UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement 2026: £29,000 Rules and Evidence Guide

Earning £29,000 does not mean you have met the financial requirement.

The figure is only the first test. The Home Office also checks which income counts, whether it falls in the right period, whether you have used the right category, and whether every document is in the format Appendix FM-SE requires. A strong income can still fail on any one of those.

This guide explains how the UK spouse visa financial requirement works, which income and savings count, how the adequate maintenance route works, and what evidence you need. It sits alongside our UK spouse visa guide.

We checked the Rules, the Home Office guidance and the fees in this guide against GOV.UK in October 2026.

What the financial requirement actually tests

The Rules ask you to meet three things at once. You must reach the level required. You must use only the sources of income and savings the Rules allow. And you must evidence each source in the time period and format the Rules specify.

That last point is where applications go wrong. Appendix FM-SE decides not just whether your income counts, but how you must prove it: the period, the combination of sources, and the document format. Miss any one of those and £29,000 in the bank will not save you.

The Home Office puts the burden on you. Decision makers cannot use discretion on the level of the requirement. They are not expected to work out your income for you or chase missing documents. They may contact you if it looks as though you misunderstood which threshold applies, but you should not rely on that.

You also do not have to show more than the requirement. The guidance says you do not need to give information in the first instance about income or savings beyond what you need to reach the level.

Key takeaway: build your application around the level, the sources and the evidence, in that order.

The £29,000 threshold

Most new applicants for a spouse or partner visa must show a gross annual income of at least £29,000. This applies to first applications made on or after 11 April 2024. It is a flat figure. It does not rise with the number of children.

You may have seen headlines about the threshold changing. The Migration Advisory Committee reviewed it in June 2025 and suggested a lower range, and the government had earlier planned to raise it. Neither has happened. The Rules in force on 19 October 2026 still say £29,000. Check GOV.UK for any later change before you apply.

Some people applying to extend are assessed against a lower, transitional figure of £18,600. The conditions are strict, and we explain them in our guide to the spouse visa extension after 2.5 years. Partners of serving members of HM Armed Forces face a different threshold under Appendix HM Armed Forces: £23,496 for new applications made on or after 11 April 2024.

Gross means before tax. If you cannot evidence the gross amount of an income, the Home Office counts the net amount instead, including towards a gross requirement.

Whose income counts

Apply from outside the UK and the list is short. Your partner's earnings from employment or self-employment count. Pension income counts, yours and theirs. So does other specified income, such as rent and dividends, and specified savings. Maternity allowance, bereavement benefits and specified HM Forces payments count too. Your own overseas earnings do not.

If you are applying from inside the UK, your own employment or self-employment income counts if you are 18 or over and working lawfully. The guidance says your hours must not exceed any limit in your conditions of leave. At an extension, income and savings of a dependent child aged 18 or over can also count, if the Rules still treat them as your child.

If your partner is returning to the UK with you, their overseas employment or self-employment can count too, subject to the rules for returning sponsors below.

Third-party support does not count. Nor do promises of support. The Home Office wants to see resources you and your partner control. The one exception is a gift of cash savings, which can count if you declare the source and the money has been held for at least six months and is under your control.

Income from other people who live in your household does not count, apart from the dependent adult child described above.

The seven income categories

The Home Office guidance groups the permitted sources into seven categories. The Rules themselves do not use the letters. They set out the sources and evidence separately.

• Category A: salaried or non-salaried employment, 6 months or more with the current employer.
• Category B: less than 6 months with the current employer, or longer where you choose the 12-month test, for example because your income varies.
• Category C: non-employment income such as rent, dividends and interest.
• Category D: cash savings.
• Category E: pension income.
• Categories F and G: self-employment, or work as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK. Category F uses the last full financial year. Category G uses the average of the last two full financial years.

You do not need to memorise these. You only need to identify which one matches the income you are relying on, because that decides which documents the Home Office expects.

Salaried and non-salaried employment: Categories A and B

Category A: six months or more with your employer

Category A is for a partner who is employed at the date of application and has been with the same employer for at least six months. You must have been paid throughout those six months at a level of gross annual salary at least equal to the level you rely on.

