You can apply for spouse visa entry clearance from outside the UK through Priority Service to get a faster decision on your spouse visa entry clearance application. An entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK is made online through the Home Office UKVI website by completing an online application form. You must meet all the spouse visa requirements as set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. As a result of a successful entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK, the applicant will be granted a UK spouse visa vignette for 90 days, and upon entry in the UK within 90 days, the applicant will collect a Biometric Residence Permit (BPR) valid for 33 months. Before the expiry of the initial 33 months of the spouse visa, the applicant can apply for renewal of the spouse visa to complete 5 years on a spouse visa and apply for ILR as a spouse under the 5-year route.
Free Immigration Advice For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance
Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online concerning your spouse visa entry clearance from outside the UK. Ask a question to our specialist spouse visa solicitors in London for free immigration advice or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our best spouse visa solicitors and lawyers.
Specialist Solicitors For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance
Our spouse visa solicitors are specialists for spouse visa entry clearance applications from outside the UK. As one of the best spouse visa solicitors, we have successfully helped thousands of clients with their spouse visa entry clearance applications. Our highly experienced and fully qualified spouse visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration advice and legal representations for your spouse visa entry clearance application from outside the UK.
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.
How To Apply For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance?
The step-by-step process to apply for a spouse visa UK from outside the UK is as follows:
- Complete the application form online for spouse visa UK on the UKVI website;
- Submit your completed application form for a spouse visa in the UK online by paying the application fee. You also have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for the spouse visa entry clearance application.
- Book an appointment with the UK visa application centre to enrol your biometrics and hand over your passport for the processing of your spouse's visa in the UK.
- Upload all supporting documents online in PDF format before you attend your biometrics enrolment appointment so that they can be considered in support of the spouse visa application.
- Attend your biometrics enrolment appointment and wait for a decision on your spouse visa entry clearance application which will be made within 30 working days if you apply through Priority Service or within 60 working days if you apply through standard service.
What Are The Requirements For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance?
A person applying for spouse visa entry clearance from outside the UK should meet the following requirements of the Immigration Rules:
- The applicant must submit a valid entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK from outside the UK;
- The applicant must be 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;
- The applicant and the applicant's partner must be aged 18 or over at the date of application;
- The applicant's UK partner must be working and earning not less than £29,000 gross per year. If you are exempt from meeting the financial requirement of £29,000 gross per year, you will be required to meet the adequate maintenance requirement instead;
- The applicant must meet the English language requirement at CEFR level A1 in listening and speaking only;
- The applicant's application for spouse visa entry clearance should not fall for refusal on suitability grounds as set out in Appendix FM: Family Life of the Immigration Rule;
- The applicant should provide a Tuberculosis test certificate, if this is required under Appendix T of the Immigration Rules.
What Is The Relationship Requirement For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance?
The applicant’s UK partner must:
- be a British Citizen; or
- have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Settled Status in the UK; or
- be an EAA national with pre-settled status in the UK; or
- have a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa in the UK; or
- have leave to remain as a refugee or a person with Humanitarian Protection (HP).
The applicant and their partner must not be within the prohibited degree of relationship. The applicant and their partner must have met in person. The relationship between the applicant and their partner must be genuine and subsisting. If the applicant and partner are married, it must be a valid marriage, as specified. Any previous relationship of the applicant or their partner must have broken down permanently unless it is a relationship which falls within paragraph 278(i) of the Immigration Rules. The applicant and partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK.
New 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 than £29,000 gross per annum income requirement if you have any dependent children applying simultaneously along with the lead applicant, and the threshold will remain at £29,000 gross per annum.
To satisfy the financial requirement for a spouse visa, the applicant's UK partner must be working and earning not less than £29,000 gross per year. The Applicant can combine the sponsor's 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.
The applicant's own salaried income from overseas does not count towards meeting the financial requirement. However, the applicant's savings, rental income, or pension income (if applicable) does count towards meeting the financial requirement and the UK partner's income.
What Are Various Sources Of Meeting Financial Requirements?
