UK Spouse Visa Income Calculator

A UK spouse visa (Family visa as a partner) allows you to join your British or settled partner in the UK. The initial application is for 2 years and 9 months, followed by a further 2.5-year extension, then Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 years total. Each stage carries separate fees and each is decided on its own merits, so nothing is assumed simply because the first application succeeded.

The minimum income requirement is £29,000 per year, set in April 2024 when it rose from £18,600. Planned increases to £34,500 and later to £38,700 were paused that year, and when the Migration Advisory Committee reported in June 2025 it advised against £38,700. The Immigration Rules have not changed since, so £29,000 still applies in 2026. For a first visa from outside the UK only the sponsoring partner's earnings count; the applicant's own earnings count only once they are in the UK and allowed to work there.

Four routes lead to that figure. Employment income counts where the sponsor has been earning £29,000 or more gross for at least 6 months. Self-employment counts on profit at the same level, with heavier evidence requirements attached. Income and savings can be combined, with savings above £16,000 covering the shortfall at £2.50 for every £1. Cash savings used on their own must reach £88,500 held in the account, which is the option that surprises most couples when they first look at it.

Children no longer raise the income figure. The old additions of £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for each further child belong to the £18,600 rules and apply only to partners who first applied before 11 April 2024 and are now extending. For applications made on or after that date the requirement is £29,000 however many children are included, although each child who needs a visa pays its own application fee and health surcharge. Many children of UK citizens have the right of abode and need no visa at all, so check on gov.uk first.

English climbs a step at each stage. The applicant needs A1 on the CEFR scale for the initial application, A2 for the extension, and B1 by the time of settlement at 5 years. Approved tests include IELTS Life Skills and the Trinity College London Graded Examinations in Spoken English. Citizens of majority English-speaking countries such as the USA, Australia and Canada are exempt, as is anyone holding a degree taught in English (UK bachelor's level or higher).

This calculator prices a first application from outside the UK or an extension from inside it; the full cost of the 5-year route to ILR is set out here. The first application from outside the UK comes to £2,064 plus £3,105 of surcharge, because a 2-year-9-month grant is charged as three years, a total of £5,169. The in-country extension costs £1,407 plus £2,587.50 of surcharge for 2.5 years, giving £3,994.50. Settlement adds £3,226, two English tests about £340 and the Life in the UK test £50, bringing the route to roughly £12,780.

Settlement is not quite the end of the road. If your partner is a British citizen you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR, provided you have lived in the UK for 3 years; otherwise you usually wait 12 months after ILR. Either way the good character requirement applies and the Life in the UK test is already passed, so the journey from first visa to citizenship takes 5 to 6 years. Because every stage is assessed afresh, the income evidence, the relationship evidence and the English certificate all have to be produced again each time, which is the part couples tend to underestimate.