Hello! Applying for spousal visa and we started to consult lawyers about specific requirements and the main one that has us question is the financial requirement.
Regardless, I do not meet the requirement to outright sponsor based on my income. However, depending on the interpretation of some wording, we can consider applying asap.
The wording in particular is about how PhD bursary/stipends are classified by the government: ‘Where an academic maintenance grant or stipend is, or will be, paid on a tax-free
basis, the amount of the gross equivalent can be counted towards the financial
requirement. The person must be currently in receipt of the grant or stipend or will be
within 3 months of the date of application, and the grant or stipend must be payable
for a period of at least 12 months.’
We interpreted this as my income would be considered as my bursary + what I would be paying in tax if I paid it. However, one lawyer has come back to us saying that it is just my bursary/stipend income that is considered. We know about the savings required to essentially ‘top up’ what I lack in earnings, but the latter would suggest we do not have the right amount of savings, whereas the former would.
Has anyone sponsored someone with a tax free university income and can help? Thanks!