Which Income Sources Should We Use For My UK Partner Visa Application?

Family member visa applications under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, have a financial requirement with a minimum income threshold which must be met. For new applicants applying for entry clearance to the UK or switching to the family route inside the UK, the income threshold is £29,000 gross per annum. For those who were originally granted leave as a spouse/partner before 11 April 2024 and extending their visas or applying for settlement, the previous income threshold of £18,600 gross per annum applies.

If you / your partner are in the enviable position of having 2 or more of the permitted income sources you can rely on to meet the financial requirement, you may be wondering which income source to include, whether you should combine some, or even all of your income sources to support your application.

In this article we aim to tackle these questions as well as debunk the common myths and misconceptions that many have when facing this (fortunate) scenario.

Income Sources Accepted by the Home Office:

The sources of income that qualify to meet the minimum income threshold for UK Partner applications are:

• Salary from Employment*;
• Non-employment income e.g. rental income, income from investments, stocks and shares;
• Cash savings;
• Pension Income;
• Self-employment income*;
• Income as a Director and/or Employee of a specified UK Limited company*

For applications being made outside the UK, only the sponsor's income from the specified sources (marked with an *) will be accepted by the Home Office. If the applicant is already in the UK with the permission to work, their income from any of the above sources can be used for their application.

Combining your Income Sources to satisfy the Income Threshold

If you are unable to meet the minimum income level of £29,000 or £18,600 gross per annum (see the beginning of the article for which amount is applicable to you) with a single income source, for example, salary from your employment, the rules permit you to combine some types of sources together to meet the respective threshold. Examples of this include combining your salary with non-employment income, cash savings or pension income or if you/your partner are already in the UK with permission to work, you can combine both your employment incomes together in order to meet the financial requirement.

Having Multiple Income Sources to choose from

What should you do if are in the fortunate position where you and/or your partner have multiple income sources?

Let's take an example where the applicant is applying from outside the UK and have the following income sources that can each meet the income threshold of £29,000 gross per annum on their own:

• Their partner is currently working (for the same company for over 6 months and earns a salary over £29,000);
• Together they have a significant amount of cash savings (that they have held for over 6 months);
• They also own a property portfolio that they receive rental income from.

As any of the above sources can meet the minimum income threshold on its own, they can just simply choose one source to include in their application.

For the financial requirement of a partner application under Appendix FM, if you can meet the income threshold with one form of income, effectively:

1. It is not mandatory to include or disclose all of the other income sources you have in your application
2. There is no additional benefit to include any of your other income sources in your application
3. Including multiple income sources has the potential to cause delays in your application being processed (discussed further below)

Expanding further on point 2 above, the Home Office will not give you preferential treatment and prioritise/process your application any faster or overlook other requirements you failed to evidence sufficiently, on the basis that you have multiple income sources and earn a high level of income (that far exceeds the minimum income requirement).

Is the Applicant's Personal Income a Significant factor to the Home Office?

Another common misconception, is that 'it will look better' to the Home Office, if the applicant relies on their own income rather than (or in addition to) the sponsor's income. In reality, however, this is simply not the case - the crucial factor is that the financial requirement is (and all the other requirements are) satisfied.

In some cases, it may even be more beneficial/efficient to use the Sponsor's income if there are less documents involved (see below).

Which Income Source is the best to use for your Application?

Choosing which income source(s) to include in your application should be determined by the volume of documents that you will need to submit (to evidence the respective income source). Each category of income requires a specific set of relevant documents to provide to the Home Office.

Some income sources will also involve an extensive set of items that will take more time to gather in comparison to other sources and will take longer for the Home Office case worker to assess and cross-reference. This can be further complicated by any additional circumstances at play. For example the documents required to evidence cash savings which are held across multiple bank accounts and originate from a combination of cash gifts and proceeds of several property sales, will be much larger than the documents required to evidence the employment income of someone who has been working in the same job for over 6 months.