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UK Spouse/ Civil Partner Visa

UK Spouse/ Civil Partner Visa is a settlement route for non-EEA nationals who are married to British citizens, those present and settled in the UK, or in the UK with a refugee or humanitarian protection leave to remain and wish to enter or remain in the country on the basis of their family life.

What are the requirements when applying from abroad or within the UK?

Requirements to apply for a Spouse or Civil Partner Visa from abroad:

  1. You must be outside of the UK.
  2. You must have made a valid application for entry clearance.
  3. You must not fall for refusal under any of the suitability requirements.
  4. You must meet eligibility requirements.

Requirements to apply for a Spouse or Civil Partner Visa from within the UK:

  1. You and your spouse must be in the UK.
  2. You must have made a valid application for leave to remain in the UK.
  3. You must not fall for refusal under any of the suitability requirements.
  4. You must meet eligibility requirements.

UK Spouse/ Civil Partner Visa suitability requirements

In order to be granted a Spouse or Civil Partner Visa you must not fall for refusal under any of the suitability requirements defined in the UK Immigration Rules:

  1. In the Secretary of State opinion your exclusion from the UK is conducive to public good due to your criminal convictions, conduct, character, associations or other reasons which make it undesirable to grant you leave to enter or remain in the UK.
  2. You are subject to a deportation order.
  3. You failed to provide information, attend interview or undergo medical examination when required without a reasonable excuse.
  4. You are excluded from the UK for medical reasons.
  5. You failed to disclose material information or provided false information or documentation in support of your application.
  6. You failed to pay NHS charges of at least £500.
  7. You failed to provide maintenance or accommodation undertaking.

If you think you may fall for refusal for any of the above reasons, we highly recommend to consult an immigration specialist before proceeding with your Spouse or Civil Partner Visa application to avoid refusal and financial loss in the Secretary of State’s fees.

There might be exceptional compelling circumstances surrounding your application which outweigh the public interest in maintaining refusal on the above mentioned suitability grounds. We can help you to identify these circumstances and properly address them in your application.

For assistance with your visa application call us on 01603 927676 or complete online contact form.

Eligibility requirements

Relationship requirements:

  1. Your spouse or civil partner must be either a British citizen, or present and settled in the UK, or in the UK with a refugee or humanitarian protection leave to remain.
  2. You both must be 18 years old or over.
  3. You must not be related outside of your marriage.
  4. You and your spouse or civil partner must have met in person and your marriage must be valid as well as genuine and subsisting.
  5. Any previous relationships of both of you must have broken down permanently.
  6. Your intention must be to live together permanently in the UK.

Financial requirements:

  1. Your spouse or civil partner and you must demonstrate a gross annual income of at least £18,600, or certain amount of savings, or a combination of income and savings. You might be exempted from the financial requirement if your sponsor is on certain benefits.
  2. There has to be an adequate accommodation in the UK for you, your sponsor and any other family members who live in the same household without recourse to public funds and it has to be owned or occupied exclusively.

English language requirement:

  1. You have to pass an English language test in speaking and listening with a provider approved by the Home Office at a minimum level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
  2. You do not have to pass an English language test if you are a national of majority English speaking countries: 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; or the United States of America.
  3. You do not have to pass an English language test if you have an academic qualification taught in English which is recognised by the UK NARIC as equivalent to a Bachelor’s, Master’s degree or PhD in the UK.
  4. You are exempt from English language requirement if you are 65 years old or over, or you have a disability, or there are exceptional circumstances preventing you from meeting the requirement.

Anglia Immigration Law has many years of experience advising migrant families on spouse and civil partner settlement visas. Every case is different and must be looked at individually.

It is crucial to submit the right evidence with your application as specified in the Immigration Rules because even if you do meet the requirements, but do not submit all the required evidence, your application will be refused.

We have helped many families to be united so if you have any doubts about your eligibility to apply for a UK Spouse/ Civil Partner Visa or you need assistance with your application, contact us on 01603 927676 or by email info@angliaimmigration.co.uk for a professional immigration specialist advice.

Spouse/ Civil Partner Visa for spouses of EEA nationals

If your UK based sponsor is an EEA national, you have to apply under the EEA Regulations and not under the UK Immigration Rules. Spouse or Civil Partner Visa is not the right route for you to take. You have to instead apply for EEA family permit if you are outside the UK or for EEA family member residence card if you are in the UK already.

What if you do not meet all of the requirements?

At Anglia Immigration Law we know from experience that every case is different and needs to be dealt with individually. Even though you might not meet all of the requirements for a Spouse or Civil Partner Visa as set out in the Immigration Rules, there might be particular compelling circumstances surrounding your application for the Secretary of State to exercise her discretion and grant you entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK outside of the Immigration Rules.

To find out if your application could be argued for a grant of leave outside of the Immigration Rules please contact one of our immigration lawyers for instant professional advice.

For how long this visa will be granted?

If you meet all of the requirements for a UK Spouse or Civil Partner Visa and you applied from outside the UK you will be given an initial period not exceeding 33 months.

You will be given 30 months if you meet all the requirements and applied from within the UK.

What if you application is refused?

If your UK Spouse/ Civil Partner Visa application is refused, you should be given right to appeal against the refusal decision. The time limit to appeal depends on whether you applied from outside the UK or from within the UK. You will be given 28 days to exercise your right to appeal if you applied from outside the UK. If you applied from within the UK the time limit is 14 days.

For assistance with your visa application call us on 01603 927676 or complete online contact form.

Are there any exemptions from the financial requirement?

The standard financial requirement for a UK Spouse/ Civil Partner visa is to demonstrate a gross annual income of at least £18,600, or certain amount of savings, or a combination of income and savings.

You are exempt from needing to meet this threshold if you are in receipt of one of these benefits:

  1. Disability living allowance;
  2. Severe disablement allowance;
  3. Industrial injury disablement benefit;
  4. Attendance allowance;
  5. Carer’s allowance;
  6. Personal independence payment;
  7. Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme;
  8. Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme; or
  9. Police Injury Pension.

You would still need to demonstrate that you meet the adequate maintenance requirement.

As reflected in the 2006 determination by the Upper Tribunal in KA and Others (Pakistan) meeting the ‘adequate’ maintenance and accommodation requirement shall mean that, after income tax, National Insurance contributions and housing costs have been deducted, there must be available to the family the level of income that would be available to them if the family was in receipt of Income Support.

The Immigration Rules do not specify the level of income or amount of funds sufficient for ‘adequate’ maintenance. This will be case specific and depend on the number of dependants in the family unit. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany them to, or remain with them in, the UK, then sufficient resources must be available for the whole family unit to be adequately maintained regardless of their nationality or immigration status.

If you instruct Anglia Immigration Law to act on your behalf, we will be able calculate the ‘adequate’ maintenance requirement for you depending on your particular circumstances and help you to gather the necessary evidence to support your case.