Age requirements

• To apply as a partner, both you and your partner must be at least 18 years old. This age requirement ensures that both individuals are of legal age to consent to a partnership recognized under UK law. It is a foundational step in demonstrating the legitimacy and maturity of your relationship.

Who Can Sponsor Your Family Visa?

• Your partner must be eligible to sponsor your visa application. They need to be either a British or Irish citizen, or have settled status in the UK, such as indefinite leave to remain, settled status, or proof of permanent residence.
• If your partner is from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, they must have pre-settled status, having begun their residence in the UK before January 1, 2021.
• Additionally, those holding a Turkish Businessperson visa, Turkish Worker visa, or protection status (including refugees and those with humanitarian protection) can sponsor your application. The key is proving that your partner is legally permitted to reside in the UK and support your application.

Proving the Intention to Live Together Permanently

• A critical aspect of your visa application is demonstrating that you and your partner intend to live together permanently in the UK. This intention must be clearly articulated and supported by your application documents. Whether you are newly married, in a long-term relationship, or engaged, your commitment to a shared future in the UK is paramount.

What Relationship Proof Do You Need to Provide?

• You must provide evidence of your relationship, showing that you are either in a civil partnership or marriage recognized in the UK, or that you have lived together in a relationship for at least two years. If you are engaged or a proposed civil partner, you must intend to marry or enter a civil partnership in the UK within six months of your arrival. In some cases, long-term relationships where cohabitation is not possible due to work, study, or cultural reasons are also considered, provided you have been together for at least two years.

English Proficiency and Financial Requirements

• Demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively in English is mandatory. This requirement ensures that you can integrate into the community and engage with essential services. Additionally, you must meet the financial requirements set by the UK government, proving that you and your partner can support yourselves without relying on public funds. This involves showing a combined income that meets the specified threshold, which can come from employment, self-employment, or certain benefits.

Can Exceptional Circumstances Affect Your Application?

• In certain situations, you may still be eligible for a visa or an extension of your stay even if you cannot meet all the standard requirements. For instance, if you have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for seven years, it would be unreasonable for them to leave. Additionally, if refusing your entry or requiring you to leave the UK would breach your human rights, you might still qualify for a visa.

Exploring the EU Settlement Scheme

• If your partner has settled or pre-settled status, you may benefit from the EU Settlement Scheme, a program designed to protect the residency rights of EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens post-Brexit. This scheme can simplify your application process and reduce the burden of stringent requirements, making it a viable option for eligible couples.
• The process of obtaining a family visa to the UK as a partner or spouse involves meticulous preparation and adherence to specific legal criteria. By thoroughly understanding the requirements, gathering comprehensive evidence of your relationship, and ensuring you meet financial and language standards, you can significantly enhance your chances of a successful application. In exceptional cases, knowing the provisions for special circumstances can also be crucial. This holistic approach to the application process not only aligns with legal standards but also supports a seamless transition to your new life together in the UK.
• At AGCL Immigration and Visa Services, our team of experts is dedicated to guiding you through the application process, ensuring a seamless transition to the UK.

Demonstrating the Authenticity of Your Relationship

• If you are applying for a visa as a spouse or partner, you must provide substantial evidence to demonstrate the authenticity and stability of your relationship. This includes explaining how you and your partner met, the frequency of your interactions, and how long you have lived together.

Robust and recent evidence

• When applying for a UK family visa, it is essential to provide robust evidence of your relationship with your partner. This evidence must be from credible sources such as government agencies, banks, landlords, utility providers, or medical professionals e.g. You will need to provide supporting documents such as council tax bills or joint tenancy agreements to verify your cohabitation. It should confirm that you and your partner are in a genuine relationship, living together, or legally married or in a civil partnership and sharing expenses and financial responsibilities such as joint bank accounts or bills, should be included. Importantly, this evidence must be recent, ideally less than four years old, to ensure it reflects your current relationship status. If you are your partner’s carer, this information must also be disclosed to further validate the nature of your relationship.

