2024 Guide – Financial requirement for UK spouse visa by The SmartMove2UK!

Meeting the financial requirement for a UK Spouse Visa application is one of the trickiest aspects of applying as a spouse or partner. Our UK visa experts have received many queries online with the search term, ‘marriage Visa financial requirement‘, or ‘financial requirement’ for a UK Spouse Visa application. If you’re applying as a couple, you and your partner must earn at least £18,600 annually. – not accurate, the sponsor should be earning, or the sponsor and applicant if the applicant is in UK with permission to work, the sentence needs to reflect the same.

As per the Immigration Rules’ Appendix FM lists, the minimal financial standards must be met for entry clearance or permission to remain. This article’s focus is on the financial requirement for UK spouse visa.

Here’s a UK Spouse Visa Application – Financial requirement Guide 2024 where our experts have created a UK Spouse visa Financial requirement checklist.

• Proof of income
• What is considered ‘income’
• Financial requirement for a UK Spouse Visa application – how to prove it
• Spouse Visa Financial Exemptions – 2024
• What Happens if you don’t Meet the Financial requirement for a UK Spouse Visa
• How can TheSmartMove2UK help?

To meet the financial requirement for a UK Spouse Visa application, you will have to provide proof of your income.

If you are applying as a couple and wish to obtain “indefinite leave to remain” within five years in the UK, the sponsor must earn at least £18,600 annually. If the visa holder is permitted to work in the UK, then the couple’s income can be combined.

If you have kids who:

• are not nationals of Ireland or Britain
• have not yet been resolved
• are not residing permanently in the UK

You might not need to show that you have extra funds to support them.

You will need additional funds to look after your children in the UK:

• £3,800 – as an annual cost for your first child
• £2,400 – for each additional child you have

This is the “minimum income requirement” part of the financial requirement for a UK Spouse Visa application.
You might be able to substitute savings for income.
Depending on how you made your money, you must demonstrate it.

• Income from employment before tax and National Insurance (check your P60 or payslips) is what you and your partner can use.
• You can only use your own income if you earn it in the UK.
• Income from self-employment or serving as a director of a limited company in the UK is reported on your ‘Self Assessment Tax’ return.
• Cash savings above £16,000 (not income) and pension income are examples of non-work income.
• Income received from dividends, rent, etc.

When submitting your application, you must include income documentation. If either you or your partner has a job, you could mention:

• Bank records demonstrating your or your partner’s earnings
• 6 months’ worth of paystubs plus a signed, date-stamped letter from the employer
• The letter from the employer should attest:
  • You or your partner work there, what you or your partner do there, and how long you or your partner have worked there.
  • The kind of agreement (for example, permanent, fixed term)
  • Your or your spouse’s annual income before taxes and national insurance
  • How long have you or your spouse received your present pay?
  • The paystubs must be real.
  • When you apply online, you’ll be advised exactly which documents to provide.

You might be exempted from meeting the spouse visa financial requirements, if one of the following applies to you:

• You’re applying as a parent
• You get certain benefits, such as Disability Living Allowance or Carer’s Allowance, you may be eligible to relocate in five years without having to fulfil the minimum income criterion.
• Furthermore, you must demonstrate that you and your family can sustain and care for yourselves sufficiently without the help of the government.
• A caseworker considers your income and housing expenses.

Not meeting the financial requirement for a UK Spouse visa, may it be due to not providing the correct proof of your income or not having the funds; can lead to a refusal of the visa application.

You might still be able to apply for one or get your stay extended if you have a kid who is a British citizen or has been a resident of the country for seven years and it would be unfair for them to leave. But that is only in the case that you have a child in the UK already.

This is the only case where you can still apply without being able to meet the financial requirements. If your case does not meet these exemptions, your application is likely to be rejected (in the case of not providing enough evidence or not having the funds).