The UK Spouse Visa financial requirement is set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules as a gross annual income of £29,000. Cash savings are one of the ways it can be met, referred to as Category D of Appendix FM-SE. The applicant, their sponsoring partner, or both jointly may hold them. This post provides an overview of cash savings for a UK partner or family visa.
This requirement is one part of the wider Spouse Visa route. It sits alongside the English language requirement for UK partner and spouse visas and the other eligibility rules the application has to meet.
Key overviews
- Cash savings over £16,000 can be counted towards the UK Spouse Visa financial requirement.
- Cash savings alone can satisfy the financial requirement, without the need to demonstrate any other income sources.
- The cash funds must be held in a qualifying account for the six months ending on the date of application. The figure assessed is the lowest balance held across that period.
- Savings may be combined with employment, non-employment and pension income. They cannot be combined with self-employment income under Categories F and G, or with the twelve-month limb of Category B.
Contents
- How much cash savings do you need for a UK spouse visa?
- Whose savings can be counted?
- What is the spouse visa savings formula?
- How much is needed at each application stage?
- How long must the cash savings be held?
- What counts as a cash savings account?
- Can savings held abroad or in a foreign currency be used?
- Can a gift be used as cash savings for a spouse visa?
- Can savings from a property sale or investments be used?
- Can cash savings be combined with income?
- What evidence is required for cash savings?
- Worked examples: when the requirement is met, and when it is not
- Frequently asked questions
How much cash savings do you need for a UK spouse visa?
Any amount of cash savings above £16,000 may be counted towards the financial requirement. The amount that can be used is calculated using a specific formula set out in the Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
In cases where no other income is demonstrated, new applicants must demonstrate £88,500 in cash savings held continuously for six months before applying, whether from outside or inside the UK.
A lower amount is required where savings is combined with other permitted income sources. Where savings are combined with income, they need only cover the shortfall between the income and the minimum income threshold of £29,000 per annum.
Whose savings can be counted?
The savings must be held in a personal bank or savings account in the name of the applicant, their sponsoring partner, or the couple jointly. The couple must have the funds under their own control for the entire six months before the date of application.
Savings held by a third-party, such as a parent or a sibling are not permitted. However, a cash gift from a parent may be accepted, as explained below.
Cash funds held in a business or company account cannot be counted, as the funds must be held in the sponsor’s personal name.
The source of the funds must be declared by the person in control of the funds, through a cash savings declaration.
What is the spouse visa cash savings formula?
Paragraph 11A(a) of Appendix FM-SE provides the framework for calculating cash savings for a UK Spouse Visa. From the cash savings amount held, subtract £16,000, and divide the remainder by 2.5. The divisor reflects the two and a half years (or 30 months) of immigration permission granted before a further application falls due.
An applicant holding less than the amounts stated above may still rely on savings in part, provided the balance exceeds £16,000. The shortfall must then be met from another permitted income source, such as employment, non-employment or pension income.
- £25,000 held: (£25,000 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £3,600, leaving £25,400 to come from another permitted source;
- £40,500 held: (£40,500 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £9,800, leaving £19,200; and
- £60,000 held: (£60,000 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £17,600, leaving £11,400.
Where savings cover a shortfall in employment income, the formula applies to the shortfall rather than the whole threshold. A sponsor earning £22,000 is £7,000 short, so the sum required is (£7,000 × 2.5) + £16,000 = £33,500.
Can cash savings alone satisfy the financial requirement?
Yes, provided the cash savings meet the evidential criteria under Appendix FM-SE, these can be used to satisfy the Spouse Visa financial requirement and the couple need not demonstrate any other income such as employment or pension income.
New UK Spouse Visa applicants using only cash savings will use the following formula:
(£29,000 × 2.5) + £16,000 = £88,500
Applicants who are already on in the UK and are applying to extend their leave or settle indefinitely may need to demonstrate a lower threshold. This applies to applicants granted permission on the five-year route who are extending their leave with the same partner. Relying on solely on cash savings, they will use the following formula:
(£18,600 × 2.5) + £16,000 = £62,500
How much is needed at each Spouse Visa application stage?
At the initial application and further leave to remain (extension) stages, the 2.5 divisor applies. After 5 years in UK, at the indefinite leave to remain stage the divisor falls away, and the whole of the amount above £16,000 counts.
