Spouse Visa – Partner Visa
What is a UK Spouse / Partner Visa?
This visa allows a non-British partner outside the United Kingdom to immigrate and settle with their partner (Husband or Wife) in the UK. It is also known as the Partner or Marriage visa. Legal Pathway Solicitors can assist you with the application process.
General Requirements of Spouse Visa or Partner Visa UK
Generally, the following requirements must be met in order to apply:
- Both partners must be at least 18 years of age and have been married at the time of applying.
- They must have met in person and had a genuine, subsisting relationship.
- The partner in the UK must either:
- be a British Citizen
- hold settled status / ILR in the UK
- be a UK refugee or have humanitarian protection in the UK
- be from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and have the pre-settled status
- hold a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
- The couple must intend to live together in the UK permanently.
- The immigrating partner must have passed the English language requirements and life skills test.
- The immigrating partner must have adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds.
- The sponsoring partner (Husband or Wife) in the UK must have an income of at least £18,600 per year before tax (this increases if you have children) or should have sufficient savings.
Spouse Visa – 5-Year Route
If you strictly meet all the requirements of the Spouse Visa, you will be eligible for a five-year route towards settlement. You will be granted an initial leave of 33 months. Afterwards, you can apply for a 2.5-year extension of your spouse’s visa. Upon completing the 5 years, an application for Indefinite leave to remain (settlement) can be made.
Spouse Visa – 10-Year Route
The 10-year route is for those who cannot meet all the Spouse visa requirements for the 5-year route when applying. Once the leave to remain under a spouse visa (10-year route) has been granted, an application to switch to the 5-year route can be made anytime during the validity of the 10-year route if all requirements of Immigration rules for a spouse visa under the 5-year route have been met.
Extending Your Spouse Visa Leave
After you have completed the initial leave of 33 months of your spouse visa, you will be eligible for a 2.5-year extension as per the Home Office guidelines. It is advisable to apply 28 days before the expiry of your leave. A decision on the extension is usually received within 8 weeks of applying. All the other requirements – accommodation, financial adequacy, genuine relationship, documents, etc. shall remain the same as in the case of the initial Spouse visa application. However, an advanced level (CEFR-A-2) English language proficiency will be required at this stage. The Form FLR (M) is used to apply for extension under the 5-year route, while the FLR (FP) will be used to apply under the 10-year route to settlement.
Settlement / ILR as a Spouse of a British Citizen or Settled Person
Upon completing the leave to remain under the 5- or 10 years route, you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain/settle in the UK. The main requirements you would need to satisfy towards acquiring Indefinite leave to remain are similar to the ones you met while applying for the initial entry clearance as a spouse and the extension with slight changes:
- Proof or Genuine and subsisting relationship
- Proof of annual gross income of £18,600
- Proof of Adequate Accommodation
- Demonstration of KoLL – Knowledge of (English) Language and Life in the UK
- Absences Requirement – Proof that you were not outside the UK for more than 180 days in any given year for the ILR application
What are the Spouse Visa requirements?
In order to achieve a favourable result on your spouse visa application, the following requirements must be taken care of while applying:
What is the genuine relationship requirement?
In support of the Spouse Visa application, British Home Office generally requires that the sponsor and the partner have met each other at least once during their marriage. It is to prove that both have spent sufficient time together and that their relationship is genuinely authentic.
What are the financial requirements?
The sponsor and the partner can satisfy the financial needs from any of the following sources:
- Employment salary
- Self Employment
- Income from letting (if applicable)
- In order to rely on cash savings, in part or in full, the minimum amount of savings you must hold is £16,000
Please note that per dependent, the spouse visa income threshold (£18,600) will exceed in the following manner:
- £18,600; plus
- £3,800 for a first child (non- British, settled, or an EEA national); plus
- £2,400 for each additional child (Non- British, settled, or an EEA national)
Hence the financial threshold will increase to £22,400 if you have a child. Some sponsors may be exempt from the financial requirement under certain circumstances, such as disability.
What are the Spouse Visa required documents?
Here is a checklist of the documents that must be provided in support of your Partner Visa application:
- Evidence of ‘Genuine Relationship’ document
- Evidence of original/certified copy of Marriage Certificate
- Proof of English language proficiency
- Evidence of Financial income
- Proof of living arrangements/accommodation
- TB test for entry clearance (if applicable)
- Any documents demonstrating that you and your partner are in a genuine relationship must also be provided.
What is the Spouse Visa language requirement?
All applicants applying under the Spouse visa 5-year route require an English language test unless exempt. Legal Pathway Solicitors can provide guidance and support regarding the English language requirement for your spouse’s visa application.
The applicants can fulfil the English language requirement in various ways. For entry clearance/leave to enter as a spouse or civil partner, the required Level is CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Language) level A1. For spouse visa extension (Further, leave to remain), the applicants must fulfil CEFR level A2.
What are the accommodation requirements?
The applicant and partner must fulfil the accommodation requirement to ensure the property is spacious enough for the couple to reside together. Legal Pathway Solicitors can assist you in providing key evidence in your UK Spouse Visa Application, i.e., a housing report, tenancy agreement, mortgage statement, or letter from the homeowner providing accommodation can be provided in support of the application. The accommodation requirements must satisfy the UK Standards of Living.
How much does a UK Spouse visa cost?
The standard fee for the Spouse entry clearance visa in 2022 is £1538 with an Immigration Health surcharge of £1872. If you want to avail of a priority premium service, the fee for this service is £573.00 on top of the standard application fee.
For in-country Spouse visa extension or switch, the application fee is currently £1033, and the Immigration health surcharge is around £1560. Priority services are from £500-£800.
For settlement as a Spouse of a British citizen, the standard application fee is £2389.00. There is no Immigration Health Surcharge for settlement applications, and applicants can also avail of priority services for settlement applications.
Moreover, per UKVI criteria, you must pay Immigration Healthcare Surcharges, approximately £1,000 (inside the UK) and £1,200 (outside the UK). Likewise, you must pay for the medical reports, especially the Tuberculosis test: £65-110, which are the same for both ‘in-country’ and ‘outside’ the UK spouse visa applicants.
Upon the UK Spouse visa expiry, your spouse cannot reside in the UK unless an in-time further application request for an extension or settlement (after extension) is made. Moreover, you must inform the Home Office if splitting from your partner. It is also essential that the applicant abides by the UK immigration rules while living in the UK to prevent any refusal on future Visa applications.
What happens if your visa is rejected?
Multiple reasons could lead to the refusal of your UK Spouse Visa application, i.e., misinformation, incomplete evidence, error, etc. However, the most common grounds for Spouse Visa rejections are generally due to inadequate information. Nevertheless, you can still appeal Spouse Visa Refusal provided you have concrete grounds to support your application. Failing to do so, you might have to reapply with a new application.
You can appeal yourself or request a legal representative to prepare the grounds and represent the case on your behalf at the Court. The judge can then decide whether to allow or dismiss your appeal based on the evidence and grounds.
Please bear in mind that your appeal is unlikely to succeed if you solely make a mistake. For instance, a lack of mandatory documents may result in dismissal. Ideally, your immigration lawyer would recommend you to fresh start your Spouse visa application to ensure that you have substantial evidence and documents for a successful application.
