The UK spouse visa financial requirement currently stands at £29,000 a year, and as of publication the much-discussed rise to £38,700 remains officially frozen.
In short
- The current financial requirement for a spouse visa is £29,000 in annual sponsor income, not the £18,600 figure still floating around older discussions.
- The proposed rise to £38,700 is on hold, not cancelled, and could return alongside changes to work visa thresholds.
- Recipients of PIP, Carer’s Allowance, and DLA are exempt from the financial requirement — only adequacy of funds for maintenance is assessed.
- An alternative to income is around £88,500 in savings, which must sit in the account for at least 6 months.
- The 5-year route to ILR is only available with confirmed income of £29,000 or more; otherwise applicants face the 10-year route with four 2.5-year extensions.
What Is the Current Financial Requirement for a Spouse Visa
The current financial requirement for a UK spouse visa is £29,000 in annual sponsor income. This figure didn’t appear overnight: before the increase, the threshold was £18,600, and it was raised from that level to today’s £29,000.
The increase was part of a wider government review of financial requirements across family visas. For applicants, this means the calculation should be based on the current figure — £29,000 — not on outdated numbers that still circulate in older forum threads and discussions.
The requirement now stands at £29,000 in annual sponsor income — that’s the figure to work from, not the old £18,600.
Will the Threshold Rise to £38,700
The government had proposed raising the spouse visa financial requirement to £38,700 — the same figure the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold was raised to at the same time. Both increases were discussed together, but for the spouse visa the plan was never carried through: implementation was paused shortly after the threshold had only just risen from £18,600 to £29,000.
The reason for the pause isn’t that the idea was dropped — it’s a hold. Jumping straight to £38,700 would hit families already in a difficult position: benefit recipients, single parents, and couples sitting right at the current threshold. The increase hasn’t been cancelled — it’s suspended, and the government itself keeps returning to the topic.
The reason for the pause isn’t that the idea was dropped — it’s a hold.
For the Skilled Worker visa, the £38,700 threshold is already in force and remains a live point of debate. The link between the two matters: if the conversation around the worker threshold shifts, the same scenario could play out for the spouse visa too.
Spouse Visa Financial Requirement: Before and After
The proposed rise to £38,700 was discussed alongside the Skilled Worker salary increase, but for spouses it was put on hold.
- Income threshold
- Proposed but paused thresholdImplementation suspended
Exemption From the Financial Requirement: Benefits and Human Rights
Certain benefits exempt a sponsor from the financial requirement altogether: Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Carer’s Allowance, and Disability Living Allowance (DLA). The list of qualifying benefits is wider than these three — it includes a number of other disability and care-related payments.
If the sponsor receives one of these benefits, the standard financial requirement doesn’t apply to them at all — instead, the case is assessed under a different test, adequate maintenance, so whether income exceeds £29,000 becomes irrelevant. This applies in both situations: when a partner is switching to a spouse visa while already in the UK, and when they’re being brought in from abroad as a dependant.
If none of these benefits apply and the £29,000 threshold isn’t met, there’s still another route — the human rights ground. Each case is assessed individually: even with no qualifying income, a partner can sometimes still be brought to the UK on human rights grounds. Because the outcome depends entirely on the specifics of the case, it’s worth getting legal advice tailored to that situation.
Recipients of PIP, Carer’s Allowance, DLA, and several other disability and care-related benefits are exempt from the standard financial requirement — instead, the case is assessed on whether funds are adequate for maintenance.
Cash Savings: How Savings Can Replace Income
If the sponsor’s annual income falls short of the financial requirement and no exempting benefit applies, the application can instead be based on cash savings. This requires a substantial sum held in an account — around £88,500 according to the source material (the exact current figure should be checked at the time of application) — and the money must belong personally to the applicant or sponsor, not be borrowed or pooled together from relatives.
The Home Office checks where this money came from: applicants must show the funds aren’t linked to money laundering and haven’t been borrowed. At the date of application, a bank statement covering the last 6 months is required — the savings need to have been held in the account throughout that period.
