Transitional Arrangements: £18,600 vs £29,000

Background: How We Got Here

The minimum income requirement for UK family visas was introduced in 2012 at £18,600 a year. That figure was unchanged for over a decade. In December 2023 the government announced that it would rise in stages, first to £29,000 and eventually to £38,700, to match what the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold was at the time. That threshold has since risen to £41,700, so the two figures no longer line up.

One stage happened. From 11 April 2024 the requirement for new applications is £29,000 — a rise of about 56% in what a sponsor must earn. The later stages, £34,500 and then £38,700, were never written into the Immigration Rules and never took effect. Alongside the April 2024 change the government kept the older figure in place for people who were already on the family route, which is what the transitional arrangements are.

For full context on how the income threshold has changed over time, see our income threshold timeline.

The Current Position

The GOV.UK financial requirements page sets out three positions:

• Applications made on or after 11 April 2024: £29,000 a year.
• First applied as a partner before 11 April 2024, and extending that visa with the same partner: £18,600 a year, plus £3,800 for a first child and £2,400 for each further child, capped at £29,000. This includes someone who first applied as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner.
• Sponsoring partner receiving certain disability or carer benefits: no minimum income figure. An adequate maintenance test is used instead, based on income and housing costs.

There is no published plan or date for a further increase. The £34,500 and £38,700 stages that were announced in April 2024 never entered the Immigration Rules.

The detail sits in Appendix FM and Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules on GOV.UK. The version in force on the day of the application is the one that is applied.

Who the Transitional Arrangements Cover

GOV.UK sets two conditions. Both have to be true:

1. The first application as a partner was made before 11 April 2024. This includes a first application as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner.
2. The application now being made is to extend that visa, with the same partner.

The reasoning is that someone who joined the route under one set of rules is not moved onto a higher figure part-way through it. The extra amounts for children, dropped for new applicants in April 2024, are part of what carries over: £3,800 for a first child and £2,400 for each further child, with the total capped at £29,000.

Examples That Fit

• A partner granted a 33-month visa in 2023, applying to extend for a further 30 months with the same partner.
• A partner on the 10-year route who was granted leave in 2022 and is applying for the next extension with the same partner.
• Someone who first applied as a fiancé or fiancée in 2023 and is now extending as a partner.

Examples That Do Not

• A first application as a partner made now: £29,000 applies.
• An application made afresh after an earlier family visa was refused or expired, rather than as an extension of it.
• A person switching from a different visa route — a Skilled Worker visa, for example — to a family visa for the first time.

How the Requirement Applies at Each Stage

First Application

The figure in force on the date of the application applies. For a first application as a partner made on or after 11 April 2024, that is £29,000. The transitional arrangements do not reach first applications.

Extension

This is the stage the transitional arrangements are written for. Where the first application as a partner was made before 11 April 2024 and the extension is with the same partner, the figure is £18,600 plus the amounts for children.

Settlement

The GOV.UK financial requirements page describes the £18,600 figure in terms of extending a visa. It does not set out a separate figure for settlement. The Appendix FM minimum income requirement guidance on GOV.UK is where the settlement position is set out, and it is worth reading the version in force on the day of the application rather than assuming the extension figure carries across. Our ILR requirements guide covers what else settlement asks for.

The £38,700 Stage That Was Never Made

The December 2023 announcement described a path from £18,600 to £29,000, then £34,500, then £38,700. Only the £29,000 stage was written into the Immigration Rules. The stages above it were announced in April 2024 and then referred to the Migration Advisory Committee, the independent body that advises the government on immigration, which published its review of the family financial requirements on 10 June 2025. No government response has been published, and no date exists for any further increase.

£38,700 was the general salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa when the family increase was announced. That threshold rose to £41,700 on 22 July 2025. It is a threshold for the salary a sponsored job must pay, not a family income figure, and the two have never been the same rule. Our guide to the £38,700 figure traces where it came from.

Income Between the Two Figures

An income between £18,600 and £29,000 sits above one figure and below the other, so which one applies decides the position:

• Covered by the transitional arrangements: the figure is £18,600, plus the amounts for any children, capped at £29,000.
• Not covered, applying as a partner now: the figure is £29,000. Cash savings can make up a shortfall — £16,000 plus 2.5 times the gap, held for the 6 months before the application. Our combining income and savings guide works through the formula.
• Income below £18,600 either way: the shortfall is larger, so the savings figure is larger. With no qualifying income at all, £88,500 covers the whole £29,000 requirement.

Evidence Where the Transitional Figure Applies

There is no separate form or claim for the transitional arrangements. The Home Office has the immigration history and applies the figure that fits it. What the application needs to show is the history itself and the income:

• Evidence of the earlier grant of permission. Immigration status is now held online: a share code from a UKVI account proves it. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, and GOV.UK says a card can be used for 24 months after the expiry date printed on it or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first
• Financial evidence covering £18,600 plus any amounts for children. See our visa fees guide for what the application itself costs
• The evidence each income category calls for, which is set out in Appendix FM-SE

Other Family Routes

The English language requirement applies at each stage as well as the financial one.

5-Year Partner Route

The route runs as a first grant of 33 months, one extension of 30 months, and then settlement. The transitional figure is the one GOV.UK describes at the extension stage.

10-Year Partner Route

The 10-year route runs through several extensions. The same condition applies: a first application as a partner before 11 April 2024, extending with the same partner.

Parent Route

The parent route has no minimum income figure at all. GOV.UK asks the applicant to show they can support themselves, and any dependants, without claiming public funds, and the caseworker uses income and housing costs to assess that. It is the adequate maintenance test, not the minimum income requirement, so the £18,600 and £29,000 figures do not apply to it.

Where to Check

The interaction between the two figures turns on dates and on which partner the application is with, so the history matters as much as the income. The sources are:

• The GOV.UK financial requirements page, which states both figures and the condition that separates them
• Appendix FM-SE on GOV.UK, for the evidence rules behind each income category
• An adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority or a solicitor, for advice on an individual case, which this guide is not. Our immigration solicitor costs guide covers what that costs

Questions and answers