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Spouse visa financial requirement: how the £29,000 minimum income works

For a first partner application, the Immigration Rules require specified gross income of at least £29,000 a year, or cash savings of £16,000 plus 2.5 times any shortfall. A lower £18,600 figure applies only to people who first applied before 11 April 2024 and are extending with the same partner. Loans, benefits such as Universal Credit and property equity do not count.

The financial requirement is where many partner applications are won or lost, and it is the part of Appendix FM that has changed most in recent years. The headline number is £29,000. The detail underneath it decides whether a particular family meets it: whose income counts, how it is calculated, what savings can replace it, and which sources are excluded.

This page explains the rule using the text of Appendix FM (updated 8 October 2026) and Appendix FM-SE (the specified evidence appendix), together with GOV.UK's family visa pages. It describes how the rules work in general. It does not say whether your own income or savings meet them, because that depends on your documents.

Two terms matter. "Gross" means before tax and National Insurance. "Specified" means the Rules limit the sources and evidence that can be used, so income that is real but does not match the specified form may not count.

The headline rule and who it applies to

GOV.UK says that if you apply for a family visa as a partner, you and your partner usually need to prove that your combined income is at least £29,000 a year. The Rules call this a "specified gross annual income of at least £29,000" (E-ECP.3.1(a) for entry clearance from outside the UK, E-LTRP.3.1(a) for permission to stay inside the UK).

In the in-UK extension, the heading above E-LTRP.3.1 limits the £29,000 to "an applicant who is making their first application on the partner route on or after 11 April 2024". People whose first partner application was earlier have a transitional rule, covered below.

The financial requirement can be met in one of three ways:

  1. specified gross annual income of at least £29,000
  2. a combination of income and savings (£16,000 plus a multiple of any shortfall)
  3. the partner receiving one of the listed disability or carer benefits, in which case the test changes to adequate maintenance

There is also a separate accommodation requirement. The family must show adequate accommodation, without public funds, which they own or occupy exclusively. The Rules say accommodation is not adequate if it is, or will be, overcrowded, or if it contravenes public health regulations.

Whose income counts

This is the first place families go wrong, because the answer differs between applying from outside the UK and applying inside it.

Applying from outside the UK (E-ECP.3.2). Only these sources are taken into account:

  • the partner's specified employment or self-employment income (for a partner returning to the UK with the applicant, this can include employment overseas as well as in the UK)
  • specified pension income of the applicant and partner
  • specified maternity allowance or bereavement benefit received by the partner in the UK, or specified payments relating to service in HM Forces
  • other specified income of the applicant and partner
  • specified savings of the applicant and partner

The applicant's own earnings from a job abroad are not on that list. The sponsoring partner's salary is the main income source.

Applying inside the UK (E-LTRP.3.2). The list is wider. It includes the applicant's own income from specified employment or self-employment, "unless they are working illegally", and the income and savings of a dependent child aged 18 or over who is part of the household. FM-SE also says the employment or self-employment income of an applicant is taken into account if they are in the UK, aged 18 or over and working legally. Prospective income is not counted, except for a partner returning to work in the UK, or in the exceptional-circumstances route below.

The effect is that a couple where the applicant already works lawfully in the UK can combine two salaries, while a couple applying from abroad usually rely on the sponsor's income plus any pension and other specified income of either partner.

How the income is calculated

Appendix FM-SE paragraph 13 sets the calculation rules. The main ones for salaried employment are:

  • Employed for 6 months or more. If the person has been employed by their current employer for at least 6 months and has been paid throughout the 6 months before the application at the level of salary relied on, the gross annual income is that salary plus specified non-employment income and pension income (FM-SE 13(a)).
  • Employed for less than 6 months. The person's gross annual salary at the date of application counts, plus the other sources, but a second test also applies. They must also meet the requirement on the basis of the gross salaried income they actually earned in the 12 months before the application, plus other specified income (FM-SE 13(b) and 15).
  • Self-employed. Income is the gross taxable profit in the last full financial year, or the average of the last two (FM-SE 13(e) and 19). Self-employment has its own article in this set.

Other rules from FM-SE paragraph 18 matter in practice:

  • Basic pay, skills-based allowances and UK location-based allowances count if they are contractual, but where those allowances make up more than 30% of total salary, only the amount up to 30% counts.
  • Overtime, commission, bonuses and tips can count, but the amount added to salary is the annual equivalent of the average monthly figure in the 6 months before the application.
  • Payments for travel, relocation, subsistence or accommodation, and payments for the cost of living overseas, do not count.
  • For non-salaried work paid hourly or at a variable rate, the figure relied on is no greater than the annual equivalent of the average gross monthly income in the 6 months before the application.
  • Where gross pay cannot be properly evidenced, the net (after-tax) amount is counted towards a gross requirement (FM-SE 1(k)). The gross amount can be counted where the bank statements show the net amount that corresponds to the payslip (FM-SE 1(n)).
  • Unpaid maternity, paternity, adoption, parental or sick leave in the 12 months before the application is not counted as a period of employment (FM-SE 13(i)).

