Rules and guidance in this page were checked on 28 October 2026. For many new applicants under the UK Family route as a partner or spouse, the current minimum income requirement is £29,000 gross a year. There are important branches: some people extending with the same partner remain under a transition rule, while a sponsor receiving specified disability or carer benefits is assessed under an adequate-maintenance test instead of the minimum-income threshold. Which income and documents count depends on the exact application route and source.
This is the Family visa route based on a relationship with a British citizen, a settled person or another qualifying sponsor. It is not the same as a Skilled Worker visa or that route's dependant applications. This guide explains the partner financial test and evidence, not every relationship, English-language, accommodation or immigration condition.
If the plan is a temporary visit to a partner or other family member and the visitor will leave the UK afterwards, read our UK Standard Visitor family/friend guide. The visitor route is not a substitute for this Family visa route when a partner intends to live in the UK.
If your application is based on your relationship with a child living in the UK rather than your relationship with a partner, read our separate UK Family visa parent-route guide. The parent route uses its own adequate-maintenance and accommodation test, not the partner minimum-income threshold.
Most new applicants: £29,000
Some extensions use transitional rules
Savings have their own evidence test
First identify which financial route applies
Scroll horizontally or use the arrow keys to view all columns.
| Your situation | Financial test to investigate | Key boundary |
|---|---|---|
| First partner-route application on or after 11 April 2024, or applying to remain with a new partner | Normally the £29,000 minimum income requirement (MIR) | Certain specified benefits can move a case to adequate maintenance instead. |
| First applied as a partner, fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner before 11 April 2024, was granted permission on the five-year route, and is extending with the same partner | Transitional MIR: £18,600 plus any applicable child component, capped at £29,000 | The full application and grant history matters; a prior application by itself is not enough to assume the transition applies. |
| Sponsor receives one of the specified disability or carer benefits | Adequate maintenance (AM), plus the accommodation requirement | There is no £29,000 MIR test for this branch, but the household must show adequate support and accommodation without relying on public funds. |
The public GOV.UK partner financial requirements page gives the accessible summary. The Home Office Appendix FM caseworker guidance explains how first application date, the grant of permission and whether the same partner is involved affect transitional cases. Check the detailed rule against your own application history before relying on the lower threshold.
For the general new-application route, the £29,000 threshold is a flat figure: the threshold does not rise with the number of children. The transitional route is different. Its child component is generally £3,800 for the first qualifying child and £2,400 for each additional qualifying child, subject to the £29,000 cap and rules excluding some children, including British or Irish citizens and children who are settled or have pre-settled status. Use the current rule's definition of a relevant child rather than counting every child in the household.
Which income may count?
The rules define permitted sources and how to evidence them. Depending on the case, the permitted categories can include specified employment or self-employment, non-employment income such as rental or dividend income, pensions, certain benefits, and cash savings. The applicant's own employment income is not interchangeable with the partner's income in every situation; it is generally relevant only where the applicant is in the UK with permission to work. Special rules can apply when a partner is returning to the UK with the applicant.
The amount you receive is not always the amount the caseworker can use. For example, employment cases can depend on how long the sponsor has worked for the employer, the length of employment, current pay and the evidence period. Self-employment or company-director cases use specified tax and business evidence and accounting periods. Income from different categories cannot always be combined by simply adding headline annual amounts. Follow the relevant Appendix FM-SE evidence rules and Home Office financial guidance for the category you rely on.
For an employed sponsor, GOV.UK lists evidence such as payslips, matching bank statements and an employer letter confirming the role, start date, contract and pay. The period and combination of documents vary by category and employment history. Other sources have their own evidence rules. GOV.UK will tell you what to upload for your application; missing, inconsistent or out-of-period documents can undermine an otherwise plausible income figure.
Do not assume overseas pay will count in the same way as UK income. There are specific provisions for a partner returning to the UK with the applicant, as well as conditions for the applicant's own income. Read the rule for the exact category and application stage. For the broader evidence checklist, use GOV.UK's Family visa information page.