Six months is the minimum holding period; money can sit in the account longer, just not less than that. If part of the sum was transferred into the account shortly before applying — say, as temporary help from a relative or friend — the Home Office is entitled to ask questions about where that money came from and to request an explanation. The ‘borrow it to apply, pay it back after’ approach is unreliable: to immigration authorities, it’s a trigger for closer scrutiny of the funds’ origin, not a guaranteed way to meet the threshold.
The ‘borrow it to apply, pay it back after’ approach is unreliable: to immigration authorities, it’s a trigger for closer scrutiny of the funds’ origin, not a guaranteed way to meet the threshold.
The Home Office checks where cash savings came from: the money must belong to the applicant or sponsor and sit in the account for at least 6 months, or questions about its origin will follow.
What You Need to Evidence Cash Savings
Switching to a Spouse Visa From Another Visa Category
Applicants already in the UK can switch to a spouse or partner visa from a Skilled Worker visa, a student visa, or a Graduate visa (PSW). The outcome depends on whether the sponsor or couple jointly meets the £29,000 financial requirement: if the income meets the threshold, the application goes straight onto the 5-year family route, and after 5 years the applicant becomes eligible for ILR or citizenship.
If the financial requirement isn’t met at the time of application, the case may instead go onto the 10-year route, with the possibility of moving to the 5-year route later — this requires showing evidence of income over a year (for self-employment) or over 6 months (for employment).
But every case is assessed individually: if the applicant has a history of status breaches — an overstay or a period of unlawful presence — switching onto the 5-year route won’t be possible even if the financial requirement is otherwise met. Because immigration rules are drawn so finely in these borderline situations, the decision needs to be weighed against the specific facts of the case.
5-Year vs 10-Year Family Route: What’s the Difference
If the sponsor meets the £29,000 financial requirement — through personal income, the partner’s income, or their combined income — the application is granted on the 5-year family route. After 5 years on this route, the applicant becomes eligible to apply for ILR (settlement) or citizenship.
If the financial requirement isn’t met, a visa can still be granted on the 10-year family route where there are proven exceptional circumstances and a genuine and subsisting relationship: the relationship has to be real, not a marriage of convenience.
The 10-year route is structured differently from the 5-year one: instead of a single waiting period, it involves four visa extensions of 2.5 years each, and only once those are complete does the applicant become eligible for settlement.
| Route | Time to ILR | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 5-year | 5 years | single period, income from £29,000 |
| 10-year | 10 years | 4 extensions of 2.5 years each |
5-Year vs 10-Year Family Route
| Criterion | 5-year route | 10-year route |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying condition | Income of £29,000+ confirmed | Income not met, but exceptional circumstances and a genuine relationship exist |
| Structure | Single waiting period | 4 visa extensions of 2.5 years each |
| Time to ILR | 5 years | 10 years |
| Switching routes | — | Can switch to the 5-year route if income rises to meet the threshold |
A switch from the 10-year to the 5-year route is assessed individually and isn’t guaranteed even once the income condition is met.
Moving From the 10-Year Route to the 5-Year Route
An applicant can switch from the 10-year family route to the 5-year route once the sponsor’s income rises to meet the £29,000 financial requirement. As soon as that figure is confirmed, an applicant originally placed on the 10-year route with 2.5-year extensions can move onto the shorter path to settlement.
How long the income has to be evidenced for depends on employment type:
- employed — 6 months of income evidence;
- self-employed — 1 year of income evidence.
Each switch is assessed individually. If the applicant was in the country unlawfully or had overstayed a visa before being granted the family route, meeting the financial requirement alone isn’t enough — a switch to the 5-year route may still be refused even though the income condition has been met.
