Table Of Contents
- Financial requirements for the UK Partner visa
- If your partner in the UK is getting disability or carer’s benefits
- Rules for meeting financial requirements using cash savings only
- If using a combination of cash savings and income
- Calculating cash savings: Appendix FM
- Evidence for using cash savings
- Summary
When you apply for a UK family visa as a spouse or civil partner, you and your partner (who must be either a British citizen or settled in the UK) typically need to show a combined annual income of at least £29,000.
How you prove your income will depend on where your income comes from. In certain situations, you can meet the financial requirement using only your cash savings instead of relying on an income.
Importantly, not everyone can meet the financial requirement using income. Therefore, it may be best to check and see if you can meet the financial requirement using cash savings only.
Financial requirements for the UK Partner visa
Unless exempt, you must meet the financial requirement in the form of a minimum income requirement.
If you first applied to the 5- year partner, fiancé(e), or proposed civil partner route before 11 April 2024, and you want to extend that visa now to stay in the UK with the same partner, you and your partner will need to show that your combined yearly income is £18,600 or more. You must prove you have extra money for any children who you are applying for a family visa with, are already in the UK as dependents on your family visa, or are already in the UK as your partner’s dependents.
If there are children involved, you will need to prove you have an extra:
• £3,800 per year for the first child; and
• £2,400 per year for each additional child you have after the first one
If the total amount you’d be required to earn based on the number of your children will be more than £29,000, you only need to prove you make £29,000 a year.
If you first applied as a spouse/civil partner under the family route on or after 11 April 2024, you and your partner’s combined income must be at least £29,000 per year. Please note that this amount is inclusive of any dependent children within the family, which means you do not need to have extra money for any number of dependent children.
If your partner in the UK is getting disability or carer’s benefits
You do not need to meet a minimum income requirement if your partner is getting benefits such as:
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Rules for meeting financial requirements using cash savings only
If you are applying for a partner visa, you will usually need to satisfy the ‘minimum income requirement’ without relying on public funds. You and your sponsoring partner usually need to prove that your combined annual income is at least £29,000. This amount includes any number of children in the family.
Please note that you can use income from a single source (salaried income), multiple sources (salaried and non-salaried income and non-employment income, e.g., income from property rental or dividends from shares), or even combine income and savings to meet the financial requirements.
You can also rely on cash savings alone to meet the financial requirements. Wherever you use cash savings, it must be held by you, your partner, or both jointly for at least 6 months prior to the date of application under your control.
Please note that you cannot combine cash savings with self-employment income, or with income from employment as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK.
If using a combination of cash savings and income
You must have at least £16,000 of cash savings (this is the level of savings at which a person generally ceases to be eligible for income-related benefits).
If using cash savings only
You may be able to use your cash savings alone to meet the financial requirements instead of using income or a combination of savings and income. For this, you must have a minimum cash savings of at least £88,500 if you apply on or after 11 April 2024. On the other hand, if you applied for a partner visa before this date and want to extend your visa, you must have cash savings of at least £62,500 with no children.
Calculating cash savings: Appendix FM
The following calculations are used if you are applying as a partner under the family route to the Immigration Rules.
When you apply for the entry clearance / initial permission to stay and further permission to stay, the amount of cash savings above £16,000 is divided by 2.5 (to reflect the 2.5-year (30-month) period before you will have to make a further application) to give the amount which you can use in meeting the financial requirement.
The following equation is to be used: (x minus 16,000) divided by 2.5 = y
Where x is the total amount of cash savings held by you, your partner, or both jointly for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application, and under your control. And y is the amount which can be used towards the financial requirement.
So, if you have cash savings of £62,500, you actually meet the MIR (Minimum Income Requirement) of £18,600 using the above formula as:
(£62,500 – £16000) ÷ 2.5 = £18,600
Similarly, if you have cash savings of £88,500, you actually meet the MIR (Minimum Income Requirement) of £18,600 using the above formula as:
(£88,500 – £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £29,000
Evidence for using cash savings
When you use cash savings, you must provide the following:
• personal bank statements showing that at least the level of cash savings you have relied upon in your application has been held in an account(s) in your and your partner’s name jointly throughout the period of 6 months prior to the date of application
• a declaration by the account holder(s) of the source(s) of the cash savings
Summary
Unless exempt, you must meet the MIR (minimum income requirement) on the 5 year the 5- year partner, fiancé(e), or proposed civil partner route. The amount is £29,000 if you apply on or after 11 April 2024 and includes any number of dependent children. If you first applied before this date, you will have the advantage of transitional arrangements when you apply for your visa extension, and therefore, you would be required to meet the MIR of £18,600 (without any children).
You can also meet these requirements using only cash savings. If you have cash savings of £62,500, you actually meet the MIR (Minimum Income Requirement) of £18,600, and if you have cash savings of £88,500, you actually meet the MIR (Minimum Income Requirement) of £29,000.
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