Apply For UK Spouse Visa ApplicationProcess, Requirments & Important Documents!

Are you planning to apply for a spouse visa UK? Our OISC accredited immigration experts will provide you with all the necessary help for your UK spouse visa application so that you get assured success. The UK spouse visa allows you to join your spouse who is a UK citizen or settled in the UK.

What is a UK Spouse Visa?

The UK Spouse Visa is a category under the Partner Visa route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. This visa can be submitted from outside or inside the UK. In order to apply from inside the UK, you must not be on a visitor visa category or as an overstayer without immigration status.

We hold over 99% success rate in this category and are a spouse visa specialist.

UK Spouse Visa is mainly for people who are married and intend to join their husband or wife in the UK. The Husband or wife should be a British citizen or holding Indefinite Leave to Remain, or holding EUSS settled or pre-settled status, or have humanitarian protection or refugee status or have a right to stay in the UK under the ECAA Ankara Agreement.

In order to make a successful application for a UK Spouse Visa you must be able to meet all the Eligibility requirements, which means that the applicant must have met in person, have been married, their relationship continues to be genuine and subsisting, they have a valid marriage, which is recognised by the UK Government. You should also meet the financial requirement which is going to be £29000 from 11 April 2024. You must regularly check on the financial requirement as it is the intention of the Government to increase this over the years. It is also important to provide evidence that you have adequate accommodation and also meet the English Language requirement at the appropriate level. 

At the moment the spouse visa from outside the UK is granted for 33 months and from inside the UK for 30 months. After completing 60 months on a spouse visa the applicant apply for indefinite leave to remain under the Appendix FM. 

If you have children under 18 years of age from previous relationship, they will also be able to apply with you provided you are able to establish that you have sole responsibility for upbringing of the children or there are compassionate and compelling circumstances.

Once the applicant has been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain as a Spouse, you do not need to wait for applying British Citizenship, you can apply immediately after receiving ILR for British Citizenship.

How To Apply for spouse visa UK

An application for spouse visa can be complete online via the www.gov.uk website. Once the application is completed you will need to pay for the application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge fee.

• You must complete the relevant application form honestly and declare all the relevant information;

• Apply for Entry Clearance from outside or Leave to remain from inside the UK; 

• Make sure that you are meeting all the Eligibility requirements; 

• Provide all the evidence in the format acceptable; 

• Book an appointment for your biometrics at the VFS or TLS and if applying inside the UK at UKVCAS

• Upload the relevant evidence; 

• You may have to attend an interview, if invited  

• Collect your passport or BRP card - this may change soon in 2024 and people will be getting E-Visas 

Eligibility Requirements for UK Spouse Visa Application:

(a) Marriage Certificate

In order to join the spouse, you should be married and hold a marriage certificate recognised by the United Kingdom Government. Generally, all marriage certificate recognised by the country where the marriage took place is recognised in the United Kingdom.

Proxy marriages in some cases are also recognised by the UK Government provided they are valid and recognised in the country issuing the marriage certificate and all relevant procedures have been followed according to the customary laws of the country where the marriage took place.

If a marriage has taken place in the UK, it must be according to the Marriage Act 1949

(b) Relationship and Accommodation Requirement

Your relationship must be proved to be genuine and subsisting. This depends on your circumstances and how you continue to keep in touch or travel to see each other. In order to apply for a spouse visa, you must have met your husband or wife in person at least once before applying for the Spouse Visa.

You and your husband or wife must intend to live in the UK permanently and be able to accommodate and maintain yourselves without additional access to public funds.

(c) Suitability

You must be considered suitable to enter the UK that means you should have any unspent criminal convictions or should not be considered to be a person not in public interest or should not have an outstanding bill of £500 or more towards the NHS in the UK. You must also not fall for refusal under certain general Grounds for Refusal when submitting a spouse visa application under Appendix FM.

(d) UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement

If you are applying on or after 11 April 2024 then you must be able to show earnings of £29,000. However, if you initially applied before this date then you need to continue with the earnings of £18600. If you had or have children the amount increases according to the number of children you have starting with £3800 for first child and £2400 each for any additional children. With the new rules in April 2024, you do not need to show additional income for children and only income of £29000 is sufficient.

