UK spouse visa from the USA: whose income counts?

Paragraph E-ECP.3.2 of Appendix FM lists the sources which can be considered for entry clearance as a partner. Employment and self-employment income is framed by reference to the applicant's partner. The applicant's employment earnings are not included as a separate source at this stage, even if the applicant has a well-paid US role or expects the employer to allow work from the UK.

The applicant's position can still be relevant through other permitted categories. Specified pension income, other specified non-employment income and qualifying cash savings may belong to the applicant, the sponsor or both. Each category has its own definition, calculation and evidence; the existence of funds does not make them interchangeable.

The position changes for a person applying for permission to stay from within the UK. E-LTRP.3.2 can permit the applicant's lawful employment or self-employment income to be counted. A couple should not import that in-country rule into an entry clearance application filed while the applicant is in the United States.

Where the sponsor is employed in the United States and has worked for the current employer for at least 6 months, Appendix FM-SE paragraph 13(c) applies a 2 limb calculation. The sponsor must satisfy the applicable historic income calculation and the salary in the UK employment to which they are returning must independently support the amount relied upon.

The UK employment must start within 3 months of the sponsor's return. Paragraph 4 of Appendix FM-SE requires an employer letter confirming the offer, gross annual salary and start date, or a signed contract with the qualifying start date. A general expression of interest, an unsigned proposal or an intention to begin searching after arrival does not meet that evidential requirement.

Where the sponsor has not been with the overseas employer for 6 months, has changed roles or cannot use the ordinary 6 month method, paragraph 13(d) connects the UK offer to the 12 month historic-income calculation in paragraph 15. The current UK salary cannot erase an insufficient 12 month history, and strong historic earnings cannot cure a UK offer below the amount relied upon.

1. 01
   6 months with the same US employer

   Test the salary level across the relevant 6 months and the separate UK offer beginning within 3 months of return.

2. 02
   Less than 6 months or variable history

   Calculate qualifying gross earnings received during the preceding 12 months and test the UK offer separately.

3. 03
   Continuing with the same group

   Obtain documents that identify the US employment, the UK employing entity, salary, start date and whether the arrangement is a transfer or a new contract.

4. 04
   No qualifying UK role yet

   Do not assume US earnings alone complete the returning-sponsor employment category; consider timing and other permitted sources before applying.

For many new partner applications, Appendix FM allows qualifying cash savings above £16,000 to supplement income. The required savings are £16,000 plus 2.5 times the shortfall against the applicable income threshold. If no income is relied upon against a £29,000 threshold, the resulting cash-savings figure is £88,500.

Paragraphs 11 and 11A of Appendix FM-SE ordinarily require the relied-on level to be evidenced throughout the 6 months before application, held in the name and under the control of the applicant, sponsor or both. The account must permit immediate access, with or without a withdrawal penalty. A declaration of the source of funds is also required.

Investments, stocks, shares, bonds, trust funds and certain pension investments can be converted into cash within the 6 month period without necessarily restarting the entire ownership period, but only where the prior ownership, cash value and transfer are evidenced as paragraph 11A requires. An investment portfolio should not simply be presented as though its fluctuating market value were already qualifying cash.

Property-sale proceeds have a separate exception. The property must satisfy the prior ownership condition, and the application must evidence ownership, sale, net proceeds, mortgage repayment, taxes and professional costs. The US closing statement and professional confirmations should be read against the exact paragraph rather than treated as self-explanatory.

Appendix FM-SE permits a pension savings account to qualify as cash savings where the funds can be withdrawn immediately, with or without a penalty. It also recognises funds transferred from investments or pension funds where the 6 month ownership and documentary conditions are met. The label on a US account does not determine which provision applies.

A 401(k) or IRA may involve restrictions, tax consequences, valuation movements or a distinction between vested value and funds actually available for withdrawal. Those are factual and financial questions which should be confirmed with the provider and the client's US advisers. Immigration analysis should not assume accessibility from an account balance alone.

Where liquidation is proposed, timing matters. The evidential record should preserve the ownership history, portfolio value, sale or withdrawal and receipt into the cash account. Immigration planning should be coordinated with independent US tax and financial advice; satisfying Appendix FM does not answer the tax consequences of accessing retirement or investment assets.

Appendix FM-SE directs foreign currency income and savings to the exchange-rate provisions in Appendix Finance. The Home Office ordinarily uses the OANDA spot exchange rate for the date of application. The legal threshold is expressed in sterling, not in the approximate dollar amount calculated when the relocation was first discussed.

A case close to the threshold is exposed to movement between the dollar and sterling. The evidence may establish the correct US balance but still produce an insufficient sterling figure on the application date. A prudent case does not build to the last available dollar or assume that a bank's retail conversion display is the rate the decision maker will use.

Each foreign currency is converted before being combined with other currencies and any UK funds. The calculation record should identify the date, rate and source used while recognising that the official decision will apply the governing rule to the application date.

A first partner application made on or after 11 April 2024 ordinarily uses the £29,000 minimum income requirement. A person who entered the 5 year partner route following a successful application made before that date and continues with the same partner may remain within the transitional provisions. The route history, not preference, determines whether the transitional calculation applies.

Permitted combinations depend upon the income category. Employment income under the ordinary 6 month calculation can potentially be combined with qualifying cash savings and other permitted sources. By contrast, paragraph 13(f) prevents self-employment income from being combined with specified savings, and paragraph 15 restricts savings where the 12 month employment calculation is used.

Where the sponsor receives a specified disability or carer benefit, Appendix FM applies the adequate-maintenance framework rather than the ordinary minimum income calculation. Exceptional-circumstances provisions exist, but they are not a routine alternative to preparing an application under the prescribed sources and evidence where the ordinary Rules can be met.

A returning sponsor may need to obtain the UK employment evidence while still employed in the United States, preserve the required payslip and banking period, decide when to return and ensure that the UK role starts within the permitted 3 month window. Those steps should be recorded as one sequence rather than handled as separate administrative tasks.

The applicant should not treat an ETA or visitor admission as permission to move to the UK and resolve the spouse route later. A US citizen who enters as a visitor will ordinarily be unable to switch into the partner route from within the UK. The intended residence, work and application strategy should be accurate from the outset.

US tax residence, payroll, benefits, retirement accounts and corporate arrangements may require separate advice. Quastels can coordinate the UK immigration analysis with existing US counsel, accountants and wealth advisers, but the immigration application should remain explicit about which professional is responsible for each cross-border conclusion.