Spouse Visa Application Guide 2025

The UK spouse visa remains a challenging immigration route into the UK. In an effort to deter sham marriages and prevent non-genuine spouses from being able to come to the UK, the visa and evidentiary requirements for applicants are strict, which can be problematic even for genuine couples. The Home Office’s decision to grant a spouse visa is life-changing, particularly if a couple is having to live apart in different countries until and unless the spouse visa is granted. This makes it critical to getting the spouse visa application process right.

Failure to meet the visa requirements will see the application refused, the fee lost and the couple back to square one. It’s a scenario applicants are under pressure to avoid, making it paramount that applicants and their advisers compile the strongest possible application and supporting documents to avoid a refusal.

 

UK spouse visa requirements

 

To be eligible, the spouse visa applicant must be married to either a British citizen, someone with UK settled status such as indefinite leave to remain or have refugee status. Both spouses also have to be aged 18 or over.

In your spouse visa application, you will need to prove you meet the following criteria.

 

A genuine and subsisting relationship

 

Applicants have to show they are in a ‘genuine and subsisting’ relationship.

While the Home Office is specifically targeting sham marriages through this requirement, it is applied indiscriminately, placing significant evidential burden on all spouse visa applicants.

This means applicants have to provide more than just their marriage certificate to prove their relationship qualifies under the route.

In absence of any specific guidance from the Home Office on what evidence should be provided, applicants are advised to consider carefully the kind of proof that would support their case and remove any potential for objection or refusal.

It is no surprise then that the genuine and subsisting test is one of the more common grounds for spouse visa refusals.

The documentation to provide will depend on the couple’s circumstances, but in most cases should include, as a minimum:

 

• Evidence of joint financial and property commitments, such as a joint bank account, joint tenancy agreement, joint utility bills
• Photographs of the couple from as long ago as possible
• Communications between the couple such as emails, Facebook, text and WhatsApp messages, letters
• Birth certificate(s) of any children together
• Travel documents of holidays taken together and visits to each other’s home countries
• Proof of any gifts bought for each other
• Letters from friends and family confirming the relationship and supporting the application

 

Minimum income requirement

 

Unless exempt, applicants for a UK Spouse Visa must meet the minimum financial requirement set out under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

For new spouse visa applications made on or after 11 April 2024, the income threshold is a flat rate of £29,000 per year, regardless of whether the applicant is applying with dependent children. In these cases, no additional income is required for children, even if they are not British or Irish citizens, do not have settled or pre-settled status, or are not permanently resident in the UK.

However, different financial rules apply to those extending a spouse or partner visa granted before 11 April 2024. If you are applying to extend your stay with the same partner under the same route, the income threshold remains at £18,600. In such cases, the financial requirement does increase if you are applying with dependent children who are not British or Irish citizens or otherwise settled. You must show an additional £3,800 for the first child, and £2,400 for each additional child. If the total amount to be earned based on your children would be more than £29,000, you only need to prove you make £29,000 a year.

The financial requirement can be met through a combination of permitted income sources, including employment or self-employment earnings, non-employment income such as dividends or rental income, pension income, and certain state benefits or allowances where applicable. You can also rely on cash savings above £16,000, provided these have been held in a regulated financial institution for at least six months.

The type of documents you need to provide will depend on the income sources being used. Commonly required evidence includes:

 

• Six months of payslips (or twelve months where income is variable)
• Recent bank statements showing matching deposits
• A letter from the employer confirming job title, length of employment, and gross annual salary

 

Applications can be more complex where the applicant or sponsor is self-employed, relying on a mixture of income types, or has been on recent statutory leave such as maternity or paternity leave. In all cases, it is strongly recommended to ensure that all income is thoroughly documented and clearly evidenced in line with the Home Office’s requirements.

 

English language requirement

 

Spouse visa applicants have to demonstrate sufficient proficiency in speaking and listening in English. The required standard is level CEFR level A1 or A2. This requirement has to be evidenced by passing an English language test by a-UKVI approved provider at an approved test centre.

 

Intention to live in the UK

 

One of the key requirements of the spouse visa is that applicants intend to remain and live in the UK with their spouse on a permanent basis.

Proving this intention be challenging for couples, particularly if they have or are currently living overseas. In such cases, additional evidence will be needed in support, such as proof of a UK residence, a job offer and confirmation of school places.

Spouse visa applicants should also be aware that if they intend to apply for UK indefinite leave to remain after their second period of leave as a UK spouse visa holder, they will again need to show they have lived in the UK continuously for the qualifying period.

 

Other critical factors

 

Spouse visa applications demand full disclosure by the couple. This includes disclosing any previous marriages and any children from previous relationships.

The application should detail any past divorces and also conform who has parental responsibility of any children from a previous relationship. Where a parent does not have sole parental responsibility of a child, the Home Office is unlikely to approve a spouse visa application.