There are various ways to meet the financial requirements to Apply for spouse visa UK –

• Earnings from employment for last 6 months;

• Earnings from employment for last 12 months if you are not employed by the same employer for last 6 months;

• Non-employment earnings – if you are receiving hourly wages

• Self-employment earnings in the full last tax year from 06 April to 05 April or average of last 2 tax years;

• Company director earnings received during the company tax year;

• Earnings through shares held in a company (dividends);

• Pensions

• Rental Income

• Overseas employment where you are returning to the UK with your husband or wife;

• Overseas self-employment or company earnings if you are returning with your husband and wife to the UK;

• Earnings during Maternity and Paternity pay;

• Savings held by you or your spouse for last 6 months £88500 after 11 April 2024 or £62500 before 11 April 2024;

• Gifts held as savings or money received from sale of property, shares, bonds or assets;

• Grants or Stipends can also be counted towards financial requirement.

You can combine some of your sources of income to meet financial requirement.
The specified evidence of financials needs to be provided according to Appendix FM SE of the Immigration Rules.

Certain applicants do NOT need to meet the financial requirement and rather only need to meet the maintenance and accommodation requirement at the levels of income support if their spouse is in receipt of either –

• Disability Living Allowance - DLA; or

• Severe Disable Allowance; or

• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit; or

• Attendance Allowance; or

• Carer’s Allowance; or

• Personal Independence Payment – PIP; or

• Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; or

• Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme; or

• Police Injury Pension; or

• Child Disability Payment; or

• Adult Disability Payment; and

(e) English Language Requirement

English Language requirement is applicable to you if you are not from an English Majority Speaking country – example – USA, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, etc. You should be able to meet the English Language requirement at level A 1 if applying Initially level A2 if extending spouse visa.

You must provide SELT test certificate which is UKVI recognised. You can also provide your degree if taught from English majority country or have a Ecctis letters of comparability and English language assessment.

Documents Required UK Spouse Visa Application

The documents required depend on circumstances of the applicant. The applicant must make sure that all the evidence is being submitted in accordance with the Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. You must make sure that all the evidence is provided to meet the Eligibility requirements.

You should submit - 

• A fully completed application form meeting the validity requirements; 

• Your valid passport; 

• Your two-passport size photos; 

• Valid Marriage Certificate;

• Evidence to show that your relationship is genuine and subsisting (evidence of communication or meeting or proof of living together); 

• Evidence of financial requirement like payslip or self-employment documents or proof of savings, etc;

• Evidence that you meet the English Language requirement - relevant SELT Test certificate or UK Degree, etc; 

• Translation of documents if not in English; 

• Attending the biometric appointment; 

• TB test certificate where you have been residing in a relevant country under Appendix T

It is your responsibility that you provide evidence in a legible format which discharges your burden of proof to satisfy the Eligibility requirement of the immigration rules. It is important to note that the documents requirements can be complex according to a relationship or the way you meet the financial requirement. It is advisable to seek immigration advise from an immigration lawyer or solicitor. 

For an unlimited advice to achieve a successful outcome on your application you can contact Visa and Migration Ltd on 02034111261 or email us on info@visaandmigration.com

Application Process UK Spouse Visa Application

(a) Online Application

The application can be submitted form outside or inside the UK using an online application. The application from inside the UK is known as leave to remain and from outside the UK it is know as Entry clearance;

(b) Biometric information 

Once you have completed the online application you will need to book appointment with VFS or TLS if you are applying from outside the UK. If you are applying from within the UK then you will book an appointment with UKVCAS. You must upload your documents online or purchase the document scanning service.

(c) Attending the appointment

You must attend the appointment to complete the process where you must submit your passport and provide your documents for scanning if not uploaded already.

How long Does It Take to Process UK Spouse Visa

The UK spouse visa application from outside the UK takes between 8 to 12 weeks in general, however, this can be extended to 24 weeks. The application inside the UK takes 8 weeks. You can also purchase priority service which costs £500 from outside the UK and £1000 inside the UK.

Cost Involved in The Process of UK Spouse Visa

The UK Spouse Visa fee in 2024 for UKVI application from outside the UK is £1846 and the Immigration Health Surcharge of £3105, kindly note the UKVI charges 4% processing fee on top of their fees and is paid in currency depending upon your residence or nationality.

For applications from inside the UK, the UKVI fee is £1048 and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) of £2587.50.

In 2024 the IHS is £1035 per year and has been multiplied to the length of years the visa will be granted. If you meet all the above requirements and are able to provide us evidence which we will list for you upon instructions we will be able to guarantee a positive outcome on your application provided you have given us all information correctly and have not deceived us in any way or hidden any relevant information.

Rights and Entitlements

Once you have been granted the spouse visa, you are allowed to work in the UK or study in the UK. You cannot claim public funds or benefits in the UK.

