Financial requirements for spouse visas

This article explains the financial requirements for Spouse Visas. UK Immigration rules under government guidance present a Family Member Appendix known as FM.  Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules sets out the financial requirements that applicants must meet when making an application for a spouse visa or its extension. There is a minimum requirement of an annual salary of £18,600. Alongside this, is an exception for couples who do not meet this minimum income requirement. If the couple cannot show any income at all, then they must show cash savings of £62,500. The cash sum is in lieu of the minimum income requirement. It may increase if the couple have children that also apply or arrive (or extend) on a child visa.

With cash savings, funds will have to be held for 6 months prior to the application being lodged. Given they can be held individually in the applicants or partners account, a joint account is not mandatory.

Case Scenarios: Financial Requirements

However, couples who have some income may use their income plus their cash savings to meet the financial requirement. The formula used to determine each couple’s financial requirement depends on the amount of cash savings the couple has. Additionally, the amount of time the couple is making their application for is relevant. For example, [(Cash savings – £16,000) ÷ (the period of the grant of leave – usually 2.5 years)] + income = £18,600 approximately.

Here is a case study:  Robert and his wife Grace are applying for an entry clearance spouse visa for 2.5 years. If they have £25,000 in cash savings, but an income of £12,000, the following formula will apply: [(25,000-16,000)/2.5 ]+12,000= 15,600. Therefore, they do not meet the income requirement.

However, if Robert and Grace had £35,000 in cash savings with an income of £1200, the following applies: [(35,000-16,000)/2.5]+12,000= 19,600. Therefore, they would meet the financial requirements.

Understanding Spouse Visa Rules

Nevertheless, the financial requirements may not always be straightforward. In fact, there are different rules for couples who cannot meet the requirement even with the cash savings exception. There are also different rules for couples who demonstrate the sale of a property to meet the necessary threshold. This is where the role of an immigration solicitor will come in. Our team at Taylor Hampton Solicitors are extremely experienced in the field of spousal visa applications with some 15 years’ experience.

For more information:  Do contact us on [email protected] or 0207 427 5972  to find out more and how we can help you and your spouse with their application to enter the UK or with their application to extend their stay in the UK.

To learn more about our Immigration Department and Visas, see HERE