Compounding the stress and uncertainty is that even if successful, spouse visa holders are only granted leave for 2.5 years. They must apply for further leave to extend their visa before their current visa expires. After their second period of leave as a spouse, they may become eligible for settlement under indefinite leave to remain, and then in turn to apply to naturalise as a British citizen.

Spouse visa applications remain demanding on applicants, and it is only through comprehensive supporting evidence that a successful application will be granted.

 

How to make a spouse visa application

To apply for a UK spouse visa to join or accompany your partner in the UK, you will need to complete an online application form at GOV.UK and pay the relevant fee, together with any healthcare surcharge, although these fees can be quickly and easily paid for online.

The time it will take to complete the online application form will depend on how quickly you are able to answer the questions required of you, although it should take no more than one hour. Importantly, the application form will need to be completed in English. If you are inactive for 25 minutes when completing your application, you will be automatically logged out, but you will be able to save your application and come back to it another time.

To complete your application for a UK spouse visa, you will also be required to prove your identity, submit a number of documents in support and enrol your biometric information. Once you have completed and paid for your visa application, you will be directed back to the appropriate third party website to book an appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) so that your biometric data, ie; your fingerprints and photograph, can be enrolled.

As part of the application process, you will be required to attend an appointment at an overseas VAC operated by one of UKVI’s commercial partners. This is to provide your passport as proof of your identity and to enrol your biometric information. You must attend the VAC appointment in person, where you cannot send someone in your place.

You will be asked to schedule a VAC appointment when you apply. However, the availability of appointments can vary, depending on which country you are applying from. The length of the actual appointment itself can also vary, subject to how busy the VAC is on the day that you attend, although there may be various services that you can pay for to obtain the highest levels of ease and speed, ideal for busy working professionals. Some of the premium services available to help fast-track the VAC appointment process can include:

 

• walk-in appointments on specified days without the need to book in advance
• dedicated fast-track lanes to allow you to speed through the biometric enrolment process
• weekend or prime time appointments, allowing you to attend outside of normal working hours, where
• these exclusive opening hours will also allow you to beat the queues.

 

To ascertain what optional services are available, you should search the links on ‘Find a visa application centre’ at GOV.UK. By clicking on the link for your nearest location in your country of residence, and searching ‘Premium services’ on the relevant VAC website, you will be able to choose from various options to help speed up the appointment process.

You should also be able to pay to retain your passport while your visa application is being processed, only submitting your passport once a visa decision has been reached, where it can be useful to keep hold of your passport for travel or ID purposes. However, you must still bring your original passport to be scanned at your VAC appointment. Other paid passport services can include a courier service, to get your passport delivered directly to your home or office, as well as extended hours passport collection, allowing you to collect your passport outside of designated collection times. Finally, you may be able to pay for visa application tracking, where SMS updates will be sent to your mobile phone at key stages.

 

How much is a spouse visa application?

 

To apply for a UK Spouse visa, you’ll need to pay the visa application fee, and in most cases, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will also apply. These costs must be paid upfront as part of the application process.

The tables below provide a breakdown of the standard application fees and health surcharge amounts based on your length of stay and whether you’re applying from inside or outside the UK. Additional fees may apply if you choose to use optional priority services to receive a faster decision.

 

Spouse Visa Application Fees

 

Application Type	Apply Outside the UK	Apply Inside the UK
Joining a partner or spouse	£1,938	£1,321
Each dependant added to the application	£1,938 per person	£1,321 per person

 

Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)

 

Length of Stay	Adult (18 or over)	Child (under 18)
2 years and 6 months	£2,587.50	£1,940
2 years and 9 months	£3,105	£2,328
5 years	£5,175	£3,880

 

 

Priority Services

 

If you are applying from within the UK, you may be able to pay an extra £1,000 for the super priority service to receive a faster decision.

The super priority service is not available if you are applying as an adult dependent relative being cared for by a family member.

 

How long does a UK spouse visa application take?

 

Processing times for UK spouse visas vary by factors including Home Office caseload and the quality of the application – errors can result in delays. At the time of writing, current processing times are as follows:

 

 

Category	Processing time
Partner or spouse (meeting minimum income and English language requirements) – in the UK	up to 8 weeks
Partner or spouse (meeting minimum income and English language requirements) – outside the UK	up to 12 weeks
Partner or spouse – private life (minimum income and English language not required)	up to 12 months
Parent route	up to 12 months
Child route	up to 8 weeks

 

The processing time for a UK spouse visa will start once you have submitted your online application and attended a VAC appointment to enrol your biometric information. This is the point at which your completed visa application and supporting documentation will be transferred to UKVI for assessment. The processing time will end when you get an email or letter from UKVI containing the decision on your UK spouse visa application. This will explain what you need to do next including, for example, how to collect your biometric residence permit on arrival in the UK and the timeframe to do so.