That means the figure that counts is the lowest annual salary you received during the six months.

Example. Your partner earned £27,000 a year for the first three of the last six months, then was promoted to £31,000 for the last three. Under Category A the figure that counts is £27,000, because it is the lowest in the period. That is below £29,000, even though the current salary is above it.

If you are in non-salaried work, the figure is based on your average gross monthly income over the last six months, multiplied by 12. For example, total gross income of £14,800 over six months gives £14,800 divided by 6, multiplied by 12, which is £29,600. Non-salaried work includes work paid by the hour or in amounts that vary.

Overtime, commission, bonuses and tips paid through a tronc scheme registered with HMRC can count. The Home Office takes your average gross monthly amount over the last six months and annualises it. Allowances such as skills-based or location-based allowances count only if they are contractual, and only up to 30 per cent of your total salary. Payments for travel, relocation or living costs do not count.

Future earnings do not count. If you rely on a confirmed job offer in the UK, you can include gross on-target earnings expected from satisfactory performance in the standard hours, if the employer's letter or contract says so.

Category B: less than six months, or the 12-month test

Category B has two parts and you must meet both. First, your gross annual salary at the date of application must reach the threshold. Second, you must have received at least the threshold from employment (and any other income that counts) in the 12 months before you apply.

Variable income alone does not stop you using Category A. Category B is simply an alternative if you have been with your employer for less than six months, or if you prefer the 12-month test.

If you use Category B you cannot use savings to help meet the second part.

If you and your partner both work

If both of you rely on employment income (possible if the applicant is in the UK with permission to work), calculate both incomes under Category A or both under Category B. You cannot use A for one and B for the other.

Evidence for employment income

For salaried employment you need payslips, an employer's letter, and personal bank statements for the same period showing your salary paid in. Payslips must be formal payslips showing the employer's name, or be accompanied by a letter from the employer confirming they are genuine.

The employer's letter must confirm your employment and gross annual salary, how long you have been employed, the period over which you have been paid the salary you rely on, and the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term or agency).

For Category A, payslips and bank statements must cover the last six months. For Category B, payslips must cover any period of salaried employment in the 12 months before you apply.

If your partner is a director or employee of a UK limited company that is not a specified company (see Categories F and G), their salary counts under Category A or B. You need evidence of the type of company, which can include the latest filing at Companies House.

If your partner is returning to the UK with you

If your partner works overseas and is returning to the UK with you, special rules apply.

If they are returning to take up employment, they need a confirmed job offer in the UK starting within three months of their return. That means an employer's letter confirming the gross annual salary and the start date, or a signed contract.

Under Category A, they must have been employed overseas for at least six months at the level relied on, and the UK job offer must also meet the threshold, alone or together with Category C, D and E income. Under Category B, they need the UK job offer and also at least the threshold in actual income over the last 12 months overseas. In the second part of Category B, only Category C and E income can top up, not savings.

If your partner is self-employed overseas and returning to take a salaried job in the UK, they can rely on their self-employment evidence and the UK job offer together.

If your partner is returning to continue their self-employment in the UK, Appendix FM-SE paragraph 8A accepts one of these, with a start date within three months of their return: an application for a licence to trade, details of the purchase or rental of business premises, a signed employment contract or a signed contract for the provision of services, or a signed partnership or franchise agreement.

Non-employment income: Category C

Category C covers income that is not from work. It includes property rental income, dividends and other investment income, interest from savings, maintenance payments from a former partner, maternity allowance, bereavement benefits, maintenance grants and stipends, ongoing insurance payments, payments from a structured legal settlement, and royalties.

Income from property, shares, investments and savings must come from an asset in the name of you, your partner, or both, which you still own at the date of application. In general you can count the gross amount you received in the 12 months before applying. The other types of income have their own evidence rules. For example, royalties need a letter from a solicitor, accountant or business manager, and maintenance payments need a court order or written agreement.

