Home
Services
Family Visas
Spouse and Partner Visa

Family Visas

Spouse and Partner Visa

Help for couples who want to live together in the UK.

You may be able to apply if your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner is British, Irish, settled in the UK or has another status the family rules recognise.

Start an enquiry Contact us about this

The main questions

Is your partner an eligible sponsor?
Is the relationship genuine and continuing?
Have you met in person?
Do you intend to live together in the UK?
Do you meet the financial requirement, or the adequate-maintenance test if an exception applies?
Is there suitable accommodation?
Do you meet the English-language requirement, or are you exempt?

Financial requirement

Most new partner applications need a combined income of at least £29,000 a year. If your first successful partner application was made before 11 April 2024, the earlier financial requirement can continue to apply when you extend. If your partner receives certain disability or carer's benefits, the income requirement is replaced by a test of whether you can be adequately maintained and accommodated without further public funds.

Income, savings and evidence rules are detailed. Do not assume that money in an account will automatically count. Figures change, so check the current position on GOV.UK before relying on them.

Relationship evidence

Useful evidence may include marriage or civil-partnership documents, proof of living together, communication, visits, shared finances and plans for life in the UK. The right evidence depends on your real history; there is no single perfect bundle.

After the decision

A successful applicant receives an eVisa rather than a vignette, and should check their UKVI account before travelling. The first grant is followed by an extension from inside the UK before settlement, so it is worth keeping evidence in order from the start.

When the rules are not met
If you cannot meet the financial, English or other requirements, or the application would rely on human-rights or exceptional-circumstances arguments, the matter is outside our Level 1 authorisation. We will explain this and signpost you to an appropriately authorised adviser.

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

Do unmarried partners have to show exactly two years of cohabitation?

The current rules focus on whether the relationship is similar to marriage or civil partnership and has normally existed for at least two years. Living together is important evidence, but there can be genuine reasons for living apart. Check the current guidance on GOV.UK for your circumstances.

Can I apply from inside the UK as a visitor?

Visitors are normally not allowed to switch into the partner route from inside the UK. An application that depends on an exception to that rule is not a straightforward Level 1 matter, and we would signpost you to an adviser authorised to deal with it.

Can you guarantee my partner visa will be granted?

No. UKVI makes the final decision and no adviser can guarantee it. We check your eligibility, help you prepare the application and documents carefully, and tell you plainly about anything that needs attention.

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 spouse and partner visa

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.