Hi all,
I want to apply for a WHV from the UK this Summer, hopefully in June with the intent to go in September or October. I’ve been out of work for nearly a year now (finished a contract, took some time off to focus on myself, a sabbatical essentially), but I’m starting a new job in the next week or so The money side isn’t so much of an issue – I have savings earmarked for this, no housing costs and will be earning again very soon.
Currently though, to support my living costs, I receive Universal Credit (for those outside of the UK, it’s like an unemployment benefit you can claim for lviing expenses while you look for work on the condition you meet with them to show you are actively looking for work, but also covers many other things). My first paycheck won’t come in until the end of April, meaning I have to stay signed on for at least two more payments (one this month, one next month).
Because I have to supply bank statements for my application, I’m a little worried that the visa office might see my receiving government assistance negatively, and that it might affect my application. I could wait until the 3 month period for statements no longer includes months where I’ve been receiving payments, but that’d mean not applying until August and I’d really rather not wait that long in case the quota runs out.
I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice, any experience or any suggestions as to what to do or whether either points are a problem (not being in work for a while + receiving government assistance). Thusfar I seem to be overthinking a lot of things about the fine points of the visa process, so I’m hoping this is just me worrying too much again, but asking can’t hurt.
Thanks in advance!
**TL;DR:** I’ve been out of work for a year and receiving government assistance, but am returning to work next month. Will this affect my visa application?
by startrain