Each figure below assumes savings alone.
| Threshold that applies | Initial application and extension | Settlement |
| £29,000 new applicants | £88,500 | £45,000 |
| £18,600 transitional, partner only | £62,500 | £34,600 |
| £22,400 transitional, one child | £72,000 | £38,400 |
| £24,800 transitional, two children | £78,000 | £40,800 |
| £27,200 transitional, three children | £84,000 | £43,200 |
Under Appendix FM, the transitional threshold applies where the applicant:
- made their first application as a partner or fiancé before 11 April 2024; and
- was granted permission on the five-year route to settlement as a result of that application; and
- is applying now to remain with the same partner.
How long must the cash savings be held?
Paragraph 11(a) of Appendix FM-SE requires the applicant and/or their partner to have held savings for at least six-months ending on the date of application. The applicant, their partner, or both jointly must maintained control of the funds throughout. And during the said period the balance must have stood at or above the level relied on.
The Home Office decision-maker assesses the lowest balance held across the six months, verifying each continuous day. Where the balance falls below the level relied on at any point, that lower figure is counted, rather than the balance on the date of application.
A single transfer out and back of the account during the six months will drop the balance below the level relied on for that day. An application may be refused on that basis, even where the funds were held throughout the rest of the period. This does not apply to transfers between the person’s own account’s, as the funds would have been in their control, despite the transfers.
What counts as a cash savings account?
Appendix FM-SE permits a current account, a deposit account or an investment account. Each of the following conditions must be satisfied:
- the institution is regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which it operates;
- the institution does not appear on the list of excluded institutions in Appendix Finance;
- regular bank statements are provided, covering the period the Rules require;
- the savings are held in cash, or their cash value is clear;
- the savings can be withdrawn immediately, with or without penalty;
- the funds are under the control of the applicant, their partner or both jointly; and
- the source of the funds is lawful and has been declared.
A stocks and shares Individual Savings Account (ISA) meets that definition where each condition is satisfied, as does a pension savings account permitting immediate withdrawal.
A brokerage account used to purchase shares does not satisfy the conditions of a savings account. Nor does a betting account held with a bookmaker.
A fixed-term bond does not qualify as savings account. A notice bank account fails it where the notice period prevents withdrawal on the day. Where a penalty would be charged for withdrawal without notice, the decision-maker will not deduct the penalty from the level assessed.
Can savings held abroad or in a foreign currency be used?
Cash savings may be held overseas in the same manner as a UK account, in the name of the applicant, their partner or jointly. The financial institution must be regulated in the country where it operates and must not appear on the excluded list.
The Home Office caseworker assesses the savings held in a foreign currency by converting to sterling (GBP) at the closing spot exchange rate shown on Oanda on the date of application. Movement in the exchange rate before that date is disregarded, so the conversion rests on a single day, the date of application.
Where cash savings sit in more than one currency, each amount must be converted separately before adding each amount to give a total cash amount.
A couple close to the threshold upon they are relying are exposed to the exchange rate on the date of application. It is advisable to maintain savings that allow for fluctuation.
Can a gift be used as cash savings for a spouse visa?
Paragraph 1(b)(iii) of Appendix FM-SE permits savings from any lawful source, including a gift from a family member or another third party. The applicant must declare that source of any cash savings that are used towards the application.
The six-month rule applies to gifted funds. Gifted money must have been received, then held under the couple’s control for the whole period, in an account in their name or joint names. A gift received four months before the application does not qualify.
Paid-out competition winnings can contribute to cash savings, and so can a legacy that has been paid. Both are subject to the same six-month holding period and the same declaration of source.
Borrowed funds are not accepted as cash savings, whether it a loan or borrowed from relatives. Where the decision-maker has evidence that the savings relied on are a loan, the application may be refused on that basis.
Can savings from a property sale or investments be used?
Appendix FM-SE permits both, at paragraph 11A(c) for investments and paragraph 11A(d) for a property sale. In each case, the period the asset was held before it was disposed counts toward the six months.
Where liquidated investments are relied on, Appendix FM-SE requires the following:
- the applicant, their partner or both jointly owned and controlled the investments for that part of the six-month period; and
- their cash value at or before the start of that period was at least the sum now relied on; and
- a portfolio report or equivalent document from a regulated financial institution evidences the transfer into cash.
In absence of the evidence listed above, the savings cannot be counted. Funds in an investment account that does not itself qualify are treated as investments for this purpose. A pension pot liquidated within the six months is treated the same way, as an investment under paragraph 11A(c). The same ownership and evidencing conditions apply. Where that pension is also relied on as income under Category E, the provider’s evidence of the ongoing pension income must reflect the cash withdrawal.
