Financial requirements for Family Visas

In every case an applicant applying for a family visa – in most instances a partner or child – will have to satisfy a financial requirement. It will often be that the sponsor (the family member already in the UK) will have to show a specific level of earnings or savings, although in some cases the applicant will be able to rely on their own financial situation and it may be possible to combine the sponsor’s and applicant’s resources to satisfy the requirement. 

There are different rules about this which apply to different scenarios. In many but not all cases there is a strict mathematical financial criterion to be satisfied. For example, if a partner is applying for a visa to join their sponsor in the UK the sponsor has to show that they earn at least £18,600 per year. Or either the sponsor or the applicant, or in combination, can show that they have savings of at least £62,500 in the bank. Or – and here things start to get complicated – earnings and savings can be combined, according to a specified mathematical formula. 

And if a child is applying for a visa along with their parent then the required minimum financial figures will in many instances be higher. 

In other cases, with in-country applications where the applicant does not meet all the standard rules, there is a different financial test, which is called the “adequate maintenance” test. This involves a quite different mathematical calculation which is based on income, housing costs and benefit levels. 

In yet other cases, with some types of children’s visa applications, the financial requirement is vaguer and does not rely on any specific mathematical calculation. 

This last type of rule is relatively difficult to measure but in the case of all the mathematically-based rules either the applicant meets the requirements or they do not: even a very small financial shortfall is likely to result in a refusal decision. 

If you are contemplating making a family visa application and you want advice about it we at GSN Immigration will be able to assist you. 

Author

Oliver Westmoreland

OISC Level 3 Immigration Lawyer