FLR due 2017

[gprit]

My Thai wife has a UK Settlement visa until August 2017.
I am officially resident in France until I sell my property there (I also have a UK property), we split our time.
I have a couple of questions about the renewal:

1) I need to use my savings for an emergency. On income requirements (£18,000 if I remember correctly)...does Child Benefit and Tax Credits count towards the income?
2) Does she need to pass another English Test or are the original BULATS certificates sufficient?
3) Will we need to apply at a centre or can it be done by post?

thanks

[Casa]

My Thai wife has a UK Settlement visa until August 2017.
I am officially resident in France until I sell my property there (I also have a UK property), we split our time.
I have a couple of questions about the renewal:

1) I need to use my savings for an emergency. On income requirements (£18,000 if I remember correctly)...does Child Benefit and Tax Credits count towards the income? The minimum income level is currently £18,600 p.a
2) Does she need to pass another English Test or are the original BULATS certificates sufficient?
3) Will we need to apply at a centre or can it be done by post?

thanks

1) Savings over £16,000 can be used to make up any shortfall if they have been held in an accessible account for a minimum of 6 months. CB & TC can't be used to meet the minimum income level.
2) Is your wife's test on the current approved list? https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... entres.pdf

3) The application can be submitted by post. However, if you are thinking of submitting the application from France, you should be aware that your wife will have to provide Biometrics in the UK within the specified time.

Bear in mind that you will have to submit documented evidence of co-habitation at the same UK address, covering the full 2.5 year period. 6 documents in joint names showing the same address are required, from 3 different sources. If you don't have 6 in joint names, you should submit 12 in single names spread as evenly as possible. i.e one every 5 months.
Your wife will also have to pay the (relatively) new NHS surcharge of £500 online before submitting her application, in addition to the visa fee.
Also consider that the requirements now may be different in 2017.

[gprit]

Thanks for that(!) Will check the English Test situation later. Will keep enough savings to meet income criteria (currently I am just short of £18k). Does her income count (She wants to start work part time).

No problem to submit from UK...we are here often...she has to provide further biometrics?? She did this in Bangkok before coming to UK. Where would she need to do this?

SIX(!) documents in joint names...better start amending....

Did not know about the NHS surcharge - makes my blood boil at the ease which 'some' people enter the uk and claim all sorts of benefits....!

[gprit]

Am a bit confused by English test....was taken in Bangkok.....see attached.

Moderator Edit : Attachment removed due to personal information contained.

[noajthan]

@gprit, you may want to repost the graphic with personal details photo-shopped out.
I suggest you do.

If so a Mod can remove the original graphic.

[Casa]

In addition to your savings, do you have earnings? Joint income will qualify. Biometrics need to be provided with each visa application. A letter requesting biometrics will be sent when the application is received and your wife would have to attend the Post Office within a specified number of days. Failure to do this and the visa application would be refused.

[noajthan]

If you are based in France you may be able to take advantage of the Surinder Singh route back to UK (should you decide to return in the end).

Less financially demanding, no health surcharge nor English test requirements, etc etc.
What's not to like.

Ofcourse its currently a hot topic but the door is still open.

Plenty of info in the forum (& on WWW) if you wish to dig into this option.

[gprit]

you may want to repost the graphic with personal details photo-shopped out.
I suggest you do.
If so a Mod can remove the original graphic.
>>>> sorry about that...please do....

In addition to your savings, do you have earnings? Joint income will qualify.
>>> Now retired myself....

Biometrics need to be provided with each visa application. A letter requesting biometrics will be sent when the application is received and your wife would have to attend the Post Office within a specified number of days. Failure to do this and the visa application would be refused.
>>>> Calling at Post Office is no problem...didn't know they did that!

If you are based in France you may be able to take advantage of the Surinder Singh route back to UK (should you decide to return in the end).
>>>>> have explored that...I pay tax there...for three years.....main residence lodged at HMRC is France....BUT I have a contact at UK Visa from Europe at Liverpool who says cannot....

[Casa]

@noajthan I believe in taking the Surinder Singh route it would be difficult to prove the 'centre of life' test, due to the fact that the OP and his wife appear to be maintaining a home in the UK, and splitting their time between the two countries.
Without any income you would need savings of £62,500 held in an accessible account for a minimum of 6 months. Pension will qualify as income.

