Applying for UK Spouse Visa

If you want to enter and live with your spouse/partner in the UK you will need to apply for the partner visa also known as UK Spouse Visa. UK Spouse Visa is a category under the UK family visas allowing non-British spouses/partners to come to the UK and join their married or civil partners who are either British citizens or have settled in the UK or have refugee status or have protection on humanitarian grounds in the UK.

Eligibility for UK spouse visa

You and your partner need to meet certain eligibility conditions in order to make your application for UK Spouse Visa successful. Here are the eligibility conditions. You need to meet the following conditions for applying for a UK spouse visa.

5. You are 18 or above.
6. You must be married to or be in a civil partnership. Whichever you choose it must be recognized in the UK to give your relationship legal validity. Please note – Civil Partnership should be recognised under the Civil Partnership Act 2004
7. Your relationship with your partner must be a genuine and subsisting one and this needs to be proved on the date of application.
8. If you are not married to your British partner then you must be the fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner of your counterpart in the UK. If you had a previous relationship or you were married to someone else then you need to prove that any such relation has ended and you are planning to marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within the 6 months of your arrival in the UK.
9. You need to prove that you are able to speak and listen English at Level A 1 at the time of initial application and Level A 2 at the time of extension of leave to remain as a partner.
10. You need to prove that you earn more or equal to the minimum income threshold to support yourself and dependents (if any) financially. The combined income of you and your partner must be at least £18,600 a year. If you have a child as a dependent, then the income must be £3,800 in addition to the £18,600 a year for the first child and £2,400 for each child thereafter. There are multiple ways to meet the financial requirement.

Your partner must fulfil the following conditions to make a successful application:

• He/she must be 18 or above
• He/she needs to be one of the following:

1. British citizen;
2. Settled in the UK with Indefinite leave to remain or settled status or proof of  permanent residence in the UK;
3. Refugee or with protection on the humanitarian grounds in the UK; and
4. In addition to the above eligibility criteria you and your partner also need to prove that both of you intend to live together permanently in the UK after applying for UK spouse visa.

Documents and information required to submit

You need to submit the following documents when applying for a UK spouse visa.

• Your passport with an empty page on it;
• Proof of knowledge of English language requirements such as academic qualification or result of the test that you took;
• Proof of your relationship with your partner;
• Proof of your and your partner's income;
• Your TB test results if you come from a country where taking a TB test is required.

If you have any document that is not in English or Welsh language then you need to submit a certified translation of the same.

How to apply for UK Spouse Visa?

You can apply online whether you apply from outside the UK or from within the UK. You must have an email address to make an online application.

How long can you stay in the UK on a UK spouse visa?

If you get a UK spouse visa you can stay for 2.5 years initially after which you can apply for an extension for another 2.5 years. Once you complete 5 years as a spouse or as a partner in the UK, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

COVID -19's impact

If COVID -19 has delayed your marriage or civil ceremony then you don't need to worry because you can still apply or request for an extension of your stay in the UK.

Get help from Visa & Migration Ltd

If you are applying for a UK spouse visa, you should seek expert's help so that you don't leave any chance of a refusal of your application for any reason. Visa & Migration Ltd has a great team of experts who help you on each stage of the application until your visa application is successful. You can also follow us on social media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visaandmigration/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/visamigrationuk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/visa-and-migration-a4aa9910b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel...