Your basic salary may sit below the spouse visa income threshold while your actual earnings are considerably higher. Extra shifts, sales commission or a performance bonus can make a meaningful difference to the household budget.
Those additional earnings can also count towards a spouse visa application when received within the relevant period and properly evidenced.
The challenge is calculating the figure the Home Office can accept. One strong payslip can give a very different impression from a complete review of the preceding months.
At Knightsbridge, our spouse visa service starts by identifying the applicable financial test, then examining how each part of the income fits it. For variable pay, separating the components before doing the arithmetic makes the position much clearer.
Confirm the employment category first
This article concerns income from employment in the UK. Under Category A, the relevant employment must have lasted at least six months. Category B involves both a current-income assessment and a separate assessment of actual income over the preceding 12 months.
That distinction matters before you start averaging payslips. A calculation prepared for an established job may be unsuitable after a recent change of employer.
Put the employment start date, any change in basic pay and the intended application date together on one page. Give your adviser those dates alongside the pay records. This makes it easier to identify which calculation needs to be checked.
The usual minimum income requirement is currently £29,000. Transitional arrangements for some existing partner-route applicants and rules involving specified benefits can change the assessment.
Separate basic pay from additional earnings
Begin with the employment contract and the explanation provided by payroll. Identify the fixed basic salary, then record overtime, commission and bonuses separately.
For salaried employment, qualifying additional payments from the current employment are annualised using their average gross monthly amount over the six months before application. That annual equivalent is added to the salary figure permitted under the relevant category.
This is why an employer’s headline description of “total earnings” may need unpacking. The figure might combine a fixed salary, a target bonus and commission that has already been paid. Those components need separate attention.
Our recommendation is to create a simple income schedule before drafting the application explanation. Use the descriptions appearing on the payslips and ask payroll to clarify any unfamiliar codes. A clear breakdown makes later checks considerably easier.
Keep any change in basic salary visible as well. Record when the increase took effect and which payslips reflect it. That gives your adviser the information needed to assess the basic salary separately from the fluctuating additions.
Overtime: check both the payment and the period
GOV.UK describes overtime as work beyond normal contractual hours. The contract will usually explain any overtime rates; working additional hours does not automatically mean the employer must pay extra for them.
For your evidence preparation, distinguish extra hours worked from extra money received. A rota can explain why a payment arose, but it may leave the payment date or amount unresolved.
Ask payroll which payslip contains the overtime and whether it was paid through the normal salary transfer or separately. This is especially useful where shifts are worked in one month and processed in the next.
Keep months with no overtime visible in your schedule. Leaving a blank month out of an average can make the result look stronger than the complete period supports. A zero is useful information when it explains the pattern honestly.
Bonuses and commission: explain what was actually paid
Acas distinguishes contractual bonuses, payable when agreed conditions are met, from discretionary bonuses, which are not guaranteed. A contract should make the arrangement clear.
That description helps explain the payment, but the immigration calculation still needs the relevant receipts. A promised future bonus or projected commission ordinarily cannot replace income already received. Returning sponsors relying on UK job offers have separate provisions that need specific consideration.
If a bonus appears once in the evidence period, identify its payment date, amount and payroll description. Ask the employer to confirm what it relates to where the payslip alone is unclear.
For commission, provide an explanation of the scheme where helpful, particularly if a separate statement shows how sales translated into pay. Reconcile the amount credited through payroll with the figure being relied upon.
Avoid describing a target as an entitlement unless the documents support that description. The aim is to present the actual arrangement accurately, including any conditions attached to it.
A worked example: basic salary plus variable pay
Assume a sponsor qualifies for Category A, has remained with the same ordinary UK employer throughout the relevant six months, and has received a fixed basic salary of £24,000 annually. All additional payments below were received within that period and can be evidenced. The applicable threshold is £29,000.
These are hypothetical gross figures, before deductions:
| Month | Basic pay | Overtime | Commission | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £2,000 | £150 | £100 | £0 |
| 2 | £2,000 | £250 | £150 | £0 |
| 3 | £2,000 | £100 | £200 | £1,000 |
| 4 | £2,000 | £300 | £250 | £0 |
| 5 | £2,000 | £200 | £150 | £0 |
| 6 | £2,000 | £200 | £250 | £0 |
| Total | £12,000 | £1,200 | £1,100 | £1,000 |
The additional payments total £3,300. Their monthly average is £550, producing an annual equivalent of £6,600.
Adding that to the qualifying basic salary gives £24,000 + £6,600 = £30,600. On these assumptions, the income calculation exceeds £29,000. The remaining application and evidence requirements still need to be satisfied. This example applies the additional-pay method in paragraph 18(bb) of Appendix FM-SE.
Month 3 alone contains £3,300 of gross pay. Multiplying that single payslip by 12 would produce £39,600, substantially overstating the figure supported by this calculation.
Annualising is an assessment calculation, so it should be kept separate from forecasts of what the sponsor will receive next year.
A provisional result should also be revisited if the application date changes. For comparison, a later qualifying period containing only £2,300 of additional payments would produce an annual addition of £4,600. With the same £24,000 basic salary, the result would be £28,600. This illustrates why we recommend recalculating against the intended submission date before treating a financial plan as settled.
Variable hours need the correct classification
A changing payslip does not automatically make the whole job non-salaried. The Rules distinguish fixed minimum salary arrangements from pay based on hours or work undertaken. For qualifying Category A non-salaried employment, the annual figure uses average gross monthly income over six months.
Read the contract alongside the pay records. An employee with a fixed annual salary and occasional overtime presents a different calculation question from someone whose earnings depend entirely on hours worked.
Be careful when transferring figures between spreadsheets. If overtime and commission are already included in a total being averaged, adding them again afterwards would count the same payments twice.
If you cannot explain where each component enters the calculation, pause and reconcile the schedule before relying on the result.
Match payslips, bank records and the employer’s explanation
Payslips should show earnings before and after deductions, variable deductions and, where pay depends on time worked, the hours involved. These details help explain why the bank credit differs from gross earnings.
The visa evidence needs the relevant payslips, corresponding personal bank statements and an employer letter covering the prescribed employment details. Where the specified evidence period ends at application, its latest part must be dated within the preceding 28 days.
Ask the employer to explain additional pay clearly, including any payment made separately from the usual salary. Check that the dates and amounts can be followed without guessing.
Also identify expense reimbursements. The Rules exclude travel expenses and specified subsistence or accommodation payments; pay for travel time is treated differently.
Our guide to organising and uploading visa evidence can help you present the completed records. An income schedule is useful navigation, while the underlying documents establish the figures.
Review the calculation before choosing the submission date
When a couple is close to the threshold, it is tempting to focus on the next busy month. Our recommendation is to review the complete proposed evidence period and identify exactly what remains unresolved.
Perhaps payroll needs to explain an adjustment. Perhaps a commission payment has not yet appeared on the bank statement. Perhaps a recent salary increase requires the employment category to be reconsidered.
Write down the issue and the evidence needed to resolve it. That gives you a practical preparation plan and helps avoid submitting on the strength of an encouraging estimate.
If your financial case depends on overtime, bonuses or commission, request a Case Assessment to review the employment category, calculation period and evidence before you submit your spouse visa application.
