Stages to raise financial Requirement

1. The minimum income requirement will be increased to £29,000 from “11 April 2024”.
2. The minimum income requirement will be increased to around £34,500 in the “second half of 2024”.
3. The minimum income requirements will be increased to around £38,700 “in early 2025”.

Will the increased financial Requirement apply to extension applicants?

Those who apply for a spouse/partner visa before 11 April 2024 will be assessed against a financial requirement of a minimum income of £18,600. People already in the UK on a spouse/partner visa will continue to be subject to existing immigration rules and the financial requirement of a minimum income of £18,600 until they apply for settlement.

Those who already have a family visa or who apply before the minimum financial requirements are increased, will not need to meet the increased income threshold. This will also be the case for children seeking to join or accompany parents. 

However, anyone granted a fiancé visa before the minimum income requirement is increased must meet the new financial requirement when applying for a spouse visa.

Those individuals who are currently in the United Kingdom on a different route and who submit an application to switch to the partner route after the minimum income requirement has been raised will be subject to the new income requirement. It is therefore recommended that those who are thinking about moving to the partner route submit their applications prior to 11 April 2024 in order to avoid the increase in the minimum income requirement.

How to meet the Financial Requirements for a Family Visa?

There are a number of ways to meet the financial requirements for family and partner visas.

• Salaried employment
• Non-salaried employment (i.e. varying working hours/hourly pay)
• Self-employment
• As a Company Director
• Non-employment income (i.e. dividends, shares, or property rental)
• Cash savings (i.e. above £16,000)
• Investments
• Pension

You may rely upon one source of income to meet the financial requirements, but you may also combine a number of sources of income.

If you receive Certain government Benefits of Adequate Maintenance

Where the applicant's UK partner receives certain government benefits or allowances in the UK, they may be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of "adequate maintenance" These government allowances and benefits include:

• Carer’s Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme
• Police Injury Pension

What should I do if I cannot meet the new Financial Requirement?

If you do not meet the new financial requirements for a UK partner or family visa, you may apply for a visa under the 10-year partner/family visa route and settle in the UK, provided the following applies:

• Where there are exceptions and insurmountable obstacles apply;
• If there are exceptional circumstances or unjustifiably harsh consequences.

Immigration law defines “insurmountable obstacles” means the very significant difficulties which would be faced by the applicant or their partner in continuing their family life together outside the UK and which could not be overcome or would entail very serious hardship for the applicant or their partner.

“When the applicant is faced with such serious difficulties that it is difficult to return to the country or that it is literally impossible to continue family life together abroad.”  The Applicant must prove that these very significant difficulties cannot be overcome, or that they would create very serious hardship. 

In order to apply in this case, the applicant must submit good evidence. A significant degree of difficulty or inconvenience, even for a British partner who 'has lived in the UK all his life, has friends and family in the UK, works in the UK and speaks only English', does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle. Anyone considering an application on these grounds is therefore advised to obtain legal advice.

If exceptional circumstances are determined to apply, it can be proven as an alternative source of income.

Alternative Sources of Income are as follows:

• Third-party funding support

Third-party support is a credible guarantee of financial support from another person, such as a family member, to contribute to funding.

• Prospective Earnings from Employment 

Sustainable and reliable prospective earning from employment or self-employment of the applicant or a UK partner.

• Any other credible and reliable sources of income or funds.

You may also rely on other credible and reliable sources of income or funds. This source of income or funding must be available to you at the date of application or must become available to you during the period of limited leave applied for.

In conclusion, the applicant and their UK partner must provide evidence that they can adequately maintain and live for themselves and their dependents in the UK without recourse to public funds.