ILR application, cross reference of documents submitted

Hi,

Firstly I would like to thank you for reading my message (and hopefully replying).

I really hope that you will be able to help/advise me. I will try to be as to the point as possible!

We applied for a spouse visa for my husband in 2009, which he was granted. We submitted the bank statement of our joint account which we had saved whilst living aboard. We also wrote letters to the British Consulate stating that we had enough money to get by and would not need to claim off the state!

A year after we moved to the UK (I am British by birth) I began to claim housing and council tax benefit. I also get child benefit for our son. My husband is employed.

Our concern is, when applying for ilr, will the home office use/check the bank statement which we supplied to the British Consulate for the spouse visa? This would probably be a reason of refusal as we have not kept our word and instead of using the money into the account, claiming benefits?

There is no way out of this situation, we cannot cover ourselves and are now worrying in case he is refused. We have started a new life here in the UK and do not want to throw the past two years away!

I would appreciate any advise possible.

Thank you very much,

Were the local authorities aware of your husband's earnings and immigration status when granting housing and council tax benefit? Or did you claim as a single mother with no mention of your husband living in the household?

Hi,

I notified the council of my husband's earnings and submitted his pay slips. I also notified them of his immigration status, the form had a question asking if he was subject to immigration control, where I ticked yes. I did not claim as a single mother.

I look forward to your advice.

Happy new year!

I'll move this to the benefits section where you should get the advice you need.

Zed80 wrote:Hi,

Firstly I would like to thank you for reading my message (and hopefully replying).

I really hope that you will be able to help/advise me. I will try to be as to the point as possible!

We applied for a spouse visa for my husband in 2009, which he was granted. We submitted the bank statement of our joint account which we had saved whilst living aboard. We also wrote letters to the British Consulate stating that we had enough money to get by and would not need to claim off the state!

A year after we moved to the UK (I am British by birth) I began to claim housing and council tax benefit. I also get child benefit for our son. My husband is employed.

Our concern is, when applying for ilr, will the home office use/check the bank statement which we supplied to the British Consulate for the spouse visa? This would probably be a reason of refusal as we have not kept our word and instead of using the money into the account, claiming benefits?

There is no way out of this situation, we cannot cover ourselves and are now worrying in case he is refused. We have started a new life here in the UK and do not want to throw the past two years away!

I would appreciate any advise possible.

Thank you very much,

The claim for ILR is based mainly on your continuing relationship as the initial spousal visa is based on many things such as income.As a British citizen you are entitled to benefits but not additional benefits for your partner.As far as I can see you have done everything correctly and you need not worry about the route to ILR

Hi Mochyn,

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I understand that as a British citizen, I am entitled to benefits and that the ILR will be based on our continuing relationship.

Perhaps I am over thinking but the issue of the documents submitted for the spouse visa being cross checked with the ILR application seems to be eating me!

When we applied for the spouse visa, we stated that we would not need to apply for benefits, hence the money in our savings account aboard.
A year after we moved to the UK our circumstances changed and I had to apply for the benefits stated in my previous post. I am just worried that they will check those documents and refuse ILR on the grounds that we are claiming benefits when we have some money aboard. What if the HO questions the fact that we have savings aboard but are claiming benefits?

Thanks.

I believe you are entitled to benefits even if you have a little savings but it would depend on the amount.I believe the threshold is £16000 but I would be grateful if someone else could confirm or deny this amount.
I personally think you have nothing to worry about

Hi Mochyn,

Thanks for the advice. I've done some research and can confirm the threshold is £16.000.

Do you (or anybody) know if the documents submitted for the spouse visa are referred to when the HO is processing the ILR application?

Thanks very much

Situations change. You won't be held to a 'good intention' on how you will manage your finances, in the spouse entry visa application.

Hi Casa,

I understand what you're saying, maybe I am over thinking and hopefully my husband will get his ILR. Sometimes the HO can be funny...

We've sent off his ILR application, and hopefully it'll be a success story!

Have a good weekend.