Where evidence covers a period that ends on the date of application, the evidence or its most recent part must be dated no earlier than 28 days before the application (FM-SE 1(l)).

The savings route, with worked arithmetic

The Rules let cash savings make up a shortfall. Both E-ECP.3.1(b) and E-LTRP.3.1(b) require:

  • savings of £16,000, and
  • additional savings equal to 2.5 times the difference between the gross annual income from the allowed sources and £29,000.

GOV.UK's financial pages say cash savings above £16,000 can count as income. The Rules put it as a formula, so here are three worked cases. They show the arithmetic only.

  • Income £24,000. The shortfall is £5,000. 2.5 × £5,000 = £12,500. Savings needed: £16,000 + £12,500 = £28,500.
  • Income £20,000. The shortfall is £9,000. 2.5 × £9,000 = £22,500. Savings needed: £16,000 + £22,500 = £38,500.
  • No countable income. The shortfall is the full £29,000. 2.5 × £29,000 = £72,500. Savings needed: £16,000 + £72,500 = £88,500.

The savings must also meet the evidence rules in FM-SE:

  • They must be held in cash (FM-SE 1(e)), in an account that allows immediate access (11A(a)), in the name of the applicant, partner or both jointly.
  • Bank statements must show at least the amount relied on was held throughout the 6 months before the application, with a declaration of the source of the savings (FM-SE 11).
  • A gift of cash is accepted only if the gift has been held by the person for at least 6 months before the application and is under their control, with the source declared (FM-SE 1(b)(iii)).
  • Funds moved from investments, or net proceeds of selling a dwelling or land within the 6 months, can count, but the 6-month period is reduced by the time the funds were held in the other form (11A(c) and (d)).
  • Equity in a property cannot be used (FM-SE 20(d)).

Some people face an extra restriction. FM-SE 13(f) says a self-employed person cannot combine their self-employment income with savings to meet the level of income required. FM-SE 15(b)(iv) says the same for the 12-month income test that applies to someone employed for less than 6 months.

What does not count

FM-SE paragraph 21 lists sources that are not counted when income is calculated:

  • loans and credit facilities
  • income-related benefits: Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Support, and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
  • contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance, contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit
  • Child Benefit
  • Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • any other source not specified in the appendix

FM-SE also says that promises of third-party support will not be accepted, except for the existing support it lists: maintenance payments from a former partner, income from an adult child in the household, a gift of cash savings held for 6 months, and a maintenance grant or stipend. Profit from selling an asset is not income, although the funds can be treated as savings if the savings rules are met (FM-SE 1(i)).

Because the list is exact, a source that is genuinely regular but not on the list, such as support from a relative promised for the future, may still be excluded. The exceptional-circumstances route described next is the only place where wider sources can be considered.

The £18,600 transitional rule and children

A lower figure applies to a narrow group. E-LTRP.3.5 to 3.8 set a "transitional financial requirement" for someone who:

  • made their first application as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or partner before 11 April 2024, which was successful, and
  • is now applying for permission to stay with the same partner.

For that group the requirement is gross annual income of at least £18,600, plus £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for each additional child, alone or combined with savings (£16,000 plus 2.5 times the shortfall). GOV.UK's financial page says the same, and adds that it applies if you first applied as a fiancé(e) before 11 April 2024. A new partner means the £29,000 requirement.

The Rules define "child" for this purpose as a dependent child under 18 (or who was under 18 when first granted entry) who is applying as a dependant or is in the UK as a dependant and is not a British citizen or settled. E-LTRP.3.8 caps the total: if the sum with children would exceed £29,000, the applicant only needs £29,000.

  • One child: £18,600 + £3,800 = £22,400
  • Two children: £18,600 + £3,800 + £2,400 = £24,800
  • Three children: £18,600 + £3,800 + £4,800 = £27,200
  • Four children: £29,600 on the formula, capped at £29,000

GOV.UK adds that you do not need to show extra money for children who are British or Irish citizens, or who have pre-settled or settled status.

This rule is easy to get wrong. A person who first applied on or after 11 April 2024 does not benefit from £18,600 on a later extension. Equally, a person who first applied earlier but now has a new partner does not either.

Disability benefits, exceptional circumstances and the 10-year route

Disability and carer benefits. If the partner receives one of the benefits listed in E-ECP.3.3 or E-LTRP.3.3, including Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Adult Disability Payment and the others on that list, the £29,000 test does not apply. The family must instead show the partner is able to maintain and accommodate the family adequately without public funds. FM-SE 12A and 12B set out how this is assessed from income, savings and housing costs.

