A UK spouse visa application falls under the UK family immigration route. This means a non-UK resident partner can apply for a UK family visa as a spouse. The person in the UK you are a spouse of while applying for a UK spouse visa must be
• A British citizen or
• With settled status, for example, indefinite leave to remain or settled status under the EU settlement scheme, or
• With leave as a refugee or humanitarian protection status in the UK.
You can apply for a UK spouse visa from outside the UK or switch to this visa from inside the UK if you are already in the UK on another valid visa, such as a UK skilled worker visa.
To make a spouse visa application, you partner in the UK must sponsor you. You will also need to meet other requirements, such as a relationship requirement, an intention to live together requirement, a financial requirement, an accommodation requirement, and an English language requirement.
Unless exempt, you must meet the minimum income requirement for this visa without relying on public funds. You can meet the financial requirement in the following ways:
For fresh spouse visa applications from outside the UK or applications for leave to remain with a new partner submitted on or after 11 April 2024, the minimum gross annual income threshold for a couple and dependent children included is £29,000.
If your partner and/or your combined income is less than £29,000, you can use cash savings of £16,000 or more held by you or your partner for at least 6 months. You can combine the savings and income to meet the minimum income threshold.
Thirdly, you can use only cash savings to meet the minimum income threshold as well. For this, cash savings of at least £88,500 held by you or your partner for at least 6 months can be used.
Importantly, you can only rely on the combined incomes of you and your partner if both of you are already in the UK. Otherwise, only the income of your sponsoring partner will be counted.
From 11 April 2024, the minimum income requirement for HM Armed Forces personnel sponsoring their partner or dependent child or children has risen from £18,600 to £23,496.
You are exempted from meeting the financial requirement in certain situations where your UK partner is a recipient of certain benefits or allowances (known as ‘specified benefits’) in the UK.
You will get financial exemption if your UK partner (including HM armed forces personnel or a member of HM armed forces service leaver) must be a recipient of one or more of the following specified benefits:
• Disability Living Allowance; or
• Severe Disablement Allowance; or
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit; or
• Attendance Allowance; or
• Carer’s Allowance; or
• Personal Independence Payment; or
• Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; or
• Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement, or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme; or
• Police Injury Pension; or
• Child Disability Payment (Scotland); or
• Adult Disability Payment (Scotland); or
• Carer’s Support Payment (Scotland); or
• Pension Age Disability Payment (Scotland); or
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (Scotland);
You must provide all the following:
• Official documentation from the Department for Work and Pensions or Veterans Agency or Police Pension Authority, or Social Security Scotland confirming the current entitlement of your partner and the amount they currently receive
• At least one personal bank statement in the 12 months before the date of your spouse visa application, showing payment of the benefit or allowance to which your partner is currently entitled into their account
However, you must provide evidence that your sponsoring partner can meet the maintenance and accommodation requirements for themselves, you, and any dependents in the UK adequately without recourse to public funds.
You also may be exempt from meeting the minimum income requirement for a UK spouse visa if you have a child already in the UK who must be a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for at least 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK.
There would be Significant Difficulties
Even though you are not able to meet the financial requirements, you may still be able to apply for a UK spouse visa. For this, you need to prove that it would create significant difficulties for you or your partner if you were to continue your family life together outside the UK, and the difficulties could not be overcome.
If you cannot meet the financial requirement you may still be able to apply for a UK spouse visa if stopping you from coming to the UK or asking you to leave the UK (if you are already in the UK) would breach your human rights under the ECHR Article 8 because it could result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for you, your partner or a your child.
If you do not meet the financial requirements, the earliest you’ll be able to apply to settle is after 10 years in the UK.
We can help you. Our team of expert and compassionate lawyers helps you explore all of your visa options to ensure that you reunite with your partner in the UK. As mentioned in the article, unless exempt, meeting the minimum income requirement is necessary. But if you are still unsure about how to meet the requirement and whether you are eligible for exemption when you are applying to unite with your partner to settle in the UK, speak to one of our advisers.
We will work with you to assess your case and help you apply for the UK spouse visa. We will offer you a tailored solution for your unique circumstances. We will ensure you can join your partner in the UK.
You can reach out to our team at +44 (0) 20 3411 1261 to learn more.
...
