Spouse visa UK, also known as a marriage visa, is granted to a spouse of a person who is either a British Citizen, a person with ILR/settled status, an EU national with pre-settled status, a refugee, a Turkish Businessperson visa holder, or a Turkish Worker visa holder. All applications for spouse visas, including entry clearance, switching, extension, and ILR, are made to the Home Office UKVI according to the requirements in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. Spouse visa UK is a settlement category that leads to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) either after 5 years under the 5-year route or after 10 years under the 10-year route.
Free Immigration Advice For Spouse Visa UK
Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online regarding your application for a spouse visa UK. Ask a question online to our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors for free immigration advice online, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our spouse visa solicitors concerning your application for a spouse visa in the UK.
Specialist Spouse Visa Solicitors
Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors has a wealth of knowledge and experience in successfully handling spouse visa applications. Our team of highly experienced spouse visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed-fee basis concerning your application for entry clearance, switching, extension, and ILR as a spouse. Our spouse visa lawyers can provide immigration legal services for spouse visa (5 years route) and spouse visa (10 years route).
Premium Solicitors are specialist UK immigration solicitors and the high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of fully qualified and experienced immigration solicitors is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
Spouse Visa UK Applications
Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations for all spouse visa applications, including entry clearance applications, switching into spouse visas, extension of spouse visas, and ILR as a spouse. Various spouse visa applications for which we can provide legal help and support are as follows:
- Entry Clearance For Spouse Visa UK
- Switching Into Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)
- Switching Into Spouse Visa (10 Years Route)
- Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)
- Extension Of Spouse Visa (10 Years Route)
- ILR As A Spouse (5 Years Route)
- ILR As A Spouse (10 Years Route)
- Naturalisation As A British Citizen
UKVI Fees For Spouse Visa Applications
The Home Office UKVI fees for various stages of spouse visa applications are as given in the table below:
| Application | Application Fee | Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) | Priority / Super Priority Service Fee (Optional) |
| Entry Clearance for spouse visa from outside the UK | £1846 per applicant | £3105 for partner [£2328 for each child applicant] | £500 per applicant for Priority Service |
| Switching to a spouse visa from inside the UK | £1048 per applicant | £2587.50 for partner [£1940 for each child applicant] | £1,000 per applicant for Super Priority Service |
| Extension of spouse visa from inside the UK | £1048 per applicant | £2587 for partner [£1940 for each child applicant] | £1,000 per applicant for Super Priority Service |
| ILR as a spouse | £2885 per applicant | IHS is not payable for ILR applications | £1,000 per applicant for Super Priority Service |
Transitional Financial Requirement Of £18,600 For Applicants Who Made Their Initial Partner Visa Application Before 11 April 2024
The Home Office UKVI has introduced the transitional financial requirements for an applicant who made their first application as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner, or as a partner before 11 April 2024 and who was granted permission as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or as a partner on the five-year route to settlement as a result of that application. According to paragraph E-LTRP.3.5 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, a person who has permission as a partner on the five-year route to settlement, or as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, at the date of application, must meet the transitional financial requirement of income which is £18,600 gross per year if they made an application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or partner under Appendix FM before 11 April 2024, which was successful. Under the new rules, where the financial requirement exceeds £29,000 due to the number of children in the family, the applicant will only need to provide evidence of a gross annual income of £29,000.
The transitional financial requirement of £18,600 per year applies to applicants applying for permission to stay with the same partner for whom they were last granted permission. Applicants applying for permission to stay with a new partner must meet the financial requirement of £29,000 gross per annum.
Financial Requirement Of £29,000 Gross Per Year From 11 April 2024
As a result of changes to Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules effective from 11 April 2024, the new financial requirement of £29,000 gross per annum applies to an applicant who is making their first application on the partner route on or after 11 April 2024. You will not have to meet higher income requirements if you have any dependent children applying simultaneously along with the lead applicant, and the threshold will remain at £29,000 gross per annum.
Applicants can combine employment income under Category A with savings if the employment income is less than £29,000 gross per annum. The savings must be £16,000 plus additional savings equivalent to 2.5 times the difference between the applicant's gross annual income and £29,000.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Spouse Visa UK
Following are the various frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the spouse visa UK:
A spouse visa UK is a visa granted by the Home Office UKVI based on the marriage of a foreign national with a person who is either a British Citizen, a person with ILR / settled status, an EU national with pre-settled status, a refugee, Turkish Businessperson visa holder or Turkish Worker visa holder. Spouse is also known as marriage visa or Appendix FM partner visa.
Using the spouse visa fast track service, you can get a faster decision on your spouse visa application. Spouse visa applications from outside the UK can be submitted through priority service for a faster decision within 30 working days. Spouse visa applications from inside the UK can be submitted through Super Priority Service to get a decision on spouse visa applications within 24 hours.
There are two routes to settlement under spouse visa UK which are as follows:
Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)
Under the spouse visa route, you will become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as a spouse 28 days before completing 5 years in the UK under the spouse visa 5 years route. Any time spent in the UK under the spouse visa 10 years route cannot be counted towards 5 years for the purposes of applying for ILR as a spouse.
Spouse Visa (10 Years Route)
Under a spouse visa (10 years route), you will become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as a spouse 28 days before either completing 10 years under a spouse visa (10 years route) or 10 years of continuous and lawful stay on all types of UK visa [ILR-10 Years Long Residence), whichever is earlier. In most cases, the applicants will complete 10 years under 10 years long residence earlier than 10 years under a spouse visa (10 years route).
It is possible to switch from a spouse visa (10 years route) to a spouse visa (5 years route) to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) sooner under the 5 years route.
Yes, you can switch from the spouse visa 10 years route to the spouse visa 5 years route at any time during the validity of your leave to remain. It is better to switch to the 5-year route as soon as possible because your time for ILR under the 5-year route will start from the date you are granted initial leave to remain under the 5-year route.
You can apply for a spouse visa immediately after marrying your UK partner.
Under the spouse visa 5 years route, you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 years of residence in the UK, with leave to remain granted under 5 years route.
Under the spouse visa 10 years route, you can apply for ILR once you have completed 10 years in the UK with leave to remain granted in the UK under spouse visa route. Time spent under 10 years route and 5 years route will all count towards completion of 10 years to qualify for ILR as a spouse under 10 years route.
An applicant applying for spouse visa entry clearance, switching to a spouse visa, extension of spouse visa and ILR as a spouse must meet either
- the financial requirement of earning not less than £18,600 (if applying with no non-British children); or
- adequate maintenance requirement if the applicant’s partner is in receipt of the listed benefits and thus exempt from meeting the income requirement of £18,600 gross per year.
Where the application's refusal can result in serious breaches of human rights laws, including Article 8 of the ECHR and Section 55 of BCIA 2009, the applicant may be able to rely on third-party support to meet the financial requirement.
No, you cannot submit an in-country application for a spouse visa if you are a resident outside the UK. You must submit a spouse visa entry clearance application if you are a resident outside the UK, which means you must be physically outside the UK at the time of your online application submission. You must also attend the visa application centre in your country of nationality/residence to enrol your biometrics and handover your passport.
If the Home Office, UKVI, refuses your application for a spouse visa in the UK and you believe that the decision is unlawful, you can challenge the refusal decision by appealing to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT). An immigration judge will determine your appeal and decide whether the decision is in accordance with relevant immigration and human rights laws.
You can submit a fresh spouse visa application if your application for a spouse visa has been refused and you do not believe there are good chances of success in your appeal.