If your application for a UK spouse visa is successful, you will be given a visa sticker, called a vignette, that goes inside your passport. The vignette will show the type of visa that you have been granted, the dates your visa is valid for and the conditions of your leave. When applying for a spouse visa from outside the UK, you should initially be granted permission to stay in the UK for 33 months, ie; 2 years and 9 months. However, you may be eligible to apply to extend this stay once you have lived in the UK under this route for the period granted, provided you are still in a relationship with your UK-based spouse or partner.

 

UK spouse visa application supporting documents

 

There are various documents that you will need to have ready before applying, although the exact nature of the documentation needed will depend on what you are required to prove.

 

Document	Description
Valid passport	The applicant’s current passport or travel document, with at least one blank page for the visa vignette.
UK partner’s passport	A copy of the British citizen or settled partner’s passport or proof of settled status.
Proof of relationship	Marriage or civil partnership certificate, and evidence showing the relationship is genuine and ongoing (e.g. photos, joint bills, correspondence).
Accommodation evidence	Documents confirming suitable accommodation in the UK, such as tenancy agreements, mortgage statements or property inspection reports.
Financial evidence	Payslips, bank statements, employment letters, or self-employment records showing the minimum income requirement is met.
English language evidence	Proof of meeting the English language requirement, such as a SELT test certificate or a UK-recognised qualification taught in English.
TB test certificate	Required if applying from a country where tuberculosis screening is mandatory (valid for 6 months).
Proof of immigration status	For applicants applying from within the UK, proof of current valid immigration leave (e.g. BRP or previous visa).
Children’s documents (if applicable)	Birth certificates, proof of sole or shared responsibility, and evidence of dependency for each child included in the application.

 

For example, if you are applying as the spouse or civil partner of someone living in the UK, you will need to provide your marriage or civil partnership certificate. You will also need to provide evidence that your relationship is genuine and subsisting, where this should include official documentation of having lived together at the same address and having maintained regular contact spanning any time that you have been living apart.

Equally, if you are applying as someone who has been in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership with someone now settled in the UK, you will need to provide proof that you have lived together as man and wife, or as civil partners, for a period of 2 years before applying. However, this 2-year period does not have to have been completed immediately preceding the date of your application, provided the relationship is genuine and subsisting.

There will also be various other documents that you will need to take the time to prepare before you apply for a UK spouse visa. In addition to providing proof of the relationship requirement, you must also be able to show that you meet both the financial and English language requirements necessary to qualify under this route. This could include evidence that you have a UK-degree or PhD, or a UK-equivalent degree taught or researched in English. You may also need to provide bank statements and payslips to show the income earned by your loved one in the UK, as well as proof of your own savings.

The time it will take to gather the necessary documents required in support of your application will very much depend on what you need to prove and what you already have in your possession. In some cases, you may first need to apply for copies of certain documents, such as copies of any joint mortgage statements or bank statements.

Submit your supporting documents

 

Having collated the necessary documentation in support of your application for a UK spouse visa, you will then have two options available to you for submitting your supporting evidence. You can either upload your documents as part of your online application or you can submit these at the same time as enrolling your biometric information.

If you wish to self-upload your supporting documents, you should refer to the document checklist you received as part of your online application, so you know which documents are needed, and follow the instructions on the document upload pages. You will be entirely responsible for uploading supporting documents for the correct category, so you must follow the document upload instructions carefully. If you do not have all your documents immediately to hand, you should be able to log back into your online account and continue to upload documents until the day before your scheduled biometrics appointment.

Alternatively, you can bring your supporting documents and pay for the document scanning assistance service, where your documentation will be scanned for you at your VAC appointment. This can be far easier and faster than doing this yourself. However, your documents should still be sized, sorted and separated according to any VAC ‘supporting documents guidelines’  to ensure swift processing. You can also pay to have any supporting documents translated into English, where required, although you will need to email these in advance of your appointment so that they will be ready by the time you attend.

Importantly, if you choose the self-upload service, you will have to organise and upload all your supporting evidence online before attending your VAC appointment. In these circumstances, you must also still attend your appointment with the following documents:

 

• a printed copy of your appointment confirmation email
• a printed receipt of payment for any premium services
• the first page of your visa application form
• a printout of your checklist from your completed application on GOV.UK, and
• a valid passport or other travel document, with at least one page blank on both sides.

 

Is premium processing available for UK spouse visas?

 

For an additional fee it is possible to pay for premium processing to fast-track a decision being made on an application for various different types of visa. Even though the priority service (to get a decision within 5 working days) and the super priority service (to get a decision within 24 hours) have been temporarily suspended for new family visa applications, the Home Office is aiming to reintroduce these services as soon as possible.

