Clear, evidence-led immigration advice for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners applying to join or remain with their British, Irish, settled or qualifying partner in the UK.
A UK Spouse or Partner Family Visa allows an eligible husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner to join or remain with their qualifying partner in the UK for more than 6 months. The route is used where the UK-based partner is British, Irish, settled in the UK, has qualifying pre-settled status, has certain protection status, or otherwise meets the sponsor status rules under the family immigration route.
This page focuses only on spouse and partner applications. It is not a fiance visa guide, not a parent visa guide, and not a dependant work visa guide. If your partner is in the UK temporarily on a work visa or student visa, you may need a dependant visa instead of a family visa.
A successful application depends on more than completing the online form. The Home Office will review the sponsor status, the relationship evidence, financial requirement, accommodation, English language evidence, immigration history, suitability issues and any documents needed for the specific application type.
You and your partner must both be aged 18 or over. Your partner must normally be a British or Irish citizen, settled in the UK, a qualifying EEA national with pre-settled status who started living in the UK before 1 January 2021, a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa holder, a person with protection status, or a person with qualifying stateless person permission.
You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK after the application is granted. The application should clearly explain the history of the relationship, current living arrangements, future plans and any reason why you have lived apart.
A spouse or civil partner can usually rely on a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate, provided the relationship is recognised under UK law and remains genuine and subsisting. Unmarried partners usually need to show a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years.
Relationship evidence should be consistent, recent and relevant. Strong evidence often comes from official, financial, residential, medical, travel or communication sources. The Home Office expects evidence to explain how the relationship developed, how the couple maintain their relationship, and how they plan to live together in the UK.
If the couple cannot live together because of work, study, family, cultural or immigration reasons, the application should explain the reason clearly and provide evidence of ongoing commitment, regular communication, financial support, time spent together and shared responsibilities.
Most partner applications must meet the minimum income requirement. The current standard threshold is £29,000 per year. Depending on the application type and where the income is earned, the evidence may involve salaried employment, non-salaried employment, self-employment, company director income, pension income, maternity or bereavement income, non-employment income, cash savings or a permitted combination of sources.
Cash savings can sometimes be used instead of income or to cover a shortfall. Under the current Appendix FM framework, specified savings must normally include the first £16,000 plus 2.5 times the income shortfall. Where there is no income at all and the full £29,000 requirement is met by cash savings alone, the required savings figure is normally £88,500.
Financial evidence is one of the most refusal-sensitive parts of a spouse or partner visa application. Payslips, bank statements, employer letters, tax records, company accounts, dividend vouchers, pension evidence or savings documents must match the relevant evidence rules and date requirements. A small mismatch in dates, amounts or account details can create avoidable risk.
The exact document bundle depends on your relationship history, the sponsor’s status, the financial route being used, accommodation, previous immigration history and whether the application is made from inside or outside the UK. A generic checklist is rarely enough because the evidence must match the facts of the couple and the specific Home Office requirements.
At a high level, most spouse or partner visa applications need evidence covering identity, sponsor status, genuine relationship, financial requirement, accommodation, English language, immigration history and any required translations. The important part is not simply collecting documents, but making sure the evidence is complete, dated correctly, consistent and clearly organised.
We can review your evidence bundle, identify missing or weak documents and help you reduce avoidable refusal risks before the application is submitted.
Most partner applicants need to prove knowledge of English unless they are exempt. This can usually be done through a degree taught in English, a UK degree-level qualification, or an approved Secure English Language Test from an approved provider.
For a first partner visa application, the required test level is usually at least CEFR A1 in speaking and listening. For an extension after 2.5 years, the requirement may rise to at least CEFR A2 if the applicant previously relied on A1. For settlement, applicants aged 18 to 64 usually need English at B1 level and must also pass the Life in the UK Test.
Current GOV.UK family visa fees are £2,064 for a partner application made from outside the UK and £1,407 for an application made in the UK. Each dependant added to the application pays the same relevant fee. The Immigration Health Surcharge is usually also payable.
For adults, the IHS is currently listed by GOV.UK as £3,105 for a 2 year 9 month grant, £2,587.50 for a 2 year 6 month grant, and £5,175 for a 5-year grant. For children, the corresponding GOV.UK figures are £2,328, £1,940 and £3,880. Fees and IHS rates can change, so figures should be checked again before submission.
