Minimum Income Requirement for bring one child (only) to the UK

£18,600 is for TWO people in the household.

£22,400 is for THREE people.

How many people will there be in this household ?

(I am coming from the same angle as I did when I worked for the benefits agency in a previous life)

Put a cross (x) in the relevant box
"As the child of settled parents or with one parent who has limited leave as a partner or parent granted under the Rules in force before 9 July 2012."

Hmmmm. What does that mean?
Mother gained ILR in November 2013. But has been in the UK for 6 years before that on work visas.

I said in my first post it depends on the ILR status of the mother up to 4 years ago before she was granted ILE she was not present and settled in the UK you can't be on FLR . Once she is granted ILR a person becomes settled and present therefore I believe she is post 2012 in the rules

Graham. 2 people in total in the proposed household.
The Mother who is already settled here (with ILR) and the one child (aged 16) that she hopes to bring to the UK.

Well, I would suggest the lower income figure then, but treble check on that, with the people who count.

trying to think outside the box with this..so please bear with me.

the woman has been in the UK 10 years--but the late spouse never visited. so--were they separated ?
if they were--and of course now she is a widow--therefore single-----does she have a UK partner now ?

No problem bigmac. I am very happy with the help I am getting here.

Yes. She seperated from her husband and came to the UK approx 10 years ago. As you would expect her husband did not visit her and never came to the UK.
He died after a long illness in late 2016.
The daughter has also never been to the UK. Daughter has a passport as part of current preparations.
After the death of the father, the Mother now has (formal) sole custody of her daughter.
The daughter is currently in the care of other family members who have girls of similar age.
(What a Catch22 this is!! Mum has returned to the UK without the daughter that she now has sole responsibility for so that she can produce 6 payslips and 6 bank statements that prove that she can support her daughter in the UK!! )
The mother does not have a UK partner.
She is a very close and dear friend of my family and I am giving her emotional support (and some financial help) but I am not her partner. I am her closest friend in the UK (and next of kin).

I hope someone can help with my next question.
If the qualifying income is £18,600 she now needs to produce 6 payslips each showing earnings of £1550 or more in each month.
Lets say.
December £1555
Jan £1555
Feb £1555
March £1555
April £1555
May £1555


OK. The dreaded rumour mill has told her that if one of the months drops below £1550, the application will be rejected on Minimum Income grounds, even if another month is higher to compensate and even if the total for the 6 months is 50% of £18,600. And a quick Google suggests that other people are also worried that this is a key element of the Earnings Requirement.
Can that possibly be correct??

Clearly someone has to travel to Manilla with the 16 year old daughter a few weeks before the application is submitted. It seems that the Mother will not be able to do that (if I am correct about payslips). It would have to be a supportive family member in the Ph. (Holiday pay is currently not on the agenda)
Please tell me if I have missed some important understanding. It is quite possible that I have.

i only wish one of us could give you a definite answer to the financial requirement figure---but it really is a case none of us has gone through.

as regards the monthly income--it is true to say if she is not paid a fixed salary each month the case worker will take the lowest month and multiply it by 12 to get an annual figure. you are aware it is the gross salary that counts ?

Of equal good support would be a letter from her employer ( mine worded it like this) name! We can confirm that ??? OTE for 2017-18 Will be ? This excludes bonus and overtime.
Also last year's P60 especially if both letter and P60 indicate above £18600

yes--the child will need to attend IOM makati manila for the TB test. this is THE only place UKVI will accept. the TB certificate will be required as part of the application.

bigmac. I want to ask your opinion on an important question.
It is about choosing an Immigration Solicitor.

We are discussing this now. My friend (the Mother) lives in the North of England. Her close friends (also from the Philippines) are suggesting that the best Immigration Solicitors are in London. One Solicitor has been suggested and an example of a known case and recent success has been mentioned.
So the first consultation requires a 400 miles round trip (on the bus) and maybe after that it can be done via email.

I am not sure. I am thinking that a local Immigration Solicitor in the North will be just as good and will be cheaper becasue their overheads will be so much lower than in London. I am not sure I wanted to use the word "cheaper" there.....but you have already given me a hint about how expensive this process is going to be over the period. The Solicitor in London is asking for a fee for a 45 minute consultation. The local Solicitor I have found is offering a 30 minute free consulatation and Facebook reviews are praising recent success in Family Immigration cases.



So (please).....tell me what you think. How did you choose your Solicitor? Anybody else - please chip in. Can the communication be done online after the initial meeting??

In my personal opinion, they are expensive and useless.

Just make sure the solicitor has good reputation and is familiar with family visa and immigration ruling. They are very expensive and waste of time if you get it wrong. The mother doesnt have long time to get her daughter with time passing.

we havent used a solicitor for either my wifes application (successful)--or her sons ( pending )

my wife did use a philippines immigration agent for a visit visa in 2013--which failed on a banking error. she tried again by herself--and was successful.

basically--a UK solicitor will prepare your application on the basis of what you tell them---and you will have to supply all the supporting documents. its your call--and your money.

what fee has the local one quoted you ?

If

If you're in the UK Gibson there are many organisations (including CAB) that may help you for free...

You can also find Immigration Advisers here

http://home.oisc.gov.uk/adviser_finder/finder.aspx


Personally I'd try to get a free answer because all you really want to know is "How much does the mother need to earn to bring her daughter over?"

Another option would be to use JustAnswer (or similar)

https://www.justanswer.com/

I think they are about £25 or £30

My personal opinion is that she'll need to earn £22,400 - If they let her in earning £18,600 it would be encouraging single mothers over family's ... Oops it's the UK isn't it! You never know your luck

Ah.....that's interesting bigmac
Good work.
No fees discussed yet other than the consultation fee.


John Surrey - Thanks for the links.

The mother has ILR therefore has the right to live in the UK.
By having the right to live in the UK she has the right to sponsor...
She will have to provide a copy of her late husband' death certificate as part of the application ( my wife had to when we successfully applied for her daughter to join her in the UK)
I think she would have to earn£18600 for one child.

I think we are nearly there. We applied for ILR for my friends daughter (to join her Mother in the UK) in March, and I think it has been approved.
But the message from the UK Embassy in Manilla is a bit cryptic. Can anyone who is familiar with the final stages (of an applicatio) help me?

The message is a text to the Daughter (in the Philippines). It says: "Good day. Your passport is now ready for collection. Please collect it from this office on one of the following days."
Does this mean that the the ILR application is approved?
If so, will the VISA have already been stamped in the passport, and does that mean that the 30 day window (to travel to the UK) has already started, and that the clock is ticking, or.......will the 30 day window start when the Daughter picks up her passport.

Standard message meaning a decision has been made and the passport and decision letter can be collected. Can be either a yes or no.

If sucesssful then the 30 day window has already started unless you asked for a latter start date.

Thank you!
That makes sense to me.

I now find that there were 2 messages. A message saying a decision has been made,and the second message saying collect your passport.
There was no special request about dates. If the 30 day window has started that is vital information and I am very grateful to you.