UK visa: what if I cannot meet the Financial Requirement?

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -


Who is exempt from the £29,000 threshold?

If the British/settled partner is receiving some specified disability benefits, then the couple need to meet the lower threshold of Adequate Maintenance. For this purpose, we can use the amount of benefits, employment income and savings.


If you are not exempt and cannot meet the threshold: 


In either a Partner or a Parent category, there is a 10-year route. It is an alternative to the standard 5-year route. It takes twice longer to Settlement (permanent residency) because it means 10 years instead of 5 years. It means 4 applications x 2.5 years with a full Government fee every time. It is, however, useful if you genuinely cannot meet the threshold, such as due to an illness or a family emergency etc. If a British partner starts receiving disability benefits, you would be exempt, as above. However, the first point is to try and meet the Financial Requirement, even if means applying for a visa later and there is time for that. If you have to submit a new application because the old visa is about to expire, you can also change the application later, when you have met the requirements, but before the decision.


Can I switch to the 5-year route after being put in the 10-year route?


If you have already been granted a visa in the 10-year route, you can make a new application once you have met all the requirements. This will be “switching” to the 5-year route, but you would start “your” 5 years towards Settlement all over again. For the purpose of Indefinite Leave, it is not possible to combine a visa from the 10-year route with a visa in the 5-year route to get a total of 5 years. However, switching to the 5-year route is still the shortest path to ILR in many cases. For a more individual advice, please contact us.

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1st 4Immigration is one of the most experienced UK immigration law companies, OISC – accredited at the highest Level 3. We have been in business for over 15 years, our OISC reference is 200800152, in which 2008 stands for the year accreditation. Office: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HN. Website 1st4immigration.com 

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