Rental income has extra rules. The property must be owned by you or your partner, must not be your main residence and must not become it if the application succeeds. If you share ownership, only your share counts. Equity in a property cannot be used to meet the requirement.

Evidence depends on the type of income. For rent you need proof of ownership, a rental agreement, and 12 months of bank statements showing the rent paid in. For dividends you need proof of ownership and a dividend voucher or portfolio report, plus bank statements.

If you are a director or employee of a limited company and rely on dividends from it, the company must not be a specified company. If it is, the income falls under Category F or G instead.

Selling an asset does not create income. The proceeds of selling a property, shares or other assets cannot count as income, but the money can count as cash savings if it meets the savings rules.

Cash savings: Category D

You can use cash savings alone, or alongside income. The Rules require £16,000 plus 2.5 times the amount your income falls short of £29,000.

• Example one. Income £25,000. Shortfall £4,000. Savings needed: (£4,000 x 2.5) + £16,000 = £26,000.
• Example two. Income £24,000. Shortfall £5,000. Savings needed: (£5,000 x 2.5) + £16,000 = £28,500.

Here is how it works with more than one source of income. Your partner earns £22,000 in salary under Category A, and you receive £4,000 a year in rent under Category C. Your combined income is £26,000, so the shortfall is £3,000. You need savings of (£3,000 x 2.5) + £16,000 = £23,500.

If you rely on savings alone, you need £88,500. That is £16,000 plus 2.5 times £29,000.

The savings must be in cash, held in an account in the name of you, your partner or both of you, and held for at least six months before you apply. You must also declare the source of the savings. The account can be any bank or savings account that allows immediate access, with or without a penalty. A pension savings account counts if the money can be withdrawn immediately.

The rules allow some transfers within the six months. Funds moved from investments, shares or bonds into cash can count if you have owned them for the full six months and can evidence the transfer. The net proceeds of selling a dwelling or land within the six months can count if the conditions are met. In both cases the six-month holding period is shortened by the time the money was held in another form.

You cannot use savings to top up income under Category F or G, or for the second part of Category B. Where you use savings with Category A, the Rules treat the amount above £16,000 as extra income spread over the length of the leave you are applying for. At the stage of applying for ILR, the whole amount above £16,000 can be added to income.

Key takeaway: savings can close a gap, but only if they have sat in your account for the full six months.

Pension income: Category E

Category E covers UK or foreign state pensions, and occupational or private pensions, received by you or your partner. You can count the gross amount if the pension became a source of income at least 28 days before you apply.

Evidence is official documentation from the pension provider confirming entitlement and the amount, and at least one bank statement in the last 12 months showing the payment.

Self-employment and company directors: Categories F and G

Start with a plain distinction. For a sole trader, the Home Office counts taxable profit, not turnover. For a company director, it counts the salary and dividends they receive from the company, not the company's profit. Different evidence rules apply to each.

Categories F and G apply where the partner (or the applicant, if in the UK with permission to work) is self-employed as a sole trader, partner or franchisee, or is a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK. Self-employed people and these directors are assessed under the same two categories. Categories F and G are the Home Office's labels, not wording in the Rules themselves.

A specified limited company is a UK company in which the person is a director or employee, the shares are held by them, their partner or listed close relatives, and any remaining shares are held by fewer than five other people (Appendix FM-SE, paragraph 9(a)). The listed relatives are a parent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin.

How Categories F and G work

For sole traders, partners and franchisees, the income assessed is the gross taxable profit from their share of the business, not total turnover (Appendix FM-SE paragraph 19(b)). This is the profit figure used to establish tax liability, before the allowances, expenses and liabilities that are then applied to reach the final tax bill. For directors and employees of a specified company, the income assessed is the salary and dividends they receive from the company, evidenced under paragraph 9. For sole traders and partners, the financial year is the period covered by the SA300 or SA302. For a specified company, it is the period covered by the CT600. Both years must be full financial years.