[gprit]

Regardless of having two homes, my Resident status is France and have paid tax in France since 2012. This is recognised by HMRC.

Income is sufficient, with income topped with savings to meet requirements.
More of an issue is that most places refer to being 'in employment' in EU...I am retired ...although some places i have also seen 'self sufficient'.

[Casa]

In which case there are decisions to be made. The FLR(M) spouse visa route your wife is currently following requires residency to be in the UK, with only 'reasonable' absences in the 2.5 year period, holidays for example. This is why she is asked to submit documented evidence of your joint address in the UK covering the full 2.5 year period. These would be utility bills, bank statements, council tax etc.
On the other hand the Surinder Singh route requires the opposite; proof that the centre of your life has been moved to the EU state and generally not maintaining ties with the UK. i.e not dual residence. Assuming the SS route is still open in 2017, if you decide to take this option your wife's immigration 'clock' would be set to zero and she would be on a new 5 year route to permanent settlement.

[gprit]

Thanks - we will stick to UK route(!).......the property in France is being sold as my wife actually prefers teh UK(!).

[noajthan]

Thanks - we will stick to UK route(!).......the property in France is being sold as my wife actually prefers teh UK(!).

Completely your prerogative.

My idea, based on seeing your dates, is that you could make a case of having completed 3 years in France already.
So you would be returning to UK as a proxy-EEA national under EU rules and as sponsor of your direct family member/spouse.
As per case law of Eind no need for you to exercise treaty rights back in UK.
No need for English tests nor IHS nor financial provision either.

Under EU law 2 (or more) homes across Europe is understood & permissible - it is the somewhat controversial UK c-o-l test that raises an eyebrow at that approach. It could be challenged.

You would have needed to be working in France though. However not necessarily for the full 3 or more years you have lived in France.
And there is case law such that no need to return to home country immediately after stopping work (if you had worked).
It would only cost less than the £100-- RC & biometrics fees to see if HO buy into such a claim by your wife. (No penalty on refusal).

Anyway your call.

[Casa]

Hmm. One slight issue here Noajthan...less than 2.5 years ago the OP's wife applied for a spouse visa presumably through her husband's evidence of residence in the UK. My understanding is that in order for an application through Surinder Singh to succeed, a home can't be maintained in the UK. Although tax may be paid in France, it appears that evidence for a FLR(M) application can still be submitted proving dual residence in the UK...i.e utility bills, council tax etc.

[gprit]

Thank you for all the very interesting contributions.
As originally posted I need to use my savings to repay interest only remortgage, so am looking (if continuing down FLTR UK route) at income. My current income is just over £17,000....so £1,000 short of requirements.
I think someone said before that self employment does not count(?).
However, I also have a very small website design company XYX Business Services (not Ltd). If I made monthly payment of say £100 into private account (origin shown as XYZ Business Services, say for Consultancy, would that not be accepted? What else would they need to see, as XYZ Business Services could be any third party company paying me for Consultancy.

[noajthan]

...

However, I also have a very small website design company XYX Business Services (not Ltd). If I made monthly payment of say £100 into private account (origin shown as XYZ Business Services, say for Consultancy, would that not be accepted? What else would they need to see, as XYZ Business Services could be any third party company paying me for Consultancy.

Don't go there!

Rotating money around to create a false impression of business activity is not going to fly & could very well cost you dearly.
HO is aware of such cunning ruses & is likely to have mechanisms in place to detect them.

[gprit]

Well it's not really a false impression......there IS a current company - just doesn't show as making regular payments to me at the moment..

[Wanderer]

Well it's not really a false impression......there IS a current company - just doesn't show as making regular payments to me at the moment..

You'd need to be able to show the payments were for genuine work and also account for the personal tax due.

Like noajthan says, don't go there, it reeks of contrivance to frustrate the immigration rules and the UKVI are far less trusting than we are here....

[noajthan]

Well it's not really a false impression......there IS a current company - just doesn't show as making regular payments to me at the moment..

Based on some members' tales of trial & tribulation, HO just love it when they come across schemes like this; they go to town & send in the heavies.