross income received from any salaried or non-salaried employment in the 12 months prior to the application. This can be combined with the actual gross income received from Category C: non-employment income and Category E: pension over the same 12-month period.

Category D: cash savings cannot be used under (2).

I'm not sure if it will help your decision making, but hopefully it may help clarify the way the rules get worked and dispell some of the misinterpretations you previously mentioned.

It's always tricky to give definitive answers when the whole picture is not known.

Given your position regarding the threshold I'd certainly be thinking along the lines of including savings.

Whichever way you decide to go I wish you a positive outcome.
As always, the devil is in the detail. Be sure to cover all your bases.

Good luck