What is the minimum income requirement?

The minimum income requirement is the financial test for most partner visas under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. The couple must show a gross annual income of at least £29,000 from sources the Rules allow, or cover the gap with cash savings. Lower figures apply to some extensions and different figures to armed forces families.

How the minimum income requirement works

A person who applies as a partner under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules must meet a financial requirement. For most applicants this is the minimum income requirement. GOV.UK describes it this way: you and your partner usually need to prove that your combined income is at least £29,000 a year.^{[3]Home Office, Family visas: Financial requirements if you are applying as a partner or spouse}

The Rules put it in three parts. The applicant must provide specified evidence of one of these:^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

• a gross annual income of at least £29,000
• cash savings of £16,000, plus extra savings of 2.5 times the gap between the couple’s income and £29,000
• a partner who receives one of the listed disability or carer benefits, which leads to a different test

“Gross” means before tax and National Insurance. “Specified” means the evidence set out in Appendix FM-SE.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members} The requirement applies to a partner or spouse visa application made from outside the UK. It also applies to an application to extend, which is covered on the partner visa leave to remain page.

The Home Office uses “financial requirement” as the wider term. Its guidance says the financial requirement involves either an adequate maintenance requirement or a minimum income requirement, depending on the type of application and the applicant’s circumstances.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} The adequate maintenance test is explained in its own entry.

The levels, and what counts as income

The levels

The figure depends on when and how the person first applied.

The £29,000 and £18,600 figures come from the Rules.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members} The £23,496 armed forces figure comes from Home Office guidance, which fixes it regardless of the number of children.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} A child who applies under Appendix FM must meet the same financial requirement as the parent they are joining.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

What counts

The Rules list the sources that may be taken into account. For a leave to remain application they are:^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

• the partner’s income from specified employment or self-employment
• the applicant’s own income from specified employment or self-employment, unless they are working illegally
• specified pension income of the applicant and partner
• specified maternity allowance, bereavement benefit or payments relating to service in HM Forces
• other specified income of the applicant and partner
• income and savings of a dependent child aged 18 or over, in the cases the Rules allow
• specified savings

For an entry clearance application, the Rules list the partner’s income from specified employment or self-employment but not the applicant’s own earnings. Appendix FM-SE adds that an applicant’s own earnings are counted only if the applicant is in the UK and working legally.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence}

What does not count

Appendix FM-SE lists sources that cannot be counted as income:^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence}

Evidence

Evidence must follow Appendix FM-SE. For a person on a salary with the same employer for 6 months or more, that means payslips and personal bank statements for the 6 months before the application and a letter from the employer.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence} Evidence that covers a period ending at the application date must be dated no earlier than 28 days before it.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence}

Example

Amara is a British citizen. She has worked for the same employer for 7 months and has been paid £26,000 a year throughout the last 6 months. Her husband Kofi is applying from outside the UK. The couple have no other income.

• Income needed: £29,000
• Income evidenced: £26,000
• Shortfall: £3,000

Under the savings route in the Rules, the couple would need £16,000 plus 2.5 times the £3,000 shortfall. That is £16,000 plus £7,500, a total of £23,500 in cash savings. The savings must have been held for at least 6 months and be under their control.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} These figures are an illustration of the rule, not a prediction of any decision. Rules and thresholds change.

What people get wrong

People often count money that looks like income but is not on the list. Universal Credit, Child Benefit, tax credits and loans cannot be counted towards the requirement, however regular they are.

Savings are the second trap. Only the amount above £16,000 counts, and at the entry clearance and further leave stages that amount is divided by 2.5. The Home Office guidance gives a table: £60,000 of savings produces £17,600 that can be used, which leaves £11,400 to find from income.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces - minimum income requirement (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} Savings also cannot be combined with self-employment income to reach the requirement.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence}

Many couples also assume a shortfall ends the application. GOV.UK says you may still apply or extend if you have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen or has lived here for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave, or if refusal would breach your human rights. The earliest you can then apply to settle is after 10 years.^{[3]Home Office, Family visas: Financial requirements if you are applying as a partner or spouse} The Rules also direct the decision-maker to consider other sources of income and funds where there are exceptional circumstances that could make refusal a breach of Article 8.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

The bottom line

The minimum income requirement is a fixed money test with a fixed list of allowed sources. For a new partner application the level is £29,000 a year, and cash savings can cover part or all of a shortfall under a set formula. The evidence rules in Appendix FM-SE decide what is counted. A couple should check each source against the lists before they apply.