What is the cash savings requirement?

The cash savings requirement is the set of rules for using savings to meet the financial requirement on a UK family visa. Only cash held for at least 6 months, in the right kind of account, counts. For a partner visa only the amount above £16,000 is used, and it is divided by 2.5.

How cash savings count

The minimum income requirement for a partner visa is a gross annual income of £29,000. The Rules let a couple meet it with income alone, with savings alone or with both together.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members} The savings route is set out in the partner rules for entry clearance and leave to remain. The applicant needs savings of £16,000, plus extra savings equal to 2.5 times the gap between the couple’s income and £29,000.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

Home Office guidance describes the same rule in a different way. Only the part of the savings above £16,000 counts. It says £16,000 is the level at which a person generally ceases to be eligible for income-related benefits.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

At entry clearance and at each extension, the amount above £16,000 is divided by 2.5. That reflects the 2.5 years, or 30 months, before the applicant must apply again. The guidance gives this equation:^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

• (x minus 16,000) divided by 2.5 = y
• x is the total cash savings held for at least 6 months and under the couple’s control
• y is the amount that counts towards the requirement

At the indefinite leave to remain stage the whole of the amount above £16,000 can be used. The partner rules say the words “2.5 times” are disregarded at that stage.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

Which savings qualify

Appendix FM-SE sets the conditions. Evidence must be personal bank statements showing at least the level of savings relied on has been held throughout the 6 months before the date of application, with a declaration of the source of the money.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence} The table summarises what the Rules and guidance say.

The sources for this table are Appendix FM-SE and the Home Office guidance.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} The guidance also says a stocks and shares ISA can count if all the requirements are met.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} The level relied on must have been held throughout the 6 months, so if the balance moves, the lowest balance in that period sets the figure. The guidance for adequate maintenance says this in terms.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} Where money has been held as investments or as property for part of the 6 months, that ownership can count towards the period, but the evidence must show it.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence}

Combining savings with income

Savings can be combined with salaried employment, non-employment income and pension income.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} They cannot be combined with self-employment income.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence} This matters for the self-employed, who must meet the full level from their business income on its own, or from savings on their own.

Example

Nadia’s partner Joe has £33,000 in a joint savings account held for more than 6 months. Joe earns £22,200 a year. They are applying for entry clearance and need £29,000.

• Savings above £16,000: £33,000 minus £16,000 = £17,000
• Divided by 2.5: £6,800
• Income plus savings figure: £22,200 plus £6,800 = £29,000

This matches the Home Office guidance table for £33,000 of savings, which shows £22,200 of other income needed at entry clearance. At the indefinite leave to remain stage the whole £17,000 could be used, and the table shows £12,000 needed from other income.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} The 6-month rule would apply to the full £33,000. Check the figures against the current Rules before any application.

What people get wrong

People often assume that £29,000 in the bank meets the requirement. It does not. The first £16,000 is ignored, and the rest is divided by 2.5. On savings alone the figure needed at entry clearance is £88,500.

The Home Office guidance table shows that £88,500 produces exactly £29,000.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} The second mistake is a late deposit. The money must have been held for the 6 months before the application and be under the couple’s control, so a sum paid in last month does not count towards the level relied on, apart from the investment and property sale exceptions above.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence}

A third mistake is to apply the same figures to every family visa. For the adequate maintenance test, the guidance says all cash savings that meet the rules can count, not only the amount above £16,000. The total is divided by the weeks of leave granted, or by 52 at indefinite leave stage.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

The bottom line

The cash savings requirement lets a couple use savings to cover all or part of a shortfall against £29,000. The £16,000 floor, the division by 2.5 and the 6-month holding period are all fixed by the Rules and guidance. Savings combine with employment, non-employment and pension income but not with self-employment income. The calculation is mechanical, so it is worth running the numbers before the application date.