Spouse Visa Cash Savings

Using cash savings for a spouse visa: the balance is only the beginning

Having enough money in the bank can make a spouse visa application feel straightforward. The difficulty often appears when the statements are reviewed: the balance arrived recently, part belongs to someone else, or the account restricts access.

For a standard initial spouse application or extension subject to the £29,000 income threshold, £88,500 in qualifying cash savings can meet the financial requirement without income. The calculation is only the starting point. Ownership, source, access and the relevant holding period must also be established.

At Knightsbridge, we assess the funds and their history before treating the displayed balance as available for the application. That allows a couple to identify whether they can proceed, need more evidence or should reconsider their timing.

How much cash savings do you need at each stage?

For an initial application or extension under the standard minimum income rules, the savings-only calculation is £16,000 plus 2.5 times the applicable annual income requirement. At a £29,000 threshold, that is:

£16,000 + £72,500 = £88,500.

The £16,000 is already included in the total. It is not an extra amount to add to £88,500.

The calculation changes at settlement on the five-year partner route: the amount above £16,000 can meet the applicable annual requirement without the 2.5 multiplier.

These are calculations under the current rules, assuming the stated threshold applies. They concern the financial requirement only.

The £18,600 threshold is relevant to qualifying transitional cases, generally involving a successful application made before 11 April 2024 and continued applications with the same partner. Relevant dependent children can increase that threshold, subject to the £29,000 cap. A couple should check their immigration history and family circumstances before selecting a figure from the table.

Where specified disability or carer’s benefits mean the adequate maintenance test applies, a different assessment is needed. The table should not be used for that test. Our UK Spouse Visa service explains the wider route and the matters assessed alongside finances.

Whose savings count, and can you access them?

For the usual couple-based savings calculation, funds can be held by the applicant, their partner or both jointly. The Home Office guidance requires the money to be under their control and from a lawful source. Borrowed money does not qualify as cash savings under these rules.

This makes the account holder details important. A parent’s willingness to help does not turn the parent’s bank balance into the couple’s savings. Equally, permission to operate someone else’s account should not be confused with ownership of its funds.

The account must allow immediate access, although an early withdrawal penalty does not necessarily prevent it qualifying. The financial institution must be appropriately regulated. A product described as a savings account still needs its actual terms checked.

We would review those terms before relying on an account with a notice period, fixed term or withdrawal conditions. The useful question is whether the money can be accessed in the manner required, supported by the bank’s documents. A product name or an adviser’s informal assurance is a weak substitute for those terms.

These principles also matter when assessing savings for an Unmarried Partner Visa, although the relationship requirements need their own assessment.

The six-month holding period: review the whole history

Ordinarily, statements must show the required savings throughout the six months before applying. A sufficient closing balance alone does not establish this.

Hypothetical example: a couple needs £88,500 and relies entirely on one savings account. They are not relying on an asset-sale exception or another financial source.

This example fails the ordinary holding-period test: the July shortfall falls within the six months before applying. Restoring £90,000 does not erase it.

The source of the gift might be fully explained and today’s balance might be sufficient, while the holding period remains the unresolved issue. Those checks should be recorded separately so that a strong document in one area does not conceal a weakness elsewhere.

Where money has moved between accounts, assemble the complete transfer trail. Review the balances together without counting the same money twice. If you plan to pay application charges from the savings, check the effect on the amount you intend to rely upon before making the payments.

Gifts, inheritance and asset sales need different evidence

A genuine gift from a family member or another person can be a lawful source of savings. The ordinary holding requirement still applies; the donor’s years of ownership do not establish six months in the recipient’s account.

For a substantial gift, we would want a clear explanation of who provided it, when it was transferred and whether repayment is expected. The explanation should match the account entries. A transfer described as a gift while a separate agreement requires repayment needs to be addressed before the application is prepared.

An inheritance can contribute once paid. An expected payment from an estate is not the same as funds already available in the qualifying account. Obtain the records that connect the estate payment to the amount received, then assess its holding history.

Qualifying investment conversions and property sales have specific exceptions allowing earlier ownership to count towards the six-month period. For investments, evidence must establish ownership and control throughout, the cash value at the period’s start and the conversion into savings. The exception does not remove the need to establish that history.

Property proceeds must be net of secured debt, tax and sale costs; only the couple’s share counts. They must have owned the property at the beginning of the relevant six-month period and at sale.

Our practical approach is to map the transaction from asset to bank account. For a property sale, the sale price is one entry in that explanation. The mortgage redemption, professional costs, ownership shares and resulting deposit explain how much actually belongs to the couple and can be assessed.

An investment statement showing substantial wealth requires the same care. Identify the product, whether it meets the cash-savings conditions and whether the conversion provisions are needed. Do not plan around an exception until the documents establish its conditions.

Check the calculation against the documents you will submit

Include the required account records and the holders’ declaration of the savings’ source. For specified evidence covering a period ending with the application, the most recent evidence must be dated within the preceding 28 days.

Start the review with the intended application date. Work backwards through the relevant period, mark deposits and withdrawals, and identify anything the statements do not explain. This is more useful than collecting six documents simply because each carries a different month’s heading.

For overseas savings, the sterling value must be calculated using the exchange-rate method required by the Rules. Appendix Finance generally uses OANDA’s spot rate on the application date, with specified exceptions using the FCDO Consular Exchange Rate.

A calculation made weeks earlier may therefore need revisiting. We would record the currency, the applicable conversion method and the resulting sterling amount alongside the evidence. That makes the calculation understandable and exposes a narrow margin before it becomes a problem.

Documents outside English or Welsh need certified translations. Names, account identifiers and transaction descriptions should remain clear when the original and translation are read together.

If savings will supplement income, check the permitted combination separately. Different income categories have different rules; a savings balance should not simply be added to annual earnings. That decision needs to be made before choosing the evidence period or completing the financial section of the form.

Before committing to a submission date, put any unresolved points into a short action list: an unexplained deposit, missing statement, uncertain withdrawal term or incomplete sale record. Give each a named document or question that would resolve it. This helps distinguish a case that needs better presentation from one that needs a different financial basis or more time.

Our view is that a well-prepared savings case should make four things easy to follow: the amount required, who owns the funds, where they came from and why the holding history qualifies. Each should be supported by records that tell the same story.

If you are relying on cash savings and want to establish whether the funds and evidence meet the spouse visa requirements, Request a Case Assessment.