Meeting the Family Visa Financial Requirement on Income
A lot has been written about the changes to the Family Visa minimum income requirement. On 11 April the financial requirement is due to increase from £18,600 to £29,000. The figure will eventually rise to £38,700.
With the sharp increases in the Family Visa financial requirement, our Immigration Solicitors are expecting more questions from Spouse Visa applicants on the exact meaning of ‘income’ and what qualifies as salary to meet the financial requirement.
In this blog, our Spouse Visa Solicitors look at the immigration rules on income and the Family Visa financial requirement.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For Family Visa and immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
The immigration rules on Family Visas and the financial requirement
The immigration rules on the Family Visa are found in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
This Appendix FM covers Family Visa applications for:
- Spouse Visas
- Unmarried Partner Visas
- Civil Partner Visas
- Fiance Visas
The Family Visa financial requirement applies when you first apply for entry clearance and when you apply to extend your visa or apply for indefinite leave to remain.
Types of employment
The Appendix FM distinguishes between 2 different types of salaried employment – called categories A and B.
Category A is where a person has been employed for at least 6 months.
Category B is where a person has been employed for less than 6 months or where a person does not get a regular income.
Date you need to satisfy the financial requirement
You need to satisfy the financial requirement on the date of your visa, extension or settlement application. However, the evidence needed in support will look at historical information. For example, old bank statements.
Combining incomes
For some Family Visa applications, you can combine your income as the visa applicant with your sponsoring partner’s income – but not in all cases.
If you will need to try to combine incomes to meet the increased financial requirement to apply for your Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa then speak to our Spouse Visa Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 about whether you can do so in your circumstances.
Gross, not net income
When calculating if a sponsoring partner or visa applicant meets the financial requirement the Home Office looks at gross income and not net salary after paying tax and national insurance payments.
However, all sources of gross income may not be counted under the rules. If your income, or that of your sponsoring partner, is made up of ad hoc bonuses or commission payments it is best to speak to Spouse Visa Solicitors about how the gross income will be assessed.
Is all income treated the same?
The immigration rules do not treat all gross income in the same way. For example, if a sponsoring partner is a company director and the business is a family company, the Home Office officials will not treat this income as either category A or B income.
Immigration Solicitors say that where your sponsoring partner is a company director it is best to take expert immigration legal advice on how to prove that you meet the financial requirement through their gross income.
Income assessment and no affordability calculator
When assessing whether you meet the financial requirement for a Family Visa Home Office officials will look at your sponsoring partner’s income (and your income if it is allowed to be taken into consideration) to see if you meet the financial requirement.
There is no assessment of whether, on the gross income information provided, you will have enough money to support two people (plus children where relevant) and pay the rent or mortgage. The only additional financial type check is the accommodation requirement.
The accommodation requirement does not require your sponsoring partner to own their property or even rent a property in their name. Therefore, the accommodation requirement is not a particularly high threshold to meet provided you understand the immigration rules and provide the evidence required to prove you have suitable housing available to you.
Evidence to show the financial requirement is met
You will need to provide:
- Payslips
- Letter from employer
- Bank statements
The time frame for your sponsoring partner’s wage slips and bank statements depends on whether your sponsoring partner’s income is category A or B. The time frame is normally either 6 or 12 months of documents.
Nowadays not everyone receives formal payslips. If formal wage slips cannot be supplied by the employer, a letter will need to be obtained from the employer setting out the employer and the employee’s names, addresses, and the sponsoring partner’s total pay and deductions over the relevant period and confirming the accuracy of the informal pay slips.
In any event, a letter from the sponsoring partner’s employer is needed to clarify matters, such as:
- The partner’s job description and gross salary
- Whether the job is a fixed-term contract or permanent
- Length of time with employer
- Length of time on current salary – if there has been a recent pay rise information will also be needed on the previous salary
In addition to paperwork from the employer, you will also need to supply bank statements for the bank account into which the salary being used to prove the financial requirement is met is being paid. The Home Office will check that the pay slips correspond with the bank statement entries so if there are discrepancies there needs to be a good reason.
The immigration rules are strict on the time frame the statements need to cover and how they are presented. Online statements cannot just be printed off as some of those statements can easily be altered.
If you are uncertain about the time period for the evidence or the contents of your supporting documents then it is best to speak to Spouse Visa Solicitors and get them to sort out your application for you rather than risking a Spouse Visa refusal.
Spouse Visa Solicitors
At OTS Solicitors our team of Spouse Visa Lawyers can help answer all your questions on the increase to the financial requirement and how to prove you meet it to get your Family Visa. We will support you with your Family Visa application or extension application.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For Family Visa immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
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