The UK Spouse Visa is for married partners of British or Irish citizens, persons who are settled in the UK, persons with pre-settled status, persons with a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa and persons with refugee status or humanitarian protection who wish to join, or stay with, their husband or wife in the UK.  You can also apply for a UK Spouse Visa if your Spouse is outside the UK, but is intending to return to the UK with you.

The UK Spouse Visa can lead to indefinite leave to remain or settlement in the UK after a period of 5 years.  

UK Spouse Visa Requirements

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that you meet the following requirements:

• Your partner is British or Irish, is settled in the UK, has been granted pre-settled status, holds a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa or has refugee status or humanitarian protection;
• You and your partner are both over the age of 18;
• You and your partner are not within a prohibited degree of relationship;
• You and your partner have met in person;
• You and your partner are legally married in a marriage that is recognised in the UK;
• Your relationship is genuine and subsisting;
• You and your partner intend to live together permanently in the UK;
• Any previous relationship has broken down permanently;
• You satisfy a financial requirement;
• There is adequate accommodation for you and any dependents;
• You speak and understand English to a required level.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy in order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa may vary depending on your personal circumstances.  You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice. 

Status of

Sponsoring Partner

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, your partner must either:

• Be a British or Irish citizen in the UK; or
• Have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or permanent residence in the UK; or
• Have pre-settled status under Appendix EU; or
• Have limited leave to remain as a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker under Appendix ECAA; or
• Have refugee leave or humanitarian protection status in the UK;

A British Citizen in the UK includes a British Citizen who is coming to the UK with you as your partner.  A person with indefinite leave to remain in the UK includes a person who is being admitted for settlement on the same occasion as you.

Minimum Age for a Spouse Visa

You and your partner must both be over the age of 18 on the date when you submit your Spouse Visa application.

UK Spouse Visa Relationship Requirement 

The UK Spouse Visa relationship requirement has various elements to it:

• You and your partner must not be within a prohibited degree of relationship;
• You and your partner must have met in person;
• You and your partner must be legally married;
• Your relationship must be genuine and subsisting;
• You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK;
• Any previous relationship must have broken down permanently.

Prohibited Degree of Relationship Requirement

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, you and your spouse must not be within a prohibited degree of relationship as defined in the Marriage Act 1949 and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986.  

This means that you and your spouse must not be related in any of the following ways:

• Adoptive child
• Adoptive parent
• Child
• Former adoptive child
• Former adoptive parent
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Parent
• Parent’s sibling
• Sibling
• Sibling’s child

In this list ‘sibling’ means a brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister.

A marriage between a person and any person in the following list will not qualify for a spouse visa until both parties are aged 21 or over, and provided that the younger party has not at any time before attaining the age of 18 been a child of the family in relation to the other party:

• Child of former civil partner
• Child of former spouse
• Former civil partner of grandparent
• Former civil partner of parent
• Former spouse of grandparent
• Former spouse of parent
• Grandchild of former civil partner
• Grandchild of former spouse

Requirement to Have Met in Person

You and your spouse must have met in person. The requirement to have ‘met’ means that you must be able to demonstrate a face-to-face meeting which resulted in the making of a mutual acquaintance. Simply coming face-to-face followed by telephone or written contact would not satisfy the requirements for a UK Spouse Visa.

Requirement for Marriage to Be Recognised in the UK

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa, you and your partner will need to be legally married in a marriage that is recognised in the UK. 

Marriage in the UK

To be recognised as valid, all marriages which take place in the UK must be monogamous and must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act 1949 (as amended), the Marriage Act (Scotland) 1977 or the Marriage Order (Northern Ireland) 2003.   

This means that any required notice of intention to marry must have been given, you must have been married at an authorised place of marriage and your marriage must have been conducted by, or in the presence of, a person authorised to register marriages.  You and your spouse must also both have been at least 18 years old (in England and Wales) or 16 years old (in Scotland and Northern Ireland) on the date when you married in order for your marriage to be recognised as valid.

A marriage in the UK must be evidenced by a marriage certificate.

Marriage outside the UK

An overseas will be recognised in the UK if:

• The type of marriage is recognised in the country in which it took place; 
• The marriage was properly conducted to satisfy the requirements of the law of the country in which it took place; 
• There is nothing in the laws of either person’s country of domicile at the time of the marriage which prevented the marriage being recognised; and 
• Any previous marriages of the couple had broken down permanently.

A marriage outside the UK must be evidenced by a reasonable equivalent to a marriage certificate, valid under the law in force in the relevant country.

Genuine and Subsisting Relationship Requirement

In order to qualify for a UK Spouse Visa you will need to provide the Home Office with evidence that your relationship with your partner is a genuine relationship.

Decisions on whether a relationship is genuine and subsisting are made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all available evidence and individual circumstances.