UK Partner Visa Information

Author: Zahid Alam

UK Partner Visa is for Spouse, Civil Partner, unmarried Partner, same-sex partner of British Citizen present and settled in UK. However, there are certain rules and regulations that you need to follow and criteria that you need to meet, before you can be granted a UK Partner visa.

What is UK Spouse Visa?

UK Partner visa allows Partners of British National to come and join them in the UK as family member. Once the visa has been granted, it allows the individual to work or study in the UK.

Relationship Requirements for a Partner Visa

To be eligible for a UK Partner visa, the following are major requirements need to be satisfied:

  • Both the partners must be 18 years old or above.
  • Both the partners must have met each other.
  • The applicant and their partner must not be within the prohibited degree of relationship.
  • The relationship between the applicant and their partner must be genuine and subsisting.
  • If the applicant and partner are married or in a civil partnership it must be a valid marriage or civil partnership. If the applicant is a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner they must be seeking entry to the UK to enable their marriage or civil partnership to take place.
  • Any previous relationship of the applicant or their partner must have broken down permanently.
  • Both partners must have the intent to live together permanently.

Other Requirements for a Partner Visa

The Following are the other requirements which are very complex and all cannot be explained in this article but they are as under:

  • Suitability.
  • The sponsoring partner should earn more than £18,600 per year or have enough financial savings to be able to sponsor the spouse. The minimum financial requirement goes up if one also sponsors dependent children.
  • One needs to have adequate accommodation for oneself, spouse and dependants if any.
  • One needs to meet the English language criteria.

Visa Application and Validity

You can apply for a Partner visa from within the United Kingdom or from your home country. If you are already in the UK on a work visa or student visa which is valid for more than six months, you may be able to switch it to a Partner visa. The average time taken to process a Partner visa application ranges between two to six months from the date the application is submitted. Processing times may also differ depending on the country in which the application has been made. If applying from overseas, to begin with, a spouse visa is issued for duration of 33 months. If one is applying from within the United Kingdom, a spouse visa is issued for a period of 30 months. For more details, please visit our official website http://www.immigrationadvicebureau.org.