Fiancé and Marriage Routes

Planning to marry or form a civil partnership in the UK.

For couples deciding between coming to the UK to marry and stay, and coming to marry and then leave.

Fiancé or proposed civil partner route

This route is for a person coming to the UK to marry or form a civil partnership with an eligible partner and then apply from inside the UK to stay as a partner. Work is not allowed during the fiancé stage.

Marriage Visitor route

This route is for a person who wants to marry, form a civil partnership or give notice in the UK and then leave. It is not a route to settlement and cannot be switched into a partner visa from inside the UK.

What we will check

Your genuine intention to marry or form a civil partnership.
The immigration status of the UK-based partner.
The venue, notice and ceremony plans.
Financial and accommodation requirements where the fiancé route applies.
Previous marriages or relationships.
Whether the visitor route or the fiancé route matches your real plan.

How WLIS can help

1 We check that the route suits your plans and that the matter is a straightforward one within our IAA Level 1 authorisation.
2 We review your eligibility and your documents, and explain plainly anything that needs attention.
3 We give you a document checklist written for your circumstances rather than a generic one.
4 We prepare the application form and supporting documents, and you check and approve the final information before anything is submitted.
5 We help with submission, biometrics or identity steps, and your eVisa and UKVI account after the decision.

What we can and cannot help with

We provide advice and application assistance for straightforward immigration matters within our IAA Level 1 Immigration authorisation. Where a matter falls outside that authorisation — for example because it involves adverse immigration history, a discretionary or human-rights claim, an administrative review, an appeal or tribunal work — we will tell you and signpost or refer you to an adviser authorised at the appropriate level.

If an application is refused, we will explain the decision and whether any further work remains within our Level 1 authorisation. Where an administrative review, an appeal or other higher-level casework is needed, we will signpost or refer you to an appropriately authorised adviser. We do not provide appeal or tribunal representation.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) makes the final decision on every application. No immigration adviser can guarantee that an application will be approved.

Our IAA regulation How we work Fees

Questions clients often ask

What is the difference between a fiance visa and a marriage visitor visa?

The fiance or proposed civil partner route is for couples who intend to marry in the UK and then stay, switching into the partner route after the ceremony. The marriage visitor route is for couples who will marry in the UK and then leave. They are not interchangeable: a marriage visitor cannot switch into the partner route from inside the UK.

Can I work on a fiance visa?

No. Permission on the fiance or proposed civil partner route is granted for a limited period to allow the marriage to take place, and it does not allow work. The right to work usually follows the switch into the partner route after the ceremony, once that application has been granted.

Do we need to have booked the wedding before we apply?

You need to show a genuine intention to marry within the period of permission, and a booked venue, a notice of marriage appointment or correspondence with the registrar all help to show it. A firm date is not always essential, but a vague plan with nothing behind it is a common problem.

Official sources we check

We check what we publish against the Home Office's own guidance. These are the GOV.UK pages behind the advice on this site — use them to confirm anything you read here, because the rules change and the official page is always the current one.

GOV.UK content is published by the UK government and is not part of this website.

Talk to us about fiancé and marriage routes

Tell us what you want to apply for, the status you hold now and when your current permission ends. We will confirm whether the matter is within our Level 1 authorisation and offer a suitable appointment.

Start an enquiry See how we work

The enquiry button opens the secure WLIS enquiry form on enquiry.wlisuk.com in a new tab. Please do not send identity documents until we ask for them.