The purpose of the financial requirement is to ensure the applicant has sufficient funds to support themselves in the UK, without having recourse to public funds. Unfortunately, the most common reason for refusing a spouse visa, is due to the applicant failing to demonstrate that they meet the financial requirement. It may well be that the applicant clearly has sufficient income to meet the requirement but has failed to submit evidence of this with their application. The financial requirements for a spouse visa are complex and burdensome and therefore we will cover each element in a series of blogs.
Level of income
The minimum income threshold means that the applicant must show that they have an annual income of at least £18,600. If there are children who will be dependants on the application, then the applicant will be required to show an additional £3,800 for the first child and an additional of £2,400 for each subsequent child.
Who’s income?
The first question to answer is whether only the applicant’s income can be used to meet this requirement or whether the sponsor’s income can also be counted. The answer is that an applicant can rely on their own income, their partner’s, joint income and even a combination.
Permitted sources of income
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CATEGORY |
SOURCE |
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A/B |
Income from salaried and non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work) |
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C |
Non-employment income (e.g. income from property rental or dividends from shares) |
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D |
Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control. |
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E |
State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant. |
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F/G |
Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). |
Sources of income which are not permitted
- Financial support from a third party is usually not permitted, but there are exceptions to this such as gifts of cash savings (although there are certain conditions).
- Income from others who live in the same household.
- Loans and credit facilities.
- Income-related benefits such as income support, income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit or support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance.
- Certain contributory benefits such as contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance, contribution-based ESA and incapacity benefit.
- Child benefit, working tax credit, child tax credit and universal credit
What evidence is required?
Each of the above categories has its own set of requirements which includes a list of documents which should be submitted. It can also become very complex when two sources of income are combined. Our spouse visa series of blogs will provide more information on what evidence should be submitted for each category.