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Is changing roles with same employer during spouse visa allowed?

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ChugaLuvMe
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How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:23 am

Am I able to start gathering these documents now if we are going to apply in mid-March? I need to get a mortgage statement, land register document, letter of employment etc. but not sure if I should just wait until early March to request these. Is there a certain period in which these documents need to be dated?

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by Amber » Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:30 am

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:40 am

Amber wrote:
Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:30 am
See Appendix FM-SE (click).
EDIT: Never mind I found it. Within 28 days of application. Thanks!

Also - how do we upload these documents? Do we do it when she applies? Do they need to be physical copies or do I email everything to my wife?

EDIT: I found something in the Appendix FM-SE about sick pay. I was off for a week because of a sickness a while ago but this was only 4 days and I received my normal pay. Does this need to be addressed or is that pertaining to a prolonged period of sickness?

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by Amber » Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:46 am

The link is the rules regarding specified evidence and if they need to be dated e.g. within 28 days of an application for most recent bank statement.

I assume this is an outside the UK application if so, you’ll be using the online portal and you do have the option of submitting the documents, in person at one of the centres in the UK for a fee £75.
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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by Amber » Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:49 am

Sick pay doesn’t apply to you on that basis.
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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:52 am

Sorry once again but just to be clear... I can get all the physical documents myself from here in the UK and after she applies for the visa online in the USA, I can then pay a 75 GBP fee to go to a visa centre and submit those physical documents which will be attached to her application?

EDIT: If we use the online portal, do these documents need to be scanned or something or just uploaded as a file to her application? Also, do they need to be submitted at the time of application or do we get - let's say - 7 days after the application to upload them?

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by Amber » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:28 am

Where is your spouse applying from? I assume you are a non-EEA settled or British National?
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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Fri Jan 31, 2020 1:30 pm

Amber wrote:
Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:28 am
Where is your spouse applying from? I assume you are a non-EEA settled or British National?
I recently Naturalised but held ILR. My spouse is US citizen.

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by Amber » Fri Jan 31, 2020 6:59 pm

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:02 pm

Great, thanks. I think we'll be paying the 75gbp fee for me to upload them from a centre here in the UK. Thanks!

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Sat Feb 01, 2020 3:54 pm

Another two questions. When I provide my parents' mortgage statement, land registry document and letter saying we can stay there, do we need to submit any utility bills? If so, over how many months?

Second of all, do we need to provide evidence of any room dimensions etc? It's just a 3-bedroom house with just myself and two parents living in it at the moment.

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Re: How up-to-date do spouse visa docs. need to be?

Post by seagul » Sun Feb 02, 2020 1:46 am

ChugaLuvMe wrote:
Sat Feb 01, 2020 3:54 pm
do we need to submit any utility bills? If so, over how many months?
no need
ChugaLuvMe wrote:
Sat Feb 01, 2020 3:54 pm
Second of all, do we need to provide evidence of any room dimensions etc? It's just a 3-bedroom house with just myself and two parents living in it at the moment.
state that in parent's noc letter
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Spouse Visa question (living together in past)

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:38 am

We started our relationship July 2017. In December 2017 she went to China under a one-year contract to teach on a work visa. I joined her in May 2018 until October 2018 on a visit visa where she cut her contract short and we both left for the USA - I then went to UK a week later where we've been long distance since.

Would our time in China be classed as living together? I will of course mention this in the notes but I am not sure if I should select 'yes' as no bills were in my name, everything was of course under her name and I was just in the country as a visitor. My visit visa was good for 90 days where I took day trips to Taiwan in order to 'reset' my visa. (not sure how this may look to UK immigration however Chinese authorities seemed to have no issues with it and I heard of a lot of foreigners doing the same thing in east Asia)

What's the best way to proceed with this to avoid confusion?

I am British citizen, she is US citizen.

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Re: Spouse Visa question (living together in past)

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:48 am

Also, when we scan our passports, will each page with entry/exit stamps need to be scanned or just the biodata page?

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Re: Spouse Visa question (living together in past)

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Mon Feb 03, 2020 10:55 pm

Any advice? Somebody else said we do not need to declare this but then somebody else said we should. I am thinking it could be viable to click 'yes' anyway and explain it in the additional comments section.

