Unmarried Partner Visa

What is an Unmarried Partner Visa?

A UK Unmarried Partner visa enables a long-term partner of a British or Irish citizen, a person who is settled in the UK, a person with pre-settled status who was living in the UK before 1 January 2021, a person with a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa, a person with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to live with their unmarried partner in the UK.

What Are the Key Eligibility Requirements for an Unmarried Partner Visa?

In order to successfully apply for an Unmarried Partner visa, an applicant must meet the following key requirements:

• Your partner must be either:
  • a British Citizen or Irish citizen
  • a person settled in the UK
  • a person with pre-settled status
  • have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa
  • have refugee status or humanitarian protection status
• Both the applicant and their unmarried partner must be at least 18 years of age;
• Must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship;
• Must have lived together in a relationship akin to a marriage for at least 2 consecutive years with their unmarried partner;
• Must meet the financial requirement;
• Must have adequate accommodation available in the UK;
• Must have adequate accommodation available in the UK;
• May need to provide a tuberculosis (TB) certificate depending on which country the applicant resides in.

The financial requirement is also known as the minimum income requirement and is often the most complex requirement to meet. The onus is on applicants to provide mandatory documents required by the Immigration Rules to demonstrate that the Rules have strictly been met.

Unless exempt (discussed below), you will need to demonstrate that your partner has a minimum income of £18,600. If however your application includes the sponsorship of children, an additional income of £3,800 is required for a first child and an additional £2,400 for each further child.

Where the applicant has to meet the minimum income requirement, the financial requirement can generally be met in the following 5 ways:

• Income from salaried or non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work);
• Non-employment income, for example, income from property rental or dividends from shares;
• Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control;
• State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant;
• Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work).

Exemption to the minimum income requirement

If an applicant’s unmarried partner is in receipt of certain state benefits or allowances in the UK, an applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement by providing evidence of ‘adequate maintenance’ rather than meeting an income threshold.

How Long is an Unmarried Partner Visa Valid?

A Unmarried Partner visa is initially granted for either 33 months (2 years and 9 months) or 30 months (2 years and 6 months). The length of the visa depends on where an applicant is applying from. An applicant applying from outside the UK will be granted leave to enter the UK for 33 months. An applicant who is applying from within the UK will be granted leave to remain for 30 months.

Can an Unmarried Partner Visa be Extended

Before the expiry of an Unmarried partner visa, an applicant must apply to the Home Office to extend their stay in the UK. If the extension application is approved, then the applicant will be granted permission to stay in the UK for a further 30 months.

In order to successfully apply for an extension of leave in the UK, an applicant will need to demonstrate, in addition to the above requirements, that:

• The applicant and their partner remain in a genuine and subsisting relationship;
The applicant meets the financial requirement;
• The applicant meets the English language requirement for an extension of leave.

Does an Unmarried Partner Visa Lead to Settlement?

Once an applicant has held an Unmarried Partner visa for 5 years, an applicant will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. This gives settled status in the UK, also known as ‘settlement’. It gives the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as an applicant wishes to do so and apply for benefits if eligible.

In order to successfully apply for indefinite to remain an applicant will need to demonstrate, in addition to the above requirements, that:

• The applicant has spent a continuous period of 5 years living in the UK on their Unmarried Partner visa with their partner;
• The applicant must have passed the Life in the UK Test (unless exempt);
• The applicant meets the English language requirement for indefinite leave to remain.

Will an Applicant be Eligible for British Citizenship?

Once an applicant has held indefinite leave to remain in the UK for 12 months, an applicant may be eligible to apply for British Citizenship. If however an applicant is married to a British Citizen, an applicant will not need to wait 12 months and may be eligible to apply immediately for British Citizenship by naturalisation after obtaining indefinite leave to remain.

How Long Does it Take for a Decision to be Made?

The Home Office service standard for deciding an Unmarried partner visa application submitted outside the UK is 12 weeks (3 months), however they are currently advising that applicants should get a decision within 24 weeks (6 months).

If an applicant switches to this visa or wants to extend their Unmarried Partner visa from within the UK, a decision should be made within 8 weeks.

If eligible, applicants will be advised whether they can apply to get a decision faster. The Home Office charge additional fees for these priority services.

How Much Does it Cost?

The Home Office fee for a Spouse/Partner visa application made outside of the UK is £1,538. If an application is made within the UK to switch to a Spouse/Partner visa or extend a Spouse/Partner visa, the Home Office fee is £1,048. The fees for each dependant added to an application is the same.

Applicants will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. For applications which are made outside of the UK the Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,872 for each adult (18 or older) or £1,410 for each child (under 18). If the application is made within the UK, for each adult (18 or older) it costs £1,560 or £1,175 for each child (under 18).

How We Can Help You

Our highly experienced team will provide expert advice and guidance to you throughout your immigration journey.

If you have any questions, please complete our online enquiry form or email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can call us on 01724 701111 and one of our experts will be happy to assist you.