How cash savings affect the calculation
For an initial application or further permission to stay under the partner route, cash savings can be used alone or with other permitted income. The general calculation is:
Amount that can count = (eligible cash savings − £16,000) ÷ 2.5
For savings to meet the full £29,000 requirement by themselves at this stage, the official guidance example uses £88,500: (£88,500 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £29,000. If relying on both income and savings, the countable savings amount can cover a shortfall. This formula is different at the settlement stage; this guide is about entry clearance and permission to stay.
The savings generally need to have been held by the applicant, their partner, or both jointly for at least six months before applying and be under their control. Appendix FM-SE specifies the statements and source-of-funds evidence. Some circumstances, such as a qualifying sale or transfer, have detailed exceptions; do not assume that any asset, investment balance, loan, overdraft or recently received gift is acceptable simply because it can be converted to cash. Check the current rule and evidence standard for the source and holding period.
If the sponsor receives a specified benefit
Where the UK-based partner receives one of the listed disability or carer benefits, the partner route does not use the standard MIR. Instead, the applicant must show adequate maintenance and accommodation. The caseworker considers the family's income, housing costs and household circumstances, and whether the family can be supported without additional public funds. This is not a fixed £29,000 or £18,600 threshold and should not be estimated using a generic household-income calculator.
GOV.UK lists the relevant benefits, including Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance, as well as certain armed-forces and devolved benefits. The list is specific: receiving a different benefit does not automatically qualify a sponsor for the adequate-maintenance branch. Check the live list and detailed accommodation rules before preparing the evidence.
If the household does not meet the standard test
The public guidance says that some applicants may still apply where there is a qualifying child in the UK or refusal would breach human rights. These cases depend on specific facts and are not an automatic waiver from the financial rules. GOV.UK also says the settlement route can differ where the standard financial requirement is not met. Do not treat this general guide as advice about whether an exception applies; review the current Family route rules and obtain qualified advice where the case depends on family-life or exceptional-circumstances provisions.
The financial test is only one part of an application. Relationship evidence, accommodation, English-language conditions, immigration history, application forms and fees can also matter. A passing income figure does not guarantee a visa, and a failed simple calculation does not establish that no route is available. If you later consider British citizenship, naturalisation has a separate residence and settlement test; see our UK citizenship by naturalisation guide. Passing this Family-route financial test does not meet those citizenship conditions by itself.
A practical evidence-preparation sequence
- 1Confirm the route and application history — Check whether this is a new Family partner application, a same-partner extension under transitional rules, or a different route altogether.
- 2Check the benefit branch — If the UK-based partner receives a listed benefit, review adequate maintenance and accommodation instead of applying the standard income threshold.
- 3Choose permitted financial sources — Map each employment, self-employment, pension, savings or non-work income source to the relevant Appendix FM category and evidence period.
- 4Reconcile documents and dates — Match statements, payslips, employer or tax records and savings evidence to the current Appendix FM-SE requirements before submitting.
- 5Review the full application separately — Check relationship, accommodation, English, immigration-history and route requirements on the current GOV.UK application service.
When planning the tax consequences of arrival, use our Moving to the UK tax guide. UK tax residence and the Family route financial requirement are separate tests. If your partner is instead considering an employer-sponsored work route, see the Skilled Worker salary guide; its dependant rules are separate from the Family partner route covered here.
If you are already in the UK and need the broader application sequence for extending partner permission, see our UK partner Family visa extension guide. It covers timing, relationship and identity evidence, English, submission and the decision stage; this page remains focused on the financial test.
If you are applying from outside the UK before marrying, our fiancé(e) Family visa guide explains the six-month entry permission and the separate in-country partner application after the ceremony.
Frequently asked questions
Is £29,000 the minimum income for every UK partner or spouse visa?
Does the £29,000 requirement increase if we have children?
Can savings replace some or all of the required income?
Do savings need to be in the account for six months?
Can the applicant use their own income?
What if the UK partner receives PIP, Carer’s Allowance or another listed benefit?
What is the pre-11 April 2024 transitional rule?
What happens if our income is below the requirement?
Does meeting the financial requirement guarantee the visa?
The rules and document requirements can change. Confirm the live GOV.UK requirements immediately before applying. This guide is general information, not immigration or legal advice and not a decision about any application.