Where the applicant has to meet the minimum income threshold, the financial requirement can generally be met in the following 5 ways:
- Income from salaried or non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). Depending on the employment history, this is referred to as Category A or Category B.
- Non-employment income, e.g. income from property rental or dividends from shares. This is referred to as Category C.
- Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control. This is referred to as Category D.
- State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant. This is referred to as Category E.
- Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category F or Category G, depending on which financial year(s) is or are being relied upon.
What Is Exemption From Meeting The Financial Requirement Of Earning £29,000?
Where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of any of the following benefits or allowances in the UK, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement at that application stage by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance” rather than meeting an income threshold of £29,000:
- Carer’s Allowance.
- Disability Living Allowance.
- Severe Disablement Allowance.
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
- Attendance Allowance.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
- Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement, or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme.
- Police Injury Pension.
If the applicant’s partner is receiving one of the above benefits or allowances on behalf of their child, the applicant will be able to qualify by meeting the financial requirement through “adequate maintenance.” The evidence required to demonstrate that the applicant’s partner is in receipt of a specified benefit or allowance is specified in Appendix FM-SE.
What Is The Formula For Meeting Adequate Maintenance Requirements?
The Home Office UKVI will use the following formula to determine whether you meet the adequate maintenance requirement for your spouse visa entry clearance application:
A – B ≥ C (A minus B is greater than or equal to C)
Where:
A is the net income (after deduction of income tax and National Insurance contributions);
B is housing costs (Rent and Council Tax); and
C is the amount of Income Support an equivalent British family of that size can receive.
What Is The Adequate Accommodation Requirement?
The applicant must provide specified evidence that there will be adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family owns or occupies exclusively: accommodation will not be regarded as adequate if-
- it is, or will be, overcrowded; or
- it contravenes public health regulations.
What Is The English Language Requirement For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance?
The applicant must provide specified evidence that he/she:
- is a national of a majority English-speaking country; or
- has passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages with a provider approved by the Home Office, UKVI; or
- has an academic qualification recognised by UK Ecctis to be equivalent to the standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or Ph.D. in the UK, which was taught in English; or
- is exempt from the English language requirement because at the date of application:
- the applicant is aged 65 or over;
- the applicant has a disability (physical or mental condition) which prevents the applicant from meeting the requirement; or
- there are exceptional circumstances that prevent the applicant from being able to meet the requirements prior to entry to the UK.
Can I Re-Apply For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance After The Refusal?
If your application for spouse visa entry clearance is refused by the Home Office UKVI, you can re-apply for spouse visa entry clearance soon after the refusal decision if you do not want to challenge the refusal by way of an appeal or if you believe that the decision made by the Home Office UKVI is correct and the fresh application can address the concerns of the decision maker.
Can I Appeal Against the Refusal Of Spouse Visa Entry Clearance?
If your entry clearance application for a spouse visa has been refused and you believe that the reasons for refusal are unjustified and not in accordance with relevant laws and facts, you can file an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) within 28 days of the refusal decision. Our specialist team of immigration appeal lawyers can represent you in your entry clearance appeal against the refusal of your entry clearance application for a spouse visa.
How Can Our Spouse Visa Solicitors Help?
Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis in relation to your entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK. Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application for a spouse visa will cover all the work of our spouse visa solicitors on your entry clearance application until a decision is made by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on your application. The casework to be carried out by our spouse visa solicitors in relation to your entry clearance application for spouse visa UK will entail the following:
Advice on requirements: Our spouse visa solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you must meet for your entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK to succeed.
Advice on documents: Our spouse visa solicitors will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to submit with your entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK.
Assessment of documents: Our spouse visa solicitors will assess your documents to ensure that all the documents you provide in support of your entry clearance application for a spouse visa in the UK comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
Completing application form: Our spouse visa solicitors will complete the relevant application form for your entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK.
Submitting an application through Priority Service: Where possible, our spouse visa solicitors will submit your online entry clearance application through priority visa service to get a faster decision on your entry clearance application for spouse visa UK.
