You must meet the financial requirements to qualify for a family settlement visa including a spouse visa, fiance or civil partner visa. The cash savings account can be a current, deposit or investment account, provided by a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating.
- These are the requirements that must be met:
- the bank/savings account is a current, deposit or investment account
- the account is held is a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating
- the financial institution is not on the list of excluded institutions under the Immigration Rules
- regular bank statements are provided
- the statements cover the necessary time period required in the Immigration Rules
- the savings are held in cash (or their cash value is clear)
- the savings can be immediately withdrawn (with or without penalty)
- the funds are under the control of the person and/or their partner for the necessary time period required in the Immigration Rules
- the source of the funds is legal
- the source of the funds has been declared
For example, in the UK a ‘stocks and shares Individual Savings Account (ISA) does meet the definition of a savings account and the funds can be considered as cash savings if all the requirements above are met. Likewise, pension savings account from which savings can be immediately withdrawn.
Funds that are held in an account at the date of application that does not meet all of the requirements listed in the above table cannot be considered as cash savings that meet the requirements of paragraphs 11 and 11A(a) in Appendix FM of the rules.
Income from shares for example dividends can be counted as non-employment income. Alternatively, the investments such as those held in a brokerage account can be liquidated or transferred into cash savings prior to the application.
The funds held as cash savings by the applicant, their partner or both jointly at the date of application can have been transferred from investments (including funds liquidated from a pension pot), stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds within the period of 6 months prior to the date of application, provided that:
- the funds have been in the ownership and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly for at least the period of 6 months prior to the date of application
- the ownership of the funds in the form of investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds; the cash value of the funds in that form on or before the beginning of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application; and the transfer of the funds into cash, are evidenced by a portfolio report or other relevant documentation from a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating
- the requirements of Appendix FM-SE in respect of the cash savings held at the date of application are met, except that the period of 6 months prior to the date of application in paragraph 11(a) will be reduced by the amount of that period in which the relevant funds were held in the form of investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds
This means that where the cash savings have previously been held as investments (including where they have been held in an investment account which does not meet the requirements, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds that were owned by and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly, this ownership period can be counted towards the 6 month period. Money held as cash savings at the date of application can have been liquidated or transferred by the same owner(s) from investments and may have been held as investments for the first part of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application and as cash savings for the rest of that 6 month period (see the table on page 51 for a summary of the cash savings requirements). Evidence must be provided showing that:
- the investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds were in the ownership and under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly for that part of the 6-month period prior to the date of application before they were liquidated into cash savings
- the value of the investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds at or before the beginning of that 6-month period was at least equivalent to the amount of the cash savings relied upon in the application
- the cash savings meet the requirements of Appendix FM-SE
Disclaimer:
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Connaught Law and authors accept no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Connaught Law. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Connaught Law.
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