Handy for any of the 40% who find themselves below the threshold but hold a little nest-egg http://crossborderlegal.co.uk/content/spouse-visa-income-threshold-savings-calculator/
All the sums they quote for visa applications are gross income not net. To even start considering using your savings to make up for any shortfall in income you have to have at least £16,000 in the bank, I assume they start at £16,000 because this is the cut off point for not being able to claim any benefits, for example, if you had £16,000 in the bank and found yourself without a job and the like, you would not be able to claim many forms of Government benefits.
Basically, if you had £64,000 or so in the bank you could apply for a Spouse/Fiancée visa just using your savings.
Yes you're right, anything above 16k comes into the equation because its at the 16k point you cease being eligible for benefits. It appears anything above is divided by 2.5 (to represent the 2.5 year visa period) and that is the amount your annual earnings cap is reduced? Example:- Savings of £17,500 - £16,000 = £1,500 divided by 2.5 = £600 = an annual requirement of £18,000?
I held off becoming self employed until after the visa application just because the application appears to be more complicated if you are self employed. Like many people here at British Filipino its a real relief to get that first visa under your belt and get the loved one to the UK, the FLR application is easy after that as you use most of the documents that you accrued in the first visa application. The only thing that is still as painful as the first visa is the fee for the FLR, another £1,000 of your hard earned cash