Types of acceptable evidence to prove your relationship

• To substantiate your relationship, you can use various documents. A marriage or civil partnership certificate is a fundamental piece of evidence. Additionally, tenancy agreements, utility bills, or council tax bills can verify that you share the same residence. Bank statements from a joint account or individual statements confirming the same address are also vital. Moreover, letters from doctors or dentists that indicate your shared address can further support your application.

Alternative evidence if standard documents are not available

• If you cannot provide the standard evidence, there are alternative documents you can submit. One-off bills, such as those for vet fees or home repairs, can be used. Letters confirming that both you and your partner are registered to vote at the same address can also be significant. Furthermore, student finance documents that verify your shared residence are acceptable alternatives.

Proving Commitment When Living Apart

• In cases where you cannot live together due to work, study, or cultural reasons, you must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to each other. This can be shown through regular communication, financial support, and shared responsibilities, such as caring for any children you have together. Additionally, evidence of spending time together, such as holidays or joint attendance at events, is crucial in proving the genuineness of your relationship.

Detailing Your Partner’s Information for a UK Family Visa Application

• When applying for a UK family visa as a spouse or partner, providing detailed information about your partner is a critical part of the process. You will be required to supply comprehensive details about your partner, including their full name, date of birth, nationality, and passport information. Additionally, you must establish their right to reside in the UK, such as whether they are a British citizen or hold another form of legal residency.

Documenting Previous Relationships and Financial Responsibilities

• As part of the application, you must disclose any previous marriages or civil partnerships your partner has had, as well as any children from those relationships. It is essential to provide evidence of the dissolution of these relationships, such as divorce certificates. Furthermore, if your partner financially supports anyone, such as elderly parents, you will need to include these details in your application. This helps to paint a clear picture of your partner’s financial obligations, which is crucial in assessing the overall application.

Providing Information About Previous Partners

• In addition to details about your current relationship, the application requires information about any former spouses or partners you have had. This includes submitting evidence of the termination of those relationships, such as divorce decrees, to ensure transparency and completeness in your application.

Information Required About Children

• The application process also necessitates providing comprehensive details about any children you or your partner have, regardless of whether they are included in the visa application. You must submit information such as their names, nationalities, dates of birth, and passport details. Additionally, you need to specify who the child normally resides with and identify any other individuals who have parental responsibility for them, such as the other parent in the case of stepchildren. If you have specific arrangements for seeing your child, such as court-ordered visitation rights, these should be detailed. Information about the child’s extended family and any countries they have visited or lived in should also be included to give a full account of their background.

Disclosing Your Life Outside the UK

• You must provide information about your life outside the UK. This includes detailing any countries where you have lived or visited, as well as the locations of family and friends in your country of birth or any other country where you hold nationality. This information is vital for understanding your global connections and how they might impact your visa application.

Comprehensive Disclosure for a Strong UK Family Visa Application

• Successfully applying for a UK family visa requires meticulous attention to detail and full transparency. By providing thorough information about your partner, your relationship history, your children, and your life outside the UK, you strengthen your application and demonstrate your genuine intent to establish or maintain your family life in the UK. Each piece of information you provide builds a clearer, more compelling case for your right to join or remain with your loved ones in the UK, making it crucial to approach this process with care and diligence.
• At AGCL Services, our experienced and expert immigration visa expert can help you navigate through the complex visa application process and to achieve most possible successful outcome.

• To apply for a family visa as a partner, both you and your partner typically need to demonstrate a combined annual income of at least £29,000. This is referred to as the minimum income requirement. The financial threshold may vary if your partner receives certain disability or carer’s benefits or if you initially applied as a partner before April 11, 2024, and are now seeking to extend that visa. In such cases, proving your income might involve using savings instead of income.

Extending Your Visa as a Partner before April 11, 2024

• If you first applied as a partner before April 11, 2024, and you are now extending your visa, you and your partner must show a combined income of at least £18,600 annually. Additional financial requirements apply if you are applying for a visa for your children or if they are already in the UK as dependents on your family visa. Specifically, you must prove an additional £3,800 annually for the first child and £2,400 for each subsequent child. However, if your total required income exceeds £29,000 due to the number of children, you only need to prove you meet the £29,000 threshold.