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your entry clearance application online, our spouse visa solicitors will book your appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist spouse visa solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the entry clearance application to explain all the relevant legal requirements have been satisfied for the approval of the entry clearance application for spouse visa UK.
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our spouse visa solicitors will upload all the supporting documents to be considered to support the entry clearance application for spouse visa UK.
Follow-up work: Our spouse visa solicitors will carry out all the follow-up work until a decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on the entry clearance application for spouse visa UK.
Why Choose Us For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance Application?
There are a number of reasons why you can choose our spouse visa solicitors and lawyers in London to handle your spouse visa entry clearance application. The main reasons include the following:
High-Quality Legal Services: Our team of the best spouse visa solicitors in London provides high-quality legal services for spouse visa entry clearance applications. The high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of immigration lawyers is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
Remote Legal Services: Our specialist spouse visa solicitors and lawyers can provide you with expert spouse visa advice and legal representations remotely from our offices in London. Using modern technology, our specialist spouse visa solicitors and lawyers can handle your spouse visa entry clearance application remotely without the need for you to visit our offices. Whilst we are more than happy to welcome clients into our offices, if this is their preference, we are proud to be able to offer our legal services for spouse visa entry clearance applications remotely to save your time and travel costs.
Open 7 Days A Week: We are open seven days a week and pride ourselves on providing dedicated spouse visa advice and legal representation.
All Work Carried Out By Qualified Specialist Immigration Solicitors: Our specialist team of fully qualified and experienced spouse visa solicitors, who have extensive experience dealing with spouse visa entry clearance applications, will carry out all the casework on your spouse visa entry clearance application.
Fast Track Visa Service: Our experienced and qualified spouse visa solicitors will be able to prepare and submit your spouse visa entry clearance application in the shortest possible time using the fast track process. Where possible, our spouse visa solicitors will submit your spouse visa entry clearance application through Priority Visa Service to get a faster decision on your spouse visa entry clearance application.
Free Immigration Advice Online: Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors and lawyers can provide one-off free immigration advice online through our website enquiry form.
Fixed Fees With Payment Plan: Our spouse visa solicitors and lawyers charge reasonable and affordable fixed fees for spouse visa entry clearance applications with the option to pay our fixed fee in two instalments whereby you pay half of the agreed fixed fee when we start our work on your spouse visa entry clearance application and the remaining half when we have fully prepared the spouse visa entry clearance application and it is ready for submission to the Home Office UKVI.
How Much Does Spouse Visa Entry Clearance Cost?
The costs associated with your entry clearance application when applying from outside the UK are outlined below:
Our Fixed Fees for Your Entry Clearance Application
Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application ranges from £1,000 to £1,500 (VAT not applicable). Our fixed fee will cover all our work on your application including advising on documents, checking your documents, completing the application form and submitting the application online, booking an appointment for biometrics enrolment, preparing a cover letter in support of the application, uploading all supporting documents to be considered in support of the application, and carrying out all other follow up work until decision by the Home Office UKVI on your application.
Our agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of your case and the volume of work involved in your application. You will make an initial payment of half our fee when we start working on your matter, and the remaining half is due once we have fully prepared the application and it is ready for submission.
Unable to afford the cost of the full service? You have the option to book an appointment online for our one-off immigration advice and consultation service for a fixed fee of £100 (VAT not applicable) or our immigration document checking service for a fixed fee of £300 (VAT not applicable).
UKVI Fees for Your Entry Clearance Application
In addition to our fixed fee for assisting you with your entry clearance application, you must also pay the Home Office UKVI fees for your UK visa entry clearance application. The UKVI fee for your UK visa entry clearance application is £1,846, and an additional charge of £3,105 for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Therefore, the total amount payable to the UKVI for the entry clearance application is £4,951.
Additionally, you can pay an additional fee of £500 for Priority Service to get a decision on your application within 30 working days.
What Are Our Other Spouse Visa-Related Services?
- Spouse Visa UK
- Switching Into Spouse Visa UK (5 Years Route)
- Switching Into Spouse Visa UK (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)
- Family Visa UK
- Entry Clearance Appeal Against Refusal Of Spouse Visa
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For Spouse Visa Entry Clearance
Following are the various frequently asked questions (FAQs) about an entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK:
Yes, you can apply for spouse visa entry clearance through Priority Visa Service, whereby a decision on your spouse visa entry clearance application will be made within 30 working days.
