5 common mistakes when meeting Financial Requirement for UK visa
#1 Most common - submitting “everything I have’.
Payslips, a tax return, some savings plus a property deed for a good measure. Surely, should work? It may sound logical to provide as much as possible, but this is a nightmare scenario for immigration lawyers and often a direct path to a visa refusal. Financial Requirement is strictly based on the ‘rules’: what income can be used; how various sources can be combined and what documents are needed. The Government produced a 78-page guidance just on this matter, so they have to use it. And that was before the elections, so it remains to be seen whether income threshold will go up to £38,700 or not.
#2 Savings - it’s not £16,000.
The official website says “savings over £16,000” and this is where the major confusion happens. “Over” means using a specific formula from the Immigration Rules. If you are applying under the old Rules, the balance is £62,500 for extension; or £34,600 for permanent residency (Indefinite Leave). If you are applying under the Rules from 11 April 2024, the amount is £88,500. The balance must have been maintained for 6 months.
#3 Property.
We are often told “I own a house worth £££”, but it makes no use for the Spouse/Partner visa. Property can be used in 2 ways. Firstly, as rental income during the last 12 months, with gross rent being £29,000. Can also be combined with employment, pension etc. Secondly, can be used as Savings , but only if it is sold, cash deposited in a bank account and it amounts to the balance mentioned above (don’t need to wait for 6 months).
#4 A tax return is rarely useful and usually too old.
Another common-sense approach would be to use your latest available tax return, showing income of minimum £29,000. Perfectly useful in all walks of British life - except when it comes to the visas.
However, the only situation we need a tax return is self-employment as a sole trader. As a physical person, not a company. For the visa purpose, income would be based on the last tax year’s return. If you have a limited company, the rules are very different and a tax return isn’t applicable. For rental income, a tax return is completely irrelevant.
Furthermore, what do we mean by ‘too old’? If we need a tax return, it has to cover the most recent tax year that has passed. This is different from HMRC deadlines. As we are writing this in July 2024, the last UK tax year would be April 2023 – April 2024. This is the period you would need, even though HMRC deadline is January 2025.
#5 Returning to the UK from abroad.
Couples returning to the UK together tend to face the biggest challenges. Especially if the foreign partner is a breadwinner, his/her employment outside the UK cannot be used at all, even if they are highly-skilled and well-paid.
The most common ways are savings, pension and rental income. If a British/settled partner has a job offer in the UK, it would work. If not, the option is for them to come to the UK alone, find a job paying £29,000 pa (or more than one job), work for 6 months, then the foreign partner could apply for a visa. It takes time, but it works in the end. Once in the UK, both partners can work.
We are often asked whether family could support, such as UK-based parents. Unfortunately, No, the rules do not allow third-party support.
You can also book an online consultation with a lawyer here. Over WhatsApp, Zoom or email. We currently have a discounted fee £100 for advice over email. Alternatively, a video call over Zoom or WhatsApp costs £150 if you prefer to talk to a lawyer. The consultation fee counts towards our future services with a visa application, so the final fee is the same, just split into 2 stages.
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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