Dependent Children

If you have any dependent children from the previous relationship who are under the age of 18 years, they can join you in the UK provided your partner is able to meet the financial requirement and you can establish that you have the sole responsibility for the child or the child normally lives with you and not the other parent or there are compassionate and compelling grounds for the child to accompany you to the UK.

Extending or Switching UK Spouse Visa

If you are extending your stay in the UK generally the rules at the time of your first application will continue to apply. It is important now because on 11 April 2024 the financial requirement will increase to £29000 and this will be appliable to all new applicants after 11 April 2014.
In order to apply for extension, you must prove that your relationship remains genuine and subsisting and provide relevant evidence to discharge the burden of proof. Additionally, you must meet all the eligibility requirements stated above.

In order to switch to the spouse visa, you must be in the UK lawfully, you will be unable to switch to the UK Spouse Visa, if you are an overstayer or in breach of immigration rules or on a visa which is issued 6 months or less or on a visitor visa. If you apply for the visa and not allowed to switch the visa the application will be considered as invalid or lead to refusal.

Common Reasons for UK Spouse Visa Refusals

The most common for refusal for the spouse visa is that the applicant did not provide relevant documents in support of their application. It’s always better to consult a lawyer in order to verify that all the documents are in correct order so that there are no mistakes which lead to refusal of the application.

Some of the reasons are - 

• Completing the application incorrectly or dishonestly;

• Not providing documents in English Language; 

• You did not provide valid documents; 

• Your marriage is not recognised; 

• You did not provide sufficient evidence to prove your relationship is genuine and subsisting; 

• Your communication is less; 

• You did not provide relevant documents to meet the financial requirement; 

• Your accommodation is inadequate or leads to overcrowding; 

• You do not meet the maintenance requirement at the rate of income support; 

• The English test is not recognised; 

• You did not submit the TB Test

• You failed to attend the interview or the information provided was incorrect

These are some of the reasons why your application can be refused, however, consulting a regulated immigration lawyer or solicitor can avoid such reasons as we always cross check and provide you with a relevant list of documents according to your circumstances which avoids such reasons for refusal. 

What if My Spouse Visa is refused?

An application for spouse visa is generally considered with the Article 8 rights of a Family. If your application has been refused you will receive a refund of your Immigration Health Surcharge fee. On refusal of an application, you may have three realistic options - 

• Request for a reconsideration - if you believe the immigration officer has made an error in considering your application you can request a reconsideration of the application. Generally, this only works where there may be something minor like you had the documents available but you forgot to submit it or the UKVI overlooked a document which was submitted. 

• Submit a Fresh Application: You can submit a new application at any time and don't need to wait for a certain time. However, you must remedy the reason of refusal on a new application.

• Appeal the decision: You can appeal the refusal decision within 28 days of receipt of the refusal letter from outside the UK and 14 days from the date of decision for an application refused inside the UK. You must always prepare the grounds of appeal, witness statement and proper bundle to support the appeal showing why the decision was incorrect or how you satisfy the requirement now and why the decision amounts to breach of your human rights to establish a family in the UK.

Tips for a Successful UK Spouse Visa  Application 

Make sure that you meet all the eligibility requirements. The documents must be in a clear readable format. Make sure all is arranged properly. Try to make a letter to explain your circumstances and list all the document being submitted with the application.

Provide all the documents in English Language, make sure that the documents are valid and latest to meet the requirements of the immigration rules

UK spouse visa Financial Requirement 2025 Guide

The previous government of the UK under the Rishi Sunak’s leadership had increased the minimum income threshold or ‘financial requirement’ for a UK Spouse Visa. Then Home Secretary announced on 4 December 2023 an increase in the threshold for the visa from £18,600 to £29,000 effective from April 2024. This new minimum level of income did not require showing additional income for dependent children which was the case in the old threshold.
It was decided to implement the rise in a phased manner £29,000 in April 2024, followed by £34,000 later in 2024, and £38,700 in early 2025. The rise in financial requirements is not retrospective. This means those who applied for a UK spouse visa before April 2024 and apply for a visa extension after April 2024 will still have to meet a minimum annual income threshold of £18,600 only.

UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement remains unchanged

In July 2024 there was a change of power at the center. Labor party won the election and formed a new government under the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership. Since taking office the new government has kept the minimum income threshold unchanged and it is currently £29,000 as of date.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper asked the ‘Migration Advisory Committee’ to examine the level of the minimum income threshold. The committee is due to report in June 2025. Until then the financial requirement will remain at £29,000.