You will be granted an entry clearance vignette for 90 days to enter the UK. You will then collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BPR), which will show your spouse's visa, which is valid for 33 months.
Under Appendix FM-SE, decision-makers have the discretion to defer an application pending submission of missing evidence or the correct version within a reasonable deadline. Decision-makers will not have to defer if they do not think correcting the error or omission will lead to a grant.
Decision-makers can also grant an application despite minor evidential problems (but not where specified evidence is missing entirely). There is also discretion for decision-makers where evidence cannot be supplied because it is not issued in a particular country or has been permanently lost. Decision-makers have general discretion to request additional information or evidence before making a decision.
The documentary evidence to be submitted in support of the spouse visa entry clearance for the UK varies from case to case, depending on the personal circumstances of the applicant and the UK sponsor. Our fast-track spouse visa solicitors can provide you with a comprehensive list of supporting documents after fully assessing the personal circumstances of the applicant and the UK sponsor.
The processing time of the spouse visa entry clearance application is as follows:
Standard Service
An application under standard service is normally decided within 60 working days of the biometrics enrolment at the UK visa application centre.
Priority Service
An application under Priority Service is normally decided within 30 working days after biometrics enrolment at the UK visa application centre.
If your spouse visa entry clearance application is refused by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) of the Home Office UKVI. In that case, you will get a right of appeal to challenge the refusal of your spouse visa entry clearance application. You should file an appeal against spouse visa entry clearance refusal within 28 days of receiving the refusal decision.
An entry clearance application for a spouse visa UK will be refused mandatorily if any of the following paragraphs are applicable:
- The Secretary of State has personally directed that the exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good.
- The applicant is currently the subject of a deportation order.
- The exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good because they have:
- been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 4 years; or
- been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months but less than 4 years, unless a period of 10 years has passed since the end of the sentence; or
- been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of less than 12 months, unless a period of 5 years has passed since the end of the sentence.
- The exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good because, for example, the applicant’s conduct (including convictions which do not fall within paragraph S-EC.1.4.), character, associations, or other reasons, make it undesirable to grant them entry clearance.
- The applicant has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement to-
- attend an interview;
- provide information;
- provide physical data; or
- undergo a medical examination or provide a medical report.
- It is undesirable to grant entry clearance to the applicant for medical reasons.
- The applicant left or was removed from the UK as a condition of a caution issued in accordance with section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 less than 5 years prior to the date on which the application is decided.
- The Secretary of State considers that the applicant’s parent or parent’s partner poses a risk to the applicant. That person may be considered to pose a risk to the applicant if, for example, they -
- have a conviction as an adult, whether in the UK or overseas, for an offence against a child;
- are a registered sex offender and have failed to comply with any notification requirements; or
- are required to comply with a sexual risk order made under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and have failed to do so.
The applicant will normally be refused spouse visa entry clearance on grounds of suitability if any of the following paragraphs apply:
- Whether or not to the applicant’s knowledge-
- false information, representations or documents have been submitted in relation to the application (including false information submitted to any person to obtain a document used in support of the application); or
- there has been a failure to disclose material facts in relation to the application.
- A maintenance and accommodation undertaking has been requested or required under paragraph 35 of these Rules or otherwise and has not been provided.
- The exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good because:
- within the 12 months prior to the date on which the application is decided, the person has been convicted of or admitted an offence for which they received a non-custodial sentence or other out of court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record; or
- In the view of the Secretary of State:
- the person’s offending has caused serious harm; or
- the person is a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law.
- The applicant may be refused on grounds of suitability if the applicant has failed to pay litigation costs awarded to the Home Office.
- The applicant may be refused on grounds of suitability if one or more relevant NHS bodies has notified the Secretary of State that the applicant has failed to pay charges in accordance with the relevant NHS regulations on charges to overseas visitors and the outstanding charges have a total value of at least £500.