GOV.UK states that partner applications made outside the UK usually receive a decision within 12 weeks. Applications made inside the UK usually receive a decision within 8 weeks if the financial and English language requirements are met. If the application relies on exceptions because financial or English requirements are not met, the decision time can be much longer.
| Fee or cost item | Current figure |
|---|---|
| Application outside the UK | £2,064 |
| Application inside the UK | £1,407 |
| Adult IHS – 2 years 9 months | £3,105 |
| Adult IHS – 2 years 6 months | £2,587.50 |
| Child IHS – 2 years 9 months | £2,328 |
| Child IHS – 2 years 6 months | £1,940 |
| UK super priority service, if available | Usually £1,000 extra for in-country applications |
| ILR application fee | £3,226 per person |
Yes. A partner visa can be extended before the current permission expires. An initial partner visa granted from overseas is usually valid for 2 years and 9 months, while an in-country extension or switch is usually granted for a further 2 years and 6 months. You can extend more than once if needed.
The extension application still needs evidence of the continuing genuine relationship, cohabitation or reason for any separation, financial requirement, accommodation and English language. Where the first partner application was made before 11 April 2024 and the applicant is extending with the same partner, the older financial threshold may continue to apply.
A spouse or partner family visa can lead to indefinite leave to remain. Applicants on the standard 5-year route usually need at least 5 continuous years in the UK on a family visa as a partner before applying for ILR. Time spent on other visa categories or as a fiance, fiancee or proposed civil partner does not count towards the 5-year partner route.
For ILR, applicants normally need to show the relationship is continuing, they have lived together since the last grant, they intend to continue the relationship, they meet the relevant financial requirement, and they meet English language and Life in the UK requirements if aged 18 to 64. Applicants on a 10-year route have different timing and financial rules.
The current ILR fee is £3,226 per person. The earliest application date is usually 28 days before meeting the relevant residence period. Applying too early can lead to refusal, while waiting until after visa expiry can create unnecessary risk.
Refusals often happen because the relationship evidence is weak, financial documents do not match the strict evidence rules, the wrong income category is used, required bank statements or payslips are missing, English language evidence is invalid, previous relationship evidence is incomplete, or immigration history is not explained properly.
A common problem is treating the application as a simple form-filling exercise. The Home Office decision is evidence-based. The application should present a coherent relationship history, a clear financial calculation, compliant documents and a consistent explanation of any unusual circumstances.
Spouse and partner visa applications are often refused because the evidence is incomplete, inconsistent or mapped to the wrong requirement. We help you understand the route, identify risk areas and prepare the application carefully before it is submitted.
Before you submit, we can check whether your relationship evidence, financial documents, English language evidence and application timing are strong enough for the route you intend to use.
The UK partner must normally be British or Irish, settled in the UK, a qualifying EEA national with pre-settled status, a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa holder, a person with protection status, or a person with qualifying stateless person permission.
The current standard minimum income requirement is £29,000 per year. Some extensions by applicants who first applied before 11 April 2024 with the same partner can remain under the older £18,600 threshold, with child additions where relevant and a cap at £29,000.
Yes, specified cash savings can sometimes be used instead of income or to cover a shortfall. For a full savings-only application against a £29,000 threshold, the savings figure is normally £88,500.
The standard minimum income threshold may not apply. Instead, the application may need to show adequate maintenance and accommodation without relying on additional public funds.
A partner visa granted from overseas is usually granted for 2 years and 9 months. An in-country extension or switch is usually granted for 2 years and 6 months.
Yes, a spouse or partner family visa normally allows work and study. This is different from a fiance or proposed civil partner visa, where work and study are not normally allowed before switching after marriage or civil partnership.
Some applicants can switch from inside the UK, but visitors and many people with permission for 6 months or less usually need to leave the UK and apply from overseas.
The rules allow an unmarried partner route where the couple has been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years. If the couple has not lived together, the application should explain why and prove ongoing commitment.
Most first partner visa applicants who need to prove English must pass at least CEFR A1 in speaking and listening with an approved provider, unless they can rely on a degree or an exemption.
GOV.UK currently states that applications outside the UK usually take around 12 weeks. In-country applications usually take around 8 weeks if the financial and English requirements are met.
A B-rating means the Home Office has compliance concerns and has placed the sponsor on an action plan with restrictions.
An action plan usually runs for a fixed three-month period, during which the sponsor must make the required improvements.
Yes. Applicants on the 5-year partner route can usually apply for ILR after 5 continuous years on a family visa as a partner, provided they meet the relationship, financial, English language, Life in the UK and other settlement requirements.
Time as a dependant on a work visa follows different settlement rules and does not normally count towards the 5-year partner family visa route. Route planning should be checked before switching.
Helpful next-step guides for partner visa extension, settlement, IHS, dependant routes and British citizenship planning.
Plan your next FLR(M) application before your current partner visa expires.
Understand the settlement route after 5 years as a partner on a family visa.
Check how IHS affects family visa costs and future extensions.
If your partner has a work visa, a dependant route may be more relevant than a family visa.
Review refusal reasons and evidence gaps before reapplying.
Share your relationship history, sponsor status, financial position, accommodation, English language evidence and timing with Immigration Visa Expert Immigration Visa Experts. We can help you understand the route and prepare a stronger evidence-led application.
