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Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

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archilochus
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Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:05 am

Hi everyone,

Some help would be appreciated from those who know or have had the same problem please:

I am my wife's sponsor but have a question regarding meeting the financial requirement.

I have been employed with the same employer for over 6 years.

I earn around £36k per annum as a basic salary and have a letter from my employer to confirm.

However, in order to get married in August I took some time off as unpaid leave (with my employers consent and support). This meant that my pay for August was much lower. Previous and subsequent months have been at normal levels.

Here are my gross salaries for the past 6 months:

September: £3074.69
August: £804.16 (£3074.69-£2270.54 Unpaid Leave clearly marked on payslip)
July: £3074.69
June: : £3074.69
May: £3074.69
April: £3074.69
etc etc (all previous pay is above £2900/pm)

My question is whether, due to my unpaid leave, my salary will meet the financial requirement (£18,600 for me and my wife) or will it be skewed and not meet the threshold because of the August low pay?

'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.'

Please help!

Thanks in advance

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seagul
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by seagul » Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:19 am

Correct. Your lowest salary of £804.16 will be considered to calculate the annual wages which is highly shorter than the at least required of £1550 per month.
In my view there is still another alternative. Any category A salaried person if wishes then can voluntarily chooses to category B. If you have earned £18600 during the last 12 months then you may meet the requirement because your gross income seems well above the threshold to meet the 2nd part of it. By doing this you can cover your weakness of unpaid leave in category A.
The opinion expressed as above is neither a professional advice nor contesting/competing to other member's opinion/advice.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by Fififadi » Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:42 am

Hi

I had a similar issue with my payslips where i took the whole month of April off as sabbatical leave (unpaid) for my wedding. I supplied 12 months of payslips instead to show the consistency and provided a letter confirming my sabbatical and my employment letter also mentioned this and added that there was no change to my employment during this month. I haven't yet heard back so not sure if it will be an issue or not.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by seagul » Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:52 am

Fififadi wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:42 am
Hi

I had a similar issue with my payslips where i took the whole month of April off as sabbatical leave (unpaid) for my wedding. I supplied 12 months of payslips instead to show the consistency and provided a letter confirming my sabbatical and my employment letter also mentioned this and added that there was no change to my employment during this month. I haven't yet heard back so not sure if it will be an issue or not.
If you were a salaried person with annual income of £18600 then you too will be alright under category B otherwise your income must be varying with the average income during the last 6 months should be at least £9300 and plus you must have earned £18600 during the last 12 months.
The opinion expressed as above is neither a professional advice nor contesting/competing to other member's opinion/advice.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by Fififadi » Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:23 am

seagul wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:52 am
Fififadi wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:42 am
Hi

I had a similar issue with my payslips where i took the whole month of April off as sabbatical leave (unpaid) for my wedding. I supplied 12 months of payslips instead to show the consistency and provided a letter confirming my sabbatical and my employment letter also mentioned this and added that there was no change to my employment during this month. I haven't yet heard back so not sure if it will be an issue or not.
If you were a salaried person with annual income of £18600 then you too will be alright under category B otherwise your income must be varying with the average income during the last 6 months should be at least £9300 and plus you must have earned £18600 during the last 12 months.
Thanks Seagul for the valuable info, unfortunately, I applied under category A so will have to wait and see what happens now :(

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:44 am

Thanks both. I’ve emailed UKVI and posted out that their guidance for Unpaid Parental or Sick Leave is clear, that you won’t be penalised. However nothing explicitly mentioned for Unpaid Absence/Leave as in my case.

Seagul - have you known anyone succeed with the non salaried route? Can you give me some more detail please? This route could work for me as:

I earn a regular salary from my employer but also can get a bonus each year according to performance targets being met.

TIA!

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:46 am

Fifiadi - when did you apply? Would be really interested to know how you get on and good luck.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by geoeng » Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:53 am

For Category B you can still use salaried employment, you're just using the category because the income is variable in the previous 6 months due to the leave. You only have to demonstrate that your current salaried employment meets the financial requirement and that you have earned sufficient income in the previous 12 months to meet the financial requirement. So the only real difference for you from category A will be providing 12 months worth of payslips and bank statements instead of 6.
I'm just a guy on the Internet who immigrated to the UK. My opinions are based on my experience and interpretation of the immigration rules and should not be considered legal or immigration advice; your mileage may vary.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by Fififadi » Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:17 am

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:46 am
Fifiadi - when did you apply? Would be really interested to know how you get on and good luck.
Hi, thank you!