Importantly, even where premium processing is available when you apply, this does not necessarily guarantee a faster decision on your visa within the timescale provided, for example, if your application is not straightforward this may still result in delays. Equally, paying for premium processing does not mean an application is more likely to be successful.

 

Avoid delays when applying for a UK spouse visa

 

There are various reasons as to why an application for a UK spouse visa could be delayed. This could be where, for example, your application is not straightforward and you are required to attend an in-person interview before a decision can be made. It could also be where you have failed to provide all of the evidence that UKVI needs to make a decision on your application or where some of your documentation needs to be verified.

By seeking expert advice from an immigration specialist to assist with the application process, this can help to minimise the risk of complications. Ensuring that your visa application is free from mistakes and the right documentation is submitted in support will maximise the prospects of a successful outcome, without any unnecessary delays.

 

Need assistance?

 

DavidsonMorris are specialist UK immigration advisers, helping individuals understand the spouse visa requirements and to make their visa application. Once your spouse visa has been granted, it will last for 33 months, and you will need to apply to extend the visa if you wish to remain in the UK. After a second period with a spouse visa, you can become eligible for UK ILR.

If you have a question about your eligibility under the spouse visa requirements or about making your spouse visa application, contact us.

 

Spouse visa application FAQs

 

What is a UK Spouse Visa?

A UK Spouse Visa allows the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen or settled person to live in the UK. It falls under the family route in the Immigration Rules and can lead to settlement after five years if eligibility requirements are met.

 

What is the current financial requirement for a spouse visa?

For new applications submitted on or after 11 April 2024, the minimum income threshold is £29,000 per year. The requirement does not increase for dependent children under the new rules. However, if you are extending a spouse visa granted before that date, the threshold is £18,600, and additional income may be required for any dependent children.

 

Can savings be used to meet the financial requirement?

Yes, cash savings of over £16,000 can be used to meet or supplement the financial requirement. The savings must be held in a regulated financial institution and under the control of the applicant and/or their partner for at least six months before the application date.

 

How long is a UK spouse visa valid for?

If you apply from outside the UK, the visa is initially granted for 33 months. If you apply from inside the UK, it is usually granted for 30 months. You can apply to extend your visa before it expires.

 

When can I apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)?

You can usually apply for ILR after five years of continuous residence in the UK under the spouse visa route, provided you meet all the requirements, including the financial and English language criteria.

 

Do I need to pass an English language test?

Yes, most applicants need to show they meet the English language requirement by passing an approved test or having a recognised qualification. Exemptions apply in certain circumstances, including where the applicant is over 65 or has a disability preventing them from meeting this requirement.

 

Can I work in the UK on a spouse visa?

Yes, the UK spouse visa grants full permission to work and study in the UK without restriction.

 

What documents do I need for a spouse visa application?

Required documents typically include evidence of your relationship, financial documentation to show you meet the income requirement, proof of English language ability, and proof of suitable accommodation. The exact documents will depend on your circumstances.

 

How long does it take to process a spouse visa?

Standard processing times vary. For applications made inside the UK, decisions are usually issued within 8 weeks. For applications made outside the UK, decisions may take up to 12 weeks. Priority and super priority services are available in some cases for an additional fee.

 

What happens if my spouse visa application is refused?

If your application is refused, you will receive a refusal letter explaining the reasons. You may have the right to appeal or to reapply, depending on the circumstances of your case.

 

Glossary

 

 

Term	Definition
Appendix FM	The section of the UK Immigration Rules that sets out the requirements for family members, including partners, children and parents.
Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)	A physical card issued to some visa holders in the UK, showing identity details and immigration status. BRPs are being phased out by the end of 2024.
eVisa	A digital immigration status record that is replacing physical documents like BRPs from 2025 onwards.
Financial Requirement	The minimum income threshold an applicant must meet to be eligible for a spouse visa, unless exempt.
Fiancé(e) Visa	A visa that allows a person to come to the UK to get married or enter into a civil partnership within six months.
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)	Permission to live in the UK permanently without immigration restrictions, also known as settlement.
Priority Service	An optional paid service that speeds up the visa decision-making process, usually providing a decision within 5 working days.
Public Funds	Welfare benefits provided by the UK government. Most spouse visa holders are not entitled to access public funds.
Settlement	The process of obtaining ILR, allowing a person to live in the UK without time restrictions.
Spouse Visa	A visa for the partner of a British citizen or settled person to live in the UK. Also referred to as a partner visa under Appendix FM.
UKVI	UK Visas and Immigration, the division of the Home Office responsible for processing visa and immigration applications.
Vignette	A visa sticker placed in a passport when a visa is approved, used to enter the UK and collect a BRP after arrival.