Home Office Revises Minimum Income Requirement for Spouse, Partner and Family Visas to £29,000

As we reported in our earlier post, on Monday, 4 December, the Home Secretary unveiled a series of significant measures aimed at reducing legal migration numbers to the UK by around 300,000. These measures included an increase in the minimum income threshold for spouse and partner visas under Appendix FM from £18,600 to £38,700, set to come into effect in Spring 2024.

Revised Minimum Income Thresholds for Family Visas Unveiled

Less than 3 weeks later, in a spectacular U-turn, the Home Office yesterday announced that in Spring 2024, the partner and family visa minimum income requirement will in fact increase from £18,600 to £29,000, and not £38,700 as originally announced. In a further development, there will no longer be a separate child element to the minimum income requirement.

What the Revised £29,000 Minimum Income Requirement Means for Families

Full details of transitional provisions will be set out next year when further policy details will be announced. However, based on an official Home Office Fact Sheet, we can now confirm as follows:

• If you already have a Family Visa (i.e. a Spouse Visa, a Civil Partner Visa or an Unmarried Partner Visa) on the five-year partner route and you wish to apply to extend your stay or settle in the UK, your application will be assessed against the current £18,600 income requirement and you will not be required to meet the increased threshold of £29,000. This will also be the case for any children seeking to join or accompany you as their parent;
• If you apply for a Family Visa (i.e. a Spouse Visa, a Civil Partner Visa or an Unmarried Partner Visa) on the five-year partner route before the minimum income threshold is raised from £18,600, your application will be assessed against the current £18,600 income requirement and you will not be required to meet the increased threshold of £29,000. This will also be the case for any children seeking to join or accompany you as their parent;
• If you are granted a Fianc(é)e Visa before the minimum income threshold is raised from £18,600 to £29,000, then when you apply for a Family Visa on the five-year partner route, your application will also be assessed against the current income requirement of £18,600 and you will not be required to meet the increased threshold of £29,000;
• If you do not already have a Family Visa on the five-year partner route and you wish to apply for a Family Visa on the five-year partner route after the minimum income requirement has been increased in Spring 2024, you will be subject to the new £29,000 minimum income requirement;
• If you are already in the UK on a different route and you wish to apply to switch into the five-year partner route after the minimum income requirement has been increased in Spring 2024, you will be subject to the new minimum income requirement of £29,000.

Strategic Considerations: Navigating the Evolving Landscape of UK Family Visas

While many family members will welcome the fact that the Home Office has railed back from its proposal to immediately increase the minimum income requirement for a spouse or partner visa from £18,600 to £38,700, the new £29,000 threshold is still above the average UK working salary and has the potential to prevent many thousands of couples from living together in the UK 

If the new £29,000 financial requirement will apply to you and you are concerned that you may not be able to satisfy the new requirement once it is introduced, you may wish to apply for your spouse, partner or fiance to join you before the new minimum income requirement is introduced in Spring 2024. If this is an option, our immigration barristers would be pleased to advise and assist you further.

Alternatively, if the new £29,000 financial requirement will apply to you, you are concerned that you may not be able to satisfy the new minimum income requirement and you cannot apply for a spouse, partner or fiance visa before Spring 2024, then you may still be able to enter or remain in the UK after Spring 2024 by invoking an exception to the financial requirement. You can read more about the exceptions to the Appendix FM financial requirement in our previous posts. Due to the complexity of such applications, we recommend that anyone considering an application on this basis seeks legal advice.

Staged Increase: the Future of the Financial Requirement for a UK Family Visa

All applicants should be aware that the government is not doing away with its plan to introduce a £38,700 threshold for family visas entirely. The government has said that the increase in the minimum income threshold for a spouse or partner visa to £29,000 is part of a staged increase, so, in Spring 2024 the partner and family visa minimum income requirement will increase from £18,600 to £29,000, but the plan is for this figure to eventually rise to £34,500 and then £38,700.

No dates have been announced for these subsequent incremental increases beyond £29,000, raising the real prospect that they may never be introduced, particularly with a general election on the horizon.

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