Worked example. Your partner is a sole trader. Their taxable profits were £36,000 in the earlier year and £24,000 in the most recent year. (£36,000 + £24,000) ÷ 2 = £30,000. Category F alone would fail on £24,000. Category G produces an average of £30,000, which clears the £29,000 requirement. Category G helps most where the latest year was a weak one. If the latest year is the strongest, Category F is usually enough.

What you can combine with Category F or G

Paragraph 13(e) of Appendix FM-SE allows self-employment or specified-company income to be added to other income, within limits.

Three conditions matter. Employment, non-employment or pension income must be assessed over the financial year or years you rely on, not over the usual six-month employment test. Income such as rent or dividends must still come from an asset that you own at the date of application. And dividends and salary from a company that is not a specified company are assessed under Category C and Categories A or B, not under F or G.

Paragraph 13(f) of Appendix FM-SE says a self-employed person cannot combine their income with specified savings to reach the income requirement. Paragraph 13(j) applies the same rule to specified-company income.

For example, a sponsor earning £24,000 under Category F cannot add £28,500 of savings to cover the £5,000 shortfall. A sponsor or company director with enough savings can, however, rely on savings alone under Category D, entirely separate from their business income.

Evidence for Categories F and G

You must show that the self-employment or directorship is ongoing at the date of application. The specified documents differ for sole traders (paragraph 7) and company directors (paragraph 9). Appendix FM-SE is not fully explicit about every document for the earlier year of a company, so we recommend evidencing both years in full.

Key takeaway: with self-employment, the category, the year and the evidence route all have to line up. Get advice before you choose.

Combining income and savings

You can combine most sources, but there are important limits.

Category A can be combined with Categories C, D and E. Category B can be combined with C and E, and with D for the date-of-application test, but savings cannot be used for Category B's 12-month income test. Income under Category F or G can be combined with employment, Category C and Category E income for the same financial year, and cannot be combined with cash savings at all.

What does not count

The Rules list sources that cannot count towards the income requirement. They include loans and credit facilities; income-related benefits such as Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance; contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance; Child Benefit; Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit; Universal Credit; and any other source not specified in the Rules.

Also excluded are income from other members of the household (with the dependent adult child exception above), third-party support, and any profit from selling an asset, although the money can count as savings.

Foreign income, lawful income and the 28-day rule

If your income or savings are in a foreign currency, the Home Office converts them to pounds using the closing spot exchange rate on the OANDA website on the date of application. For a small number of currencies not supported by OANDA, such as the Iranian rial, the Syrian pound and the Mongolian tugrik, it uses the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office consular rate. If you have income in several currencies, each is converted first, then added together.

All income and savings must be lawfully derived. If you rely on your own earnings in the UK, you must have permission to work, and your hours must not exceed any limit in your conditions.

Evidence for a period ending on your application date must be dated no earlier than 28 days before you apply. That includes your latest payslip and bank statement.

Where your payslips show gross cash income and the tax paid, you can count the gross amount only if your bank statements show the full net amount. Otherwise only the net amount shown on the statements counts.

The evidence rules that apply to every source

Bank statements must come from a financial institution the Rules allow, be in the name of you, your partner or both, cover the period specified, and be on official bank stationery. Electronic statements need either a letter from the bank confirming they are authentic or the bank's official stamp on every page.

Documents that are not in English or Welsh need the original and a full, dated translation that includes the translator's details and confirms it is accurate. For extension and ILR applications, the translation must also be certified by a qualified translator, with details of their credentials.

If a document is missing, in the wrong format or incomplete, the Home Office has discretion to ask you for the correct version. It will not do so if the application is going to be refused anyway for other reasons. In limited cases a document that does not contain all the specified information can be accepted if the missing information can be verified from other documents or from the issuer's website. Do not plan on this. Send the right documents the first time.

“A strong income with the wrong document format is still a weak application.”

The adequate maintenance route

Some applicants do not have to meet the £29,000 threshold. If your partner receives one of the specified benefits below and you are on the 5-year route, you meet an adequate maintenance requirement instead.

