Several immigration routes require applicants to show that they can be adequately maintained and accommodated in the UK without recourse to public funds. This is a separate financial test from the minimum income requirement that applies to most spouse and partner visa applications. It applies to certain family applications under Appendix FM, but also to other routes including the UK ancestry visa.
Unlike the minimum income threshold, adequate maintenance has no fixed threshold. It is a fact-specific test that depends on the size of the family and their housing costs. Although the requirement is generally easier to meet, the calculation is less straightforward, and the evidential requirements differ depending on which route you are applying under.
How is adequate maintenance calculated?
The immigration rules define adequate maintenance as follows: after income tax, National Insurance contributions and housing costs have been deducted, there must be available to the family the level of income that would be available to them if the family were in receipt of income support in the UK.
The Upper Tribunal in Ahmed (benefits; proof of receipt; evidence) Bangladesh [2013] UKUT 84 (IAC) established the formula that decision makers now use:
A – B ≥ C
Where A is net weekly income (after deduction of income tax and National Insurance), plus any weekly equivalent from cash savings; B is weekly housing costs (rent or mortgage payments plus council tax); and C is the weekly amount of income support an equivalent British family would receive.
The test uses net weekly income (take-home pay), not gross salary. Personal debt is not deducted; only housing costs are subtracted. Promises of job offers or prospects of future employment cannot be used, and only income or funds available at the date of application count.
As the threshold is pegged to income support, the amount required changes each year. Decision makers must use the rates applicable at the date of their decision. The relevant personal allowances for 2026/27 are:
| Family composition | Weekly rate |
| Single person aged 25 or over | £95.55 |
| Couple, both aged 18 or over | £150.15 |
| Each dependent child | £87.88 |
A couple with two children would therefore need net weekly income after housing costs of at least £325.91. Always check the current benefit rates.
Example
Grace wants to sponsor her husband David to come to the UK on a spouse visa. She receives Personal Independence Payment, which means the adequate maintenance requirement applies. Grace earns £220 per week net, receives £93.99 in Child Tax Credit and £33.70 in Child Benefit for their one child. Her housing costs are £120 rent plus £20 council tax per week.
A (net weekly income) = £347.69 | B (housing costs) = £140.00
A – B = £207.69
C (income support for a couple with one child) = £150.15 + £87.88 = £238.03
A – B is less than C. Grace does not meet the requirement on income alone but may be able to bridge the gap with cash savings.
What income and savings count?
The test permits a broad range of income sources: employment and self-employment income, non-employment income such as property rental or dividends, benefits, and pensions. All forms of permitted income and cash savings can be combined.
Cash savings can supplement or replace income. There is no £16,000 floor and all qualifying cash savings can be counted.
For Appendix FM, the savings must have been held for at least six months. For routes governed by Appendix Finance, such as UK ancestry, the rules are less prescriptive and there is no six-month requirement.
Savings are converted into a weekly figure by dividing by the number of weeks of leave that would be granted: 143 weeks for entry clearance, 130 for leave to remain, 52 for indefinite leave to remain, and 26 for fiancé(e) applications.
Example
Returning to Grace, she fell short by £30.34 per week. David’s application is for entry clearance, so savings are divided by 143 weeks. To bridge the shortfall, Grace needs savings of at least £4,338.62 (£30.34 × 143).
If she can evidence savings of £4,350 held throughout the prior six-month period, the weekly equivalent of £30.42 (£4,350 ÷ 143) is added to her net income, bringing her total to £378.11 per week.
Now, Grace’s income (£378.11) – housing costs (£140.00) = £238.11, which exceeds the income support equivalent of £238.03. The requirement is met.
Who needs to meet the requirement?
The underlying test, the A – B ≥ C formula, is common across all routes, but the evidential requirements differ.
Appendix FM
Under Appendix FM, adequate maintenance applies to partners and their children where the sponsor is in receipt of a specified benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Attendance Allowance, or their Scottish equivalents.
It also applies to parents of children in the UK on the five-year route, adult dependent relatives (who additionally require a signed maintenance undertaking from the sponsor), and certain applicants under Appendix Armed Forces, Appendix Adoption, and Appendix Child Relative. It does not apply to the ten-year partner and parent routes or to private life applications.
The evidential requirements are set out in Appendix FM-SE and mirror the rules for evidence required under the minimum income requirement. Employment income requires an employer’s letter, payslips covering the last six months, and corresponding bank statements. Cash savings require bank statements covering the six months, and a signed declaration of source. Housing costs must be evidenced with proof of rent or mortgage payments and council tax bills.
Other routes
The maintenance and accommodation requirement also applies to UK ancestry applicants, representatives of an overseas business, short-term students, and Hong Kong BN(O) applicants.
The Home Office approaches the requirement in these applications with a relatively light touch. There is no minimum evidential period, and credible third-party support from a relative or friend is permitted for UK ancestry applicants. The evidential requirements are governed by Appendix Finance rather than Appendix FM-SE.
Acceptable documents include payslips, bank statements, P60s, evidence of other income, and letters from DWP or HMRC. Three months of evidence is generally advised, but the rules do not specify a minimum period and a decision maker must not refuse solely because less is provided.
Certain Part 8 family applications such as indefinite leave to enter for children also require adequate maintenance and accommodation, with separate Part 8 maintenance guidance applying. There is no specified evidence for Part 8 applications either, unless cash savings are relied on. Cash savings must meet the requirements set out in Appendix FM-SE.
The accommodation requirement
The accommodation requirement applies broadly to all applicants under Appendix FM (not just those subject to adequate maintenance), in addition to applicants under the other routes mentioned above.
The applicant must show there will be adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds. The accommodation must be owned or occupied exclusively by the family, though this does not mean they must live alone. They must have exclusive use of at least the required number of bedrooms. Living rooms can be used as bedrooms, but kitchens and bathrooms cannot be counted as sleeping accommodation. The accommodation must also not be overcrowded and must not contravene public health regulations.
The Home Office guidance only explicitly recognises prospective accommodation for fiancé(e) and proposed civil partner applications. For all other applications, accommodation should technically be in place at the time of application.
