Extending a spouse visa inside the UK
The extension gives 30 more months and costs £3,994.50 for one adult. Couples first granted before 11 April 2024 keep the old £18,600 income level.
Spouse visa extension: income test at renewal
Minimum income for your application
£29,000
Short by £9,000 a year. Savings needed to fill the gap: £38,500.
| Income counted | £20,000 |
| Shortfall | £9,000 |
| Savings to cover it (£16,000 + 2.5 × shortfall) | £38,500 |
| Savings alone, with no income | £88,500 |
| Your savings count as income of | £0 |
| Fee + surcharge, extension (30 months) | £3,994.50 |
Savings cannot be added to self-employment income, nor to a job held for less than 6 months (Appendix FM-SE). Cash savings must have been held for 6 months. Income from employment is gross, before tax and National Insurance.
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Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
Near the end of your first 33-month grant you apply, from inside the UK, for a further 30 months as a partner; with that second grant you reach the 5 years needed for indefinite leave to remain. The caseworker checks the same things as the first time with three changes. Your own UK earnings now count towards the income test. If your first application as a partner or fiancé was made before 11 April 2024 and you are extending with the same partner, the income level is £18,600, plus £3,800 for the first non-British child and £2,400 for each further one, never more than £29,000; everyone else needs £29,000. And if your English was proved with an A1 test, you now need A2. The application fee is £1,407 and the surcharge £2,587.50, £3,994.50 for one adult, with super priority available for £1,000.
When to apply and what is checked again
You can apply at any time before your current permission expires, and you should not let it lapse: once you have applied before it ends, you can stay in the UK until the decision. Applying early costs little, because GOV.UK adds up to 28 days of any time left on your current permission to the new grant when you extend with the same partner. Much earlier than that and you give up months you have already paid surcharge for, although an overlapping surcharge is partly refunded.
Paragraph E-LTRP.1.10 adds a test that did not exist at entry: you must show that you have lived together in the UK since the first visa was granted, or give a good reason for any time apart that fits a continuing plan to live together permanently. Tenancy agreements, Council Tax bills and bank statements at the same address over the whole period are the usual evidence. The accommodation must still be adequate, and the relationship must still be genuine and subsisting.
The English level moves up one step. Paragraph E-LTRP.4.1A says that someone who passed at A1 for the first visa must now show A2 in speaking and listening, unless they are a national of a majority English speaking country, have a degree taught in English, are 65 or over, or have a disability that prevents them from taking the test. An A2 or higher result already accepted in an earlier application can be reused if the certificate has not been withdrawn.
Which income level applies to you
The rule depends on when the route began. Paragraph E-LTRP.3.5 keeps the transitional figure for a person who made their first successful application as a fiancé, proposed civil partner or partner before 11 April 2024, and who now extends with that same partner. Change partner and the full £29,000 applies, with a new five-year count.
| Children to count | Transitional level (E-LTRP.3.7) | Current level (E-LTRP.3.1) |
|---|---|---|
| No child counted | £18,600 | £29,000 |
| 1 child | £22,400 | £29,000 |
| 2 children | £24,800 | £29,000 |
| 3 children | £27,200 | £29,000 |
| 4 children | £29,000 | £29,000 |
| 5 children | £29,000 | £29,000 |
An example shows how much this matters. A couple first granted in 2023, with two children who are not British, earn £20,000 between them. Under the transitional rule they need £24,800, a shortfall of £4,800 that £28,000 of savings would close. Under the current rule the same household would face a gap of £9,000 and need £38,500 in savings. Use the toggle in the calculator above to switch between the two.
The applicant's own salary from legal work in the UK now joins the sponsor's, and so does the income of a dependent child aged 18 or over who still lives with you. Self-employed income is taken from the last full financial year, so a business started after arrival may not yet show. Couples whose partner receives Carer's Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or another listed benefit take the adequate maintenance test instead of a fixed figure.
Fee, timing and what happens if you fall short
The extension fee is the in-country rate for family leave, £1,407, plus the surcharge for 30 months, £2,587.50. An adult with one child under 18 on the same form pays £7,341.50 in total. You can add super priority for £1,000. Without it, UKVI aims to decide within 8 weeks of your appointment when you meet the income and English rules (inside-UK processing times).
If you cannot meet the money or English rules, the application is not necessarily refused. When paragraph EX.1 applies, for example because you have a British child or there are insurmountable obstacles to family life abroad, the Home Office grants 30 months on the 10-year route instead, and GOV.UK currently quotes about 12 months to decide those cases. Moving to the 10-year route doubles the time to settlement, so it is worth checking the figures with the calculator before you submit. The financial requirement page lists the documents, and ILR after a spouse visa covers the final step.