Who qualifies

Your partner must receive one or more of these:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer's Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• 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
• The Scottish equivalents: Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Carer's Support Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment and Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance

Universal Credit is not on the list. You must prove the benefit with official documentation from the DWP, Social Security Scotland, the Veterans Agency or the Police Pension Authority, confirming current entitlement and the amount, plus at least one personal bank statement from the last 12 months showing the payment.

The exemption applies stage by stage. If your partner is no longer receiving one of these benefits at your next application, you must meet the income threshold that applies to you at that stage.

Adequate maintenance does not apply on the 10-year routes. Under the Home Office guidance, it is not a requirement of the 10-year partner and parent routes or of applications decided on exceptional circumstances. On those routes the Home Office asks whether refusal would breach Article 8, not whether you meet either financial test.

How adequate maintenance is calculated

The Home Office applies one formula: A minus B must be greater than or equal to C.

• A is your net weekly income, after income tax and National Insurance.
• B is your weekly housing costs: rent or mortgage, plus council tax.
• C is the weekly amount of Income Support a British family of your size would receive.

For A, the Home Office counts all net income you currently receive, including benefits you are entitled to, and takes a weekly mean average if it varies. Third-party support does not count.

Universal Credit needs care, so read this part twice. The exclusion of Universal Credit that applies to the £29,000 income requirement does not apply in the same way here. The guidance's worked examples use older benefits (tax credits, Child Benefit and Housing Benefit) and do not name Universal Credit. But it also says to count all net income you currently receive, including benefits you are entitled to, and the evidence rules refer to any UK welfare benefit. Many advisers read this as allowing Universal Credit in payment to count. Because the guidance does not say so expressly, take advice before you file, and show the calculation clearly. Do not quietly leave it out.

For B, personal debt such as loans and credit cards is ignored. Only housing costs are deducted. Convert monthly costs to weekly figures. Council tax is converted by multiplying the monthly figure by 12 and dividing by 52. For example, £100 a month is £23.07 a week.

For C, use the current Income Support rates for a household of your size, which change. Check the current rates on GOV.UK. Do not use figures from older guides.

Illustrative example (figures for illustration only). A family has net weekly income of £520. Rent is £180 a week and council tax is £30 a week, so B is £210. A minus B is £310. If the Income Support equivalent for the family is £250, then £310 is at least £250 and the requirement is met.

Savings in adequate maintenance

Cash savings can be used in addition to income, or instead of it. In this test all savings that meet the savings rules count, not only the amount above £16,000.

Keep two things separate. The holding rule is the same as for the income requirement: your bank statements must show you held at least the amount you rely on throughout the six months before you apply, subject to the exceptions for transferred investments and property sale proceeds. The calculation is different. If your balance changed during those six months, the Home Office uses the lowest balance. For an entry clearance application it divides the savings by the number of weeks of leave it would grant, which is 143 weeks for 33 months. For leave to remain it divides by 130 weeks for 30 months. At the settlement stage it divides by 52.

Example. Savings of £5,000 for an entry clearance application: £5,000 ÷ 143 = £34.96 a week, rounded down. That figure is added to your weekly income.

Evidence for adequate maintenance

You still need the Appendix FM-SE evidence for each income source you rely on, with some differences. An employer's letter must confirm your gross annual salary and also your annual salary after income tax and National Insurance. You also need evidence of your housing costs: a letter from the landlord or mortgage provider, at least one bank statement showing the payment, a rent book if you have one, and a letter from the local authority about council tax.

“Adequate maintenance is not a lower bar. It is a different test, with its own calculation and evidence.”

If you cannot meet the requirement

If you do not meet the financial requirement from the permitted sources, the application will normally be refused. There is one limited exception. If refusal would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights because it would have unjustifiably harsh consequences for you, your partner or a child, the Home Office must consider other credible sources, such as a credible guarantee of financial support from a third party, credible prospective earnings, or another credible and reliable source of funds.

This is not an easy route. You carry the burden of proving the source is genuine, credible and reliable. If you succeed, you are granted leave on the 10-year route to settlement, not the 5-year route. That means more extensions and more fees over time. Take advice before you rely on it.

