Spouse & Partner Visa

What is a UK Spouse/Partner Visa?

A UK Spouse/Partner visa enables a married partner or a civil partner of a British or Irish citizen, a person who is settled in the UK, a person with pre-settled status who was living in the UK before 1 January 2021, a person with a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa, a person with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to live with their partner in the UK.

Can I Apply for a UK Spouse/Partner Visa?

In order to successfully apply for a Spouse/Partner visa, you must meet the following key requirements:

• Your partner must be either:
  • a British Citizen or Irish citizen
  • a person settled in the UK
  • a person with pre-settled status
  • have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
  • have refugee status or humanitarian protection status
• You and your partner must be at least 18 years of age;
• You must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship;
• You must meet the financial requirement;
• You must have adequate accommodation available to you in the UK;
• You must meet the required level of English language;
• You may need to provide a tuberculosis (TB) certificate depending on which country you reside in.

The financial requirement is also known as the minimum income requirement and is often the most complex requirement to meet. The onus is on applicants to provide mandatory documents required by the Immigration Rules to demonstrate that the Rules have strictly been met.

Unless exempt (discussed below), you will need to demonstrate that your partner has a minimum income of £18,600. If however your application includes the sponsorship of children, an additional income of £3,800 is required for a first child and an additional £2,400 for each further child.

Where the applicant has to meet the minimum income requirement, the financial requirement can generally be met in the following 5 ways:

• Income from salaried or non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work);
• Non-employment income, for example, income from property rental or dividends from shares;
• Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control;
• State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant;
• Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work).

Exemption to the minimum income requirement

If your partner is in receipt of certain state benefits or allowances in the UK, you will be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of ‘adequate maintenance’ rather than meeting an income threshold.

How Long is a Spouse/Partner Visa Valid for?

A Spouse/Partner visa is initially granted for either 33 months (2 years and 9 months) or 30 months (2 years and 6 months). The length of the visa depends on where an applicant is applying from. An applicant applying from outside the UK will be granted leave to enter the UK for 33 months. An applicant who is applying from within the UK will be granted leave to remain for 30 months.

Can a Spouse/Partner Visa be Extended?

Before the expiry of your initial grant of leave in the UK, you must apply to the Home Office to extend your stay in the UK. If the extension application is approved, then you will be granted permission to stay in the UK for a further 30 months. In order to successfully apply for an extension of leave you will need to demonstrate, in addition to the above requirements, that:

• You and your partner remain in a genuine and subsisting relationship;
• You meet the financial requirement;
• You meet the English language requirement for an extension of leave.

Can I Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK?

Once you have held a Spouse/Partner visa for 5 years you will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. This gives you settled status in the UK, also known as ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. 

In order to successfully apply for indefinite to remain you will need to demonstrate, in addition to the above requirements, that:

• You have spent a continuous period of 5 years living in the UK on your Spouse/Partner visa with your partner;
• You have passed the Life in the UK Test (unless exempt);
• You meet the English language requirement for indefinite leave to remain.

When do I Get British Citizenship?

Once you have held indefinite leave to remain in the UK for 12 months you can apply for British Citizenship. If, however you are married to a British Citizen, you do not need to wait 12 months and can apply immediately after obtaining indefinite leave to remain for British Citizenship by naturalisation.

How Long Does it Take for a Decision to be Made?

The Home Office service standard for deciding a Spouse/Partner visa application submitted outside the UK is 12 weeks (3 months), however, they are currently advising that applicants should get a decision within 24 weeks (6 months).

If you switch to this visa or want to extend your spouse visa from within the UK, you should get a decision within 8 weeks.

If eligible, when you apply you will be advised whether you can apply to get a decision faster. The Home Office charge additional fees for these priority services.

How Much Does it Cost?

The Home Office fee for a Spouse/Partner visa application made outside of the UK is £1,538. If an application is made within the UK to switch to a Spouse/Partner visa or extend a Spouse/Partner visa, the Home Office fee is £1,048. The fees for each dependant added to an application is the same.

Applicants will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. For applications which are made outside of the UK the Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,872 for each adult (18 or older) or £1,410 for each child (under 18). If the application is made within the UK, for each adult (18 or older) it costs £1,560 or £1,175 for each child (under 18).

How We Can Help You

Our highly experienced team will provide expert advice and guidance to you throughout your immigration journey.

If you have any questions, please complete our online enquiry form or email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can call us on 01724 701111 and one of our experts will be happy to assist you.