My timeline:

Application type: Priority
Application submitted online: 23/07/19
Documents self uploaded on to VFS website (05/08/19)
Biometrics: 06/08/19
Email to say application has been received: 20/08/19
30 working days complete: 18/09/19
18/09/19: Called UKVI to enquire about application - was told no decision was yet made and it was still undergoing checks - they escalated and told me to allow 15 working days which would take me to 09/10/19
28/09/19 - my husband received an e-mail to say that my documents had not been submitted and we have 10 days to submit otherwise the application will be decided based only on the information provided in the application form
30/09/19 - I went to VFS in London and had ALL my documentation scanned for a fee of £75

Haven't heard anything yet.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:33 am

Thanks geoeng. Is there any guidance anywhere as to what exactly non salaried employment has to consist of? Mine is part salary and part non guaranteed bonus so I guess would count and meet the criteria?

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by CR001 » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:34 am

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:33 am
Thanks geoeng. Is there any guidance anywhere as to what exactly non salaried employment has to consist of? Mine is part salary and part non guaranteed bonus so I guess would count and meet the criteria?
You should read Appendix 1.7.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... -ext_1.pdf
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:41 am

Thanks CR001, I’ve ready though this last night and couldn’t find anything on:

Unpaid leave specifically (it mentions Unpaid Parental, Maternity and Sick leave but not unpaid holiday)

Is there a section on Non Salaried employment qualifying criteria (I haven’t had a chance to check yet as not on my laptop)

TIA

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by CR001 » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:44 am

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:41 am
Thanks CR001, I’ve ready though this last night and couldn’t find anything on:

Unpaid leave specifically (it mentions Unpaid Parental, Maternity and Sick leave but not unpaid holiday)

Is there a section on Non Salaried employment qualifying criteria (I haven’t had a chance to check yet as not on my laptop)

TIA
Yes there is a section on non salaried employment, page 30.
5.5.6. Where average is referred to in calculations of non-salaried employment this refers to the
mean average. The calculation method for non-salaried employment will produce a
mean average. You do not need to do anything additional to calculate this.

5.5.7. Overtime, payments to cover travel time (e.g. for a care worker travelling between
appointments), commission-based pay and bonuses (which can include tips and
gratuities paid via a tronc scheme registered with HMRC) will be counted as income
from employment where they have been received in the relevant period(s) prior to the
date of application. Sometimes the person will receive the same amount of income from
overtime each month; sometimes overtime payments will vary, with different amounts (if
any) each month. All overtime in salaried employment will be calculated based on the
approach to income from non-salaried employment. This will be an annualised 6-month
average for the overtime which will be added to the level of the gross annual salary.

5.5.8. However, any future earnings that a person may earn by way of overtime, payments to
cover travel time, commission-based pay or bonuses will not count as income towards
the financial requirement. This exclusion also applies where an applicant’s partner seeks
to rely on a job offer in the UK that will start within three months of their return. There is
one exception to this: in respect of such a job offer in the UK, gross “on-target” earnings
which may be expected from satisfactory performance in the standard or core hours of
work can be included. This must be evidenced in the letter from the employer or signed
contract of employment which must be submitted.
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by geoeng » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:55 am

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:41 am
Unpaid leave specifically (it mentions Unpaid Parental, Maternity and Sick leave but not unpaid holiday)
There isn't anything on unpaid leave for holidays. If it's not a type of unpaid leave specified (i.e. maternity, paternity, adoption, parental, or sick leave), it will count as breaking the continuous employment period. Essentially just means if it occurred in the previous 6 months, then you can't apply under Category A and would have to apply under Category B (or another one).
I'm just a guy on the Internet who immigrated to the UK. My opinions are based on my experience and interpretation of the immigration rules and should not be considered legal or immigration advice; your mileage may vary.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 11:01 am

Thanks geoeng, confirms what seagul said earlier.

I’ll apply using non salaried, which part of my employment (my bonus) is made up of in any case.

Has anyone else used this method in my situation and got a positive outcome?

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by geoeng » Thu Oct 03, 2019 11:23 am

"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, whereas salaried employment includes that paid at a minimum fixed rate (usually annual) and is subject usually to a contractual minimum number of hours to be worked"- Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules.

Sounds like your employment is salaried with a bonus, in which case:
"18. When calculating income from salaried employment under paragraphs 12A and 13 to 16, this paragraph applies:
(b) Overtime, payments to cover travel time, commission-based pay and bonuses (which can include tips and gratuities paid via a tronc scheme registered with HMRC) will be counted as income, where they have been received in the relevant period(s) of employment or self-employment relied upon in the application.
(bb) In respect of a person in salaried employment at the date of application, the amount of income in sub-paragraph (b) which may be added to their gross annual salary, and counted as part of that figure for the purposes of paragraph 13(a)(i) or 13(b)(i), is the annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from that income in their current employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application."
I'm just a guy on the Internet who immigrated to the UK. My opinions are based on my experience and interpretation of the immigration rules and should not be considered legal or immigration advice; your mileage may vary.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:19 pm

Thanks geoeng. Would you interpret that as therefore a prorata of my previous 6 months, which would easily pass the threshold, or would it still fall foul of the 6xlowest paid month rule?

