Spouse visa & redundancy

[R888]

Hey guys, I hope someone may be able to shed some light and a bit of guidance/advice with our situation.
I finally got married in early September, after rescheduling 3 times this year due to you know what..
And I've just returning from our honeymoon.

My wife is Russian, and I'm British, of course we're wanting to get a visa for her to come and live here in the UK with me in my own home.
The spanner in the works, and the timing couldn't be worse for us. I was informed that I'd be made redundant due to the global situation. I've been with this particular company since October 2017, and my field of work is with TV/Film. Our company is expecting work in my department around Feb/March. Unfortunately nothing at the moment.
I had been paid furlough since around March, with the odd bits of work for them here and there. But obviously they can't just keep me on without anything to do, I fully understand that.

They did write up a sabbatical contract that would be effective until March, and would pay fully for any days worked of course during this period. But I wouldn't be able to work for anyone else, so I can't use this option.
My salary is close to £50k but obviously I can't apply for a spousal visa in this case with no or sporadic income. My family kindly offered to cover my living expenses but that would probably just bring further complications.

Also due to the nature of my work, I'm unlikely to find a full time contract, it's a heavily freelance based industry anyway but I was always lucky to find permanent roles. Sometimes there are fixed term opportunities but usually just for 3 months or so. In fact a friend did put my name down, today, for one of these contracts anyway just in case.

So I wondered what my options are?

Should I just find a normal role somewhere that pays the basic amount required for her visa?
(another good friend has graciously offered a job in his company, just warehouse packing stuff but would be around £19k gross)

Then once we've secured it and she's here, I'd hopefully have the opportunity to take freelance roles or perhaps by that point I can take my previous position back if our industry is moving again.

I will do what it takes regarding work but I don't have access to big savings.

She has already done the English exam, tuberculosis test, and once she's back home she'll get our wedding certificate sent to the apostille. And then I will send it to the relevant people. She also needs to get her passport updated (as it has 2 years left, so I think she needs one that covers at least the 2.5 years initial duration of her visa). So that will be around 1 month from now.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this, and I sincerely appreciate any guidance.

[seagul]

So I wondered what my options are?

Should I just find a normal role somewhere that pays the basic amount required for her visa?
(another good friend has graciously offered a job in his company, just warehouse packing stuff but would be around £19k gross)
Then once we've secured it and she's here, I'd hopefully have the opportunity to take freelance roles or perhaps by that point I can take my previous position back if our industry is moving again.

That seems the most shrewd option given the present ambience of uncertainty and volatility.

I will do what it takes regarding work but I don't have access to big savings.

If either of you alone/aggregately have at least £62500 then you wont need any further employment income.

She also needs to get her passport updated (as it has 2 years left, so I think she needs one that covers at least the 2.5 years initial duration of her visa). So that will be around 1 month from now.

There is no threshold regarding the validity of passport which should at least be valid on the time of application or appointment (to facilitate the guaranteed biometrics enrolment at local vfs centre) because the leave (visa) is issued on BRP card.

[seagul]

Following are few useful links which provide the full insight:

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... .0-ext.pdf

[R888]

Hi seagul, many thanks for taking the time to read and reply to my question, I sincerely appreciate it !

In regards to taking on a different (lower paid) job, do you know if I need to wait to apply for the visa (ie 6 months), or can I combine my previous role and my first payslip of a new job ?
(of course including the contract details)

I will contact my current company tomorrow to also check (if you think it helps), that if it's possible to have my sabbatical contract with them and also work for someone else in the meantime. They had drafted up an extension of my current contract until March but with sabbatical outlines (ie no pay unless work comes in). I suspect it's not possible, and that I'll have to take redundancy, and hopefully join them in the future once things get going again.

[seagul]

Hi seagul, many thanks for taking the time to read and reply to my question, I sincerely appreciate it !

In regards to taking on a different (lower paid) job, do you know if I need to wait to apply for the visa (ie 6 months), or can I combine my previous role and my first payslip of a new job ?
(of course including the contract details)

Correct. You can combine your all previous income under category B without waiting further for 6 months. As soon as you will obtain the first payslip then you will be good to go along with your previous 11 months of payslips along with all corresponding bank statements.

[R888]

Many thanks again, that really helps and confirms with my advisor too