Introduction to the UK spouse visa/ UK partner visa:

In order to get one’s family member settled with an already ordinarily permanent UK resident, the UK family immigration policy has introduced a number of different visa categories under which a UK resident can make his family member getting settled in the UK along with him. Out of all sorts of UK family visas, the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa is the main route also known as ‘Marriage Visa’ in the UK through which the spouse or fiancé of a UK resident is allowed to attain residency in the UK for a time period of greater than 6 months.  However, civil partnership refers to the couple of same sex that is as likely to achieve basic rights as any other marriage between people of different sex. One may apply for the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa on the basis of private life as well.

Eligibility criteria for the UK spouse visa/ UK partner visa:

The UK family immigration policy has established certain requirements to be essentially met by both the UK resident and his partner in order to permit the spouse or the partner of a UK resident for achieving residency in the UK. These include the following:

  • The age of both the UK resident and the applicant must be greater than 18 years in order to achieve recognition of marriage or civil partnership in the UK.
  • Your civil partnership or marriage ought to be truly recognised under the concerned UK partnership/marriage protocol.
  • The UK resident partner must hold the status of being a UK citizen.
  • In order to prevent disapproval of arranged marriages according to the British law, the marriage or partnership time period must be greater than 2 years.
  • In case of the applicant being a fiancé to the UK resident, affirmation of marriage within 6 months is quite crucial whereas if the anticipated civil partner of a UK resident wants to achieve residency in the UK via UK partner visa, he is similarly liable to validate the partnership completely within the time period of 6 months.
  • The UK resident must be financially stable in order to fulfil the basic needs of his own along with his partner or spouse.
  • It is also demanded of an applicant for having the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa to retain sufficient knowledge of the English language.
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Financial criteria to apply for the UK spouse visa/ UK partner visa:

In order to prove the financial stability of the UK resident with his spouse or partner, financial security of at least £18,600 annually must be corroborated before the UK family immigration agency. Moreover, different income sources include the salary of the UK resident, pension funds, cash savings worth more than £16,000 and non-work money like dividends or rental payments regarding property. Confirmation of the financial criteria may be done by presenting one of these income resources to become eligible for attaining the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa. In case the spouse has intended to bring children along too, the financial requirements escalate up to an additional amount of £3,800 in case of the first child whereas the earning must be increased by £2,400 for every next child.

Documentation required for the approval of financial stability:

The UK resident partner must submit his bank statements, pay-slips of recent 6 months along with a verifying letter by his employer; comprising of all the basic employability details of the UK resident regarding his title, employability period and his salary.

Processing duration of the UK spouse visa/ UK partner visa application:

The processing time required for the UK spouse visa/ UK partner visa application variably depends on the situation of the applicant. The maximum estimated time is up to period of 12 weeks while it decreases to time period of up to 8 weeks in case the application is requested being within the UK via post or online. Well, the applicant may get adequate response towards his visa application even in a day if he applies personally by utilising super-priority services. However, there might be delay in the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa application processing on the grounds of certain factors including inability to fulfil the requirement of financial and English knowledge criteria as well as other desired documents, owning a criminal history or an impending interview.

Stay duration permitted under the UK spouse visa/ UK partner visa:

After successfully obtaining the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa, the spouse or the civil partner becomes eligible to attain residency in the UK for a time period of two and a half years (2.5 years). Whereas in case of a fiancé or anticipated civil partner, only 6 months duration is allowed before visa extension. However, in order to further live in the UK, one has to apply for the visa extension at least 28 days prior to visa expiry. Along with other requirements, the verification of both the partners residing together in the UK incessantly is also crucial to become eligible for the sake of applying for the extension of the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa.

Possibility of attaining permanent residency in the UK:

Moreover, if one wants to attain permanent residency in the UK then he must spend a specified time period on ordinarily basis (means habitually residing in the UK with only occasional absences) so that he might be able to get eligible for achieving the indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status. Since after having applied for a UK spouse/partner visa extension up to 30 months, the applicant becomes more likely to get settled in the UK on the grounds of completing five years of residency in the UK, thereby, being qualifying for the indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status.

Other ways to achieve permanent residency in the UK include the following:

  • A certain way to stay in the UK is via applying for the settled status on the grounds of experiencing domestic abuse or death of partner/spouse.
  • It can also be achieved through applying for family reunion in case the applicant’s family member is residing in the UK on the basis of refugee status or humanitarian protection.
  • If one’s family member belongs to the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, the foreign applicant may apply for family permit in order to stay in the UK. However, the UK immigration policy amendment regarding EU settlement scheme after June 30, 2021 must be kept in view for which the UK residents having EU nationality have to apply so that they may continue residing in the UK.

In case of being unable to fulfil eligibility criteria:

Well, if the applicant fails in satisfying the requirements to qualify for the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa application, the spouse or the civil partner still may apply to get settled in the UK on the grounds of the ‘Human Rights’ since the privilege to seek respect for one’s family and private life has been provided under the Article 8 of ‘Human Rights’ section.

FREQUENTLT ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

How much time it usually takes for application processing regarding UK spouse visa/UK partner visa?

It usually takes up to 12 weeks of time period for UK spouse/ partner visa application processing. However, in case of applying online or via post from inside the UK, it may take up to 8 weeks by utilising standard package.

How quick can I get response for my UK spouse/ partner visa with super-priority package?

In case of applying for the UK spouse/ partner visa using super-priority service, the applicant may be able to get the response on the next working day of his submitting of biometric information.

How much time can I stay in the UK on the basis of UK spouse/ partner visa?

You, being a registered spouse or civil partner to a UK citizen, would be able to reside in the UK for about 2.5 years on the basis of the UK spouse/ partner visa. Whereas the time limit of 6 months is given to the fiancé or proposed civil partner after which they need to apply for the extension of their visa application.

How can I permanently settle in the UK on the basis of UK spouse/ partner visa?

After mutual stay of the UK resident with his spouse or partner for continuous 5 years via UK spouse/ partner visa extension procedure, they become eligible to apply for the UK ILR (Indefinite leave to remain) status to get settled in the UK.

Can I apply for the UK spouse/ partner visa if I am unable to meet the eligibility criteria?

Yes, you can still apply for the UK spouse visa or UK partner visa having not being able to fulfil the eligibility criteria under the section of ‘Human Rights’ (Article 8) that is considered to be contravened if there is rights violation of one’s family or private life.