Income evidence query for SET M adequate maintenance

[sbmal]

Hello,

I am applying for my ILR soon under the 5-year parent of a British citizen route. I just want to confirm if the following documents to prove my employment will be sufficient. For context, I have recently changed jobs. I was in employment with my previous employer for 3.5 years until 29th June 2026. I started my new job on 15th July 2026. I am planning to submit the following documents:
1) Payslips from January-June 2026 from previous employer
2) Letter from previous employer confirming my gross and net salary and dates of employment
3) Payslip for July 2026 from my current employer for half a month
4) Letter from current employer confirming my gross and net salary and ongoing employment under a full-time permanent contract
5) Bank statements showing the salary transfers for periods January-July 2026

Will this be enough? Will there be any issues due to the 16 days of unemployment between 30th June-14th July? I meet the adequate maintenance requirements based on my net salary from both my previous employer and my current employer. I may be overthinking this, but any guidance and comment on the break in employment will be helpful. Thanks in advance!

[zimba]

Have you read the official guide ?

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... dation.pdf

[sbmal]

Have you read the official guide ?

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... dation.pdf

I have read the official guide. According to the guide it seems they only consider current income, but when I fill out the application form, they ask for evidence of income for the last 6 months, which made me wonder whether the gap will be an issue. Am I missing something in the guidance?

[zimba]

The gap in employment means you will NOT qualify under category A.
You only qualify under category B as you have NOT been with your current employer for more than 6 months.

Under the category B, you need to satisfy the requirements in two parts, on the date of application:

1) Your annualised income from your current job should be above the threshold (£18,600+)
So all salary earned in your most recent job divided by the period in which it was earned, multiplied by 12 must be above (£18,600+)

AND

2) In the last 12 months, you have earned in total, at least the minimum salary needed (£18,600+). So this is total income earned in the last 12 months from all the jobs combined

The guide tells you exactly what evidence you need to send to satisfy these two points, so READ the guide

[sbmal]

The gap in employment means you will NOT qualify under category A.
You only qualify under category B as you have NOT been with your current employer for more than 6 months.

Under the category B, you need to satisfy the requirements in two parts, on the date of application:

1) Your annualised income from your current job should be above the threshold (£18,600+)
So all salary earned in your most recent job divided by the period in which it was earned, multiplied by 12 must be above (£18,600+)

AND

2) In the last 12 months, you have earned in total, at least the minimum salary needed (£18,600+). So this is total income earned in the last 12 months from all the jobs combined

The guide tells you exactly what evidence you need to send to satisfy these two points, so READ the guide

You seem to be quoting the minimum income threshold requirements, which I believe I am not expected to meet under my visa category as a parent of a British citizen. I am required to meet the ‘adequate maintenance’ requirement which does not have the category B. Once again, I’m not sure if I’m missing something in the guidance that makes you believe I should be meeting the minimum income requirements. Thank you for your responses!

[zimba]

My mistake. You are correct that in your case, the gap should not be an issue

[sbmal]

Thank you for your response, zimba. I have another follow-up question. I have now received another offer from an employer for a job I do not want to turn down. However, if I was to take up the job, I will have to provide my current employer a notice soon and before I become eligible for ILR. In this case, my current employer will only be able to give me a letter saying that I will be employed until the end of my notice period. I expect this would not be enough as evidence for adequate funds. Am I right?

Secondly, I noticed that the guidance says that offer of employment may count as evidence and although the adequate maintenance guidance doesn’t specify what evidence would suffice for an offer of employment, elsewhere in home office guidance this includes a contract, an offer letter and evidence of interview process. I am not sure if this applies to ILR too or for leave to remain only? I am asking because I am confident I will be able to get the required offer letter and contract from my new prospective employer, but when I try looking at the form, it only gives me an option to say yes or no to the question ‘are you working in the UK or overseas?’. If I answer ‘yes’ to this, it stipulates that I will provide payslips and bank statements, but no option for an employment contract etc. I will not have received my first pay from my new employer by the date of application and I also don’t think my prospective employer would hire me unless I have my ILR sorted. Would it be ok to combine evidence of work from my current employer, although it would have come to an end before I start my new job with the evidence of an offer of employment? Any guidance would be really helpful.

I am trying not to complicate the situation, but this new job offer really is a dream job and I am very unhappy in my short period of employment in my current job and really want to switch.

[zimba]

No you cannot rely on a job offer or prospective employment to apply but note that you need to meet the requirements on the date of application (when you submit the application online) What happens afterwards is not that important.

Can you wait and apply after starting your new job ?

[sbmal]

Thank you for your reply. The timing will mean I won't have received my first pay by my application date and just a few days after.

Based on what you said, can you please tell me if the letter from the current employer says that I am going to end working on a certain date but that date is after my date of application, it would be ok? For example:

Current employer letter stating I will end working on 25th September.
Application made by super priority service on 14th September.
Biometrics and documents uploaded on 17th September.

If the application decision is made 18th because it is super priority, it would still be current employment when the decision is made. Will this work? I could negotiate a later start date with my prospective employer if this could work.

[zimba]

The date of decision is irrelevant, as I said. You need to satisfy the requirements on the date of application, so the letter from current employer should not be an issue. Just stay employed on that date and qualify on the date of application submission, you should be ok