UK Fiance visa

UK fiancé visa eligibility requirements

• UK fiancé visa – application- who can apply

• UK fiancé visa – Eligibility

• Who is the partner- UK fiancé visa

• Genuine and subsisting relationship

• Minimum age and relationship requirement for UK fiancé visa

• UK fiancé visa – Prohibited relationship

• UK fiancé visa Supporting Document

• English language requirement

• UK fiancé visa -Accommodation requirements

• Financial requirement

• Adequate Maintenance

• What sources of income you cannot use toward income

• Source count toward income

• Switching from a UK Fiancé Visa to a Spouse Visa

UK fiancé visa is designed for engaged to join British partner of British or Irish citizen, person with settled status,  Indefinite leave to remain, Turkish Businessperson visa,  protection status (leave to remain as a refugee, permission to stay as a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection) to enter the UK. fiancé visas allow you to get married in the UK within 6 months of their arrival. come and live in the UK as partner for more than six months. You cannot work or study while you are on fiancé route. You must meet English language and financial requirements to qualify for Fiancé visa.  UK fiancé visa does not lead to settlement therefore you must apply for leave to remain in the UK within 6 months (switching) to UK spouse visa, initially granted for the period of 30 months and can lead to settlement if you remain on spouse visa for five years.

To qualify for UK fiancé visa involves various requirements to be met by you and your partner.

• You can apply for UK fiancé 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 both are aged over 18.

• Genuine and subsisting relationship requirements.

• Previously relationship have been broken permanently.

• You must have combined income of at least £18600 annually.

• You must have adequate accommodation.

• You have passed English language test and speak and understand English to the required level A1.

• You can apply for UK fiancé 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 in genuine and subsisting relationship and you are intending to get married in the UK after leave to entre I granted within six month. 

To be eligible for UK fiancé 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 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 up to £38,700.

• You have adequate accommodation and will not be overcrowded.

• You meet English language requirement at least A1 for entry clearance application.

• Be British or Irish citizen.

• Has EU settled status in the UK.

• Has indefinite leave to remain.

• Have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa

• Has  protection status (to stay as a refugee or have humanitarian protection.

UK fiancé 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

• 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.

The UK fiancé 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 maximize 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 fiancé 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 guide lines 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

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More than 5 rooms

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

   

  You can prove minimum income requirement by use of saving instead of income

You can meet financial requirement for UK spouse visa  if you are in receipt of any the following benefits or allowances in the UK, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement at that application stage by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance” rather than meeting an income of £18600.

• 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  

If applicant / partner is receipt of any of the above benefits you will be qualify by meeting requirement through financial requirement for UK spouse visa.  

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

• Unemployability Allowance

• contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance

• Child Benefit

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Switching from a UK Fiancé Visa to a Spouse Visa

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Once married, holders of a Fiancé Visa can apply to switch to a Spouse Visa from within the UK. This involves providing evidence of the marriage and meeting the same requirements as the initial Spouse Visa application, including the financial and English language criteria.