Applying for a UK Family Visa as a Partner or Spouse

If you wish to live in the UK with your partner who is a British or Irish citizen, has settled status in the UK, or meets other specific criteria, you can apply for a uk family visa as a partner or spouse.

This visa allows you to live with your partner in the UK if you meet certain eligibility requirements.

Who is Eligible?

To apply for a family visa as a partner, both you and your partner must be 18 or over. Additionally, your partner must fall into one of the following categories:

• Be a British or Irish citizen.
• Have settled in the UK (for example, they have 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 protection status (leave to remain as a refugee, permission to stay as a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection).
• Have permission to stay as a stateless person.

Furthermore, 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.

Proving Your Relationship

You will need to provide evidence to prove the nature of your relationship. This includes demonstrating one of the following:

• You are in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK.
• You have been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply.
• You are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving.
• You have been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but you cannot live together for specific reasons, such as work, study, or cultural barriers.

In this case, you'll need to prove an ongoing commitment by providing evidence of regular communication, financial support, shared care for children (if any), and time spent together.

To prove your relationship, you should send evidence that:

• Comes from the government, a bank, landlord, utility provider, or a medical professional.
• Confirms your relationship with your partner, for example, that you live together, share expenses, or are married or in a civil partnership.
• Is less than 4 years old.

Examples of acceptable evidence include a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate, tenancy agreements, utility bills, council tax bills, bank statements (especially from a joint account or showing the same address), and letters from your doctor or dentist confirming the same address.

If you lack this specific evidence, you can provide other documents like one-off bills, letters confirming you are on the voting register at the same address, or student finance paperwork.

Additional Requirements

You also need to prove that you have a good knowledge of English and meet the financial requirements. If you cannot provide this proof, you may still be able to apply if you have a child in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years, and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK, or if it would breach your human rights to stop you from coming to the UK or make you leave.

If you are applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, you must prove that any previous marriages or civil partnerships have ended and that you plan to marry or become civil partners within 6 months of arriving in the UK.

Importantly, you will not be able to work or study during your engagement period. You will need to apply to extend your stay once you marry or enter into a civil partnership to gain the right to work or study.

How Long Can You Stay?

On this visa, you can initially stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months. If you are applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, your initial stay will be 6 months.

After this initial period, you will need to apply to extend your stay. If you extend your visa or switch to this visa from another category, you can stay for 2 years and 6 months.

How to Apply

You must apply online, whether you are applying from outside the UK or from within the UK. It's important to prepare all the necessary information and evidence before starting your application. You can get help with completing the online form if you are in the UK and do not feel confident using a computer or do not have internet access, but this service cannot provide immigration advice.

Visa Fees and Fee Waivers

There is a fee to apply for this visa.

However, you may be able to apply for a fee waiver if you cannot afford the fee because you do not have a place to live, cannot afford essential living costs, or have a very low income and paying the fee would harm your child’s wellbeing. You can apply for a fee waiver online from either inside or outside the UK.

Decision Times

If you apply outside the UK, you will usually get a decision within 12 weeks. If you apply inside the UK and meet the financial and English language requirements, you will usually get a decision within 8 weeks. If you apply inside the UK and do not meet these requirements, it can currently take about 12 months to get a decision. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.

Applying with Children

You can add your children to your application as dependants if they are under 18 when you apply (or were under 18 when they were first granted leave) and they do not live an independent life (e.g., they haven't left home, married, or had children).

Settling Permanently in the UK

The earliest you can apply for indefinite leave to remain (settle permanently) is after you have lived in the UK for 5 years continuously on a family visa as a partner. Importantly, time spent in the UK on any other visa or as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner does not count towards this 5-year period.

Please note that the information provided in this article is for general guidance only. Immigration rules can change, so always refer to the official UK government website. For personalised guidance and support through the application process, consider contacting The SmartMove2UK’s UK Spouse visa Consultant. They may be able to offer services to help ensure you meet all the requirements and submit a strong application.