Spouse Visas

The UK Spouse Visa is for married partners of British, persons who are settled in the UK, persons with pre-settled status and persons with refugee status or humanitarian protection who wish to join, or stay with, their husband or wife in the UK. 

You can also apply for a UK Spouse Visa if your Spouse is outside the UK, but is intending to return to the UK with you.

The UK Spouse Visa can lead to indefinite leave to remain or settlement in the UK after a period of 5 years.

UK Spouse Visa Requirements

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that you meet the following requirements:

• Your partner is British, is settled in the UK, has been granted pre-settled status, has refugee status or humanitarian protection;
• You and your partner are both over the age of 18;
• You and your partner are not within a prohibited degree of relationship;
• You and your partner have met in person;
• You and your partner are legally married in a marriage that is recognised in the UK;
• Your relationship is genuine and subsisting;
• You and your partner intend to live together permanently in the UK;
• Any previous relationship has broken down permanently;
• You satisfy a financial requirement;
• There is adequate accommodation for you and any dependents;
• You speak and understand English to a required level.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy in order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa may vary depending on your personal circumstances. You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice.

Status of Sponsoring Partner

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, your partner must either:

• Be a British Citizen in the UK; or
• Have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or permanent residence in the UK; or
• Have pre-settled status under Appendix EU; or
• Have refugee leave or humanitarian protection status in the UK;

A British Citizen in the UK includes a British Citizen who is coming to the UK with you as your partner. A person with indefinite leave to remain in the UK includes a person who is being admitted for settlement on the same occasion as you.

Minimum Age for a Spouse Visa

You and your partner must both be over the age of 18 on the date when you submit your Spouse Visa application.

UK Spouse Visa Relationship Requirement

The UK Spouse Visa relationship requirement has various elements to it:

• You and your partner must not be within a prohibited degree of relationship;
• You and your partner must have met in person;
• You and your partner must be legally married;
• Your relationship must be genuine and subsisting;
• You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK;
• Any previous relationship must have broken down permanently.

Prohibited Degree of Relationship Requirement

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, you and your spouse must not be within a prohibited degree of relationship as defined in the Marriage Act 1949 and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986.

This means that you and your spouse must not be related in any of the following ways:

• Adoptive child
• Adoptive parent
• Child
• Former adoptive child
• Former adoptive parent
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Parent
• Parent’s sibling
• Sibling
• Sibling’s child

Requirement to Have Met in Person

You and your spouse must have met in person. The requirement to have ‘met’ means that you must be able to demonstrate a face-to-face meeting which resulted in the making of a mutual acquaintance. Simply coming face-to-face followed by telephone or written contact would not satisfy the requirements for a UK Spouse Visa.

Requirement for Marriage to Be Recognised in the UK

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, you and your partner will need to be legally married in a marriage that is recognised in the UK.

• Marriage in the UK

To be recognised as valid, all marriages which take place in the UK must be monogamous and must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act 1949 (as amended), the Marriage Act (Scotland) 1977 or the Marriage Order (Northern Ireland) 2003. 

This means that any required notice of intention to marry must have been given, you must have been married at an authorised place of marriage and your marriage must have been conducted by, or in the presence of, a person authorised to register marriages. You and your spouse must also both have been at least 18 years old (in England and Wales) or 16 years old (in Scotland and Northern Ireland) on the date when you married in order for your marriage to be recognised as valid.

A marriage in the UK must be evidenced by a marriage certificate.

• Marriage outside the UK

An overseas marriage will be recognised in the UK if:

• The type of marriage is recognised in the country in which it took place;
• The marriage was properly conducted to satisfy the requirements of the law of the country in which it took place;
• There is nothing in the laws of either person’s country of domicile at the time of the marriage which prevented the marriage being recognised; and
• Any previous marriages of the couple had broken down permanently.

A marriage outside the UK must be evidenced by a reasonable equivalent to a marriage certificate, valid under the law in force in the relevant country.

Genuine and Subsisting Relationship Requirement

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa you will need to provide the Home Office with evidence that your relationship with your partner is a genuine and subsisting relationship.

Decisions on whether a relationship is genuine and subsisting are made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all available evidence and individual circumstances.

Factors Considered by the Home Office When Deciding Whether a Relationship Is Genuine and Subsisting

Factors which may be considered by the Home Office when determining whether your relationship is genuine and subsisting include:

• Whether you and your spouse are in a current, long-term relationship;
• Whether you and your spouse have been or are now living together;
• Whether you and your spouse have children together (biological, adopted or step-children) and shared responsibility for them;
• Whether you and your spouse share financial responsibilities;
• Whether you and your spouse have visited the other’s home country and family;
• Whether you and your spouse have made definite plans concerning the practicalities of living together in the UK;

If the Home Office has doubts as to the genuine and subsisting nature of your relationship then it may undertake further checks, interview you and your spouse or arrange a home visit.

Documents Required to Prove a Genuine and Subsisting Relationship

The Home Office will expect to see significant evidence of regular contact, signs of affection and companionship, emotional support, and an abiding interest in each other’s welfare and wellbeing.

In addition to a marriage certificate, the Home Office will expect to see evidence of cohabitation. Documents should ideally be in the name of you and your spouse jointly. Alternatively, it is possible to rely on documents addressed to you both individually at the same address. Documents should be dated within the last few years and originate from a range of sources. Official documents are preferred, but if it is not possible to provide exclusively official documents then other documents proving cohabitation may also be submitted.

If you and your spouse have not lived together for very long, it is also possible to provide unofficial evidence of a relationship.

As mentioned above, the Home Office will expect to see significant evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship. If the Home Office has doubts as to the genuine and subsisting nature of your relationship then it may undertake further checks, interview you and your spouse or arrange a home visit. If it has reasonable grounds to doubt that your relationship is genuine or subsisting then your Spouse Visa application will be refused.

What is a Genuine and Subsisting Relationship?

Genuine and Subsisting Relationship Requirement

Intention to Live Together Permanently in the UK

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, UK Visas & Immigration will want to be satisfied that you and your spouse intend to live together permanently in the UK.

At the initial Spouse Visa application stage this will require a clear commitment from both of you that you will live together permanently in the UK immediately following the outcome of your Spouse Visa application or as soon as circumstances permit thereafter.

When you apply for further leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain as a spouse, the Home Office will expect any periods of time spent outside the UK to be limited, for good reason and consistent with an intention to live together.