UK SPOUSE VISA

Overview

You need a family visa to live with a family member in the UK for more than 6 months.

Applying from outside the UK

You can apply for a family visa to live with your:


Fees

How much it costs depends on who you’re joining and how you apply.

Cost if joining your partner, parent or child                                     

Apply outside the UK      £1,846                                                          

Apply in the UK                £1,048                                                          

Cost for each dependant added to your application

Apply outside the UK      £1,846 each person

Apply in the UK                £1,048 each person

Cost for adults who need to be looked after by a relative

How much it costs depends on what permission your relative has.

If they have temporary ‘protection status’ (permission to stay as a refugee or with humanitarian protection) it costs:

Otherwise, it costs:

Let your bank know that a large amount of money will be coming out of your account - otherwise it might cancel your payment.

If you cannot pay the fee, you may be eligible for a fee waiver in certain situations - for example if you cannot afford a place to live or your essential living costs.

Healthcare surcharge

You might also need to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application.

For each adult (18 or older) it costs:

For each child (under 18), it costs:

Get a faster decision on your application

If you’re applying from the UK, you may be able to pay an extra £1,000 for the super priority service to get a faster decision.

You cannot use the super priority service if you’re applying as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative.

Once you’ve got your decision letter, your biometric residence permit will take up to 10 working days to arrive.

Apply as a partner or spouse

To apply as a partner, you and your partner both need to be 18 or over.

Your partner must also either:

You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.

If your partner has settled or pre-settled status you may be able to apply to the free EU Settlement Scheme.

What you’ll need to prove

You must be able to prove one of the following:

You also need to prove you:

If you do not meet these requirements you may still be able to apply for a visa or extend your permission to stay if:

If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner

You must prove that:

You will not be able to work or study during your engagement.

You’ll need to apply for permission to extend your stay in the UK when you marry or enter into a civil partnership. If your application is approved, you’ll have the right to work or study in the UK.

How to prove your relationship

Send evidence that:

You can use things like:

If you do not have any evidence that meets this criteria, there is other evidence you can provide instead. However, it’s less likely that you’ll be given a visa in this case.

Other evidence you can provide includes:

Things like greetings cards, travel tickets, receipts, photographs and text or social media messages are not considered strong evidence of your relationship and are unlikely to help your application.

How long you can stay

You can stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months on this visa. If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, you can stay for 6 months.

After this you’ll need to apply to extend your stay.

If you extend or switch to this visa

If you extend your family visa or switch to this visa you can stay in the UK for 2 years and 6 months.

How to apply

You’ll need to prepare information and documents to provide with your application.

How you apply depends on whether you’re in the UK or not.

Outside the UK

You must apply online from outside the UK.

In the UK

You must apply online in the UK.

If you cannot pay the fee

You can apply for a fee waiver if you cannot pay the fee because you:

Apply for a fee waiver online from outside the UK.

Apply for a fee waiver online from inside the UK.

Get help to apply online

You can get help with completing the online visa application form if you:

You can only use this service if you’re applying in the UK.

You cannot get immigration advice through this service.

How long it takes

If you apply outside the UK you’ll usually get a decision within 24 weeks.

If you apply inside the UK and you meet the minimum income requirements and English language requirements, you’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks.

If you apply inside the UK and you do not meet the minimum income requirements and English language requirements, it currently takes about 12 months to get a decision.

You may be able to pay for a faster decision.

Applying with your children

You can add children to your application as dependants if both of the following apply:

Your child is living an independent life if, for example, they’ve left home, got married and had children.

When you can settle permanently

The earliest you can apply to settle in the UK (called ‘indefinite leave to remain’) is after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years continuously on a family visa as a partner.

You cannot include time you’ve spent in the UK:

The rules are different if you applied before 9 July 2012.

If you applied before 9 July 2012

You can only extend your family visa if all the following are true:

You must also prove that:


Knowledge of English

You may need to prove your knowledge of the English language when you apply.

When you do not need to prove it

You do not need to prove your knowledge of English or take a test if one of the following is true:

You also will not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re a national of one of the following countries or territories:

How to prove your knowledge of English

You can prove it with an academic qualification, or by taking a test.

Academic qualifications

You can prove your knowledge of English if you have a degree or academic qualification that was taught or researched in English.

If your qualification is from a UK university or college, you only need your degree certificate.

If your qualification is from a university or college outside the UK

You’ll need to provide a certificate from Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) to show that your qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or higher and that it was taught in English.

There are 2 kinds of certificate:

You need a statement of comparability if you got your qualification from a university or college in one of these countries:

If you got your qualification from a university or college in any other country, you need a visa and nationality statement.

Take an approved English language test

You can prove your knowledge of English by passing an approved English language test.

You must pass at least level A1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale for your first visa application. You can choose to take a higher level test.

If you pass level B1 or higher, you can use your test result again when you apply for settlement after 5 years. Your test still needs to be on the approved list of qualifications and your test certificate must not have been withdrawn by the test provider.

Give proof of your income

You and your partner must have a combined income of at least £18,600 a year before Spring 2024 if:

You must prove you have extra money if you have children who:

You might not need to prove you have extra money if your children are citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland and they do not have pre-settled status or are not permanently settled in the UK. Check the guidance in appendix FM 1.7: financial requirement for more information.

If you need to prove extra money for your children, you’ll need to earn an extra:

This is called the ‘minimum income requirement’.

You may be able to use your savings instead of income.

How you prove you have the money depends on how you got the income.

If you’ve experienced a loss of income because of coronavirus (COVID-19), for example if you’ve been furloughed or you’re self employed, you might still be able to apply. Read the guidance for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents.

What counts as income

You and your partner can use:

If you’re using income from self-employment or employment, you’ll need to prove you or your partner received that income for 6 months or more.

Example

You’ve worked with the same employer earning £18,600 or more for 6 months or longer.

What proof you need to give

You’ll need to provide proof of your income with your application. If you or your partner are employed, you could include:

The employer’s letter should confirm:

You’ll be told exactly what documents to provide when you apply online.

Check the guidance in appendix FM 1.7: financial requirement if:

The detailed guidance also explains the evidence you need to provide for each of the types of income you’re relying on.

If you cannot meet the minimum income requirement

You need to show you and your partner meet the minimum income requirement if you want to settle in 5 years as a partner.

If you do not meet the requirement, you may be able to settle in 10 years.

When you do not need to meet the income requirement

You may be able to settle in 5 years without meeting the minimum income requirement if either:

You need to show you and your family have enough money to adequately support and accommodate yourselves without relying on public funds. The caseworker considers your income and housing costs.

Check the guidance in appendix FM 1.7: financial requirement for more information.

Information you must provide

You’ll need to have information and some evidence ready when you make your application. Include information for you and any dependants applying at the same time.

You’ll need to provide:

You’ll need to have a blank page in your passport on which to put the visa if you’re applying outside the UK.

You’ll need an email address to make an online application.

You’ll also need to:

You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances - for example a sponsorship form from your family member in the UK.

You’ll be told how to provide your documents when you apply.

If you’re unable to provide specified documents because of coronavirus (COVID-19), you might still be able to apply. Read the guidance for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents.

Your partner’s details

If you have a partner, you’ll be asked about their:

You’ll also need to give details of:

Proof of relationship

If you’re applying as a spouse or partner, you’ll be asked about:

Your previous partners

You’ll need to include details of anyone you previously married or had children with. Include evidence of marriages ending, for example a divorce certificate.

Children

You’ll need to give details of your children (and your partner’s children if you have one). You’ll be asked about all children, even if they’re not applying.

You’ll need to give details of:

Your life outside the UK

You’ll need to give details of: