As a spouse or civil partner of a UK immigrant, you can apply for a UK Spouse Visa that entitles you to live in the UK for a period of more than six months. This visa allows you to stay in the UK for a period of 33 months.

A fiancé(e) or a proposed civil partner visa allows a stay of six months, within which you must either marry your partner or enter into a civil partnership. Once this happens, you can apply for an extension from within the UK.

Eligibility Criteria

You and your partner must meet the following eligibility criteria for spouse visa:

• Both, you and your spouse/partner must be minimum 18 years old.
• Your spouse/partner must either be a British citizen OR a UK permanent resident OR has indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK.
• You and your partner must intend to live together in the UK and be able to prove a genuine relationship.
• You must have adequate skills in speaking and listening to the English language. For this, you will need to take an approved language test.
• You and your spouse/partner must have a joint annual income of £18,600 when you have no dependents. Otherwise, you will need an additional annual income of £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for every subsequent child.
• You as the spouse/partner applying for a spouse visa must prove by taking a Tuberculosis (TB) test from an approved clinic in your country that you do not have Tuberculosis.

Documents Required

A valid passport with a minimum of one blank page for affixing visa.

• Marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate. The UK does not recognize traditional marriages without proper registration paperwork.

• If not married, you and your partner must be able to prove that you have lived together for a minimum of two years at the time of application.
• If you are a fiancé(e) or a proposed civil partner, you must be able to prove that you will marry or enter into a civil partnership within six months of coming to the UK with relevant documents.
• Previous marriages or civil partnerships must have ended legally.
• Proof of minimum income such as bank statements, pay slips for six months, a letter from your employer on the company letterhead with your or your spouse/partner’s employment details, including job position, duration of employment, permanent/fixed-term employment, income before tax, etc.

English Language

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level A1 in speaking and listening. You must take a secure English language test (SELT) for this purpose e.g. IELTS from an approved provider, within two years prior to submitting your application.

TB Test

A certificate of successful screening for Tuberculosis from a clinic in your country that has been approved by the Home Office.

Processing Time

UK spouse visa application forms are completed and submitted online. Applicants need to smartly complete the forms, as they are extensive and all questions must be answered truthfully. Applicants should be diligently complete the forms. The processing time for a UK spouse visa is 12 weeks. The processing times can increase if more extensive paperwork is required in a complex case.

Fee & Surcharges

The application fee for a UK spouse visa is £1523. There is a health surcharge of £400 for every year of the proposed stay in the UK. There is not separate biometric fee for overseas applicants.

Dependents

You will need to submit a separate application for each dependent and pay separate fees as well.

Issues And Challenges

The process of navigating the visa applications can be daunting. The most common challenges faced by applicants are:

• Inability to prove a genuine relationship, especially for those not formalised yet (a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner)
• Inability to show the minimum required funds
• Inadequate English language skills in speaking and listening
• Criminal background
• An adverse immigration application history
• Negative medical report

We Are Here To Help

Qualified Immigration Assistance

You can obtain information at https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse. Our Immigration lawyers can assist with all types of issues as listed above. We at IMB Immigration Law have helped many clients who had their UK spouse visa refused.

Contact us at IMB Immigration Law today. Visit out website at www.imbimmigrationlaw.com. Write to us at info@imbimmigrationlaw.com to get personalized advice.