What is a UK Spouse Visa?
A UK Spouse Visa allows partners of British Citizens or individuals who have a permanent residence to come and live with them in the UK. Some of the requirements include proving your marriage is genuine, English language requirements, meeting the financial criteria and having adequate accommodation for when your spouse arrives in the UK amongst others.
How long can I stay on a UK Spouse Visa?
A successful UK Spouse Visa application will grant an initial leave of 33 months in the UK. After the initial period, a further application for leave to remain in the UK will be required and will grant leave for a further 30 months.
After spending 5 years in the UK as the Spouse of a British citizen or settled person, you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain otherwise known as permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain.
What are the requirements of a UK Spouse Visa?
To qualify for a UK Spouse visa you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that you meet the following requirements:
- Your partner is British or holds Indefinite Leave to Remain status
- You are both over the age of 18
- You have met in person and are legally married
- Your relationship is genuine and you intend to live together permanently
- There is adequate accommodation for you and any dependents
- You speak and understand English to the required level
- Any previous relationships have broken down permanently
- You will be adequately maintained in the UK without recourse to public funds. You will need to demonstrate that your Spouse (or both of you jointly if you are in the UK with valid leave to remain) has a gross annual income of at least £18,600, plus £3,800 for a first child, plus £2,400 for each additional child (who is not British, settled or an EEA national)
How can I prove that I meet the UK Spouse Visa financial requirements?
There are a number of different ways to meet the UK Spouse visa financial requirement. Income can be shown from sources such as salaried and non-salaried income, self-employed income, salary and/or dividends from a company of which you are a Director, property rental income, dividends and income from investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds, pension income, insurance payments, maintenance payments.
Also, cash savings above £16,000 that have been held for at least six months, or savings held for less than 6 months if can demonstrate that they have come from the sale of property or investments.
English language requirements for partners
All partners, spouses, civil partners and fiancés must be able to prove that they can speak and understand the English language. As part of your application, you will need to provide evidence to show that you have passed an English language test from an approved test provider.
