Marriage - finanacial evidence

i have recently got married and my husband and i are returning to his home country tunisia to sort out his settlement visa

I have consulted immigration rule 281 in great detail and have contructed by sponsor letter around the points within.

i may have come to a problem though regarding money

I have been supporting my husbnad since he arrived in Feb therefore the past few months statements i am overdrawn, i have managed to keep out of my overdraft facility for this last month. i can show them 6 months wage slips. We also received money as a wedding gift which has just been recently placed into a joint savings account.

My mother has agreed to assist financially and has provided her savings account but after reading the guidance for ECO's I know this can only be accepted for a short term basis at their discretion.

Will the fact that i only provide one months bank statement cause a problem.

Also my husband has received a job offer from a local company and has received an offer letter detailing slaary, Am i right in saying that the guidance of the ECO officers says if he has a job offer then that is enough to satisfy the maintenace point and my bank is therefore not that vital???????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Depending on a variety of other factors the ECO may be more or less inclined to punch holes in your case, but IMHO, given that both of you would have an income from employment should be a very positive influence on their decision.

what do you mean by punch holes??

This is the only aspect that causes query, 1 month insead of 3 month but i have a savings account in addition to it and parents help

is it likely that it depends who we get on the day??

I mean ECO may specifically look for formal denial reasons or may be quite lenient - I don't know how the local practice in Tunisia...

newlymarried,

1. A one month bank statement is not enough - the ECO at the British Embassy in Tunis is likely to ask for at least 6 if not 12 months worth. They want to see a pattern of steady income and query any sudden/ significant credits.

2. Make sure you present your husband's job offer letter - it may very well swing things in your favour especially if it is from a reputable/ well known organisation. Expect things ot be a bit tricky where a 'friend' say who runs a business has offered employment. ECO will want to see registration articles and tax payments from accountants.

3. Have you addressed the accomodation issue. ECO's are more likely to refuse on a combination of lacks funds to 'maintain' and 'accomodate' - case law shows they rarely refuse on just the one.

4. Just out of interest what visa did your husband enter the UK with? It may be possible to do an 'in country' switch if he entered as a fiance.

he entered on a Visitors visa so we have to go back there

at the moment we rent from my mother in a large 3 bedroom house of hers, we have exclusive occupation i am also going through the process of buying our own home, there is another couple of weeks left until completion we will own that and exclusively occupy it. This aspect i am not worried about.

I will have to give 6 months statements then but some of them show me going into my overdraft but i am not in it when making his application. He has been here for 6 months with no work therefore it is understandable i am overdrawn!! How do they view overdrafts, to me this is given to me by the bank based on my income which is £1000+ each month

The job offer he has got has come through a connection of mine unfortunately but is that not how the world works? it is a genuine offer and they want him to start as soon as possible, is it hinderance he has got this job through me?? They have provided their company registered number and contact details.

We also have a savings account with money we were given as a wedding present

and my parents have an endowment policy due to mature next year which is for me and can be surrendered early if needed. They have written that their intentions for this money was for my first home. i have provided them with a copy of the policy as well

My only concern here is use of overdraft???!!!???!!!???!!!

i also can show past 6 months wage slips and my P60 showing earnings for the year!!

My mother has written concerning her savings and has provided her account which can be used for us in a short term basis unitl he starts earning, but the likelyhood is we won't need it but she has writtent o say it is there

Would they consider this as well

All in all we have immediatley to us available approximately £4,500 ready to us now through myself and mother and then a further £10-11,000 in a policy which can be surrendered early if needed!!! and my husband has an offer to start work a month from when we return

What do you think

(can you tell i'm panicking now!!! - the application date is drawing near and couldn't think what to do if this is refused)

thanks for your help by the way, this site is very useful!!

Newlymarried,

Everything should be OK - stop panicking


It would be beneficial if the VAF is accompanied by a covering letter detailing earnings (savings, current earnings and future earnings) and accomodation arrangements

Dont worry much about the O/D

Good Luck

Hello there,

You do not need to present a bank statement showing either a mega grand or overdraft.

Just present your pay slips for the previous 6 months, a letter from your employer showing your income and the job offer letter for your husband.

In your constructed supporting letter you may wish to write:

My husband and I are able to support ourselves and any dependants adequately without resources to public funds. I currently work as ……. With a take home salary of £ …. a month. He will start his job as …… once we return to the UK with a take home salary of £ …. a month.

The respected ECO can not write a refusal based on his imagination or presumption if you provided these documents.

I know a British woman living in the USA with a green card who has got ILR (not a tiny 2years spouse visa) for her husband through a job offer letter and a prove of accommodation at her parent's house only. This letter came through a family connection. He even worked elsewhere from day 1. Unfortunately, he did not like to live in the UK and asked her to return to the USA after one year. They did.


It is not the ECO’s business. The ECO is not an investigator. He/she is employed to apply the law only.

Good luck