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Re: Spouse Visa question (living together in past)

Post by geoeng » Tue Feb 04, 2020 9:07 am

ChugaLuvMe wrote:
Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:38 am
Would our time in China be classed as living together? I will of course mention this in the notes but I am not sure if I should select 'yes' as no bills were in my name, everything was of course under her name and I was just in the country as a visitor.
It is questionable whether you would be considered "living" in China if you were in the country on a visit visa, particularly if the UK government considered you living in the UK and only visiting China. If you are married, having lived together is not a requirement, so if the space is available it may be best describing it as you have here.
ChugaLuvMe wrote:
Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:48 am
Also, when we scan our passports, will each page with entry/exit stamps need to be scanned or just the biodata page?
Depends on what you are using the entry/exit stamps for. Submitting the biodata pages for each of you is definitely necessary. The applicant is also usually required to list recent travel history, so including pages with entry/exit stamps is good supporting evidence of this. Including the entry/exit stamps of the sponsor can be used to help show a genuine and subsisting relationship where you have spent time in the same country together, so whether you include those is up to you depending on how you intend to show meeting that 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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Employer's letter and document submission

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Mon Feb 10, 2020 11:25 pm

Hi, two questions:

1. I requested my employer's letter which came through on 06/02/20 but since found out I need another one as it has to be dated within 28 days of application and we can't apply until mid-March 2020. Anyway, my letter states my position, my role, my annual salary and that I started on a part-time permanent basis in May 2019. The letter states I am part-time but then says a full-time position is 21k annum. It then says I receive a night-rate which adds another 3k to my annual salary.

As my part-time salary is insufficient to meet the financial requirement, I've been doing over time for the past 6 months to make at least 1,550 per month. Must the letter specifically say something like "XXX has been doing over time for the past 6 months from September to February"? I ask because my pay slips show I meet the requirement but the letter says I am part-time and doesn't address why I've been able to meet the requirements (due to the over time)

2. Somebody I spoke to said it would be beneficial that if I submit the documents here in the UK for them to scan on to her application, I should also mail the physical copies of the documents to my spouse in the USA so she can also post them to New York along with her passport. Is this a sound suggestion? Would HO not then receive two copies of every document?

Thanks.

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Re: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:48 pm

Any advice?

My HR is based elsewhere and they are contractors - they don't actually work for the same company as I do. They're pretty rigid and it's difficult because everything has to be done through email or telephone and when I call, it just goes to a random telephone agent who then pass on my request to whoever.

The letter doesn't specify "there's been overtime since Sep 2019 to Feb 2020". Does it need to say this? My manager says she can write me a letter confirming how much overtime I have done since Sep 2019 but she stated she can't reference pay as it's against company policy - instead HR must do that (but due to reasons above they're a pretty difficult bunch)

Or is the letter I already have sufficient? Here's the letter:

As you can see, I am part-time and they've stated how much the position is annually if I were full time. In addition, they've pretty much wrote it as if it's a reference letter for a prospective employer rather than for visa purposes like I had requested. Should I request a new letter?

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Re: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Wed Feb 12, 2020 3:16 am

Another question, if I may. Sorry for the constant posting but it's essentially ideal that we get this application correct firs time.

We were going to apply mid-March after I receive my February pay slip as that'll be six pay slips (September 2019 to February 2020). I just read it has to be exactly six months to the day or something?

I got paid September 30 2019, does this mean we have to wait until March 30 2020? Or can we do it mid-March 2020 after I receive my February pay slip on the 28th Feb 2020 as I'll still have the six pay slips from Sep 19 to Feb 20.

If we need to wait until at least March 30 2020, I will have received my March pay slip by then, meaning we need to submit pay slips from October 2019 to March 2020 (although I got paid October 31 2019, so would it be six months from then, meaning April 2020?) I am confused on this.


Thanks.

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Re: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by seagul » Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:03 am

Your employer letter is clearly looking not appropriate which even can confuse the caseworker because it is not clearly indicating your part time income which actually you are doing. Also remember that it can be issued by any competent person in your organisation even your line manager to who you can easily address your concern. If still they couldnt determine your part time income then simply they can give the total of last 6 or 12 months wages.
If you are applying in mid march then you can use your payslips from september 2019 to February 2020 (assuming by 28th February you will have completed at least 6 months with present employer) because your latest payslip dated on 28th February will be not older than 28 days. Also keep in mind that your employer letter should also be not older than 28 days or be dated after the date of application.
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Re: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:12 pm

seagul wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:03 am
Your employer letter is clearly looking not appropriate which even can confuse the caseworker because it is not clearly indicating your part time income which actually you are doing. Also remember that it can be issued by any competent person in your organisation even your line manager to who you can easily address your concern. If still they couldnt determine your part time income then simply they can give the total of last 6 or 12 months wages.
If you are applying in mid march then you can use your payslips from september 2019 to February 2020 (assuming by 28th February you will have completed at least 6 months with present employer) because your latest payslip dated on 28th February will be not older than 28 days. Also keep in mind that your employer letter should also be not older than 28 days or be dated after the date of application.
This clears it up. I will have to request a new letter although it's such a pain as I'm away from March 1 to March 8 so I can't request it until I am back.

