How much is enough?

[belinda_j]

I am an Australian applying for a Settlement (wife) visa to live with my husband in the UK. He has a full-time job in the UK and is earning a very good income. I intend to find whatever work I can if I am granted the visa.

My question is, when proving how much funds I have in my bank account as part of my supporting evidence, how much money is enough?

I can't find any information on the Visa4UK website, so can anyone here give me an indication of how much I'm supposed to have saved up?

Any helpful info would be highly appreciated

Belinda

[vinny]

Guidance on how to assess the above qualifications is given in the remainder of this chapter except for that on maintenance and accommodation which is given in Chapter 9.

There is no explicit minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany him / her to the United Kingdom, resources must be available for the whole family unit to be maintained.

The ECO should bear in mind the position taken by the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UKAIT):

In 2006, the UKAIT in UKAIT 00065 KA and Others (Pakistan), strongly suggested that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the Income Support level for a British family of that size...

See also Sponsors Financial Situation -URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!

[belinda_j]

Thank you Vinny, those links are great. I think I have found the answer I was after

MAA4 Maintenance: General requirements

There is no explicit minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany him / her to the United Kingdom, resources must be available for the whole family unit to be maintained.

The ECO should bear in mind the position taken by the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UKAIT):

In 2006, the UKAIT in UKAIT 00065 KA and Others (Pakistan), strongly suggested that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the Income Support level for a British family of that size.
More information is available on the British & Irish Legal Information Institute website (BAILII)

If it is more likely than not that the total amount that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds.

Maintenance may be provided by either:


The applicant with their own funds or with funds available to them; or
The sponsor; or
A combination of applicant and sponsor funds.



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MAA5 What evidence of maintenance is required?

For applicant's and / or sponsor's funds:



Statements covering at least 3 months
Are there regular transactions?
Are the funds immediately available?
Large deposits with no evidence of normal transactions need careful examination.
The extent of the evidence required will depend on the circumstances of the case, with some applicants required to produce more detailed evidence of funds available.

Where there is doubt that the funds will be at the disposal of the applicant, the ECO may ask them for a written undertaking.

For further guidance, see ECB12 Undertakings. This includes circumstances for refusal, the prescribed undertakings form (see link below), and the recovery of Income Support from sponsors by the DWP.

Between what my husband earns and what I have saved, that should more than satisfy them that we can maintain ourselves financially.