Partner visa
PARTNER VISAS
You may be eligible apply to for a Partner visa if your partner is a British citizen, a person with indefinite leave to remain in the UK or has limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA.
A Partner visa is a collective term that includes the following:
• Fiancé(e) or proposed Civil Partner;
• Spouse or Civil Partner;
• Unmarried partner with whom you have been living together for at least two years
FIANCÉ(E) OR PROPOSED CIVIL PARTNER VISAS
The Fiancé(e) or proposed Civil Partner visa is for engaged partners of British citizens, persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK or limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA wishing to enter the UK and marry within six months of their arrival. Your fiancé(e) or civil partner must make their visa application from outside the UK.
As part of the Fiancé(e) or proposed Civil Partner visa application, you must demonstrate your intention to get married in the UK within six months of your arrival because your visa will be valid for six months.
After your marriage or civil partnership has taken place, you will be eligible to apply to switch into the Spouse or Civil Partner category without having to leave the UK.
If your marriage does not take place before your Fiancé(e) or proposed Civil Partner visa expires, you can apply to extend your stay for a further six months to allow the ceremony to take place. However, you must prove there is a good reason why it has not happened and evidence that the ceremony will occur within the next six months.
SPOUSE OR CIVIL PARTNER VISAS
The Spouse or Civil Partner visa category is for partners of British citizens, persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK or limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA wanting to join, or stay with, their husband or wife in the UK. You can also apply for a UK Spouse visa if your Spouse is outside the UK but intends to return to the UK with you.
If you apply from outside the UK and your application for a Spouse or Civil Partner visa is successful, it will initially be valid for 33 months. If you apply from inside the UK, you will be granted leave valid for 30 months.
Before your initial grant of leave expires, you will need to apply to UK Visas and Immigration to extend your stay. If your application for further leave to remain as a Spouse is successful, you will be granted further leave to remain for 30 months.
After spending five years in the UK as the Spouse of a British citizen or settled person, you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
Spouse or Civil Partner visa holders have a full right to work and study in the UK.
UNMARRIED PARTNER VISAS
The Unmarried Partner visa category is for long term partners of British citizens, persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK or limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA, who wish to join or stay with their partner in the UK. You can also apply if your partner is outside the UK but intends to return to the UK with you.
The only difference between this visa and the Spouse or Civil Partner visa is that you are not married but have resided with your unmarried partner for at least two years and can evidence this fact. The 2-year period does not necessarily have to be consecutive and may include various periods, as long as they make up two years in total.
COMMON REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTNER VISAS
General Requirements
To qualify for the partner visa, you and your partner must both be over 18 and intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.
Your partner must:
• be a British or Irish citizen;
• be settled in the UK, including having indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence;
• be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status – they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021;
• have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa;
• have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.
Relationship requirements
Your relationship must be genuine and subsisting. You and your partner must either intend to be or be in a UK-recognised civil partnership or marriage or have cohabitated for at least two years.
If you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, you will need to prove that you will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within six months of your arrival. If your wedding or civil ceremony is delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be able to request to extend your stay.
Financial requirements
If you apply alone, your partner must be earning at least £18,600 per year. For any dependent children you plan to bring to the UK, your partner must earn an extra £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for each additional child.
If you and your partner both reside outside the UK and wish to relocate to the UK, your partner must have a confirmed job offer in the UK meeting the minimum income requirements.
It is also possible to meet the financial requirements if your partner has cash savings of at least £62,500. In some circumstances, it may be possible to combine different types of income, including savings of over £16,000, income from employment/self-employment, pension(s), and non-work income such as property rentals or dividends. You may also meet the requirement if your partner receives certain public funds.
Accommodation requirements
Your planned accommodation in the UK must be suitable for both you and your partner to occupy and must not be ‘statutory overcrowded’. In the UK, a couple may reside in the one-bedroom property or a studio with children under the age of 10, provided they are the only people living there. Different rules may apply depending on your room’s floor space in square metres, and sometimes, a Property Inspection report will be required to verify the accommodation requirements have been met.
English Language Requirements
You will normally need to sit an English test in speaking and listening to get the right to enter or remain in the UK. Your qualification will be valid only if your English exam is taken through an approved Secure English Language Testing (SELT) Provider.
You do not need an English Language test if you:
Are a national of a majority English speaking country;
Are aged under 18 or over 65;
Have a long-term physical or mental condition;
Hold a degree or any educational establishment taught or researched in English. Your qualification will only be valid if confirmed by UK NARIC.
Immigration Status Requirements
If you are applying from inside the UK, you will typically be required to have legal immigration status. The absence of a legal right to be in the UK will mean you need to apply from outside the country or explain why your family and private life can’t continue outside the UK (also known as ‘insurmountable obstacles).
Tuberculosis Tests
You will need to provide a tuberculosis test if you apply from a listed country.
If you do not meet the requirements
There are certain circumstances where you may apply for a partner visa even if you do not meet the specified requirements. These include:
• If you have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for seven years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK;
• If there would be significant, insurmountable difficulties for you and your partner if you lived together as a couple outside the UK;
• Your human rights will be breached if you are stopped from coming to the UK or forced to leave.
Suppose you cannot satisfy specific requirements for a UK Spouse visa. In that case, you may still be able to apply to join or remain with your partner on Human Rights grounds if you can demonstrate that there would be very significant difficulties in your relationship continuing outside the UK.