The financial requirement at later stages

You must meet the financial requirement again when you apply to extend. The rules for extension are the same in structure, with some transitional arrangements and with your own UK earnings now able to count. Our guide to the spouse visa extension after 2.5 years covers the extension stage.

At ILR, the adequate maintenance route continues if your partner still receives a specified benefit. If they no longer do, you must meet the income threshold. Our guide to ILR after a spouse visa explains the next stage.

Common mistakes that cause refusals

• Using the wrong category or period for the income you rely on.
• Relying on a recent pay rise before it has been in place for six months.
• An employer's letter that leaves out the period over which the salary has been paid.
• Payslips and bank statements that do not match each other.
• Savings that have not been held for six months.
• Combining savings with self-employment or specified-company income.
• Counting Universal Credit, Child Benefit or tax credits towards the £29,000.
• Foreign income converted at the wrong rate or date.
• Evidence older than 28 days before the application date.
• Not stating which category and threshold you are relying on.

“Even when a couple earns enough, an application can fail because the evidence does not meet the Rules.”

Frequently asked questions

Is the £29,000 gross or net?

Gross, meaning before tax. If you cannot evidence the gross amount, the Home Office counts the net amount instead, including towards the gross requirement.

Does the number of children change the threshold?

Not for most new applicants. £29,000 is a flat figure. Transitional arrangements for some applicants who applied before 11 April 2024 include increments for children, capped at £29,000.

Can I count my own income from abroad?

Not while you are overseas. Your own employment or self-employment income counts only once you are in the UK with permission to work and working lawfully. Pension income and other specified income such as rent and dividends of the applicant can count.

Can my partner's UK job offer count?

Only where your partner is returning to the UK with you and the offer is confirmed, starting within three months of their return, and evidenced by an employer's letter or signed contract. If they are returning to continue self-employment, paragraph 8A sets out the evidence.

Can a family member's gift count?

Promises of support do not count. A gift of cash savings can count if the source is declared and the money has been held by you or your partner for at least six months and is under your control.

Can I use savings and income together?

Often yes, using the formula above. Not with self-employment or specified-company income (Categories F and G), and not for the second part of Category B.

What if I am paid in cash?

Cash income on which the correct tax has been paid can count, subject to the evidence rules. You can count the gross amount only if your bank statements show the full net amount. Otherwise only the net amount shown counts.

Does Universal Credit count as income?

Not towards the £29,000 income requirement. In the adequate maintenance route the position is different and less clear in the guidance. Take advice before you file.

Can I still apply if my partner's income falls short?

You can apply, but the application will normally be refused unless another permitted source closes the gap or you qualify under the exceptional circumstances provision. Speak to us before you apply.

How often do I have to meet the requirement?

At each stage: entry clearance, each extension, and ILR. The route you are on decides how the test applies.

When to get professional legal help

• Self-employed or company director income: we recommend a solicitor, because the rules and evidence are complex.
• Income close to the threshold, or using savings: we recommend a solicitor, because the calculations and evidence are strict.
• Variable income, overtime or bonuses: we recommend a solicitor, because the choice of category matters.
• Your partner receives a disability or carer benefit: we recommend a solicitor, because adequate maintenance has its own calculation.
• Foreign income or savings: take advice, because conversion and evidence rules apply.
• A previous refusal on financial grounds: take advice, because a past refusal affects your options.

The financial requirement is not a test of how much you earn. It is a test of whether you can prove it, in the right category, for the right period, in the format the Rules require. Treat the evidence as part of the application, not an afterthought, and you avoid the refusals that have nothing to do with your income.

Official sources

• Appendix FM: family members (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Family Migration: Appendix FM and Appendix HM Armed Forces, minimum income requirement (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Family Migration: Appendix FM and adult dependent relative, adequate maintenance and accommodation (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Benefit and tax credit rates, including Income Support (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)

This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. The Immigration Rules and fees change often. Check GOV.UK before you submit any application. KQ Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (firm SRA number 619078).