Spouse Visa UK

• The minimum income requirement for a UK spouse visa increased to £29,000 per year from 11 April 2024.
• The standard processing time is around 3 months, with faster options available: 5 working days (priority) or next working day (super-priority).
• To qualify, applicants must prove a genuine and subsisting relationship, meet the financial requirement, provide suitable accommodation, and satisfy the English language requirement (minimum A1).
• The application fee is £1,321 inside the UK and £1,938 outside the UK, plus an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) of £1,035 per year. Applicants must also show an annual income of £29,000 or cash savings of £88,500.
• After 5 years on a spouse visa, holders can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and later for British citizenship by marriage.

The spouse visa UK/partner visa allows non-UK nationals to live with their partner in the UK if:

• Their partner is a British citizen or has Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), EU Settled Status, or permanent residence.
• They are in a genuine and subsisting relationship.
• They intend to live together permanently in the UK.

The visa is initially granted for 2 years and 9 months. It can later be extended and lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 years on the spouse visa route.

• You can apply for UK spouse visa if you are married or civil partner of one of the following.
• Your partner is British or Irish citizen.
• Your partner has EU settled status in the UK.
• Your partner has indefinite leave to remain.
• Your partner have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
• Your partner has protection status (to stay as a refugee or have humanitarian protection
• You must have to show that you are legally married or in civil partnership (have cohabited for at least two years) and you are in genuine and subsisting relationship and you are intending to live together in the UK after leave to enter I granted.
• You must have to show that you are legally married or in civil partnership (have cohabited for at least two years) and you are in genuine and subsisting relationship in one of the above and you are intending to live together in the UK after leave to enter I granted.

• You can apply for UK spouse visa if you are married or civil partner of one of the following.
• Your partner is British or Irish citizen.
• Your partner has EU settled status in the UK.
• Your partner has indefinite leave to remain.
• Your partner have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
• Your partner has protection status (to stay as a refugee or have humanitarian protection
• You must have to show that you are legally married or in civil partnership (have cohabited for at least two years) and you are in genuine and subsisting relationship and you are intending to live together in the UK after leave to enter I granted.
• You must have to show that you are legally married or in civil partnership (have cohabited for at least two years) and you are in genuine and subsisting relationship in one of the above and you are intending to live together in the UK after leave to enter I granted.

To be eligible for UK spouse visa you will need to show that you meet eligibility requirements set out in immigration rules. This include providing valid evidence of meeting relationship, financial, knowledge of English and accommodation requirements.

• You must be married, or civil partnership recognized in the UK.
• You have been living together for at least two years.
• You are in genuine and subsisting relation.
• You have evidence of gross annual income at least £18600 due to increase to £29000 in Spring 2024- followed by additional rise to £38,700.
• You have adequate accommodation and will not be overcrowded.
• You meet English language requirement at least A1 for entry clearance application.

Who is the partner for the purpose of UK spouse visa as per immigration rules. According to immigration rules partner is the person “who is married to, or in a civil partnership with, another person, or a person who is unmarried and is part of a couple who have been living together in relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years”. You must proof that you meet relationship requirement, the standard of proof is the balance of probabilities.

Minimum age and relationship requirement for UK spouse visa

• You and your partner must be age of 18 or over at the time of application submission.
• You must not be in prohibited degree of relationship.
• You must have met in person.
• You must be legally married and in genuine and subsisting relationship and have intention to live together permanently in the UK.
• Any previous relationship of you or your partner must have broken permanently.
• the partners must not be in a polygamous or polyandrous marriage or civil partnership (unless an exception applies

Your marriage and civil partnership must not be in prohibited relationship as defined in the Marriage Acts 1949 to 1986, the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and 1986, the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014.

Your relationship falls within the prohibited degrees of relationship if is one of the following.

• adoptive parent
• child
• adoptive child
• former adoptive parent
• former adoptive child
• grandparent
• grandchild
• parent
• parent’s sibling (aunt or uncle)
• sibling (brother or sister)
• sibling’s child (nephew or niece)
• previous relationship broken down.
• A relationship has permanently broken down where any of the following apply.
• the other person has died.
• the marriage or civil partnership has ended following divorce or dissolution (though see section below on validity of divorce or dissolution and where a couple cannot divorce)
• a marriage, civil partnership or durable partnership has ended in separation.

if your relationship has permanently broken down because of death of current partner you will be required to submit evidence of death certificate or any other official document confirming the same. If it has ended following divorce or dissolution, you would need decree absolute, or dissolution order issued by county court.

For UK spouse visa, Applicant is required legal marriage or civil partnership for the purpose of spouse visa this means marriage or civil partnership must be lawful in country in which it took place and recognized by the law of the country. In case where couple are not married, they must be in a relationship like marriage for at least 2 years before the date of the application. If you are getting married in the UK it must be monogamous and must be carried out in accordance with Marriage Act 1949, the Marriage Act 1977 Scotland, the marriage order Northen Ireland 2003.

A marriage must be evidenced by documentary evidence such as marriage certificate as per requirement in relevant country.

Genuine and subsisting relationship.

