A plain English guide to using cash savings to meet the financial requirement under Appendix FM, the six month rule, source of funds evidence, and the mistakes that cause most refusals.
This is an overview, not legal advice. The cash savings rule under Appendix FM-SE is technical, and small differences in fact pattern produce different answers. Reading this guide is a useful starting point, but it cannot replace tailored advice from a solicitor on your specific case.
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Cash savings can fully satisfy the requirement on their own, or in some cases supplement other eligible income sources. Every successful application clears these four steps.
The Home Office uses a formula set out in Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules. It looks complicated. Once you understand the three pieces, it is not.
The £16,000 disregard. The first £16,000 of savings is disregarded under Appendix FM-SE and cannot be counted towards meeting the financial requirement. You need to hold at least this amount in addition to anything being used to cover the shortfall.
The 2.5 multiplier. This reflects the 2.5 years (30 months) of leave that initial spouse visas grant. The savings must therefore cover the full period.
The shortfall. The income requirement (currently £29,000 since April 2024) minus your annual income from other eligible sources under Appendix FM. If you have no other eligible income, the shortfall equals the full income requirement.
Immigration financial thresholds are subject to change by amendment to the Immigration Rules, and transitional arrangements may apply to existing applicants. Always confirm the current figure on gov.uk before you do your calculations.
This is where most applicants get tripped up. "Cash savings" under Appendix FM-SE has a specific definition, and several common forms of wealth do not count while held in their current form.
Stocks, shares, investment portfolios, and Stocks and Shares ISAs do not count while still invested. Once liquidated into cash and transferred into an eligible account, the proceeds may potentially be relied upon, subject to the evidential and ownership requirements of Appendix FM-SE. See the paragraph 11A discussion in the next section for the holding period rule.
Funds must be in cash, held in an account in the name of the applicant, the sponsor, or both jointly, and under the control of the applicant and/or sponsor and capable of being accessed within a reasonable period.
The Rules expect accounts where the funds are accessible within a reasonable period. Current accounts, easy access savings accounts, and notice accounts (with short notice periods) are typically straightforward. Fixed-term bonds and fixed-rate savings products can be problematic where they impose meaningful withdrawal restrictions or penalties. If the funds cannot in practice be accessed within a reasonable period, they may not satisfy the access requirement. If your savings are in any kind of fixed-term product, get advice before applying.
Where savings are held in a non-GBP currency, the Home Office converts the balance into GBP using the OANDA rate specified in their published guidance, applied on the date of application. Two practical points follow.
Exchange rate fluctuations create real refusal risk. A balance that comfortably meets the threshold one week may fall below it the next if the GBP rate strengthens against your savings currency. Maintain a meaningful buffer above the minimum.
Documentation must support the conversion. You will need translated bank statements (certified translations where required) and the original-currency balance figures, alongside your own calculation of the GBP equivalent on the application date.
The funds must be held in an eligible account at or above the required level for at least six full months immediately before the date of your application. Not for six months at some point in the past. Six months right before you apply.
Paragraph 11A of Appendix FM-SE provides for circumstances where the cash savings derive from the sale of property, investments, or other assets owned by the applicant, the sponsor, or both jointly. Where it applies, the Home Office may treat the prior ownership period of the asset as satisfying the six month holding requirement, provided the proceeds have been converted into cash savings held by the applicant and/or sponsor at the date of application.
In practice this means that if you sold a Stocks and Shares ISA, an investment portfolio, or a property that had been owned for more than six months, the cash proceeds may in principle be relied upon without a fresh six month cash holding period, provided the requirements of paragraph 11A are met. The relief turns on five things: lawful ownership of the asset for at least six months before sale, evidence of that ownership, evidence of the sale, transfer of the proceeds into cash savings, and the cash being held at the date of application.
You will need the underlying ownership history (statements showing the asset was held by you for the required period), the sale documentation, and the bank statements showing the cash arrived in the eligible account. The proceeds need to remain in cash savings at the application date, so plan timing around any spending or transfers.
Paragraph 11A is stricter than many realise. The underlying asset must have been owned by the applicant, the sponsor, or the two jointly. Where the property or investment was owned by a third party (for example a parent), the sale proceeds cannot simply be transferred to the applicant and treated as exempt from the six month rule. In those cases, the funds are usually treated as a gift and the six month cash holding period applies from when the gift arrives in the eligible account.
Applicants should be prepared to explain the origin of the savings being relied upon, particularly where there are substantial recent deposits, transfers, gifts, or asset liquidations. The Home Office's focus is on lawful ownership and control of the funds, on the provenance of significant movements, and on the credibility of the evidence supplied. The rule is not a forensic obligation to account for every pound historically, but readers should plan their documentation around the principle that the savings should have a clear and credible story.
No. The Home Office requires the funds to be held in an account in your name, your sponsor's name, or both names jointly. Money held by a third party (including parents) does not count, even if they consider it yours. The cleanest fix is for them to gift it to you (with a signed gift letter), at which point the six month clock starts from the date the money arrives in your account.
Not while still invested. Once liquidated into cash and transferred into an eligible account, the proceeds may potentially be relied upon, subject to Appendix FM-SE requirements. Where paragraph 11A applies, the prior ownership period of the ISA may be treated as satisfying the six month holding requirement, provided the proceeds have been converted into cash savings held by the applicant and/or sponsor at the date of application. Evidence required: ISA ownership history, closure or sale statements, and bank statements showing the cash arrival.
Yes. Overseas savings can be used. They will be converted to GBP using the exchange rate applicable at the date of application (the Home Office typically uses oanda.com). You will need translated bank statements (certified translations where required) and the same source of funds evidence as for UK savings. Where savings are held overseas, exchange rate fluctuations can create real risk, applicants should maintain a buffer above the minimum threshold so that a movement in the rate does not push the converted balance below the level needed.
Yes, if you are applying as a couple. Savings held by you, by your sponsor, or jointly all count toward the threshold. You can also combine savings held in separate eligible accounts, as long as each account meets the holding period and source of funds rules. Savings held by anyone else (parents, siblings, friends, employers) do not.
The same formula, three different shapes of application. Each one shows how the maths plays out.
Sponsor is not working. The couple is relying entirely on the applicant's savings to meet the financial requirement.
Sponsor earns £20,000 from employment. The couple needs savings to cover the £9,000 shortfall.
Sponsor sold a Stocks and Shares ISA on 1 January for £120,000 and transferred the cash to a joint savings account on 3 January. The ISA had been held since 2020, well over five years.
Because the underlying ISA was owned for far longer than six months, paragraph 11A of Appendix FM-SE may apply, treating the prior ownership period as satisfying the holding requirement, provided the proceeds remain in cash savings held by the applicant and/or sponsor at the date of application.
Gather these before you submit. Missing documentation can create refusal risk.
Many spouse visa cash savings applications can be prepared without legal help. Some cannot. These are the patterns where solicitor input prevents an avoidable refusal.
Savings spread across multiple countries. Combining UK savings with overseas savings introduces currency, translation, and timing complications that are easier to get wrong than right.
An unclear source of funds picture. If any part of the savings does not have a clean documentary trail (an inheritance handled informally, funds that moved through several accounts, gifts from multiple family members), the application needs careful preparation. The source of funds rule applies to all of the savings, not only deposits above the threshold.
A previous refusal. If you have been refused before on the financial requirement, the next application needs to address the previous reasons explicitly. A solicitor can help frame this.
Time pressure. If your current visa is running out and you cannot wait a full six months for new savings to qualify, you may need to plan a different route. Get advice before you submit a doomed application.
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