Getting a marriage visa
Visa processing for a marriage visa usually takes around 3-5 months. If you are a permanent resident, you must wait for a visa to become available for your spouse, based on their priority date. This can vary depending on the spouse’s home country, but the typical time is around 24 months. To get this all started and underway, this tends to begin and start from simply having a valid passport and Birth Certificate.
You need to be earning a certain amount, or have enough savings, in order to bring your partner to the UK to live. This is called ‘meeting the financial requirement’. You don’t need to meet the financial requirement if you have refugee status or humanitarian protection. If you do need to meet the financial requirement, you’ll need to prove that you earn a minimum annual income (before tax). The amount depends on who you’re applying for.
It depends on how much you earn
If you’re just bringing your partner and no children, you’ll need an income of at least £18,600 per year before tax. If your partner is bringing children with them, you’ll need to earn an extra £3,800 for the first child, and an extra £2,400 for each child after that. You don’t have to earn these extra amounts if you’re bringing children who are British or children who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. If you’re bringing children and your partner is already in the UK, you’ll still need to show your income is £18,600 plus the extra amounts for your children.
If your income is less than you need, you can use cash savings to meet the financial requirement. You’ll need £16,000 plus £2.50 for every £1 your income is below the financial requirement. The savings must have been in your name for 6 months or more.
Apply for this type of visa from abroad
If your partner is applying from abroad, their savings can count towards the financial requirement but their earnings won’t. Another time is if your partner is currently working in the UK, their earnings will count too. If you’re applying for a fiancé(e) visa your partner won’t be able to work in the UK.
In the case of making the application on behalf of your fiancé
Their visa will last for 6 months – they must marry you or become your civil partner before this ends if they want to stay in the UK. They can then apply as your partner for leave to remain for 2 years and 6 months. At the end of this, they can extend it again for the same length of time. If they meet the requirements of these visas, they can apply to settle in the UK after a total of 5 years. This is for sure a key item of small print to bear in mind.
Filling out the forms
You can fill in the legal application form for your partner – you must do this online using the links above. The visa application has to be in their name, not yours. The online application system doesn’t list the visas by name. You will have to answer some questions to find the visa you need. There’s an option to “apply for someone else” on the online form. As part of the application process, they must have their biometrics taken (fingerprints and photograph). Check where their nearest visa application centre is before you apply, because it might be in a different country.
Proving the right information to show that your relationship is genuine
You’ll need to provide evidence that you’re in a genuine and continuing relationship. For example, this could include documents that show that you:
- have lived together
- have children together
- shared a bank account or savings
- spend time together and are in frequent contact
Making the application
Your partner will have to apply for a family marriage visa online and then they’ll need to make an appointment at a visa application centre. Your partner will then have to submit all their documents and evidence for their application to be processed. The exact visa your partner needs will depend on your circumstances.
What happens should your application be accepted
Your partner will get a permit that allows them to come to the UK during a 30-day period. Once they arrive they’ll have to pick up a biometric residence permit (BRP) within 10 days. They’ll get a letter that tells them where to collect the BRP. It’s important that they collect it within 10 days. They might be fined or have their visa cancelled if they don’t. If your partner doesn’t arrive in the UK within the 30-day period they’ll need to apply for another 30-day entry permit. They’ll have to pay a fee for this.
Can you extend a spouse visa?
You can apply for an extension for an additional 30 months which can take your total time in the UK on this visa up to five years. At this point you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) provided you are still married and living in the UK with your spouse and continue to meet the maintenance requirements. After you have been granted ILR you may be eligible to apply for naturalisation as British citizen. When you get to this stage, you can also be sure that a lot of the process will also be complete.
If your partner arrives on a fiancé(e) visa
It’s best if they don’t leave the UK until you’ve got married or entered a civil partnership. If they leave and re-enter, they’ll need to get a new entry clearance and there’s always a chance it could be rejected. If your marriage or civil partnership can’t happen during their 6 month visa, you can apply for an extension. You’ll have to explain why the ceremony hasn’t happened yet and give evidence to prove it’ll happen soon. You should get help from an immigration specialist with this. If you hire in the right immigration lawyer, this should in turn then become a very easy process and you should be able to get this all complete in a great overall timeframe.
