FAMILY VISAS
To apply as a partner;
• You and your partner both need to be 18 or over
• You must intend to live together permanently in the UK
Your partner must also either:
• Be a British or Irish citizen
• Have settled in the UK (they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or proof of permanent residence)
• Be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status (they must have started living in the UK before 1 January 2021)
• Have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
• Have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK
You must be able to prove one of the following:
• You’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK
• You’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
• You are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving
(If your wedding or civil ceremony has been delayed because of coronavirus, you might still be able to request an extension or apply to extend your stay)
You also need to prove you:
• Have a good knowledge of English (at least level A1 for your first visa application)
• Can financially support yourself and your dependants
Prove your income
You and your partner must have a combined income of at least £18,600. If you have children, you must have an additional income of £3,800 for your first child and £2,400 for each child thereafter. You can use your savings instead of income.
Applying with your children
You can add children to your application as dependants if both of the following apply:
• They are under 18 when you apply, or were under 18 when they were first granted leave
• They do not live an independent life (your child is living an independent life if, for example, they’ve left home, got married and had children)
How long you can stay
You can stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months on this visa. If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, you can stay for 6 months. After this you’ll need to apply to extend your stay. If you extend your family visa or switch to this visa you can stay in the UK for 2 years and 6 months.
When you can settle permanently
The earliest you can apply to settle in the UK (called ‘indefinite leave to remain’) is after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years continuously on a family visa as a partner. You cannot include time you’ve spent in the UK on any other visa including fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner visas (The rules are different if you applied before 9 July 2012)