Scotland Yard detectives investigating the disappearance of Maddie McCann have asked for more money to continue the search for her.
The Home Office confirmed on Monday that it is considering an application for more money to keep the probe, called Operation Grange, going.
A spokeswoman said: "The Home Office has provided funding to the Metropolitan Police for Operation Grange and the resources required are reviewed regularly with careful consideration given before any new funding is allocated."
Government funding for the investigation has been agreed every six months, with £154,000 being granted from October last year until the end of March.
More than £11 million has been spent so far on the probe to find the missing girl, who vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007, aged three.
Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have vowed never to give up hope of finding their daughter.
In 2011, the Met Police launched its own investigation into what had happened to the toddler.
Additional reporting by Press Association
