Using Pension Income to Meet the UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement
Applicants for Spouse Visas and their sponsoring partners are finding it harder to meet the Family Visa financial requirement because in April 2024 the financial requirement amount of annual income increased from £18,600 to an income of £29,000 gross per year.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors look at when a visa applicant or their sponsoring partner can use pension income or a pension lump sum to meet or partially meet 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
What is the Family Visa financial requirement?
The rules on the Family Visa financial requirement are found in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. Although many articles talk about the financial requirement for Spouse Visas the financial requirement applies to Family Visa applications for:
- Spouse Visas
- Unmarried Partner Visas
- Civil Partner Visas
- Fiance Visas
The financial requirement is currently £29,000. However, if you secured a Family Visa before April 2024 you may benefit from transitional rules when you apply for a Family Visa extension or when you apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The UK government has said there will be a further two rises in the financial requirement. The first is planned for mid to late 2024 with an increase to £34,500. The second is planned for early 2025 with an increase to £38,700.
Spouse Visa Solicitors say that careful visa planning is necessary because visa applicants must meet the relevant financial requirement that applies to them when they apply for their first Family Visa and also when they apply to extend their Family Visa or settle in the UK with an Indefinite Leave to Remain application.
For information on how the transitional financial requirement rules may apply to you contact our Immigration Solicitors on 0203 959 9123.
What are the immigration rules on pension income to meet the Family Visa financial requirement?
Appendix FM contains the rules on Family Visa applications and the rules on the use of pension income and other income or cash savings to meet the financial requirement.
Pension income is classed as category E income in Appendix FM.
What pension income counts to meet the Family Visa financial requirement?
A visa applicant or a sponsoring partner's gross annual income from any of the following types of pension can help a visa applicant meet the financial requirement for a Family Visa:
- UK basic state pension
- UK additional or second state pension
- HM Forces pension
- Occupational pension
- Private pension
The annual pension income can only be used to calculate if the visa applicant meets the financial requirement if the pension income has been in payment or been a source of income at least 28 days before the visa application.
Spouse Visa Solicitors suggest that if you or your sponsoring partner are nearing retirement and you are reliant on pension income to meet the financial requirement it may be best to delay your Family Visa application until the monthly pension income has been in your bank account for at least 28 days.
Can pension income be combined with other sources of income to meet the Spouse Visa financial requirement?
The immigration rules allow you to combine your annual pension income with the following types of other income to help you meet the financial requirement:
- Category A: salaried and non-salaried employment
- Part (1) of Category B: salaried and non-salaried employment
- Category C: non-employment income
The gross (as opposed to annual) amount of any state pension, occupational or private pension received by the visa applicant or their sponsoring partner in the 12 months before the date of the visa application can be combined with part (2) of Category B income: salaried and non-salaried employment.
Spouse Visa Solicitors acknowledge that the Appendix FM rules on what income you can combine are not easy to follow. It is therefore easy to get the rules and the evidence wrong. If you have had a Spouse Visa refusal on combining income grounds our expert Immigration Solicitors can review your options and advise on the best way forward. Call us on 0203 959 9123.
Can you combine pension income and cash savings to meet the Family Visa financial requirement?
You can also combine pension income and cash savings (Category D) to meet the financial requirement but the rules on what amounts to ‘cash savings’ are complicated. To use savings to help meet the financial requirement you must have at least £16,000 in cash savings held in an account belonging to the visa applicant, the sponsoring partner or jointly.
The money in the account must have been held for at least 6 months and cannot have dropped below the minimum £16,000 during those 6 months.
For more information on using cash savings to meet the financial requirement take a look at our blog: Using Savings to Meet the UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement.
Can you use a pension lump sum to help meet the Spouse Visa financial requirement?
You or your sponsoring partner can liquidate your pension (where this is allowed under the pension scheme rules) to help you meet the Spouse Visa financial requirement. You can also combine a pension lump sum (provided it is over £16,000) with pension income to help you meet the financial requirement.
The immigration rules make it clear that if you or your sponsoring partner are combining pension income and cash savings realised from a pension fund to meet the financial requirement the pension provider must calculate the pension income by taking into account the lump sum pension withdrawal. If they did not do so there would be an element of double counting.
If you do not want to combine your pension lump sum with pension or other income sources to meet the Family Visa financial requirement then you can rely fully on cash savings from your pension lump sum (or other sources) but you need at least £88,500 to do so.
Spouse Visa Solicitors helping you with your Family Visa application
Our specialist Spouse Visa Solicitors are not financial advisors and therefore if you or your sponsoring partner are debating pension options and whether to take a pension lump sum, buy an annuity or take a pension early we would recommend that you first speak to a pension advisor or financial advisor so you understand the long term financial implications.
We can work with these professionals to explain what evidence you will need of pension cash savings or income to support your visa application or what sources of pension and non-pension income can be combined to meet the financial requirement. We will also help and support you through the visa, extension or Indefinite Leave to Remain application.
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
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