Thanks for clearing the payslips query up as I thought it had to be six months to the day from when I received my first payslip on 30 Sep 2019.

How about the overtime though? If my salary is 14k per year and I've been doing overtime for the past 6 months to earn at least 1,550, do I meet the financial requirement? Somebody said...

"They will take the lowest payslip from the 6 months and multiply it by 12 to get your total annual salary. So, they will use:
£1620 x 12 = £19,440

HOWEVER, overtime can only count towards PREVIOUS income and cannot count towards your future income, which must be at least £18,600 each year.

So unless your employer can guarantee in writing that you will earn at least £383.33 in overtime every single month in the future (making each payslip at least £1550), only your salary of £14,000 can be considered for the visa.

Which means that unless you can prove you will earn at least £18,600 between March 2020 and March 2021, and between March 2021 and March 2022, and so on, you will not qualify for the visa.
"

Is this true? I don't meet the requirement?

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Re: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by geoeng » Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:52 pm

ChugaLuvMe wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:12 pm
Is this true?
In a word, no.

In more words . . .
"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."

So per the Appendix FM-SE guidance document, the total income earned from overtime in the 6 months prior to the application date will be added up, divided by 6, then multiplied by 12 and that number will be added to your gross annual salary.

You can't use future overtime income towards the financial requirement, so if your employer promised you X amount of overtime the weekend after you submit the application you couldn't go and add that to your annual salary; it's entirely calculated based on what you have already earned.
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: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:22 pm

geoeng wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:52 pm
ChugaLuvMe wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:12 pm
Is this true?
In a word, no.

In more words . . .
"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."

So per the Appendix FM-SE guidance document, the total income earned from overtime in the 6 months prior to the application date will be added up, divided by 6, then multiplied by 12 and that number will be added to your gross annual salary.

You can't use future overtime income towards the financial requirement, so if your employer promised you X amount of overtime the weekend after you submit the application you couldn't go and add that to your annual salary; it's entirely calculated based on what you have already earned.
Ah ok great. So my last six payslips have been..

Sep 19: £1641.13
Oct 19: £2317.76
Nov 19: £1879.19
Dec 19: £1870.69
Jan 20: £1820.41
Feb 20: £1550.00 (not received this one yet but it will be at least 1550 so let's assume it's just exactly that)

If my employer's letter states something along the lines of...

X is employed by X. His role is X. His position is permanent. His annual salary is 14000. He has been doing overtime from Sep 2019 to present as reflected on his payslips and his total earnings over the past 6 months have been X (at least 9,600 right?). The overtime will be continuing indefinitely in the future and X is expected to be committing the same amount of hours to overtime indefinitely.

Would that suffice?

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Re: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by geoeng » Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:33 pm

As long as it also includes:
(ii) the length of their employment
(iii) the period over which they have been or were paid the level of salary relied upon in the application
looks like it should be fine (really only just adding how long you have been working there and how long you have been earning that annual salary).
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: Employer's letter and document submission

Post by ChugaLuvMe » Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:35 pm

geoeng wrote:
Wed Feb 12, 2020 1:33 pm
As long as it also includes:
(ii) the length of their employment
(iii) the period over which they have been or were paid the level of salary relied upon in the application
looks like it should be fine (really only just adding how long you have been working there and how long you have been earning that annual salary).
Sorry to be a pain in the mule but regarding (iii), do they need to confirm how long I've been earning my basic salary of 14k or the 6 payslips I am relying on to meet the financial requirement?

From May 2019 to August 2019 I earned my normal salary of 1,116 per month as I did not do overtime, then from Sep 2019 to present I've earned at least 1,550 per month because of overtime. Does the letter have to say X has been earning at least 14k per year since May 2019, or does it need to mention the overtime too? Or is just best to get them to say X has been earning 14k per year since May 2019 however since Sep 2019 to present he has been doing overtime allowing him to earn at least 1,550 per month for the previous 6 months?

Basically like this..

X is employed by X. His role is X. His position is permanent. His annual salary is 14000. He has been doing overtime from Sep 2019 to present as reflected on his payslips and his total earnings over the past 6 months have been X (at least 9,600 right?). The overtime will be continuing indefinitely in the future and X is expected to be committing the same amount of hours to overtime indefinitely. X has been employed by X since 16 May 2019 and he has been earning his annual salary of 14000 since he started in 16 May 2019.

Even though it doesn't reference overtime pay?

Sorry.

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