Spouse and Partner Visa Route

To apply for a spouse or partner visa you must meet all of these requirements:

• Sponsor eligibility — Your sponsor must be a British citizen, Irish citizen, or person with ILR, settled status, or refugee leave. They must be 18 or over and must intend to live with you in the UK.
• Genuine and subsisting relationship — The relationship must be real, ongoing, and not entered into primarily for immigration purposes. You must have met your partner in person and be free to marry (not already married to someone else).
• Minimum income requirement — See the Family Visa guide for current thresholds. The sponsor's income from employment, self-employment, or other approved sources must meet the threshold.
• English language — You must pass an approved English language test at B1 level unless you are a national of a majority English-speaking country or have a degree taught in English. Some other exemptions apply, including age and disability.
• Accommodation — There must be adequate accommodation for you and any dependants without recourse to public funds. UKVI considers this in terms of overcrowding — the accommodation does not need to be owned but must be suitable and available.

Providing strong evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship is critical to a successful application. UKVI looks for evidence that demonstrates:

• You and your partner have met in person (travel records, photographs with dates)
• You communicate regularly (phone records, messaging histories, emails)
• You have spent time together and your relationship has developed over time
• Family and friends know about and accept the relationship
• You share financial or practical ties (joint accounts, shared property, shared life plans)

For marriages, you must submit your original marriage certificate (with a certified translation if not in English). For civil partnerships, your civil partnership certificate. For unmarried partners, evidence of at least two years of cohabitation — such as joint tenancy agreements, utility bills in both names, and bank statements showing a shared address over time.

The strength of relationship evidence is particularly important for couples who have not lived together or who have had significant periods apart due to immigration restrictions or distance.

The application process for a spouse or partner visa involves:

• Online application — Apply through the UKVI online portal. The application form is lengthy and requires detailed personal and relationship information.
• Biometric enrolment — Attend a Visa Application Centre in your home country to have fingerprints and photograph taken.
• Document submission — Upload supporting documents through the online portal or present them at the VAC, depending on your country. Documents typically required include passports, marriage certificate, English language test certificate, financial evidence, accommodation evidence, and relationship evidence.
• Pay the fee — The current fee for an entry clearance application is £1,846. The Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 per year also applies.
• Await decision — Standard processing is around 12 weeks for overseas applications. Priority services (adding £500–£800) can reduce this significantly if available in your country.

Spouse and partner visa applications are sometimes refused, often for reasons related to the financial requirement, relationship evidence, or English language. Unlike visitor visa refusals, refused spouse and partner visa applications in most cases carry a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) on human rights grounds (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights — the right to family life).

The appeal process involves submitting a grounds of appeal, providing additional evidence, and eventually attending a hearing before an immigration judge. Appeals can take 12–18 months or longer. An alternative to appealing is to make a new application addressing the reasons for refusal — this is sometimes faster and cheaper if the reasons for refusal are straightforward to address.

If you receive a refusal, the refusal letter will explain the reasons. Read it carefully. Seek urgent advice from an OISC-regulated immigration adviser or solicitor before deciding whether to appeal or reapply.