The adequate maintenance requirement is an alternative financial requirement that applies to certain spouse visa applicants whose sponsoring partner receives a specified benefit. Instead of meeting the standard minimum income requirement of £29,000 per year, they can show that they can be adequately maintained in the UK without recourse to public funds. There is no specific income level or fixed amount of funds required to meet the adequate maintenance requirement. It depends on the circumstances of the case and the number of dependants in the family unit.
When can you use adequate maintenance for a UK spouse visa application?
A spouse visa applicant may be assessed under the adequate maintenance requirement instead of the standard minimum income requirement if their sponsoring partner receives one or more of the following specified 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
- Child Disability Payment (Scotland)
- Carer’s Support Payment (Scotland)
- Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (Scotland)
If the partner is no longer receiving one of the specified benefits above, the applicant will have to meet the minimum income threshold at the next application stage, such as a spouse visa renewal, extension, or application for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
How is adequate maintenance calculated?
The Home Office uses the following formula to assess whether adequate maintenance is met:
A – B ≥ C
Where:
- A is the total weekly net income (after income tax and National Insurance contributions)
- B is the weekly housing costs (rent or mortgage and council tax)
- C is the weekly amount of Income Support an equivalent British family of the same size would be entitled to receive.
Put simply, your weekly income after tax, minus your housing costs, must be at least equal to the amount of Income Support a UK family of the same size would receive. Personal debts such as loans or credit cards are not deducted. Only the weekly housing costs are deducted from the weekly net income.
The applicant’s own employment or self-employment income can only be counted if they are already in the UK with permission to work. Third-party support and any future benefits the applicant may claim after arrival are not counted.
Case 1 – Sponsor and spouse with no dependent children
Sarah wants to sponsor her husband to come to the UK on a spouse visa. Sarah receives Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and works part-time. Her weekly net income after tax and National Insurance is £320, which includes earnings from part-time and PIP. Her weekly rent is £160 and she pays no council tax.
- A (weekly net income) = £320.00
- B (weekly housing costs) = £160.00
- A – B = £160.00
For a couple where both parents are aged 18 or over, the current Income Support rate is £150.15 per week (couple rate). As £160.00 exceeds £150.15, the adequate maintenance requirement is met.
Case 2 – Sponsor, spouse, and one dependent child
James wants to sponsor his wife and their young child to come to the UK. He receives Carer’s Allowance and works part-time. His weekly net income is £440, including earnings from part-time and Carer’s Allowance. His weekly rent is £175 and he pays council tax of £25 per week.
- A (weekly net income) = £440.00
- B (weekly housing costs) = £175.00 + £25.00 = £200.00
- A – B = £220.00
For a couple with one dependent child, the current Income Support rate is approximately £238.03 per week (couple rate £150.15, plus child element £87.88). As £220.00 is less than £238.03, the adequate maintenance requirement would not be met on income alone. James would need to use cash savings to bridge the shortfall.
How to meet the adequate maintenance requirement using cash savings
Specific cash savings can be used instead of, or in addition to, income to meet the adequate maintenance requirement. The rules for permitted cash savings are as follows:
- Cash savings must have been held for at least 6 months prior to the date of application and must be under the applicant’s or sponsor’s control
- Cash savings must be held in an account that allows immediate access to the funds (with or without a penalty for withdrawing funds)
- Cash savings must be supported by specified evidence, including personal bank statements covering the 6-month period prior to the date of application and a declaration of the source of the savings
- If the savings figure fluctuates over the 6-month period, the lowest figure evidenced during that period will be used for the calculation
Third-party support cannot generally be counted. However, gifted cash savings may be counted if they have been held by the applicant or sponsor for at least 6 months and are under their control.
Once the eligible cash savings figure has been established, it is divided by the number of weeks of limited leave that would be granted if the application were successful, to arrive at a weekly equivalent:
- 143 weeks for entry clearance (33 months)
- 130 weeks for leave to remain (30 months)
- 52 weeks for indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain
This weekly figure is then added to any weekly income (A) and the formula A – B ≥ C is applied in the usual way. All qualifying cash savings can be counted for adequate maintenance purposes.
Example using cash savings
Returning to Case 2 above, James has a shortfall of £18.03 per week (£238.03 – £220.00). He holds £3,000 in savings that have been in his account for the past 8 months (the lowest balance over that 6-month period being £2,800).
As he is applying for entry clearance, the savings are divided by 143 weeks: £2,800 ÷ 143 = £19.58 per week.
Updated calculation:
- A (weekly net income + savings equivalent) = £440.00 + £19.58 = £459.58
- B (weekly housing costs) = £200.00
- A – B = £259.58
As £259.58 is greater than the Income Support rate of £238.03, the adequate maintenance requirement is met.
References:
GOV.UK: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative Adequate maintenance and accommodation
