In this guide, we'll cover the UK Spouse Visa, which allows individuals to move to the UK to join a partner who is already living here. This page includes information on who can apply, the requirements and cost of the visa. Click here for assistance applying for the Spouse Visa.
After assessment we can offer select clients this service on a No Win No Fee Basis.
We guarantee that only a fully qualified immigration lawyer will take this appointment with you.
Had a fantasic experience! Very kind, professional, and communicative. As I had experienced a few law firms, I would definitely fefer this one to my friends and family and highly recommend to anyone.
Chalisa K
28 March
The Spouse visa is a family based visa category that allow the spouses of British Citizens or those with indefinite leave to remain; to enter, remain and eventually settle in the UK
The route is open to all Non-EEA nationalities, providing they are married to a British Citizen or a person whom holds Indefinite Leave to remain status. The is also a visa for those who are planning to marry known as the Fiancée visa and those couples whom would like to apply as unmarried partners (providing they have lived together for 2 years or more)
Applications to switch or extend an existing spouse visa are issued for a period of 2.5 years (30 months). Applicants who are applying to enter the UK for the first time as a spouse are issued with a period of 33 months.
Professional firm with brilliant team - can't recommend them enough
I reached out to the firm with 30 mins free initial consultation re: spouse visa and spoke to Houman Shaikh, who was extremely supportive and proactive in arranging a consultant. He referred me to Alex Young - extremely competent, responsive and professional. I had to apply the visa within a specific time frame and Alex helped me in achieving that timeline.
Nabeel Chohan
Amir specialises in immigration in all categories, with a focus on the needs of private clients.
Rosy has represented personal and business clients who work and operate across all sectors. With this.
Victoria Dubinscaia is an adviser, executive and enthusiast in the law practice, UK immigration, financial industry.
Houman joined Westkin as an Associate in June 2011. He is regulated at the highest level.
Amy has represented personal and business clients who work and operate across all sectors. With this.
With many years’ experience in immigration law, Michael has assisted clients in every category of application.
Kirstin is experienced in business, family, long residence, nationality, visit and EEA applications. She provides strategic.
Glodina is an integral part of the team, is the first point of contact with clients.
Andreea has represented personal and business clients who work and operate across all sectors. With this.
Sahar, a qualified solicitor and regulated at Level 3 by the Office of the Immigration Services.
Angel is known in the office as the Mountain Goat as she never puts a foot.
Dan has developed a reputation for extremely client focussed, highly organised and calm no matter how.
Bethannie is an immigration solicitor specialising in adult dependent relative cases, business immigration, spouses, asylum, and.
Diane, first shot to fame as a series regular on ‘the real housewives of Abu Dhabi’.
Georgina is a qualified solicitor who prides herself on being passionate and caring towards her client.
Adam focuses on all aspects of immigration with a particular interest in skilled worker and personal.
Patrick is professional, friendly and calm. He has worked in immigration for over 10 years with.
Zara is known for her detailed experience of both personal and business immigration matters. She is.
Jamie focuses on all aspects of personal and business immigration law. She is known for working.
Elizabeth is highly competent in handling a range of personal and business immigration matters. Phone: +.
Robert works on asylum and human rights applications and appeals as well as immigration bail applications.
As the first line of response, Fayçal ensures that clients are served with warmth, understanding and.
As a Junior Associate at Westkin Associates, Wale serves as initial contact for new clients that.
As an associate at Westkin Associates Dayo specializes in navigating the complexities of immigration law to.
After completing legal studies, Radek started a career in business development by working for a prominent.
Vinayak Mukhia is a highly accomplished Junior Associate at Westkin Associates, specializing in immigration law and.
Serafina works in various immigration areas with a particular focus on business immigration matters. Known for.
Mahima is able to represent clients within her team with both a great deal of care.
Holly is known for her dedication and attention to detail. She is able to handle a.
Lisa works across all immigration areas with a particular focus on sponsor licences, skilled worker and.
