Spouse Visa - Category B?

[Alcy]

Hi there,
My partner (UK Citizen) and I are applying for a Spousal Visa and I need some advice on which category to use.

My partner has returned to the UK a month ahead of me as she was finding it too difficult to get job interviews from overseas. Anyway, she has just been offered a job which fulfils the financial requirements which is great.

So we clearly do not fall under Category A as she has not been in the same job for six months.

Which leaves Category B. Now, my partner starts this job next week so we could use the first route of Category B which is for salaried employment for less than 6 months. This is where I get confused. You also need to count the salary from the previous 12 months, but it appears from the VAF4A form that only jobs in the UK count. My partner worked for the previous 12 months in New Zealand.

The only way to count this New Zealand job is to use the second route of Category B, which is when the couple are returning to the UK together. We could clearly fulfill the requirements - have the job offer and previous 12 months earnings in NZ, but by the time UK Immigration looks at the application, my parter will have already started her job.

Sorry for the ramble but any advice would be appreciated. Especially anyone that has had the same confusion over which category to use. There must be some way to use the system to help couples where the British citizen has returned slightly ahead of the foreign partner in order to secure a job and a home.

Thanks in advance!

[Kitty]

The money your partner needs to show is set out in paragraphs 13(b) and 15 of Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules.

This means she needs to show that:

Her annual salary when you apply is at least #18,600 (i.e. the salary for the job she has just started, calculated based on her most recent payslip).

AND

In the 12 months before the application she actually earned at least #18,600.

In order to prove her earnings from NZ she will need to supply the equivalent of the documents set out in paragraph (2) of FM-SE (wage slips, bank statements etc.) covering that 12-month period.

[Alcy]

Thanks very much for that, Kitty. I understand those points.

I guess my question is really aiming for clarification around the confusing nature of the questions on the application form. She can clearly show that she earnt enough in the past 12 months and has a job offer for over the required amount, but I can't find anywhere to lay this out correctly on the form.

I have tried to explain below
Q.3.4 Is your sponsor currently employed in the UK? Yes

Q.3.12 Has your sponsor been in this job for 6 months? No

Clear enough, however when I try to fit in her employment overseas, there seems to be nowhere to put it on the form. Neither of the options work. As below:

Q.3.13 Has your sponsor had other salaried employment, in the UK, in the 12 months prior? The answer is no, because her previous job was in NZ.

So that leaves Q.3.24 which asks if my sponsor is currently employed overseas, the answer is no again as she finished that job two months ago. Do you think I can still fill this section out with her overseas employment even though she has already returned to the UK to work?

I only have the hardcopy form as I haven't started the online application yet, but I presume the questions are just as rigourously inflexible.

Thanks!

[Kitty]

Ah, I see.

I haven't got a copy of the form in front of me at the mo, but suggest answer the yes/no questions correctly and then put additional information in whatever box allows you to do that (Part 5 of the paper form). You can also include a covering letter that explains how the requirements are satisfied.