The financial (minimum income) requirement for partner visas

People who want to sponsor a foreign spouse or partner for a visa must usually show available maintenance funds equivalent to an income of at least £29,000 per year. This is known as the ‘financial requirement’ or ‘minimum income requirement’.

The financial requirement applies to sponsors who are British citizens or have permanent residence (indefinite leave to remain) in the UK. There are different rules for migrants bringing their partner to the UK on a dependant visa.

Most sponsors need to earn the equivalent of £29,000 a year (previously £18,600)

The Coalition government introduced the financial requirement in July 2012, as part of changes designed to reduce net migration. It said families should be able to support themselves without being a burden on the general taxpayer. The income threshold was £18,600 from 2012 to 2024.

In most cases the financial requirement can only be met by relying on particular sources of income and funding described in the immigration rules. There are complicated rules and conditions.

For example, if the couple are relying on employment income, usually only the sponsor’s income counts. The visa applicant’s employment income can only be considered if the person is already working in the UK legally and is switching to a partner visa or extending one previously granted.

There can be some flexibility in exceptional circumstances if a visa refusal would breach the couple’s human rights. In addition, the requirement does not apply if the sponsor receives certain disability-related welfare benefits.

Critics object to the policy on principle and to the way it works in practice

Migrants’ rights groups and other interested parties consider the minimum income requirement unfair. A central objection is that it prevents British citizens on lower incomes from sponsoring their foreign spouse or partner. Roughly half of employees in the UK earn less than £29,000 per year

Critics also highlight specific aspects or effects of the policy. These include its uneven regional and demographic impacts and the strict evidential requirements. The impact on immigration numbers is unknown but may be in the tens of thousands.

The £18,600 threshold was tested in court. In February 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the lawfulness of the minimum income requirement in principle but made findings that required the rules to be changed to allow some extra flexibility.

The policy has attracted considerable parliamentary interest since its introduction in 2012. The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee called for it to be reformed in a 2023 report.

The Sunak government’s changes in 2024 led to renewed public and parliamentary scrutiny. MPs will next debate the policy on 20 January 2025 in Westminster Hall.

The Labour government is holding the income threshold at £29,000 pending a review

The Conservative government increased the financial requirement from £18,600 per year to £29,000 in April 2024. It had planned to raise it again to around £34,000 later in 2024, and then to around £38,700 in early 2025. Ministers argued that immigration is too high and foreign partners should not be a burden on the state.

The increases were not retrospective, so people who already had or applied for a spouse/partner visa before 11 April 2024 will only ever need to meet the old £18,600 threshold in future applications. But first-time applicants since 11 April 2024 have been subject to the £29,000 threshold.

Upon taking office in July 2024, the Labour government announced an independent review. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asked the Migration Advisory Committee to examine the level of the income threshold, noting that the policy intention is to “maintain the economic wellbeing of the UK whilst respecting family life”.

The committee is due to report in June 2025. The financial requirement will remain at £29,000 in the meantime.