How Much Do You Need to Sponsor Your Family in the UK?

Money plays a very important part in a sponsor license registration. Without any kind of financial capability, you won’t have a chance to sponsor even one from your family members. It will be a big loss, especially if you’re already deep on plans about letting them stay with you in the UK.

Hence, it’s just right that you look into financial requirements before starting the application process. This is most especially if you will sponsor more than one direct family member since this means larger costs all throughout the application and migration process.

For a better overview on how much you’ll need to prepare, we have provided some of the factors that you should take into account in the following sections.

Visa Fees

First, you need to consider the visa fees for your dependent. More often than not, you have to apply for a dependent visa. In the UK, the fees included here are:

Immigration Health Surcharge: £624 for adults, £470 for children (Annual Fees)

The Immigration Health Surcharge fee is paid annually. This will allow the dependent to access the benefits of the UK’s NHS, some of which are free healthcare services, allowance, paid leaves, and a lot more.

Biometric Enrolment Fee: £19.20

This fee will be used in creating your Biometric Residence Permit or BRP. This will serve as a travel document in the UK, and your fingerprints will be required to process it. This is what you’re going to pay for.

Entry Clearance (For Skilled Workers): £610 to £1,220 (Depending on the length of visa validity in years)

If your dependent wants to work in the UK and they have a Skilled Worker Visa, then you need to pay the Entry Clearance fees for them to have a certification for eligibility to work in the UK.

Leave to Remain (For Skilled Workers): £464 to £1,408

For your dependent to legally be allowed to stay and enter the UK, you need to pay fees for a Leave to Remain.

All of these are necessary for the application process. If you need more help on what other fees to pay, consider contacting a sponsorship lawyer. Doing so will allow you to get more accurate quotes.

Savings Requirements

The UK requires sponsors to have a certain minimum amount of savings as proof that they can support their dependents.

The cost will depend on your relationship with the dependent and how many they are. Specifically, you need to prepare £285 if you’re going to sponsor your partner, and £315 if you’re going to sponsor your child. If you will bring both to the UK, then you need to add the savings requirements for each (£600).

Another thing, you need £200 more in savings for another dependent that you plan on adding to your list.

The only time that you won’t have to provide proof of savings is if your dependent is a registered Skilled Worker that has high ratings for their funds.

Requirements for Annual Earnings

The sponsor should have an annual gross income totaling £18,600 to become qualified as a sponsor. This doesn’t necessarily have to come from a full-time or part-time job. If you have other sources of income like freelance, business, and other gigs, it can also add to your net worth. You will need to prove this through a year’s worth of financial statements.

Living Expenses

Lastly, don’t forget to save money for your and your dependent’s living expenses. These include food, drinks, utility bills, housing accommodations, and likes. The total costs for these will depend on a lot of factors, so you should make sure to estimate your average monthly earnings in the UK. This can serve as your guide when calculating your dependent’s expenses.

Tuition fees and other miscellaneous expenses should also be taken into account along with the ones said above.

Summary

As you can see, the money that you’ll need will be more than just what you have to pay in the immigration agency. The living costs, requirements, accommodations, and likes are also essential since you will need this to survive once they move to the UK.

You have surely already expected it, but even without a total cost, it’s evident that you will need a lot. This will be an expensive process, no matter if you will be sponsoring one or more.

Apart from allotting for expenses, required savings amount, and fees, you should also make sure that you spare some for emergency funds. This is most especially if your dependent is not yet eligible to claim benefits.For a more accurate quote, consider availing of sponsorship help. Doing so will allow you to prepare better for the process.