Meeting Financial Requirements for Children

• You are not required to meet extra financial requirements for children who are British or Irish citizens, have pre-settled status, or are permanently settled in the UK. Additionally, you might not need to prove additional income for children who are citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, provided they do not have pre-settled status or are not permanently settled in the UK. For further details, refer to the guidance in Appendix FM and Appendix HM armed forces: minimum income requirement.

What if you cannot meet the Financial Requirements?

• In cases where you cannot meet the financial requirements, you may still be eligible to apply for a visa or extend your stay if you have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen, or has lived in the UK for seven years, making it unreasonable for them to leave. Additionally, you can apply if preventing your entry or making you leave the UK would breach your human rights. If you cannot meet the financial requirements, you will need to wait ten years in the UK before applying for indefinite leave to remain.

Financial Requirements for Partners Receiving Disability or Carer’s Benefits

• If your partner receives disability or carer’s benefits, you are exempt from meeting the minimum income requirement. Qualifying benefits include Disability Living Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement, War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme, Police Injury Pension, Child Disability Payment, and Adult Disability Payment. Despite this exemption, you must still demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to house and support your family without additional public funds. This involves a thorough review of your income and housing costs by the caseworker.

Successfully applying for a UK family visa involves providing comprehensive evidence of your relationship, understanding the requirements for proof of commitment when living apart, and being aware of the visa’s duration and processing times. By ensuring that all submitted documents are from credible sources and reflect the current state of your relationship, you can significantly enhance your chances of a successful application. This thorough approach to the visa application process will facilitate a smoother transition to living with your partner in the UK.

AGCL Services can help you with rest of the visa process from completing the relevant visa application forms to submit your application along with all the necessary and supporting documents.

To obtain professional, most up-to-date, and accurate advice on your visa requirement you can contact our experienced, and accredited team of immigration consultants on 020 3911 1115 or send us your query using this form or email us on ukvisa@agclservices.com or request a call back by providing your contact details here and we will get back to you asap.

A family visa allows you to stay in the UK for an initial period of 2 years and 9 months. If you are applying as a fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner, the visa is valid for 6 months. After this period, you will need to apply for an extension to continue your stay in the UK. If you extend your family visa or switch to it from another type of visa, you can stay for an additional 2 years and 6 months.

The processing time for a family visa application can vary depending on where you apply from and whether you meet the financial and English language requirements. If you apply from outside the UK, a decision is usually made within 24 weeks. For those applying from within the UK and meeting all requirements, a decision typically takes around 8 weeks. However, if you do not meet the financial and language criteria, the process may take up to 12 months. In some cases, it is possible to pay for expedited processing to receive a faster decision.

Visa application fees

• The cost of applying for a UK family visa varies depending on whom you are joining and whether you are applying from inside or outside the UK. If you are joining your partner, parent, or child, the fee is £1,846 when applying from outside the UK and £1,258 when applying from within the UK. These fees apply to each applicant, meaning that if you are adding dependents to your application, the cost per person remains the same.

Additional Healthcare Surcharge

• In addition to the visa application fee, you may be required to pay the healthcare surcharge, which grants access to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) during your stay. The amount you need to pay depends on the length of your visa and the age of the applicant. For adults aged 18 or older, the surcharge is £2,587.50 for a stay of 2 years and 6 months, £3,105 for a stay of 2 years and 9 months, and £5,175 for a stay of 5 years. For children under 18, the surcharge is slightly lower, costing £1,940 for 2 years and 6 months, £2,328 for 2 years and 9 months, and £3,880 for 5 years.

Expedited Decision Option

• If you are applying from within the UK, you may have the option to expedite your application by paying an additional £1,000 for the super priority service. This service aims to provide a faster decision on your visa application.

Professional Services Fees

• If you choose to use our professional services for your visa application, the fee will range between £800 and £1,200, depending on the complexity of your case and the number of applicants involved. Please note that these fees are separate from the government fees and charges outlined above. Our services provide expert guidance and support throughout the application process, ensuring that all requirements are met, and your chances of a successful outcome are maximized.

After residing in the UK continuously for five years on a family visa as a partner, you become eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), allowing you to settle permanently in the UK. It is important to note that time spent in the UK on other types of visas or as a fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner cannot be counted towards this five-year period.