Eleanor has developed a reputation for attention to detail, a caring attitude and professionalism in the.
Gilbert is a qualified barrister with expertise in immigration, human rights, and nationality law. He is.
Dorna is a caring and positive individual who approaches immigration and human right matters professionally. Phone.
Deborah Adu of Westkin is experienced in Naturalisation applications, Spouse Visa’s and ILR applications and is.
Grace works in a wide range of immigration areas, with a particular focus on corporate immigration.
Marie is a Trainee Caseworker and has been working in immigration since 2021. Phone: +44 (0).
As Office Administrator, Selin oversees a wide variety of HR and Recruitment tasks, is adept in.
Individuals will need to hold the UK Spouse Visa for 5 years to get Indefinite Leave to Remain.
ILR, sometimes referred to as Permanent residence, can be applied for after having held the this visa for a minimum period of 5 years. ILR can be applied for at the earliest opportunity 28 days before the 5 year period is complete. For individuals looking to move to the UK to start a new life with their family, the UK Spouse Visa is often the first logical step for making this a reality.
How soon you can apply for British nationality depends on if your sponsor is British or not. If they are, you can apply for British citizenship as soon as you have obtained your ILR and lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years. If your sponsor is not British but just has ILR, then you need to wait a further 12 months after your ILR was granted before you can apply for a British passport.
UK Spouse Visa Requirements
There are 5 main Spouse Visa requirements which we will break down in more detail below:
Please note that this guide does not deal with issues around general grounds of refusal, as such if you have an entry ban or suspect you may be refused for general grounds of refusal such a criminal record, please contact us for further advice.
The Financial Requirement of the Spouse visa application tend to be the most complex and document heavy. It is critical for applicants to meet the minimum income threshold and provide the exact corresponding evidence in order to satisfy this requirement. For the purpose of this guide we will go over some of the common ways to meet the financial requirements, if you do not meet examples below please consult with us as it is likely that there still is a way for you to meet the financial requirement
Firstly a calculation needs to me made on what the minimum income shall be, the starting point is always £18,600.
This value will increase if you wish to include any children whom are under 18 and are not;
If the are not then the minimum income will increase by;
As a general rule of thumb if applying for entry clearance (I.e you are applying from outside the UK) then only the sponsor can show their income to meet the financial requirements. If applying to vary your visa or extending your current visa then both the sponsor and the applicant can show their income.
What sources of income are accepted?
The accepted sources of income can be broken down in to 5 broad groups:
Each of the above groups have their own specific sets of rules and required documentation. Furthermore not all income sources may be combined with each other; e.g. Self-employed income cannot be combined with cash savings.
Furthermore it is noted that the following categories can only be shown by the sponsor unless the applicant also has permission to work in the UK:
The following types of income are not accepted as valid income for the Spouse visa application:
It is noted that receiving these benefits does not stop you from sponsoring your partner, it just means the money that you receive is not counted towards the minimum income you receive.
For Pensions an annual amount can be used providing it has been in receipt for at least 28 days.
If you are living with your partner outside the UK and you plan to re-enter the UK together then the rules vary. You can still rely on all five of the income sources mentioned earlier however for salaried and non-salaried employment the rules are different as it would require the sponsor to have a job offer in the UK.
Only the salaried or non-salaried income of the sponsor will be counted, there is a two step process to meet in order to satisfy the requirement;
Step 1: The Sponsor would demonstrate their current employment income meet the minimum income requirement, either over the last 12 months if they have been in their job for less than 6 months or just the last 6 months if they have been in their job for more than 6 months.
Step 2: The Sponsor would need to show that they have a job offer in the UK, which would give them an income reaching the minimum income requirement. This job would need to start within 3 months of their entry to the UK.
Yes, savings held in the name of the sponsor, the name of the applicant or jointly between the two can be used. Savings can be used fully satisfy the income requirement or to cover any short fall in your income.
Please note that only cash savings are accepted, this means that property or assets are not recognised unless they are sold and held as cash.
