What Happens if I Cannot Meet the Financial requirement for a Spouse Visa?
Our UK Immigration Lawyers know that family visa applicants and their sponsoring spouses often worry about whether they will meet the spouse visa financial requirement.
Unless your financial circumstances, or those of your husband, wife, or partner, are very straightforward, proving you meet the financial requirement can be a real concern. Alternatively, your finances may be clear-cut, but you may be worried about whether you have the correct supporting financial paperwork for your spouse visa.
Contact our specialist UK Immigration Lawyers for expert immigration legal advice on spouse visas.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, and Urdu/Punjabi.
The spouse visa financial requirement
You will meet the spouse visa financial requirement if:
- Your British or settled husband, wife or partner sponsoring you has an income of at least £29,000 per year. This is gross income before tax is paid. OR
- You or your spouse or partner has at least £88,500 in savings that meet the criteria to be counted as ‘savings’ under the immigration rules.
The spouse visa financial requirement can get complicated when your partner does not earn £29,000 per year but has some savings because, in some cases, the Home Office will consider a combination of income and savings to allow you to meet the financial requirement.
It can also be challenging to prove that you meet the financial requirement when a sponsoring spouse or partner is self-employed. For example, when your husband or wife has only recently started a business, their finances are complicated because they have lived off director loan accounts, not declared company dividends, or only drawn a modest company salary. Complex finances do not mean you will not get your spouse visa, but it does mean that your spouse visa application must be prepared carefully and supported with the proper paperwork.
Meeting the spouse visa financial requirement if your husband or wife receives benefits
Many couples despair that they cannot be reunited in the UK because their British or settled spouse earns less than £29,000 per year. However, that does not mean you will not meet the spouse visa financial requirement. Spouse Visa Solicitors advise that the immigration rules list several state benefits (termed ‘qualifying benefits’) that meet the financial requirement. They are:
- Attendance Allowance.
- Carer's Allowance.
- Disability Living Allowance.
- Severe Disablement Allowance;
- Industrial Injury Disablement Benefit.
- Personal Independence Payment.
- The Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme.
- Police Injury Pension.
If your partner or spouse receives a qualifying benefit, you meet the financial requirement even though the family income may be less than £29,000 per year.
You must provide evidence if your husband, wife, or partner receives a qualifying benefit. You will still need to meet the accommodation requirement and other eligibility criteria for the spouse visa. If you are worried about meeting the accommodation requirement, speak to OTS Solicitors as there are various ways you can meet the accommodation requirement; your partner does not need to own their own home.
What happens if I cannot meet the financial requirements for a spouse visa?
First, you should only conclude that you cannot meet the spouse visa financial requirement after taking immigration legal advice from Spouse Visa Solicitors, as there are many alternate ways to meet the financial requirement.
If a UK immigration law expert tells you you do not meet the spouse visa financial requirement, you still have options. For example:
- Specialist Spouse Visa Solicitors can determine whether you qualify for a spouse visa because of your exceptional circumstances as specified in Home Office guidance to the immigration rules.
- Expert UK Immigration Lawyers can advise on whether you have alternate visa options, such as the skilled worker or graduate visa.
What are the exceptional circumstances for a spouse visa if you do not meet the spouse visa financial requirements?
The immigration rules say that a spouse visa can be granted to a spouse visa applicant in exceptional circumstances where refusal of the spouse visa application could be unjustifiably harsh to you, your child, your husband, your wife, or your partner.
Most visa applicants who have had their family visa application turned down think the decision is very harsh and their circumstances are exceptional. That is why, if you are asking the Home Office to use their discretion and accept that your circumstances are exceptional, it is best to get specialist legal advice from UK Immigration Lawyers before you make your application. The specialist lawyers will apply your circumstances to the immigration rules and make as compelling a case as possible.
The exceptional circumstances test is complicated because if the refusal of your spouse visa application could be unjustifiably harsh, the Home Office may accept other types of financial support (such as a new job offer or family help) to assist you in meeting the spouse visa financial requirement. If the spouse visa refusal would (rather than could) be unjustifiably harsh, then you do not need to meet the financial requirement.
If you cannot meet the financial requirement and you get your spouse visa based on exceptional circumstances, you must wait longer before you can apply to settle in the UK through obtaining indefinite leave to remain. The residence requirement can be extended to ten years (instead of the usual five) before you can apply for indefinite leave to remain if you didn’t and continue not to meet the financial requirement. Therefore, it is best to secure the evidence you need to show you can meet the financial requirement, if possible, so your settlement plans in the UK are not delayed.
Can I appeal against a spouse visa refusal because I have not met the financial requirement?
Potentially, you can appeal against the refusal of a spouse visa application or appeal against an application to extend your spouse visa because you have not met the financial requirement. There are strict time limits for appeals, depending on whether you made your spouse visa application from within the UK or overseas. It is best to get urgent legal advice from Spouse Visa Solicitors if you want to appeal a spouse visa refusal. Your Immigration Lawyers will advise on the prospects of success and the evidence you need and explain if there are any alternate visa options for you to explore.
Contact our specialist UK Immigration Lawyers for expert immigration legal advice on spouse visas.
Appointments are available for phone or online consultations or at our offices in London.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, and Urdu/Punjabi.
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