Exceptional circumstances. Paragraph GEN.3.1 says that if the financial requirement is not met from the specified sources, and it is evident from the information provided that refusal could breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights because it would result in "unjustifiably harsh consequences" for the applicant, their partner or a relevant child, the decision-maker must consider whether the requirement is met using wider sources. These are listed in FM-SE 21A: a credible guarantee of sustainable third-party support, credible prospective earnings, or another credible and reliable source. The applicant has the burden of showing these are genuine. It is not a general alternative to the usual rules. The Rules' test is exceptional circumstances and "unjustifiably harsh consequences".

GOV.UK adds that you may still apply if you have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave.

The long route. A partner granted permission on the exceptional-circumstances basis gets the 10-year route: the Rules (D-LTRP.1.2) say settlement eligibility follows a continuous period of 120 months, rather than 60. GOV.UK says the same: if you do not meet the financial requirements, the earliest you can apply to settle is after 10 years.

What happens when an application is refused for failing this requirement is covered in the article on spouse visa refusals.

Finding a regulated adviser

The financial requirement turns on exact documents, dates and calculation rules, so people with variable income, a new job, self-employment or savings gifts often ask a regulated adviser to check the figures before they apply. The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number so you can check them on the official register. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work in general; it does not tell you what to do in your own case.

Questions people ask

What is the minimum income for a UK spouse visa in 2026?

The Rules require specified gross annual income of at least £29,000 for a first partner application (E-ECP.3.1 and E-LTRP.3.1). The figure can be met with savings instead, using £16,000 plus 2.5 times the shortfall, or the test changes if the partner receives a listed disability or carer benefit.

Can savings replace the £29,000 income requirement?

Savings can make up a shortfall. The Rules require £16,000 plus 2.5 times the difference between your countable income and £29,000, held in cash for 6 months with the source declared. For £24,000 of income that is £28,500.

Does the applicant's income count for a spouse visa?

From outside the UK, the Rules list the partner's employment and self-employment income, pension and other specified income of either, and savings. The applicant's own earnings abroad are not on the list. Inside the UK, the applicant's lawful UK earnings can count.

Is the £18,600 figure still in the Rules?

Yes, but only for someone whose first application was before 11 April 2024 and who is extending with the same partner. Child uplifts of £3,800 and £2,400 apply, capped at £29,000. Everyone else needs £29,000.

Does Universal Credit count as income for a spouse visa?

No. FM-SE paragraph 21 lists Universal Credit, Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and the income-related benefits as sources that are not counted. Loans and credit facilities do not count either.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Spouse visa with self-employed income: how the financial requirement is calculated and evidenced — Self-employed income is measured over the last full financial year, or the average of the last two, using tax returns and accounts, not recent bank balances. A self-employed person cannot top up a shortfall with savings, and company directors who own most of a small company follow a separate set of tests. Evidence rules are in Appendix FM-SE paragraphs 7, 9, 13 and 19.
  • Using savings for a spouse visa: the £16,000 rule — Under Appendix FM, cash savings can replace some or all of the £29,000 income requirement, but not pound for pound. The Rules ask for £16,000 plus 2.5 times the gap between your income and £29,000, held in cash for the 6 months before you apply.
  • Spouse visa documents: what UKVI asks for, and the rules on how to present them — A UK partner application needs your identity documents, your partner's details, proof of relationship, specified financial evidence (for example 6 months of payslips with bank statements and an employer letter), English evidence, a TB certificate if you are from a listed country, and certified translations. Missing or out-of-date documents are the commonest reason for avoidable refusals.
  • UK spouse visa cost in 2026: the application fee, the health surcharge and what else you pay — A partner or spouse visa costs £2,064 if you apply from outside the UK and £1,407 if you apply from inside it, plus the immigration health surcharge (£3,105 for the first 2 years 9 months from outside the UK, £2,587.50 for an extension). Settlement (ILR) is a separate £3,226. These are the 8 October 2026 fees and are per person.
  • Spouse visa refused: options and deadlines — A refused UK partner (spouse) application is not on the administrative review list. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal only if the decision refused a human rights claim, which your decision letter should say; the deadline is 14 days in the UK or 28 days outside it and the fee is £82 or £144. Otherwise the usual step is a new application at £2,064 (outside the UK) or £1,407 (inside), plus the healthcare surcharge.
  • Spouse visa extension after 2.5 years: how the FLR(M) application works — The partner visa is granted in two blocks of about 2.5 years. The extension (GOV.UK's FLR(M) online application) costs £1,407 plus £2,587.50 health surcharge per adult, and you can apply any time before your permission expires. Most people must meet the financial requirement again, show you still live together, and prove English at A2 if A1 was used last time.