Adequate maintenance for FLR(M)

Hi there,

I wanted to clarify regarding maintenance requirement for FLR(M) applicant + 1 dependent. The guidance suggest I must show at least £22,400 salary to sponsor my wife and child. However there's also 'adequate accommodation' requirement and this is where confusion starts. In my case the salary is £25,000 before tax, but the cost of rental accommodation is £22,000 (plus almost £2,000 Council tax). Would Home Office find this inadequate? Basically we are showing salary which doesn't even cover the cost of accommodation, despite meeting FLR(M) financial requirement.

If so, should we show my wife's income too (she's self-employed)? Would 6 months bank statement be sufficient or do we need to provide any other self-employment related documents?

Ignore the 'adequate maintenance'. Not relevant to new FLR(M) applications post 9th July 2012.

HO is only interested in your gross annual income.

If you meet the financial requirement with YOUR income, you only need to provide YOUR payslips and bank statements.

You do realise that the financial requirement is less if you apply for FLR(M) for your spouse AFTER you have registered and received approved for your child on MN1.

CR001 wrote:Ignore the 'adequate maintenance'. Not relevant to new FLR(M) applications post 9th July 2012.

HO is only interested in your gross annual income.

If you meet the financial requirement with YOUR income, you only need to provide YOUR payslips and bank statements.

You do realise that the financial requirement is less if you apply for FLR(M) for your spouse AFTER you have registered and received approved for your child on MN1.

Many thanks for answering quickly!

That's a relief to find out that 'adequate maintenance' doesn't apply to me (I wonder why they're making it so confusing and why they're still including this section in the NEW FLR(M) application form?).

Unfortunately I can't go for my child's MN1 form right now, because they're travelling abroad in 6 weeks and I can't risk it knowing that MN1 might take up to 6 months. This is why I just booked FLR(M) same day appointment for my wife + child, and ended up paying £1900 'extra' for the child (£1311 visa fee + £500 NHS surcharge). Terribly expensive but I don't have any other options.

'Adequate maintenance' is still relevant for some applications for extension where a spouse has not passed LIUK and are still under the old rules etc and is also relevant to settled or British spouse who claim certain qualifying benefits (carers allowance for example) who are exempt from the financial requirement.

CR001 wrote:'Adequate maintenance' is still relevant for some applications for extension where a spouse has not passed LIUK and are still under the old rules etc and is also relevant to settled or British spouse who claim certain qualifying benefits (carers allowance for example) who are exempt from the financial requirement.

I see. Just to clarify, my wife has not passed LIUK, but I have. Does this make our case exempt from 'Adequate maintenance'? I really wish there would be a link to Home Office web site where it clearly suggest so.

Adequate maintenance is NOT relevant to your circumstances. Ignore any reference in the form to it as she is applying under the new rules and not the old rules. Your spouse is not exempt from anything. She needs to meet English A1 and you are required to meet the £22,400pa income for FLR(M).

LIUK is ONLY required for ILR. My reference to this is where a spouse (under the pre July 2012 old rules) has not passed LIUK to be able to apply for ILR and they would fall under the 'adequate maintenance' provision for extension due to being on spouse visa pre July 2012.