How would I get round this 6xlowest month obstacle.

Bloody frustrating that Unpaid Leave month or this would be a straightforward application and I appreciate your help and input with this!

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by geoeng » Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:35 pm

The lowest month obstacle only applies to Category A as they use the lowest month's income to calculate an equivalent annual figure (lowest month's income multiplied by 12). Category B is based on current salary (at the time of application) and total income in the previous 12 months so the lowest month isn't considered at all.

With regards to the income from a bonus, looks like it would be calculated as an annualised monthly average (total bonus income in previous 6 months divided by 6 then multiplied by 12). This would be added to your annual salary to determine whether you meet the financial requirement.
I'm just a guy on the Internet who immigrated to the UK. My opinions are based on my experience and interpretation of the immigration rules and should not be considered legal or immigration advice; your mileage may vary.

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by seagul » Thu Oct 03, 2019 1:49 pm

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 11:01 am
Thanks geoeng, confirms what seagul said earlier.

I’ll apply using non salaried, which part of my employment (my bonus) is made up of in any case.

Has anyone else used this method in my situation and got a positive outcome?
You can't use none-salaried person route even under category B which can only be used over bonuses only if you are earning varying bonuse apart of your basic salaried wages. If these bonuses are only in theory rather have actually yet earned then they won't be considered. Have you earned any bonus during the last 6 months? If so then how much?
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by seagul » Thu Oct 03, 2019 1:52 pm

geoeng wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:35 pm
The lowest month obstacle only applies to Category A as they use the lowest month's income to calculate an equivalent annual figure (lowest month's income multiplied by 12).
Only in case if you are a salaried person.
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 3:56 pm

Hi Seagul,

I have an annual bonus that has ranged from £0 to £20k in the past 6 years, which is paid every January.

My past 6 months basic salary (without any bonus) has been over £16k.

Is B an option? Thoroughly confused now!

Thanks

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by seagul » Thu Oct 03, 2019 6:11 pm

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 3:56 pm
Hi Seagul,

I have an annual bonus that has ranged from £0 to £20k in the past 6 years, which is paid every January.

My past 6 months basic salary (without any bonus) has been over £16k.

Is B an option? Thoroughly confused now!

Thanks
Lets take another look thoroughly. Give the wages figures without bonuses and also give the bonuses figures without basic pay during the last 12 months. Also what is your current annual basic wages?
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 6:20 pm

Hi Seagul,

Last 12 months:

Basic: c£36k
Bonus: c£8k

Thanks 👍

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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by seagul » Thu Oct 03, 2019 6:39 pm

archilochus wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 6:20 pm
Hi Seagul,

Last 12 months:

Basic: c£36k
Bonus: c£8k

Thanks 👍
Great. Under category A you will be failed:

804.16*12= 9649.92+8000= £17649.92

But under category B you can easily meet the requirement by bypassing your lowest wages figure in last 6 months:

category B;

1st part: Your annual gross wage which is £36000 is well above to £18600 at the time of application.
2nd part: you have earned well above than £18600 during the last 12 months.

Simply apply under category B by attaching 12 months of payslips and correponding bank statements. Also attach an employer letter clearly stating your annual basic wages and bonuses. Also attach a covering letter and shows above calculation as how you can meet the requirement through category B and dont leave on caseworker to calculate who may assume it under category A and reject your application by taking the lowest wages figure under category A.
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Re: Spouse Visa and Unpaid Leave re Financial Requirement

Post by archilochus » Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:11 pm

***** Update ******

Thought I’d share this update I’ve received from someone on another forum who has had this problem and got their visa:

Here it is:

‘Just apply category B and mention in your cover letter that you took unpaid leave in the month of August and submit 12 .months banks statements and payslips. Honestly don't stress about it like I did. I had taken 6 weeks off! Are you on a salaried employement? I know category B is for employement less than 6 months but you can just explain again in the covering letter you have applied via category B to supply 12 months of bank statements and payslips because of the month off you had. Good luck! You'll be fine! I got approved and honestly I didn't even apply under the right category. I only found out after applying I should of done it under category B but I applied under category A. Just wanted 5o give you the advice I got given to stay on the safe side. Submit 12 months.’

Hope this helps other forum members!

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