Spouse, partner and family visas

The financial requirement is where most applications are won or lost — and there are more ways to meet it than most people realise.

The financial requirement, as it actually stands

£29,000 a year. The increase to £38,700 that was announced and widely reported was paused and has not been implemented. A good deal of material online still states the higher figure, and people have abandoned applications on the strength of it.

Separately, the Migration Advisory Committee has recommended a lower range of roughly £23,000–£25,000. That has not been adopted and there is no timetable, so £29,000 is the figure that applies.

The ways to meet it

More flexible than the headline suggests:

Employment income, salaried or non-salaried, with different evidential rules for each.

Self-employment or income as a company director — assessed on a full financial year, which makes timing important.

Cash savings, which can meet the requirement alone at approximately £88,500, held for the specified period.

Non-employment income — rental income, dividends, pensions.

Combinations of the above, though not every combination is permitted and the rules on which sources can be added together are unforgiving.

Transitional protection. If you held a qualifying partner visa, or applied, before 11 April 2024, the previous £18,600 threshold continues to apply through to settlement with the same partner. This is worth checking before assuming you need £29,000.

Exemption. Where the sponsor receives specified disability or carer-related benefits, the adequate maintenance test applies instead — whether household income after housing costs is sufficient.

The evidential rules are stricter than the financial ones. Applications are refused every week where the income was plainly sufficient but the documents did not comply with the specified format, the dates, or the sequence. That is the single most common reason for refusal on this route and it is entirely avoidable.

The other requirements

A genuine and subsisting relationship, evidenced across the whole period — not a folder assembled the week before. Cohabitation, joint finances, communication, time spent together, and the knowledge each of you has of the other’s life.

English language, at the level required for the stage of the route.

Adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds.

Suitability, including immigration history and any criminal record.

When the relationship is under strain

This is where clients most often receive advice from one adviser that damages their position with another, and where we can help in a way a firm doing immigration alone cannot.

A partner visa depends on a subsisting relationship. Separation has consequences that are not obvious, and there is an obligation to notify the Home Office of a relationship breakdown.

The timing of separation and of divorce proceedings matters — for your status, for an application already submitted, and for settlement.

There are provisions that may assist where a relationship has broken down in particular circumstances, including domestic abuse. They are not widely understood and they are lost by delay.

The family law advice and the immigration advice have to be given together. A financial settlement negotiated without regard to immigration status, or a separation dated without regard to an application, can cost someone their position in this country. We do both.

If this is your situation, say so on the first call. It changes the advice.

Settlement

Five years on the standard partner route, or a longer route where the relationship began differently. The proposed ten-year “earned settlement” baseline has not been enacted and no date is confirmed.

From 26 March 2027 the English requirement for settlement rises from B1 to B2.

What it costs

A fixed fee per application, quoted before we begin. Home Office fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge are additional and we confirm the current figures first. Where there is a complication — a previous refusal, a gap in status, a self-employment income assessment — we say so and quote separately.

Questions

Questions people ask us

Is the income requirement £38,700 now?

No. It remains £29,000. The increase to £38,700 was paused and has not been implemented, although a great deal of material online still states it.

Can I use savings instead of income?

Yes. Savings alone can meet the requirement at approximately £88,500, held for the specified period. Savings can also be combined with income, though not every combination is permitted.

I applied before April 2024. Which threshold applies to me?

If you held a qualifying partner visa or applied before 11 April 2024, the previous £18,600 threshold continues through to settlement with the same partner.

My partner is self-employed. Does that make it harder?

More document-intensive rather than harder. Self-employed income is assessed on a full financial year, which makes the timing of the application important — applying at the wrong point in the cycle is a common and avoidable problem.

We are separating. What happens to my visa?

Take advice quickly. A partner visa depends on a subsisting relationship, there is an obligation to notify the Home Office, and the timing of separation and of any divorce proceedings affects your position. There are also provisions that may assist in particular circumstances, including where there has been domestic abuse — but they are lost by delay.

The hub

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Start with a conversation

A free 20-minute call. Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost.

No charge

A free 20-minute call

Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost. No advice is given on this call and there is no charge for it.

£350 plus VAT

A paid strategy session

One hour with a partner, followed by a written summary of your position and options. For people who want proper advice without instructing a firm yet. Credited in full against your fees if you go on to instruct us.

Or reach us directly

0207 112 8818

WhatsApp +44 7476 045967

[email protected]

We answer enquiries the same working day.