Meeting the financial requirement with cash savings in an overseas bank account

[matt1020]

Dear Forum,

My spouse is almost at the end of the five-year route to settlement and will be applying for ILR at the end of the year. We intend to meet requirements through cash savings as this will be more straightforward than through employment in our case. I am of the understanding that we will currently need £34,600 (£16,000 + £18,600) in the bank to meet this requirement. Does anyone know if these figures are under review, or are likely to increase before the end of the year?

Some of our savings are in a bank account in New Zealand, so I will not be able to go into a branch and get bank statements stamped to prove their authenticity. I believe that the evidence of cash savings not only has to be original bank statements, but also that they are stamped as authentic by a branch of the bank. Would it be a good idea to transfer the funds back to a UK bank account six months before we make the visa application? The reason we haven't done so already is that the interest rates are much better over there.

Many thanks in advance for helpful comments,

Matt.

[vinny]

Can your bank mail your original bank statements to you?

The statements have to satisfy Appendix FM-SE.

[matt1020]

Can your bank mail your original bank statements to you?

The statements have to satisfy Appendix FM-SE.

Yes, I think they can, although I presently receive them online.

Many thanks you for the link. I can see now that original bank statements can be used as standalone evidence. It's only copies or online statements that need backing up with a letter from your bank.

(1) on official bank stationery; or
(2) electronic bank statements which are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.