Appendix FM Financial Requirement: Basic Pay and Overtime Payments
Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary for an employed British citizen/settled sponsor of a non-EEA national partner to have a basic pay of over £18,600 gross per annum in order to sponsor the partner’s application for entry clearance or leave to remain.
Often, an individual’s earnings will not simply be made up of hours which they must contractually perform each month – a basic rate can be augmented by overtime pay. This is reflected in the Immigration Rules, which do not require basic gross pay to be at £18,600 or above. Instead, what is required is a gross annual income of at least £18,600 per annum, and pay can originate from a variety of sources, including overtime pay.
Appendix FM-SE (Family Members – Specified Evidence) outlines the ways by which gross annual income must be calculated for the purpose of the Immigration Rules. Rule 18(b) sets out how overtime, commission-based pay and bonuses will be counted as income. This post considers overtime pay only, but the same applies to commission-based pay and bonuses.
One must use the lowest basic pay in the six months prior to the date of application, for example with £1,000 gross per month, annual gross pay would be £12,000. This is an insufficient amount to sponsor a spouse (let alone children). If such a salary was augmented by overtime pay, it may well exceed the £18,600 gross annual requirement to sponsor a UK partner visa.
Using the following example figures, annualised overtime can be calculated as follows:
|
Gross overtime pay |
|
|
September |
£500.00 |
|
October |
£1,000.00 |
|
November |
£500.00 |
|
December |
£750.00 |
|
January |
£0.00 |
|
February |
£1,000.00 |
|
Total |
£3,750.00 |
The total amount of gross overtime paid in the six months prior to the date of application must be calculated. After this, a monthly payment is calculated – the total divided by six. An annualised sum is calculated from this.
Using the above amounts, we work out annualised overtime as (£3,750/6)* 12 = £7,500.
When added to the lowest basic salary of £12,000, this amounts to £19,500, above the £18,600 threshold to sponsor a partner.
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For advice or assistance with preparing an application for entry clearance, leave to remain or settlement as a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or fiancé, contact our immigration barristers in London.
