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Join your husband, wife or civil partner in the UK on the family route to settlement
A UK Spouse Visa, sometimes called a Partner or Family Visa, allows a non-UK national to live in the UK with their partner if that partner is a British citizen or has settled status, such as Indefinite Leave to Remain or EU Settled Status. Marriage to a British citizen does not automatically give you the right to live in the UK. You must submit a formal visa application and receive approval before you can join your partner in the UK.
This visa is available to individuals who are married, in a civil partnership, or in a genuine and long-term unmarried relationship. Applicants must satisfy specific eligibility requirements, including financial, relationship, and accommodation criteria.
If approved, the visa is typically granted for up to 2 years and 9 months. You can then apply to extend your stay. After completing the required residence period, you may qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which allows you to settle permanently in the UK. Following ILR, you may also be able to apply for British citizenship, subject to meeting the relevant requirements.
You can usually apply for a UK spouse visa if:
We will assess your circumstances in detail and give you clear advice on whether you meet the spouse visa rules, and what evidence you will need to provide.
Book a free consultation to discuss your spouse visa application
A strong spouse visa application is built on clear, well-organised evidence. Below is a practical checklist of the types of documents you will usually need to provide.
The Home Office must be satisfied that your marriage or civil partnership is genuine and subsisting. There is no single document that proves this, so the focus is on the overall picture your evidence creates.
We will review your evidence, identify any gaps and advise you on how best to present your relationship to the Home Office so it clearly meets the genuine and subsisting relationship requirement.
To qualify for a UK spouse visa, you and your partner must meet several requirements. These include relationship, financial, accommodation and English language rules. Requirements and fees can change over time, so our team will assess your eligibility under the most up-to-date Home Office guidance and help you gather the necessary evidence.
You do not need to meet the minimum income requirement if your partner (the British citizen or settled person) receives one of the following disability or carer's benefits:
If your partner receives any of these benefits, you will still need to show that you can adequately maintain and accommodate yourselves without recourse to public funds. We can help you understand what evidence you'll need to provide in these circumstances.
Our structured approach ensures your spouse visa application is prepared thoroughly and submitted correctly, whether you are applying from overseas or from within the UK.
We review your circumstances against the spouse visa rules and explain your options clearly.
We provide a tailored checklist, help you collect documents and identify any gaps early on.
We complete the online forms, draft detailed legal representations and prepare you for biometrics.
We submit your application, liaise where needed and support you until a decision is made.
Applying for a spouse visa involves paying several mandatory Home Office charges. These are separate from any legal advice or representation you may choose to use.
The main government costs are the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). These fees are set by the Home Office and can change, so we will always confirm the latest amounts and provide a complete breakdown of all likely costs during your initial consultation.
* Additional fees apply for each dependant added to your application. For detailed information about bringing dependants, please see our Child Dependent Visa page or contact us for advice.
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the UK spouse visa.
A UK Spouse Visa is a family route visa that allows the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen or person with settled status to live with them in the UK. It is usually granted for 2 years and 9 months if you apply from outside the UK (or 2.5 years inside the UK) and leads to settlement after 5 years, provided you continue to meet the rules.
You can usually apply if you are married to, or in a civil partnership with, someone who is a British citizen, has indefinite leave to remain (ILR), settled status or certain forms of refugee or humanitarian protection in the UK. You must both be over 18, have met in person, intend to live together permanently and meet the financial, accommodation and English language rules.
As of 2024, the minimum income requirement is £29,000 per year for most applicants, with plans for this to rise in stages to £38,700. The UK-based partner normally needs to show this level of income from employment, self-employment, pension or certain other sources. In some cases, cash savings can be used instead of, or in addition to, income to meet the requirement.
Standard processing times can range from around 12–24 weeks for applications made outside the UK, depending on the country and whether you use a priority service. In-country applications (switching or extending) typically take several weeks. We will give you an up-to-date estimate when we assess your case and help you choose the right service.
You should provide a range of documents showing that your relationship is genuine and ongoing, for example: photographs together over time, travel tickets and boarding passes from visits, communication records (messages, emails, call logs), joint tenancy or mortgage, joint bank accounts or bills, and evidence of any children you have together. The Home Office looks at the overall picture, not just one document.
Yes. Spouse visa holders have full permission to work and study in the UK without restrictions on hours or type of work. This makes the spouse route one of the most flexible family visa categories, and it can be a stepping stone to long-term settlement and eventually British citizenship.
If you have completed 5 years on the 5-year partner route (usually an initial grant plus one extension) and still meet the requirements, you can normally apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). You will usually need to pass the Life in the UK Test and meet a higher level of English. After holding ILR for 12 months, many people go on to apply for British citizenship, subject to meeting the separate nationality rules.
There are limited situations where the Home Office can consider other sources of support or exceptional circumstances, for example where there are children in the UK and refusing the application would be unjustifiably harsh. These cases are complex and assessed individually, so it is important to get detailed advice before applying. We will review your circumstances and explain your options clearly.
Book a free consultation with our expert team today. We'll assess your eligibility and provide clear guidance on the best path forward.