Spouse & Civil Partner Visa

The partner route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules allows a husband, wife or civil partner to live in the UK with a partner who is British, settled or has another qualifying status. It can be used to come to the UK from abroad, or to switch or extend from inside the UK where the rules allow, and it is a route to settlement.

Partner applications are evidence-heavy. Many problems come from missing or wrongly formatted financial documents rather than from a couple being ineligible.

Who can sponsor a partner

Your partner (the sponsor) must generally be one of the following:

• A British citizen in the UK.
• Present and settled in the UK, for example with indefinite leave to remain, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or permanent residence.
• In the UK with refugee status or humanitarian protection.
• A person with pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme who started living in the UK before 1 January 2021.
• In some other limited categories, such as a Turkish ECAA worker or businessperson, or a stateless person with permission.

Since 3 August 2026, where the sponsor holds 30 months' protection permission, the partner's permission usually ends on the same date as the sponsor's.

Key requirements

• Relationship: you are both aged 18 or over, have met in person, are validly married or in a civil partnership, and are in a genuine and subsisting relationship, intending to live together permanently in the UK. Any previous marriage or civil partnership must have ended.
• Financial requirement: since 11 April 2024, a minimum gross income of £29,000 a year, counting the income of both partners. There is no extra amount for children under this threshold.
• English language: A1 in speaking and listening for the first application, unless an exemption applies (for example a degree taught in English, nationality of a majority English-speaking country, being aged 65 or over, or disability).
• Accommodation: adequate accommodation that the family owns or occupies exclusively, which is not overcrowded, without recourse to public funds.

The financial requirement in more detail

Income can come from a range of sources, including employment, self-employment, pensions and certain other income, and each has its own evidence rules. Cash savings can be used on their own or combined with income: you need £16,000 plus two and a half times the shortfall between your income and £29,000.

Transitional rule: if you were first granted permission as a partner or fiancé(e) under an application made before 11 April 2024 and you are extending with the same partner, the lower threshold of £18,600 (plus amounts for any children) still applies.

Exemption: if your sponsor receives certain disability or carer's benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Carer's Allowance or Attendance Allowance (or the Scottish equivalents), you do not need to meet the income threshold. Instead, you must show that you can be adequately maintained without further public funds.

If the financial requirement cannot be met, an application may still succeed where refusal would breach the right to family life, but that leads to the longer 10-year route described below.

Documents and evidence commonly needed

• Passports and your marriage or civil partnership certificate.
• Evidence of the sponsor's status.
• Payslips, bank statements, employer letters, tax returns or accounts, in the specified format and covering the required period.
• An approved English language test certificate or evidence of an exemption.
• Relationship evidence, such as photographs, correspondence and evidence of time spent together.
• A tenancy agreement or property documents for the accommodation.

How long you can stay and settlement

From outside the UK, permission is usually granted for up to 2 years and 9 months. If you switch or extend inside the UK, it is usually granted for up to 2 years and 6 months. After 5 years on the partner route you can normally apply for indefinite leave to remain. People who were granted permission because refusal would breach their human rights, for example because they did not meet the income requirement, are usually on a 10-year route to settlement instead.

The English requirement rises over time: A1 at entry, A2 at your first extension, and currently B1 speaking and listening (plus the Life in the UK test) when you apply for settlement.

You can work and study on this visa, but you cannot claim most public funds.

Fees

The Home Office fee is currently £2,064 per person from outside the UK and £1,407 from inside the UK. The Immigration Health Surcharge is payable in addition. Applications from outside the UK are usually decided within 12 weeks.

Recent and upcoming changes

• From 26 March 2027: the English requirement for settlement is set to rise from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after that date. Couples who plan to settle after that date should plan their English testing early.
• Earned settlement (proposal only): the government has consulted on making 10 years the standard qualifying period for settlement. This has not been implemented, and the consultation states that partners of British citizens would keep a 5-year route. The position for partners of other sponsors has not yet been confirmed.
• Financial requirement: the Migration Advisory Committee reviewed the family income threshold in 2025. At the time of writing, no change to the £29,000 figure has been announced.

How Stonebridge can help

We check whether your sponsor qualifies and which financial category fits your circumstances, review your documents against the specified evidence rules, advise on English exemptions, prepare the application and representations, and deal with the Home Office for you. Where the income requirement cannot be met, we advise on whether an exceptional circumstances application is realistic.

To discuss your situation with an adviser, book a consultation.