Not sure I am fully understanding your particular situation. What rules recently changed?
Pretty sure the rules did not change, they just change for us as our situation changed.
See if I can in a nutshell this.
If spouse is employed she requires a total of £29000 or more earnings per year Gross but the last 6 months bank statements are enough to prove the £29000 earnings.
If spouse is self employed she has to earn a total of £29000 Net in the financial year that I use to apply. She has only been working for around a month now. She will be a tiny bit short of that after tax (but several thousand over that if it was Gross).
Self employed means have to use her tax result after financial year. So April 2026 is the first time she will have worked a financial year with a Net income above £29000.
I have looked at this in multiple different ways, unless my wife finds a job where she is not self employed and that earns her above the threshold (she is looking but also full time employed 6 days a week now), one of us wins the lotto or either the MAC or Threshold petition go somewhere positive I am stuck in SA till 2026.
Reunite Families UK are trying to do something about it.
When there is a new petitions committee this will be debated:
Currently the financial requirements to bring your spouse to the UK is £18,600 per year and now the Government wants to more than double it. Most people in the UK don’t make that per year. We believe this policy punishes those who fall in love with someone with a different nationality.
petition.parliament.uk
Finally the Migrations Advisory Committee will be reviewing the spousal visa.
Home Secretary says no reversal of Tory policies to reduce net migration, but spouse visa increase postponed pending MAC review
www.ein.org.uk
Anyway TLDR: Rules are messed up and not straight forward. Speaking to your local MP about this will help add to awareness and debate.
