Unmarried Partner Visa

To gain permission to live in the UK with an unmarried partner:

You must have been in a committed relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years either within or outside the UK. Prior to 31 January 2024, this meant producing evidence of cohabitation for a 2 year period prior to the application. The changes introduced in January reflect the fact that it may not always be possible to produce evidence of cohabitation, for example, because of work, or because cohabitation outside of marriage is unlawful in that country, etc.

You must be able to produce independently verifiable evidence of the genuine and subsisting nature of the relationship which must have existed for at least 2 years and be similar in nature to marriage or civil partnership.

For those that have cohabited this can be done most easily through producing a selection of independent documentation, e.g. bank statements and utility bills addressed to you jointly or individually throughout the qualifying period.

The applicant’s unmarried partner (the sponsor) must be

- a British Citizen in the UK;

- present and settled in the UK, i.e. holding indefinite leave to remain;

- with EU Pre-settled Status; or

- in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection.

Both parties to the relationship must be aged 18 or over at the date of application and not be within the prohibited degree of relationship.

The applicant and their partner must have met in person.

They must intend to live permanently together in a relationship similar to marriage or a civil partnership.

The relationship must be subsisting.

Any previous relationship of the applicant or their partner must have broken down permanently.

The applicant must meet a specific financial requirement (read more below).

The couple must be able to accommodate themselves and any dependants adequately without additional recourse to public funds.

The applicant must demonstrate a minimum competence in the English language. This can be done either by being a citizen of a specified country, holding a degree level qualification that was taught in English, or by passing an approved English language test to level A1.

A successful application will lead to the issue of entry clearance (a visa) for 33 months (or a grant of leave to remain for 30 months if from within the UK). In the final month of your visa, you must apply to the Home Office to extend your stay for a further 30 months. Once you have completed a total of 60 months continuous lawful residence in the UK as an unmarried partner, you will become eligible for indefinite leave to remain (also known as settled status or permanent residence).

The criteria to be met for an extension of stay as an unmarried partner are the same as for the initial application with 1 notable exception; specifically, the applicant must pass a slightly harder Secure English Language Test at level A2. Evidence of cohabitation throughout the partner visa must be supplied as for an extension application.

This is one of the more complicated areas when applying for an unmarried partner visa. The Immigration Rules require the submission of specified evidence and derogations from the listed evidence will typically lead to a refusal. We set out below a summary of the main rules. Applicants must show that they meet certain minimum income or savings thresholds to qualify for the visa.

The annual income thresholds until 11 April are:

Applicant with no children: £18,600

First child: an additional £3,800*

Subsequent children: an additional £2,400 per child*

* Applies only to children that are dependants on the application and are not British citizens or already settled in the UK.

From 11 April 2024, the minimum earnings threshold will increase first to £29,000, then at a later unspecified date to £34,500, finally rising to £38,700 at some point in 2025. The additional increments for dependent children will be removed.

The sources of income which are acceptable are:

employment or self-employment of their sponsor;

employment or self-employment of the applicant if in the UK lawfully;

certain permitted sources other than employment, such as rent from property, music royalties, investment income, etc;

state or private pensions of the applicant or sponsor; or

maternity allowances or bereavement benefits received in the UK.

Shortfalls in income can be made up from savings in excess of £16,000. For example, if your income is £18,000, you will have a shortfall of £600. The amount of savings you would need to hold is £17,500 (i.e. £600 x 2.5 + £16,000).

If it is not possible to rely on your income, the amount of savings required rises to £62,500 until 11 April and £88,500 thereafter. Savings must be held in an account in your name, your partner’s name or your joint names for 6 months prior to the date of application.

Applicants will be exempt from these financial requirements if their UK sponsor receives a specified disability related benefit or carer’s allowance. In these circumstances, it is necessary to show that the couple and any dependants can maintain and accommodate themselves without additional recourse to public funds.

If you cannot meet the strict financial requirement, the Home Office must still consider your financial situation relative to the circumstances of the case. 

If you don’t meet the financial requirements under the Immigration Rules, you may still be able to apply for a visa or extend your permission to stay if:

you have a child in the UK who is a British citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK; or

there would be very significant difficulties for you and your partner if you lived together as a couple outside the UK that couldn’t be overcome; or

it would breach your human rights to stop you coming to the UK or to otherwise require you to leave the UK.

Applicants for an Unmarried Partner  visa must pay an Immigration Health Surcharge of £1035 per year in advance for each whole or part year of the visa.

Outside the UK

Applicants not presently in the UK must apply for an unmarried partner visa to enter the UK in the correct capacity. The application should be lodged at the nearest British overseas post authorised to deal with such matters. The process involves submission of an online application and original specified evidence, attendance at a biometric appointment and potentially an interview. Applicants from certain specified countries may be required to undertake a tuberculosis test.

Inside the UK

For those already in the UK, with the exception of visitors and others who hold a visa for less than 6 months duration, it is possible to apply direct to the Home Office via either standard or super priority routes. The process involves submission of an application with specified evidence and attendance at a biometric appointment.

Super priority applications are usually processed in 1 day. Standard applications vary but are typically resolved within 1-6 months.

Outside the UK

Standard - £1846

Priority - £500

Some (but not all) British visa application centres around the world offer a ‘Priority Settlement Service’. This is an additional cost service that will place your application at the front of the processing queue. Use of this service may speed up the processing time for your application, however, the Home Office do not guarantee a decision within a given timeframe.

Inside the UK

Standard application £1048 

Optional Super Priority Premium fee £1000

To qualify for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence) as an unmarried partner, an applicant must:

- have completed 5 years continuous lawful residence with an unmarried partner visa;

- the relationship must be subsisting and both parties must intend to live together permanently;

- continue to meet the financial and accommodation requirements;

- not have any unspent criminal convictions (including motoring offences) or civil judgements;

- have passed the Life in the UK Test;

- and demonstrate a higher level of competence in the English language. This can be done either by being a citizen of a specified country, holding a degree level qualification that was taught in English, or by passing an approved English language test to level B1.

Individuals in the UK who applied for a visa in a relationship category under the rules in place prior to 9 July 2012 will continue to be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain after 2 years provided:

- they have completed 2 years continuous lawful residence in the UK with an unmarried partner visa;

- their relationship is subsisting and both parties intend to live together permanently;

- they can demonstrate that they can support and accommodate themselves and any dependants without recourse to public funds;

- they do not have any unspent criminal convictions (including motoring offences) or civil judgements;

- have passed the Life in the UK Test; and

>- demonstrate an higher level of competence in the English language. This can be done either by being a citizen of a specified country, holding a degree level qualification that was taught in English, or by passing an approved English language test to level B1.

There are vanishingly few individuals that remain subject to these rules. They are typically required to extend because they engage the criminality provisions or have otherwise struggled with the Life in the UK Test and English language requirements.

Comprehensive legal advice.

Ensuring your application meets the legal requirements.

Assistance with compiling the complex evidence required for this category.

Completion and submission of all forms and evidence.

Booking a biometric appointment.

Ongoing liaison with the authorities where possible.

If you would like to discuss your application for an unmarried partner or same sex partner visa in more detail, please contact us on +44 (0)20 7038 3980, email us at info@rlegal.com or use our online enquiry form.