UK SPOUSE VISA
As a non-UK national spouse or civil partner of a UK citizen, you do not automatically acquire immigration rights or lawful status in the UK. You will instead have to apply to the UK Home Office for permission to come to the UK to live with your spouse. As part of the application, you need to provide compelling evidence that you meet the Spouse Visa requirements.
The UK Spouse Visa, commonly known as a UK Marriage Visa, allows non-UK nationals to join their partner in the UK. Your spouse must be either a British citizen or a UK settled person.
The Home Office is taking an increasingly tough stance when determining spouse visa applications, so it is important to ensure you follow the correct process and that your submission is comprehensive in evidencing your eligibility.
STEP 1
Contact us to discuss your immigration needs and our team will explain the ways we can help you.
STEP 2
Start your personalised immigration advice session to receive the answers and information you need.
STEP 3
Instruct our dedicated lawyers to complete your application and submit it to the Home Office.
What is UK Spouse Visa?
A UK Spouse Visa is for non-UK residents aged 18 or over who are engaged, married to, or or has a proposed civil partner who is aged over 18 living in the UK. It is a type of settlement visa known as the UK partner visa.
The qualifying criteria vary depending on your partner’s situation. You need to apply for a UK Partner Visa if you are coming to the UK to join your partner or spouse from outside the European Economic Area.
If you hold a Spouse Visa in UK, you have the right to work like all British citizens. However, you cannot claim most benefits, such as public funds, housing allowance or tax credits.
What does the UK Spouse Visa permit?
Under a Spouse Visa you will be eligible to undertake paid employment or enrol on a full-time course of study in Britain. As the partner of a UK citizen or someone settled in the UK, you may also be entitled to a number of state benefits. You may also become eligible for settlement after the qualifying period of five continuous years residence in the UK.
If your application for a Spouse Visa is successful, your visa will initially be granted for a period of 33 months. If, however, you apply for leave to remain in the UK as a spouse, then you will be granted leave for 30 months.
If you are applying as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, you will only be permitted to come to the UK for a period of 6 months to enable you to get married. You will subsequently need to apply for a Spouse Visa on the basis of your recent marriage or civil partnership.
Please note, you cannot work or study if you are applying for a visa or extending your stay to get married or become civil partners.
Who can apply for a UK Spouse Visa?
You can apply for a UK Spouse Visa if you are:
Aged 18 years or over
Married or in a civil partnership that is recognised by the UK
Married to a British citizen or UK settled person
You have been living together in a relationship for the past 2 years and you can prove it
You are engaged, or you hold a Fiance Visa UK and will get married within 6 months of being in the UK
British citizens can send the leave to remain forms on their partner’s behalf as long as they are eligible. You must list their name and information as the applicant’s details.
What are the Spouse Visa requirements?
Based on the relationship requirements as set out above, to be eligible for a Spouse Visa UK you must fall into one of the following categories:
You are in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK
You and your fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving
You have been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years prior to the date of submitting your application.
There are also a number of additional Spouse Visa UK requirements that, in most cases, must be strictly adhered to, not least because UKVI is continuously seeking to crack down on sham marriages.
As such, to be eligible for this type of visa, you must also satisfy all of the following Spouse Visa requirements:
You and your partner must both be aged over 18
Your relationship must be genuine and subsisting
You must intend to live together permanently in the UK
Any previous relationships must have broken down permanently
You will be financially supported while in the UK
You can speak and understand English to the requisite level
What is the ‘Genuine Relationship Test’?
The UK Spouse Visa applicant needs to be able to prove they are in a genuine relationship, such as a civil partnership, with their British citizen partner. There are lots of different types of evidence you can send to the Home Office, such as:
A joint mortgage or tenancy agreement, either in the UK or outside the UK
Evidence of any children you have together, such as a birth certificate
Photographs that show you have spent time together frequently
A shared bank account or savings
Text messages or social media chat logs
Travel documents that prove you’ve visited each other at least once before you got married
Any documents which prove that you intend to live together in the UK
What are Spouse Visa financial requirements?
Under the financial Spouse Visa requirements, you and your partner will need to show that you can support each other and your dependent children without recourse to public funds.
Here, the minimum income threshold is currently set at £18,600 per annum, increasing to £3,800 where you apply with one dependent child, and thereafter an extra £2,400 for each additional child.
However, in order to meet the relevant threshold, there are several different sources of income that you can rely on, including income from employment or self-employment, non-work income such as from property rentals, cash savings greater than £16,000, maternity pay and/or pensions.
Further, in the event that your partner is in receipt of a specified benefit or allowance in the UK, you will be exempt from meeting the financial requirement in the form of the minimum income threshold. Rather, you will need to provide evidence of adequate maintenance and accommodation instead.
