UK Spouse Visa Requirements

British citizens or those settled in the UK (Holding ILR or settled or pre-settled status under Appendix EU or Holding a Status under ECAA) can bring their non-British partners to the UK. UK Spouse Visa falls under the UK Family visa category. UK Spouse visa is required to enter the UK and live with your partner. Those who receive a spouse visa initially get it for 33 months from outside the UK or 30 months inside the UK. You can also apply to extend your visa after the initial grant.

Spouse visa requirements:

It would be best if you met the following conditions to be able to receive spouse visa approval:

1. Relationship requirements

The first requirement is that you and your partner must be aged 18 or above. You can be married, fiance or in a civil partnership, proposed civil partner or unmarried partners with a British citizen or one who is settled in the UK. You must have physically met your partner at least once before or during your marriage. You must prove that your relationship is genuine and subsisting. You must intend to live together as well. Depending upon your relationship with your partner, you also need to confirm the following: a. Your marriage or civil partnership is valid. b. You are engaged and seeking to enter the UK so that you can marry your fiance within six months of entry in the UK. c. If you apply as an unmarried partner, you need to prove that you have lived together for at least two years before applying. d. Any previous relationship of both the applicant and UK partner have ended permanently.

2. Financial requirement

You and your partner must prove that you have a minimum annual income of £18,600. But if you have dependent children, you need to show an additional income of £3,800 per year for the first child and £2,400 for each additional child. If you depend upon cash savings to meet the financial requirement, you must demonstrate at least £62,500. Suppose your UK partner is a recipient of a permitted benefit such as Disability Living Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment etc. in the UK. In that case, you are exempt from meeting the minimum income threshold, however, you need to meet the maintenance and accommodation requirements.

3. Accommodation requirement

You need to furnish proof of adequate accommodation in the UK. This means you or your UK partner needs to own or occupy the accommodation. You can have a rented property, temporary accommodation, a mortgaged or owned property. The minimum requirement of accommodation is one bedroom and If you have a child, you must have an additional bedroom for each of your children dependent on their age and sex. You need to prove that you intend to live together in the same accommodation after completing UK immigration.

4. English language requirement

You need to meet the English language requirement. One way of doing this is by scoring at the level A1 or higher on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for language) scale or A 2 for the extension. If not, you can also meet the English language requirement by submitting proof of your graduation or obtaining a degree from an English language University. If you come from one of the following countries you don't need to prove your English language ability.

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Australia

• The Bahamas

• Barbados

• Belize

• Canada

• Dominica

• Grenada

• Guyana

• Jamaica

• New Zealand

• St Kitts and Nevis

• St Lucia

• St Vincent and the Grenadines

• Trinidad and Tobago

• USA

If you are looking for apply for a spouse visa you can get a free assessment of your circumstances by contacting Visa and Migration Ltd on 02034111261 ...