The Fiance Visa Requirements
To apply for a Fiance Visa, you will need to fill out the form found in Appendix FM. In order to be successful, you must ensure that you meet a stringent set of visa requirements by backing up your claims with a portfolio of extensive evidence.
Generally speaking, this includes ensuring that you are of the right age for marriage, proving that you are in a genuine relationship, meeting a minimum income requirement and that you have met at least once before. You must ensure that you meet the visa requirements and that you intend to live in the UK without relying on public funds.
The key requirements for the UK Fiance Visa are as follows:
- You and your partner must be aged 18 and over
- You must intend to marry within 6 months of coming to the UK
- Your visa must be sponsored by your partner who must also be a British citizen or a settled person in the UK
- Your ‘Sponsor’ must earn a minimum of £18,600 or meet the financial requirement by other means
- You must both intend to live together permanently after entering a marriage or civil partnership
- You must have accommodation set up in the UK with your partner prior to arrival
- You must be in a genuine relationship with proof of having met at least once
- You must be able to demonstrate that you can understand and communicate in English to a certain degree
The Financial Requirement
Since you are considered a non-permanent resident of the UK while under this visa category, you are prohibited from public funds. You are also unable to work in the UK, meaning you cannot enter the labour workforce. You must therefore be able to demonstrate that you have enough money to support yourself for the six months you are in the country without needing to work or rely on welfare support.
As a result, your proposed civil partner or Fiance must generate a minimum annual income of £18,600. If you have children or dependents that you want to live with you while in the UK, this amount rises £2,400 per child.
The income requirement can be met through a combination of:
- A regular salary through employment or self-employment
- Pension payments
- Statutory sick pay, maternity, paternity or adoption pay
- Stocks or shares
- Property such as rent
If this is not possible, you and your partner can use savings. Your UK fiance acts as the ‘sponsor’ of your visa for immigration purposes and so, therefore, must be the one to meet this aspect of the UK Fiance Visa requirements.
If you are unsure about meeting the financial requirements, contact us now on 0121 667 6530 to see how we can help you.
The Accommodation Requirement
A key aspect of the Fiance Visa according to the UK immigration rules stipulate that you and your partner intend to live together in the UK.
This means that when you apply for a Fiance Visa, you must provide substantial evidence of your accommodation arrangements that prove you intend to live together for a period of six months or more. For instance, you could outline details of a shared bedroom and any other necessary rooms if you intend to live together with children. This accommodation must be set up prior to your arrival in the UK and before you start to apply.
The Fiance Visa is designed so that most couples can progress onto the Spouse Visa. If this is the case for you, your accommodation must be adequate for the duration of time you intend on living in the UK. For example, you must prove that your housing arrangement meets UK living standards. If you have children, you must seek a property that is suitable for you all to live together under one roof. This means that you will need additional bedrooms per each dependent.
You can satisfy this requirement by:
- Submitting a Housing Report
- Providing evidence of the number of bedrooms your accommodation has
- Submitting a Declaration form from the Sponsor that outlines the property or rental agreement
The English Language Test
All foreign partners who intend on living in the UK permanently with their UK family members must be able to demonstrate that they understand the English language. Although you are not permitted to work in the UK, you must be able to prove that you can speak and read English in order to get by in the country for six months.
To meet this requirement, you may need to sit an English language test in an approved test provider. It may be possible to take this test from outside the UK, but there are dedicated test centres in the UK that are designed for visa applicants.
To pass the English language requirement, you must have met and passed the English exam at level A1.
English Language Exemption
Some people are exempt from needing to take the English language test. This includes:
- People from English-speaking countries, such as the US, Canada and Australia
- People who have undertaken a degree or other higher academic qualification that was taught in English as certified by UK NARIC
- People who have undertaken a degree or other higher academic qualification that was taught in English as certified by UK NARIC
- Applicants who may have any physical or mental disabilities
If your Sponsor sought residency in the UK via humanitarian protection, such as being a Refugee, you may also be exempt from the English language test if the same conditions apply to you.
The Genuine Relationship Requirement
In order to apply for a Fiance Visa to the UK, you must prove that you are in a genuine, subsisting relationship with a British citizen or settled person in the UK. In addition, you must have met face-to-face at least once before and have evidence of meeting.
Although the rules dictate that you must have met at least once, one meeting alone may not be sufficient in proving that you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship. You must be able to prove that you and your fiance are genuinely in love and are together. This can be achieved by providing proof of ongoing correspondence, such as emails, texts and other things couples typically do together. For example, if you have been on holiday together or have bought each other gifts, you should submit evidence of this as proof that you are genuinely in love and are together.
This rigorous test is to mitigate people entering fraudulent marriages for the purposes of immigration advantages. ‘Sham marriages’ and ‘marriages of convenience’ are considered deceptive and manipulative. Failure to pass the Genuine Relationship Test may mean that the Home Office considers your relationship to be illegitimate and that your application was made for the purpose of entry into the UK rather than to be living with your partner as a family unit.
Your immigration lawyer will be able to assist you in piling your portfolio of evidence to satisfy all the visa requirements. This particular aspect of the Fiance Visa and subsequent Spouse Visa is where many applicants trip up. It is of utmost importance that you convince the UK Government of your sincerity. Failure to do so may even jeopardise any future visa applications that you make to the UK.
You could also submit:
- Reference letters from family and friends
- Photographs of you together
- Event tickets that you both attended
- Bank statements of join accounts
- Proof of previous accommodation if you have lived together elsewhere
- Birth certificates of any children you may have
Switching from a Fiance Visa onto a Spouse Visa
It is important to note that a Fiance Visa only grants you entry permission to remain in the UK for a limited time of 6 months. Throughout this period, you cannot work, rely on public funds and you must get married to your proposed civil partner in the UK. When you apply, you must intend to live together and this condition still applies even after marriage.
After your wedding ceremony, your UK Fiance Visa will no longer be valid. As a result, you can then seek to apply for a Spouse Visa. This permission will allow you to work and enter the labour market in the UK for an extended period of 30 months, but you still cannot access public funds. You can apply for a Spouse Visa while in the UK, but you must ensure that you are able to meet the stringent Spouse Visa requirements in order to be successful. Simply marrying your partner is not enough to be granted a Married Partner Visa.
However, once you have lived in the UK legally for a period of 5 years (30 months under a Spouse Visa and a further 30 months under a Spouse Visa extension) you are able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). ILR grants a form of permanent residence in the UK, meaning you are able to work and access public funds. After 12 months on ILR status, you can apply for full British citizenship.
The Fiance Visa fees
The base fee for the Fiance Visa costs £1,523 if you are submitting your application from outside the UK. If you are submitting your application from within the UK, the cost is £1,033.
However, there are additional application costs that you need to be aware of.
This includes:
- The Immigration Health Surcharge
- Any document translation fees
- A housing report fee
- Lawyer fees
If you are seeking a Priority or Fast-track Visa service in order to receive a verdict on your case as quickly as possible, you will need to pay an additional fee. This could see your Visa fee rise to £1,643. These fees must be paid whether you apply for your UK Fiance Visa from outside the UK or from within the country.
