What do the new UK spouse visa financial requirements mean?
The British government announced this month that they will be changing financial requirements for some UK visas including the spouse visa.
The current minimum income requirement of £18,600 is set to change to £38,700 in the spring of 2024. This means the British person sponsoring their partner’s visa will need to earn at least this much money per year to qualify for a spouse visa.
Since our family lives in the US, we plan to use proof of savings instead of income. This is a pretty common way for families who live abroad to satisfy the financial requirements without separating our family. The alternative would be that the UK partner moves back to the UK alone, gets a job, collects enough paystubs to apply for the visa, wait for approval, then the rest of the family moves to the UK…not ideal.
Proof of savings is more than just annual income, you need to have enough money saved up to cover the entire visa duration, plus base savings for good measure. And the money needs to be liquid aka cash savings, not tied up in retirement accounts or property. And the money needs to be in a savings account for six months before you can apply for the visa.
The government hasn’t released all the details yet of what the increased financial requirement means, but I’m assuming the already high cash savings requirement of £62,500 will increase too.
Here’s some math:
Current requirement: £18,600 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £62,500
New requirement: £38,700 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £112,750 (or about $143,000)
(This assumes the base savings requirement of £16,000 stays the same.)
So, yes, you’re reading that right. The UK may soon require you to have a small fortune in a savings account in order to even maybe qualify for a spouse visa.
It’s not a done deal yet.
Hopefully there will be enough backlash against this plan to stop it before next spring. Or maybe there will be a general election and the government leadership will change and be more sympathetic to visa applicants. The changes haven’t happened yet, but it’s all definitely cause for mild panic.
This is total bullshit.
Allow me to rant for a moment: whyyyyyyy?!
I have been married to my UK husband for more than 10 years. We have two dual-citizen children. We have good jobs and are law-abiding, tax-paying people. Why is the government trying to make it impossible for our family to live in the UK, which is already the legal right for 75% of our family?
I thought the financial requirement was total bullshit before (see my other rant), but these changes make the current numbers look almost cute and innocent by comparison.
What does this mean for our future?
We’re still planning on moving, but we’ll need to crunch the numbers more, and I’m especially worried about visa renewals. What other anti-immigration changes could they put in place in the next couple of years? What if we don’t meet the requirements then? Would we have to move back to the US after we go through the hassle and headache and cost of moving to the UK?
It’s scary. I feel uncertain and unwelcome.
