UK Spouse visa – join your partner and live in the UK

Live and work in the UK on a spouse visa

The spouse visa falls in the “family of a settled person” visa category and is valid for two and a half years. During this time, you can work and travel in and out of the UK as often as you need to. If you want to extend your stay in the UK beyond two and a half years, your spouse visa can be extended for a further two and half years.

After you’ve held your spouse visa for five years you can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

Who can apply for a spouse visa?

The UK spouse visa covers four different partner statuses: Married/Civil Partners, unmarried partners, proposed civil partner and fiancé’/ fiancee.

Apply for your spouse visa

Financial requirements of a UK partner visa

You can fulfil one or a combination of the following financial requirements.

Salaried income

The UK citizen or settled person must earn a minimum income of £29,000 for the 12 months prior to the visa application date. If they had not earned this amount in the previous 12 months, they must have been permanently employed for six months and earning a gross annual income of £29,000.

Cash savings

The base level of cash savings required is £88,500. This increases when there is more than one applicant involved (such as children). The cash saving generally must be held in a bank account for a minimum period of six months unless it was held as an asset for more than six months and then sold and converted to cash savings.

Required documents for a UK spouse visa application

Visa applications are most commonly rejected because they aren’t accompanied by the correct supporting documents. We’ve put together a general list of required documents when applying for a UK spouse visa.

Please note that the required documents will vary for each individual and is dependent on your specific circumstances. After consulting with one of our immigration experts, an individualised document checklist will be provided for your unique circumstance.

Personal information

• Completed visa application form
• A current and valid passport
• Evidence of marital status or long-term relationship
• Evidence of current employment or studies
• Evidence that the applicant meets the English language requirement

Financial information

• Bank statements
• Business bank statements
• Bank balance certificate
• Payslips
• Tax returns (business or personal)
• Evidence of income from property or land

Accommodation details

• Details of the accommodation in the UK
• Supporting letter from occupant/landlord
• Tenancy agreement
• Payslips
• Land Registry documents

Settled partner’s details

• Evidence of current employment and monthly income after tax
• Evidence of current immigration status/permission to be in the UK
• Evidence of relationship (e.g. phone records, emails, letters, photographs)

Extend your visa

The UK spouse visa is valid for two years and six months. If you’re planning on spending more time than this in the UK, you must apply to extend your visa before it expires. Note, that you can only apply to extend your visa from within the UK.

It’s vitally important that your application contains all the relevant documentation. If not, it may be marked as invalid and returned to you. This could result in the loss of appeal rights if your permitted stay has run out by the time you make your next application.

Switch to a UK spouse visa

If you are in the UK on another visa and are in a relationship or married to a British citizen, you can apply to switch to a spouse visa.

How long does it take to receive your UK spouse visa?

Most UK spouse visa applicants will receive an answer within 10 to 14 weeks, but it can take a little longer for your application to be processed, depending on the complexity of your application.

How much will a spouse visa cost?

Currently, a spouse visa will cost £1,872 when you apply outside of the UK.

Remember: All applicants must pay an additional fee of £3,105 (for every year that you will be staying in the UK) related to the Immigration Health Surcharge. This allows all applicants access to the National Health System.