Can the sponsor’s income from benefits such as Universal Credit be used in meeting the financial requirements for a partner application?
One of the main elements of an entry clearance or leave to remain Appendix FM application as a partner is the financial requirements that must be satisfied. The applicant must evidence that they or their partner earn at least £18,600.00 per annum. The purpose of this income threshold is to satisfy the Home Office that once granted, the applicant will not need recourse to public funds for the duration of their visa.
Who's income is counted
Where the application is for entry clearance (that is where the applicant is making their first application from outside the UK to join their partner), only the sponsor’s employment income (who must be in the UK or returning to the UK with the applicant) is considered. The exception to this is where the Applicant is receiving non-employment income (for example rental income). An Applicant’s non-employment income can also be relied upon to meet the financial requirement for the entry clearance application.
However, for an application where the applicant is already in the UK (either already on a partner visa or any other long-term visa), employment income from both the sponsor and the applicant (as long as they had permission to work) can be added together to meet the financial requirements.
The following sources of income can be used to meet the financial requirements:
- Employment
- Self-Employment
- Cash savings
- Non-employment income (such as income from property rentals or dividends from shares)
- State and/or private pension
In the Home Office’s published policy document, they have clearly stated which sources are not permitted to be counted towards the financial requirements. This includes income related public benefits and contributory benefits such as Universal Credit.
Therefore, while income from employment, rentals/dividends, savings and pension can be combined to meet the financial requirements, any income received from the sponsor’s Universal Credit cannot count towards the £18,600.00 for the year.
The ‘adequate maintenance’ provision
However, there are provisions within the rules which removes the requirement to meet the £18,600 income threshold and instead replaces it with a requirement of ‘adequate maintenance’.
Under the provisions of adequate maintenance, the immigration rules do not specify the level of income or amount of funds which would be considered sufficient. It is on the applicant and the sponsor to demonstrate that after income tax, national insurance contributions and housing costs have been deducted that there is a level of income available to them, which is the same or above to that of a British family in receipt of Income Support.
It is important to note that the adequate maintenance provisions in a partner application are only applicable where the sponsor is in receipt of one of the following benefits:
- Disability Living Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Industrial Injury Disablement Benefit
- Attendance Allowance
- Pension Age Disability Payment (Scotland)
- Carer’s Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Adult Disability Payment (Scotland)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme
A key factor of the adequate maintenance provision is that it acts as a gateway to allow the sponsor and the applicant to rely on income from income-related and contributory benefits. Therefore, where a sponsor is in receipt of any of the above benefits, they would be allowed to use any income from Universal Credit to count towards meeting the financial requirements.
What needs to be shown when meeting financial requirements through the adequate maintenance provision?
As mentioned above, the applicant and the sponsor need to demonstrate that the level of income or the amount of funds the sponsor is left with once the housing costs are deducted from the total income the sponsor receives (various sources of income can be combined, such as income from employment and public benefits) is more than that which would be available to a family in receipt of Income Support.
Consider the following as an example:
A (the sponsor) is British and wants his wife (B), who is a US national, to join him in the UK. A works part-time (earning £900 per month) but his capacity to work is limited due to his health conditions. A is in receipt of Personal Independence Payments (£490 every four weeks), Universal Credit (£341 per month) and Housing Benefits (£370 per month). A pays a £100 per month towards his and rent and £110 per month in council tax.
The first step would be to calculate A’s total income on a weekly interval. His weekly income could be stated as below:
- Employment - £207 ((900 x12)/52)
- Personal Independence Payment – £122.5 (490/4)
- Universal Credit – £85.25 (341/4)
- Housing Benefit - £85.38 ((370x12)/52)
In total, A’s weekly income is £500.13. A’s total weekly housing costs (rent and the council tax payments) of £48.45 would be deducted from this figure to give A’s weekly net income as £451.68.
The level of Income Support for a British couple per week is £113.70. Since A’s weekly net income of £451.68 is significantly greater than £113.70, the financial requirements would be met in B’s application to join her husband through the adequate maintenance provision.
What if the financial requirement cannot be met?
The rules usually do not allow you to rely upon support from a third party, or a job offer for the Applicant in the UK. However, if you can show that a refusal of the application ‘could’ result in unjustifiably harsh consequences, then it can become possible to rely upon these alternative forms of income to meet the financial requirement.
Alternatively, an application can sometimes succeed where it is possible to show that a refusal to grant the application would breach someone’s human rights, particularly if it would not be possible for the person’s family life to continue outside of the UK.
These types of applications tend to be more complicated and it would be important to get good quality legal advice on applications where the financial requirement is not satisfied in the normal way.
How we can help you
There are various factors that need to be considered when meeting the financial requirements, whether that is through the adequate maintenance provisions or the through normal threshold of £18,600.00. #
If you are confused or perhaps concerned about meeting the financial requirements for your partner’s application, we offer a free no obligations consultation where we can address any questions or concerns and provide clear guidance on the whole process of the application.
An appointment with one of our lawyers can be booked using this online system using the button below. Alternatively, an appointment can also be booked through telephone by calling on 0330 111 6682.