UK spouse visa required to have evidence of genuine and subsisting relation, you can prove this by providing evidence of cohabitation and Life Together. The decision maker may assess that relationship is genuine and subsisting through combination of sources for instance information available on application and direct check with third party, you can provide evidence of regular communication during periods you have not been living together, such as call logs, emails, social media interactions, and letters etc. You can provide evidence bank statement (joint) or any other shared financial responsibilities, and evidence of supporting each other. You can provide photographs together, joint invitations, and evidence of traveling together. Evidence of future such as property purchase, future travel plans, or joint investments.

The UK spouse visa requirement required applicant to submit various documents in support of the application including relationship, accommodation and strict financial requirements, and other document depending on nature of the individuals’ circumstances, it is important to submit all necessary documents to maximise chances of success. This may include following.

• Valid passport or travelling documents.
• Evidence of meeting financial requirements such as employment letter bank stamen, payslip.
• Proof of accommodation
• Tuberculosis test results
• Details of criminal conviction if any
• Evidence of genuine and subsisting relationship
• Other documents depending on your circumstances.

Applicant are required to provide prove of knowledge of English language by passing an approved English language test at least level A1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale for your first visa application or at least level A2 in speaking and listening if applying for extension unless you are exempt. You can prove knowledge of English by providing degree certificate if you have a degree or academic qualification that was taught or research in English. You may need to provide certificate from Eccti to show degree equivalency to UK research or academic degree and confirmation it was taught in English.

• you’re applying as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative
• you’ve been in the UK on a family visa for 5 years and you’re extending it as a partner or parent.
• you’re over 65.
• you’re applying as a child.
• you have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement.
• You will also be exempt if you are from majority English speaking country including Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados. Belize, the British Overseas Territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, USA.

To apply for UK spouse visa to join partner in the UK you must prove that you have adequate accommodation, this means applicant will accommodated without property be overcrowded and recourse to public funds for the applicant. Failure to meet adequate accommodation can lead to refusal for spouse visa UK. “In England and Wales, under r the Housing Act 1985 if either the room standard and/or the space standard is breached a dwelling will be regarded as overcrowded under the Act Method of assessing whether accommodation is overcrowded following method would apply”. As per home office guidelines below is explanation if what would be consider as overcrowded.

1. Count the number of people (everyone) who would be occupying the accommodation, Children under one year old are not counted; children aged between one and 10 are counted as a half.
2. Count the number of rooms available as sleeping accommodation.

The following table represents what would, subject to their age, gender and whether they are a couple, be an acceptable maximum number of people to occupy a house with the relevant number of rooms available as sleeping accommodation:

• Number of rooms in the accommodation available for sleeping
• Number of people permitted to sleep in the accommodation without it being overcrowded
• Number of rooms in the accommodation available for sleeping
• Number of people permitted to sleep in the accommodation without it being overcrowd

10 plus an additional 2 persons for each room in excess of 5 rooms

For example, 6 rooms = 12 people,

7 rooms = 14 people.

As per immigration rules application required to provide evidence of exclusive occupation of intended residence without being overcrowd, this means you are required to produce on of the following depending on individual circumstances.

• Property deed or evidence of mortgage arrangement
• Signed and dated letter from friend or family if you will be living with them.
• Tenancy agreement showing exclusive occupation and confirm agreement with landlord signature.

• Financial requirement can be met through various sources, as long combined income of at least £18,600. If you have dependant non British children you have to prove additional income.
• £3,800 a year for your first child
• £2,400 a year for each child you have after your first child.
• 3 children in addition to the partner – £27,200

• You can use partner income to meet minimum financial requirements for UK spouse visa.
• You can use income from employment before tax and National Insurance, you can only use your own income if you earn it in the UK.
• You can use income you earn from self-employment or as a director of a limited company in the UK register in the UK.
• cash savings above £16,000
• money from a pension
• non-work income, for example from property rentals or dividends

• Disability Living Allowance
• Carrer allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme
• Police Injury Pension

Following are the sources will not be counted toward meeting financial requirement for UK spouse visa.

• financial support from a third party
• academic maintenance grants
• gifts of cash savings
• Working Tax Credit
• income from others who live in the same household (exception applies)
• loans and credit facilities
• Child Tax Credit
• Income Support, income-related Employment
• Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit
• Universal Credit
• Un employability Allowance
• contribution-based Job seeker’s Allowance, contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Benefit

You must apply before you leave expire ensure to provide all documents to support your application. You are required to show evidence of genuine and subsisting relation, financial and English langue requirements. You will also need to apply relevant fee and immigration health charge. Making mistake in spouse visa extension can be expensive, incomplete application, insufficient funds or missing deadline and lead to refusal. Therefore, through understanding of application process is essential.

Documents required for spouse visa extension.

• Valid passport or travelling documents.
• Proof of your spouse status in the UK such as British passport.
• Evidence of meeting financial requirements such as employment letter bank statement, payslip.
• Proof of accommodation
• Details of criminal conviction if any
• Evidence of genuine and subsisting relationship, evidence of cohabitation, i.e. utility bills showing both name and address same.
• Other documents depending on your circumstances.
• Evidence of English language.
• Passport and BRP.