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Both my husband and I have decided to visit our son in London for a few weeks in the summer. I'm in full time employment as a teacher while my husband has just retired but still receives monthly income from his shares and investments.

When filling out the Income and expenditure section on the visa form, do we divide the costs and savings between us on each form or do we write the same figures?

For example in the following questions:

  • How much do you spend each month on living costs?
  • What is the cost to you personally of your trip in GBP(£)?
  • The total amount of money you have for this trip
  • The cost of the aeroplane, boat or train tickets
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  • 2
    It depends if the accounts are joint or separate,
    – Gayot Fow
    Dec 2, 2015 at 14:25
  • We have one joint account for daily expenses and separate ones mostly used for savings.
    – ditysarah
    Dec 2, 2015 at 14:51
  • 3
    Make consolidated entries and include each other's GWF number in the remarks section.
    – Gayot Fow
    Dec 2, 2015 at 15:23

2 Answers 2

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+25

Looking at the Standard Visitor Visa form*, it seems very clear that they are looking for information on each applicant individually. There is no such thing as a joint application, although you can reference each other's applications in the notes. It is entirely possible that one application from a married couple would be approved and the other denied. For example, in box 5.15, "What money is available to you for your trip?", you might answer "Joint account containing >£3000 with my husband, also travelling, referenced in notes". For other boxes, simply split the answer based on what you personally pay/earn. For expenses from joint accounts, split them according to what percentage of money paid into that account is by you.

* Yes, I'm aware that this isn't the form OP will be filling out, it's actually specific to applicants in North Korea, but I'm working with the assumption that the content is identical to the online system most applicants use. Looking at the form, this makes perfect sense, there's no reference to NK on there, and all of the questions seem normal.

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To be honest, it doesn't really matter unless the figures you put down would cause suspicion by anyone who bothers to look at them. It's not like they are actually going to call your employer and check. I would combine the incomes and put the same number on both forms, since a higher number is less likely to be examined.

I think the primary reason for asking these questions is to see if anyone actually puts down that they don't have adequate funds for such a trip, and then that would lead to a follow up such as "why is this person traveling here if they cannot afford it?"

In the extremely unlikely event that a) the combined income is the incorrect way to fill it out and b) someone actually notices and confronts you about it, then just apologize and explain that you misunderstood.

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    "It's not like they are actually going to call your employer and check." Actually they might, especially if you haven't supplied sufficient documentation to back up the claims.
    – DJClayworth
    Feb 27, 2016 at 15:54
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    Do you have any source for the various claims in your answer? I ask because it reads an awful lot like, "Oh, do whatever you want. Nobody really cares what you write on your visa application. I'm sure everything will be fine." and that's pretty much the opposite advice to the usual. I mean, if it was just as easy as claiming that you earn a large amount of money and nobody ever checks, why would anyone ever have a visa refused?
    – David Richerby
    Feb 27, 2016 at 18:58

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