How Much a Spouse Visa Costs: IHS and the Immigration Fee
Besides meeting the financial requirement, applicants face two further mandatory payments — the immigration fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Both are compulsory: the application won’t be accepted without them.
| Fee | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|
| IHS | £1,035 | per year |
| IHS for the full 5-year route (2.5-year visa + extension) | about £3,100 | for 2.5 years |
| Immigration fee | about £14,410 | per application |
| Priority processing inside the UK | +£1,000 | additional |
| Priority processing via an overseas embassy | +£500 | additional |
These amounts rise year on year, and the government plans further increases, so the figures should be checked at the time of application.
If a sponsor can’t afford these costs and is in genuine financial hardship, there’s an exception — a fee waiver application. It can be submitted regardless of whether the partner is inside the UK or abroad: eligibility for a fee waiver isn’t tied to location, only to proving the financial condition for exemption is met. This exception shouldn’t be confused with the £29,000 threshold exemption for recipients of certain DWP benefits — these are two separate exemption mechanisms: one concerns the financial requirement itself, the other concerns paying the fees.
The immigration fee (about £14,410) and the IHS (£1,035 a year) are both mandatory — without them the application simply won’t be accepted, unless a fee waiver has been granted.
Genuine and Subsisting Relationship: What’s Checked and What Evidence Is Needed
Whether the application is made inside the UK or from abroad, the Home Office and the relevant post both check that the relationship is genuine and subsisting: real and ongoing. A single wedding photo isn’t enough for this: a sham marriage isn’t cleared by that requirement alone. At the same time, ‘subsisting’ doesn’t mean living together 24 hours a day — partners can spend months apart for work or study and still demonstrate that the relationship continues.
A single wedding photo isn’t enough for this: a sham marriage isn’t cleared by that requirement alone.
Evidence comes from correspondence and communication with the partner: emails, WhatsApp messages, video calls. This kind of evidence is always required, even when the marriage is officially registered and a certificate is in hand.
There are three partner-visa routes: the spouse visa, the partner visa, and the unmarried partner visa — used when the marriage isn’t officially registered. In that case, instead of a marriage certificate, applicants need evidence of a two-year relationship with their partner. The rules, regulations, and fees on this route are exactly the same as for a registered marriage: a marriage certificate and two-year relationship evidence are treated as equivalent documents. Having a marriage certificate doesn’t guarantee approval, and two-year evidence on its own doesn’t lead to refusal — in both cases what’s assessed is the genuineness of the relationship.
Not everyone needs to provide two-year relationship evidence. If the relationship is recent and the marriage is already registered, this document isn’t required at all — for example, if the marriage was registered a week ago, it’s physically impossible to produce a two-year history. The requirement applies to those who can’t officially register a marriage: people with overstayed status, exhausted appeals, or an expired student or other visa. For them, the two-year relationship becomes the basis for the application in place of a marriage certificate.
Regional application rules matter too: applications made from Scotland follow that region’s own local rules, while an applicant in London falls under the rules of that city’s local council.
Frequently asked questions
Can you apply for a spouse visa if the partner is abroad rather than in the UK
Yes: the genuine and subsisting relationship check and eligibility for a fee waiver aren’t tied to location — they apply the same way whether the application is made from inside the UK or from abroad. The difference in route comes not from location, but from whether the financial requirement is met.
Do you need to re-confirm the financial requirement when extending a visa on the 10-year route
Going through extensions on the 10-year route doesn’t exempt an applicant from future income checks: it’s precisely an income rise to £29,000 that becomes the basis for moving to the shorter 5-year route. Until the threshold is met, the applicant stays on the 10-year path with 2.5-year extensions.
Can you get a spouse visa if the marriage was registered a week ago
Yes: two-year relationship evidence isn’t required at all in this case, because it only replaces a marriage certificate for those who can’t officially register a marriage. If the marriage is already registered — even a week ago — it’s physically impossible to produce a two-year history, and applicants aren’t required to do so.
What’s the difference between the partner visa and the unmarried partner visa in terms of requirements and fees
The rules, regulations, and fees on the unmarried partner route are exactly the same as for a registered marriage: a marriage certificate and two-year relationship evidence are treated as equivalent documents. The only difference is which document proves the relationship, not the fee amount or the financial requirement.
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