Introduction:
Partners and families applying to enter or remain in the UK based on their relationship with their sponsor must provide evidence of earning a minimum income of £29,000*.
Categories:
There are many sources of income that can be used to evidence the financial requirement. The Appendix FM guidance has set out seven categories of income that can be used to meet the financial requirement. The categories include:
- Category A: Salaried employment or non-salaried employment with the same employer for more than 6 months. Salaried employment means employment where the income is paid at a fixed rate. Non-salaried employment means employment where the income is paid at an hourly rate and where the number of hours worked is not fixed.
- Category B: Salaried employment or non-salaried employment for less than 6 months with the current employer or variable income.
- Category C: Non-employment income. This includes income from property rental, dividends and other investment income, maintenance grant or stipend.
- Category D: Cash savings.
- Category E:
- Category F: Self-employment, or director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK. This category is based on calculation from the last full financial year.
- Category G: Self-employment, or director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK. This category is based on calculations based on an average of the income received over the last two full financial years.
It could be the case that you cannot meet the financial requirement solely based on your income from one category. In this case, the Immigration Rules allow you to combine your income from different categories of income. However, not all categories of income can be combined with one another to meet the financial requirement.
Which Sources of Income can be Combined:
First and foremost, for Categories A and B, the income for both the applicant and the sponsor (i.e. the spouse or partner) can be combined to meet the financial requirement. In this case, both sources of income will need to be evidenced in accordance with Appendix Specified Evidence.
Additionally, if your income using Category A falls short of the minimum income requirement, you may combine that source of income with income from either Category C, D and E to reach the minimum threshold. The income from Category A can also be combined with Categories F and G, only for the period covered by the categories respectively.
Income from Category B can also be combined with the sources of income under categories C, E, F and G but cannot be combined with Category D i.e. cash savings under certain circumstances.
There are certain sources of income that cannot be combined. For example, income from categories A and B cannot be combined. This means that if you wish to combine your income and your spouse’s income, you will only be able to do so if both you and your spouse fall under Category A or Category B. Additionally, income for the self-employment of your partner can only be combined with your self-employment income, if the income is from the same or coinciding financial year.
Category D i.e. cash savings cannot be combined with income from self-employment or with income you have earned as a director or employee of a specified company.
Our comment:
The Immigration Rules provide flexibility by allowing applicants and sponsors to combine different sources of income to meet the £29,000 financial requirement for Partner and Family visas. While income from a single category may be sufficient in some cases, in other cases, combining permitted categories can help bridge any shortfall. However, strict rules govern which categories can be combined, and careful attention must be paid to the relevant time periods and evidential requirements.
Understanding these limitations and ensuring that income sources are compatible is essential to making a successful application under Appendix FM. Understanding the financial requirements can be complicated and our team is here to help.
*This article only discusses the financial requirements applicable post April 2024.