It is not however as simple as just providing the missing amount from your income as the exact cash amount. The calculation is as follows:
(Required Income total minus actual income) x 2.5 (the length of the visa) + £16,000 = Savings total required.
Please note that cash savings must be held in cash at the point of application, the cash must have been held as a minimum balance.
Our team of lawyers are experienced in collating the evidence needed to prove that you meet the financial requirements of the Spouse Visa. If you need any assistance, please get in touch.
The second requirement of the visa is that you can demonstrate that there is adequate accommodation for you, your sponsor and any children in the UK. You will be required to show accommodation documents which prove that your residence meets the criteria.
For this requirement you must first demonstrate your right to reside in the specified property, this may be because:
The property itself must not be deemed as overcrowded, this is based on the Housing Act 1985 and depends on the number of rooms in the property compared to the number of people living in the property. A room does not specifically need to be a bedroom, so long as it is not a Kitchen or Bathroom.
Here is a quick guide to overcrowding:
| Number of Rooms | Maximum number of people that can live in the property |
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 7.5 |
| 5 | 10 |
For any properties of more than 5 rooms, an additional 2 persons per room can reside in the property. Children under 12 months are not included as a person and children between 1 and 10 years are considered half a person.
There is an English language requirement for the Spouse Visa, which means all applicants must be able to demonstrate their ability to speak English.
This can be done in three ways:
If you are from one of the following countries then your passport will automatically prove your English language ability:
If you have passed an Undergraduate Degree, a Masters or a PhD from a UK colleague or University then this can be used to demonstrate your English language ability for the Spouse Visa.
If you have obtained a degree from a non-British institution but the course was taught in English then your qualification may still be accepted, however you need to obtain a certification from UK NARIC, an organisation which will check if your degree is the equivalent of a UK degree.
The final way you can prove you meet the English language requirement for the Spouse Visa is by passing an approved English language test. The test consists of English reading, writing, speaking and listening tasks to test understanding and proficiency. Only specific types of test providers, test types and test centres are accepted, as such it is important to double check that you are taking the right test.
The UK approved test list can be found here.
The required test categories are only Speaking and Listening at level A1 or higher. As such the most popular test to take is IELTS Life Skills A1, A2 or B1. There is no minimum mark to achieve on these test as they are only pass/fail. Although IELTS for UKVI General training or Academic is accepted they are not necessary for this visa category.
It is noted that the applicant must have passed the test before they submit their visa application.
However, if you are not from a majority English speaking country then there are two ways to prove your skills;
This section of the application requires the applicant and sponsor to show that they are in a genuine ongoing relationship as husband and wife. What this means is that you will need to prove that you have legally married, but most importantly you must show that your relationship is genuine and on-going as would be expected from a husband and wife.
There is no genuine relationship test for applicants, but you will be required to demonstrate using documents that you have met, that you still meet when possible, that you communicate regularly and in some cases share responsibilities. The longer your relationship has been going the more documentation you should have.
The following documentation can be included as proof of your relationship:
Migrants who have been married for a short period of time or have for cultural or religious reasons are not barred from applying, instead this needs to be carefully explained to the Home office together with sufficient evidence of a genuine relationship.
If you are applying from a country that is listed on Appendix T as a country where TB is at high risk, the applicant must obtain a certificate from an approved test centre to confirm they are free from TB. Before applying.
The UK Spouse Visa Processing time can vary from country to country and time of year.
From inside the UK, the application timeline is 8-12 weeks. Individuals can use the 24 hour priority service if the normal service is too long. Internationally processing times can range from 4-16 weeks. Some countries have priority services which can reduce the time to between 2-6 weeks.
The application process will vary depending on if you are in the UK or outside the UK, however in general the application timeline will include:
The applicant will receive their passport with a 30 day entry visa. It is important to enter the UK within this time period as the full visa is issued on a Biometric card that can only be picked up in the UK. Once the Biometric card has been collected then you are free to enter and exit the UK as you please.
For assistance with preparing your Spouse Visa application, please get in touch.
