Can anyone answer this question?

We are on the five year settlement route, our next FLR application will be in just over a year or so.

The question is; if myself or the wife was not working and we could not meet the financial requirement of the FLR what would happen?

I ask the above question as I have never seen anything about this in the news relating to this, for example "wife sent back to the Philippines because the financial requirement cannot be met."

Would you be given extra time to meet the financial requirement or would your spouse be on the next plane back to the Philippines?

Losing your job or source of income could happen to anyone, especially since the settlement period was changed from two years to five in 2012. I would be interested to hear your comments on this subject, and to see if there are any hard facts relating to this.

is there an income requirement for FLR ? ive never seen the application form

Yes there is an income requirement for the FLR (same as initial settlement visa), five years is a long time and anything could happen in this time as you know.

also--in that flr period a couple of sprogs could turn up. i wonder if family allowance--or whatever its called--counts as income

If a couple of kids popped out then that would make any financial woes worst, I suppose in the theory the UKVI could put your Filipina wife on a plane and leave you holding the baby, literally if you cannot meet the requirement.

it dont bear thinking about. but it must happen--but then its only been 3 years since the new rules started--so those first FLR's will be coming up thick and fast now.

That's exactly why I started the thread, it must happen, I'm interested to know if there is some kind of process that the UKVI has in place for such an instance, there must be but I have no idea what it entails. Hopefully we will be enlightened by someone here at BF, I don't expect it will make good reading though but it is something some of us here may have to deal with one day.

Thats because the financial requirements started on the 9th July 2012 so if you take the application/arrival times then a very small sample of folk ,relatively will have reached renewal and of these given the importance or not (breakdown /divorce etc) getting a refusal would if refused probably still be on appeal.

I wasnt aware you could use a spouses income?

Sounds like a insurance opportunity PPI for spouses lol

i know ive been concerned about what would happen if i passed away while my wife ( to be ) was still in the 5 year settlement process. for any new members reading this--this has happened very recently--we lost our good friend Kuya--who started this group.

What would you do if you could not meet the requirement?

I mean, it would be pointless applying for further leave to remain because you know you do not meet the requirement, not even taking into account that you probably afford the visa fee either.

Would you inform the UKVI that you cannot meet the requirements and they give you an extra 12 months to sort yourself out or something and add that time on the five years, I don't know.

Indeed, Kuya did post in one of his threads that his wife would be able to remain in the UK in the event of his passing away and that any financial requirements of the visa are dropped.

Good to see some compassion from the UKVI for a change.

I wasnt aware you could use a spouses income?

i understand joint incomes are allowable..

but--what if--sponsor loses job during the pre-FLR period--and the couple use up any savings ?

does anyone else wonder whether all this was ever thought through ?

One way is to get saving, like Kings is doing.

Harder on you guys as you are having to go the longer distance.

Yes joint incomes are allowed which I assume will be a god send to some people, joint income starts at FLR stage of course.

To be honest this is not a subject I enjoy discussing but I think it needs to be aired just so we can get some input.

Savings are good, but not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to save.

Agreed.

Its an interesting point that you raise.

I haven't come across anything at all relating to this subject and it interests me for obvious reasons.

you could always move to Ireland

i suppose the only way we will find out is when some unlucky person finds out the hard way. it will make very emotive TV in view of the whole immigration political hot potato.

I spend enough time in Ireland as it is

One thing about Ireland though, especially NI, you can get more house for less money than here on the mainland, I was looking at house prices in an estate agents window a couple of weeks back in Armagh and couldn't believe the prices, very reasonable indeed to say the least.