Can cash savings be combined with employment income?
Cash savings may be combined with employment income under Category A where employment has been held for at least 6 months. Savings also combine with non-employment income under Category C, and with pension income under Category E.
In cases of new employment (less than 6-months) or variable income under Category B, savings can be combined with the annual salary level at the date of application, but not with the income earned in the 12 months before applying.
Cash savings cannot be combined with self-employed income or company director income under Categories F and G.
Cash savings in Spouse Visa applications are a measure of the funds available to a couple at the date of application, so counting savings held in previous time periods under Category B, F and G would risk the same money being assessed twice.
What evidence is required for cash savings?
Appendix FM-SE specifies the documentary evidence required to demonstrate cash savings for a UK Spouse Visa application. This includes personal bank statements covering the whole six months, and a declaration by the account holders of the source of the savings.
The statements must show the whole six-month period before applying. Each statement must show the account holder, the account number and the running balance, and must be on official bank stationery. The decision-maker will accept electronic statements for any account, including accounts that are not online-only. Each must carry either a letter from the bank on headed paper confirming authenticity, or the bank’s official stamp on every page.
A building society statement or passbook is accepted in the alternative, as is a letter from a regulated financial institution. Each must show the account number, the date, the institution’s name and logo, and the same information on funds held.
The declaration is a written statement by the account holders. It should identify each source making up the balance, and should account for any credit during the six months. Where the decision-maker cannot trace a large deposit to a declared source, those funds may be treated as unexplained. Where the money came from a gift, a property sale or a liquidated investment, the declaration is supported by the documents covering that transaction.
Financial evidence should be dated no earlier than 28 days before the date of application. A statement obtained six weeks before submission is out of date, whatever balance it shows, and may be refused.
Worked examples: when the requirement is met, and when it is not
Each example assumes the £29,000 threshold, with the savings held for the full six months.
Savings alone, requirement met
A couple hold £92,000 in a joint account, which has has been maintained at that level for seven months. Neither partner employed at the time of applying.
(£92,000 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £30,400, against a requirement of £29,000.
The minimum income requirement is met on savings alone.
Income and savings combined, requirement met
A sponsor has been with the same employer for fourteen months on a salary of £24,000, assessed under Category A. That leaves a shortfall of £5,000, against which the couple hold £30,000.
(£30,000 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £5,600, which added to £24,000 gives £29,600.
The requirement is met.
Income and savings combined, refused because the combination is not permitted
A sponsor is a sole trader whose last full financial year produced £26,000, assessed under Category F. That leaves a shortfall of £3,000, against which the couple hold £40,000 in savings.
On the arithmetic alone the savings would be sufficient at (£40,000 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £9,600.
However, cash savings cannot be combined with Category F income.
The financial requirement is not met.
Income and savings combined, refused because the total falls short
A sponsor earns £20,000 under Category A. That leaves a shortfall of £9,000, against which the couple hold £32,000.
(£32,000 − £16,000) ÷ 2.5 = £6,400, which added to £20,000 gives £26,400.
That is £2,600 below the threshold, and the application may be refused. Covering a £9,000 shortfall requires (£9,000 × 2.5) + £16,000 = £38,500.
The requirement is not met.
Frequently asked questions
How much cash savings do I need for a spouse visa?
£88,500 against the £29,000 threshold, and £62,500 under the transitional £18,600 threshold. At settlement those fall to £45,000 and £34,600. Each figure assumes savings alone, held for the full six months.
What is the savings requirement for a UK spouse visa?
Savings above £16,000, held for six months, with the excess divided by 2.5 to give the amount that counts. Only the resulting figure counts toward the income requirement, not the whole balance.
Do the savings have to sit in one account?
No. The level relied on may be spread across several accounts, provided each satisfies the requirements and statements are supplied for all of them. Every account must be in your name, your partner’s name, or both jointly.
Does a joint account count in full?
Yes. Savings held jointly by you and your partner count in full toward the requirement, rather than being divided between you.
What happens if the balance drops below the required level during the six months?
The decision-maker assesses the lowest balance held across the period. A dip below the amount relied on reduces what can be counted, even where the balance has recovered by the date of application.
How Whytecroft Ford can help
The financial requirement is a complex area of the immigration rules, with strict evidential requirements. Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team is experienced, approachable and professional, and advises couples on partner visa applications every day.
To discuss your application, call 0208 757 5751 or use our contact form to get in touch.
