UK Spouse Visa
British citizens and persons with indefinite leave to remain can bring their spouse, civil partner or durable unmarried partner to the UK.
Below is an overview of the associated requirements and procedures.
Spouse visa requirements can be summarised as follows:
- Relationship – recognised and subsisting marriage, civil partnership or, if you are applying as unmarried partners, evidence of cohabitation for at least two years;
- English language – unless you meet the language requirement by being a national of a majority English speaking country or by having graduated from a recognised University where tuition was in English, or unless you are exempt from meeting the requirement – you have to take a test at A1 level (speaking and listening);
- You have to have adequate accommodation in the UK;
- Financial requirements – income (£18,600) from specified sources or savings (£62,500) unless you are exempt;
- Some requirements related to character – the so-called “suitability” requirements;
- Intention to make the UK your home.
In order to sponsor your spouse or partner, you need an annual income of at least £18,600 or savings of £62,500.
If you have a dependent child who is not a British citizen, the minimum income is £22,400 and addition £2400 applies for the second dependent child and all other children.
Sources of income
If you are relying on income, it has to come from the approved sources, such as employment, self-employment, rental of property, income from dividends or investments, or pension.
If non-British partner is outside the UK, their income from employment or self-employment is not taken into account. However, their income from property rental, pension or investments are recognised.
Savings
Savings can belong to the British or non-British partner or both. They have to be held in a cash account with immediate access. You will have to demonstrate that you owned the funds for at least six months, even if they were not in the cash account for the entire six month period. For example, if you sold property or assets and rely on the proceeds of the sale as your savings, you will have to trace the assets to six months prior to the date of the application.
Combination of savings and income
It is possible to rely on a combination of savings and income, but the calculation is not straightforward. You will have to have an initial amount of £16,000 and the shortfall of your income multiplied by 2.5. For example, if the sponsor earns £18,000 a year and the shortfall is £600, the required amount of savings is £16000 + £600 x 2.5 = £17500.
Evidential requirements
The required evidence of income is strictly specified and depends on the source of income and other circumstances, like duration of your employment or self-employment. Full details are set out in Appendix FM SE of the Immigration Rules.
If the British sponsor has worked with the same employer for more than six months, they can provide evidence of their salary for the last six months. This should be not less than £9,300 gross (before tax) over the six month period.
If the British citizen changed employment less than six months ago, they have two options – either demonstrate their total income over the last 12 months, or, if they are high earners and have earned more than £18,600 in the current employment in less than six months, they can rely on earnings during a shorter period.
Income from self-employment
Self-employed persons have to rely on their net income before tax in the last completed financial year. Sometimes, there is a clash as the financial year may be completed very recently and the accounts not yet available and not yet required by HMRC. Immigration requirements, nevertheless cannot be met without the accounts for the last completed financial year.
If the income over the last financial year is insufficient, it is possible to rely on the average of the last two financial years.
Company directors
Company directors can rely on their income from the company but the rules are similar to self-employment. You will have to show company accounts for the last completed financial year, as well as personal accounts, dividend vouchers and payslips if the director is an employee of the business. You will be required to have at least one completed financial year to qualify.
Employees of companies owned by other family members
If the sponsor is working for a company owned or partly owned by a family member, evidential requirements are similar to those related company directors. You will be required to produce company accounts and company bank statements in addition to your own bank statements and payslips. The requirements are set out fully in Appendix FM SE of the immigration rules.
Where all substantive requirements (financial, language, immigration status) and evidential requirements are met, UK spouse visa is granted under the 5-year route. This means that after five years you will qualify to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
If some of the requirements are not met but due to special circumstances a refusal would be unfair and cause significant hardship, the visa is granted under the 10-year route.
The 10-year route visa holder qualifies for indefinite leave to remain after 10 years of residence. This means there will be three applications for extension of visa before you can apply for indefinite leave to remain.
You can switch from the 10-year route to the five-year route as soon as you meet all the requirements. You do not have to wait for the expiry date of your visa. However, you will be paying the Immigration Health Surcharge second time if you have a valid stretch of the previous visa.
If you are in the UK in any long-term immigration category, you can switch to spouse visa in country without leaving the UK.
It may be worth noting that if you have another visa which leads to settlement after five years, your qualifying period for ILR will roll back if you switch into the spouse visa route. This is because your five-year qualifying period cannot be shared between the partner route and any other immigration category.
If you are switching, the Immigration Health Surcharge you paid with your previous visa application is not refundable.
The requirements for the extension of the spouse visa are very similar to the initial entry clearance requirements. You will need to demonstrate adequate income, accommodation, knowledge of English (at A2 level this time) and genuineness of your relationship.
For the extension application, you do not have to rely on the employment income of the sponsor. It can be the applicant’s income, or the sponsor’s, or joint income of both.
If your circumstances change or the marriage breaks down you have to be proactive and seek legal advice as soon as possible.
Indefinite leave to remain is normally available after five years. Alternatively, it is after 10 years of lawful residence.
If you are applying for ILR as the partner of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK relying on the 5-year route, you have to complete a five-year period of residence with the partner visa. It cannot be combined with any other immigration category leading to citizenship.
The ten-year route includes every type of lawful stay in the UK and can be a combination of all sorts of visas, including visitor visa.
Applicants for ILR are required to take the Life in the UK test. This applies to all, including people coming from a majority English speaking country.
English language requirement applies as well. If you met it through studying in a University or you come from a majority English speaking country, the language requirement is considered met. Applicants who have to take the English language test have to pass it at B1 level.