I am currently on spouse visa and not the main applicant. Should I still need to meet the salary criteria or earning
I am currently on spouse visa and not the main applicant. Should I still need to meet the salary criteria or earning a minimum wage employment is okay?
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It's an excellent question, and it touches on an important aspect of UK spouse visa requirements.
As the spouse visa holder (the dependant), you generally **do not** need to meet the minimum salary threshold on your own. The financial requirement for a spouse visa is primarily met by the **sponsor** (your partner who is a British citizen, settled in the UK, or holds specific types of visas).
However, there are crucial nuances:
* **Sponsor's Income:** The Home Office assesses your sponsor's income, or your combined income if you are both already in the UK with permission to work, to ensure that the couple can support themselves without recourse to public funds.
* **Minimum Income Threshold:**
* If your initial spouse visa application (or fiancé(e) visa leading to spouse visa) was **before 11 April 2024**, the minimum income threshold is usually £18,600 per year, with additional amounts for dependent children.
* If your initial spouse visa application (or fiancé(e) visa leading to spouse visa) was **on or after 11 April 2024**, the minimum income threshold is £29,000 per year. This threshold does not increase for dependent children.
* **Your Employment Income:** While your employment income is not typically the primary factor for meeting the initial financial requirement if you applied from outside the UK, if you are already in the UK on a spouse visa and are applying to extend it or for Indefinite Leave to Remain, your income *can* be combined with your sponsor's income to meet the financial requirement. In such cases, earning a minimum wage employment would contribute towards the combined income.
* **Adequate Maintenance:** In some specific circumstances, if your partner receives certain disability or carer's benefits, the "adequate maintenance" test applies instead of the minimum income threshold. This means you need to show you have enough money to house and support yourselves and any children without relying on additional public funds, which can be a different calculation.
Therefore, while "earning a minimum wage employment is okay" for you as the spouse visa holder in terms of your right to work, the overall financial assessment for visa extensions or future applications will still look at the combined income of you and your sponsor against the prevailing minimum income threshold.
General Information Notice: Please note that the content provided here is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal immigration advice.
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