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I am an Indian national, settled in the UK on Indefinite Leave to Remain. I'm employed in the UK and reside here.

My wife, an Indian national, has also joined me recently in the UK on a visa for a "dependent of a UK resident," or spouse visa. She is currently unemployed. She is applying for her tourist Schengen visa via the French Consulate in London.

As she is dependent on me, I’ll be providing the required documents, such as a letter from my employer, the last three months' payslips, the last three months' bank statements, and my passport. She will be providing her passport, two photographs in the required format, our marriage certificate, travel booking details, and accommodation confirmation details.

In light of the fact that I am sponsoring her trip, my questions are:

  • Does she need to provide her own UK bank statement for the last three months?
  • Do we need to show sufficient funds in her bank account?
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    If she doesn't have sufficient funds then it's a closed point, no? Your evidence looks good, but she totally must include evidence along the lines of ties. Read travel.stackexchange.com/questions/66104/… for an explanation.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 15:42
  • @GayotFow close enough that it's a dupe?
    – Giorgio
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 20:42
  • @Dorothy The question is a Schengen thing and the canoncial is a UK thing. The Schengen would look largely the same, but if it's a dupe I would abstain and refer it to the community for a vote :)
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 20:49
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    @GayotFow I defer :-)
    – Giorgio
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 23:27

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Your spouse is applying for a Schengen tourist visa for France and you are sponsoring and paying for their trip. Since you are sponsoring the trip then you must show the proof of sufficient funds and of their provenance. Your documentation should demonstrate that you have enough funds for the entirety of your spouse's trip. For guidelines on how to do this please see our canonical Q&A for UK visas.

You could show your spouse's bank statements, provided these help your case. An empty bank statement provides no information. On the other hand a bank statement showing regular money deposits from you to be intended as, let's call it, "allowance" made over a period of several months can help in upholding your spouse's proof of sufficient funds.

Regardless of who is sponsoring the trip, your spouse will have to demonstrate that they are honestly wishing to visit France for tourism and not for other purposes (looking for a job, settling down, doing business, etc.). This is done by showing strong ties to the UK which allow the immigration officer to gauge the likelihood of her returning there once her trip to France is over.

Being married to someone living in the UK is one such strong tie. Conversely, being unemployed is a weak tie. The idea is to show that your spouse has commitments in the UK which would justify the fact that they are not trying to overstay in France.

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