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Discover the Ideal UK Partner Visa
With the government's plans to raise the minimum income threshold for family visas in "Spring 2024", many individuals are eager to submit their visa applications before these changes take effect. Suppose you are considering applying for a visa to stay in the UK with your British or settled partner. In that case, you may find the differences between the marriage visit visa, fiancé visa, unmarried partner visa, and spouse visa confusing. In this post, we will outline these differences to help you determine which option is best suited for you.
Dreaming of a fairy-tale wedding in the UK, but not considering a permanent stay?
Marriage Visit Visa
If you currently reside outside the UK and have no intention of settling in the country, but desire to visit the UK to have your legal wedding ceremony or form a civil partnership, you will need to apply for a marriage visit visa.
This means you must meet all the standard requirements for visitors to the UK. Specifically, you must have the intention to leave the UK at the end of your visit and not reside in the country for extended periods by frequently and successively visiting the UK.
Additionally, you must fulfil the additional eligibility criteria for visitors coming to the UK for marriage or civil partnership. These include being at least 18 years old at the time of application and intending to give notice of marriage or civil partnership in the UK, or to get married or form a civil partnership in the UK that is not a sham.
Please note that if you enter the UK on a marriage visit visa, you will not be able to switch to any other partner visa during your stay in the UK.
The current cost for applying for a marriage visit visa is £115.
If You Intend to Live In the UK: Applying as a Partner Under Appendix FM
The spouse/civil partner, unmarried partner and fiancé options are all routes for settling in the UK. All three visa options are partner applications under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.
What Immigration Status Is Needed to Sponsor a Partner Under Appendix FM?
To sponsor a partner under Appendix FM, it is necessary to be either:
• A British citizen.
• Someone with indefinite leave to remain/settled status.
• An EEA national with pre-settled status under Appendix EU who was in the UK by 31 December 2020.
• Someone in the UK with protection status.
• Someone in the UK with limited leave as a worker or businessperson granted under Appendix ECAA
Can I Apply as a Parent Instead?
You cannot apply as a parent if you are eligible to apply as the partner of the child’s other parent.
Various Approaches to Fulfil the Criteria of being a 'Partner’
The spouse/civil partner, unmarried partner and fiancé options are all different ways to meet the definition of ‘partner’ under the Immigration Rules. Depending on the visa you are applying for, you will need to show some different evidence to prove that you meet the relevant definition.
At the time of writing, the same online application form applies for partner applications under Appendix FM regardless of whether you are applying as a spouse, unmarried partner, or fiancé.
There is one online form for applications made from inside the UK, and a different one for applications made from outside the UK.
Applying as Spouses or Civil Partners
If you are currently in a valid marriage or civil partnership (with a partner whose immigration status means they can sponsor someone under Appendix FM as set out above) and want to live permanently in the UK, the relevant partner visa would be a spouse visa.
This also means that, if you are currently unmarried, an option could be that you enter a valid marriage and then apply to enter the UK as a spouse. The spouse/civil partner route does not require showing that you have been in a relationship for two years.
If you are currently outside the UK and applying for a spouse visa to enter the UK, the visa would be valid for 33 months initially.
If you are applying from inside the UK, the visa will be valid for 30 months. You can then apply to extend a spouse visa for a further 30 months.
If you meet all the requirements for leave to remain as a partner under Appendix FM, after a continuous period of 60 months with leave as a spouse or civil partner, you would be eligible to apply for settlement.
The current Home Office fee for making an application as a partner from outside the UK is £1,846. If you are currently in the UK on a visa that allows you to switch to the partner route (it is generally not possible to apply from inside the UK if you are in the UK as a visitor or without leave) then the Home Office Application fee is currently £1,048.
You would also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. The Immigration Health Surcharge is set to increase significantly this year; these changes will take effect from 6th February 2024.
Applying as Unmarried Partners
As of 31st January 2024, the definition of unmarried partners has changed to become slightly more flexible. Previously, the rules required unmarried partners to have lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years before the date of application.
The new definition of partner no longer requires this period of cohabitation.
As with the spouse/civil partner route, an unmarried partner visa is initially valid for 33 months if you are applying from outside the UK, and for 30 months if you are applying from inside the UK.
After 60 months of leave as a partner, unless you are relying on an exception to meet the requirements, you will be eligible to apply for settlement in the UK.
The Home Office fees for an unmarried partner visa are the same as those for a spouse/civil partner visa set out above. You would also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Applying as Fiancés or Proposed Civil Partners
If you are currently outside the UK and want to come to the UK to get married or form a civil partnership and live permanently in the UK, then you should apply for a fiancé visa.
The fiancé route does not require showing that you have been in a relationship for two years. You cannot apply for leave to remain as a fiancé from inside the UK.
A grant of entry clearance as a fiancé is for six months only and you are expected to marry/form a civil partnership in the UK within this time. You would then need to make an application to stay in the UK as a spouse/civil partner.
This means the fiancé route is more expensive than the unmarried partner or spouse visa route. The initial application for a fiancé visa currently costs £1,846. This visa is valid for six months. You do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge at this point.
Once you have entered the UK and married/formed a civil partnership, you can apply for leave to remain as a spouse/civil partner. This leave would be valid for 30 months. This application for leave as a spouse/civil partner costs £1,048 (as you would be applying from inside the UK). In this application, you would also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
You would then be able to apply to extend the visa for a further 30 months, again paying the application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. You would be eligible to apply for settlement after a continuous period of at least 60 months with leave as a partner. This 60 months does not include time spent in the UK with leave to remain as a fiancé or proposed civil partner.
Additional Requirements
For all these options, you will need to prove that you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship with your partner and that you meet certain other requirements, for example regarding your intention to live together in the UK.
You will also need to meet the financial requirements. The financial threshold for a couple without children is currently £18,600 per year; as per the Government’s most recent announcement regarding increasing the minimum income threshold, this will increase to £29,000 in Spring 2024. An exception to this minimum threshold applies if your partner is receiving certain benefits, including disability living allowance, carer’s allowance and personal independence payments. You can read more about navigating the new partner and family visa financial requirements here.
In addition, you will need to show that you will have adequate accommodation in the UK that will not be overcrowded and that you meet the English language requirement.
