The UK spouse visa application is meant for the partners and spouses of British or Irish citizens or someone who already has the right to stay in the UK. This visa allows the partner or the spouse to stay in the UK along with the partner. However, there are certain restrictions associated as well. The visa is for a specific period only, and under certain circumstances, this time duration is not much. We will check out the restrictions associated with the UK spouse visa. And, along with that, we will also be going over the spouse visa requirements.
Stay In the UK With Your Partner: Spouse Visa Requirements
The spouse visa is the best way to shift to the UK if you have your partner already living there. There are a few basic requirements to be met if you wish to apply.
Eligibility of Your Spouse
You can apply for the spouse visa only if your spouse who is in the UK falls into one of the following categories:
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Your spouse is a British or Irish citizen
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Your spouse has indefinite leave to remain in the UK and is staying there for now
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Your spouse is protected in the UK under humanitarian protection and is staying in the UK
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Your spouse has settled status in the UK under the EU settlement scheme
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Your spouse has the permission to stay in the UK as a stateless person
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Your spouse holds either the Turkish Work Visa or the Turkish Businessperson Visa
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Your partner is from the EU, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland,
Check your spouse’s eligibility status first before filling up your spouse’s visa application.
Your Relationship Status
The spouse visa requirements require your relationship to be established. You will be able to apply for the spouse visa only when you meet one of the following conditions:
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You are legally married to your spouse and have a marriage certificate proving it
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You have been in a relationship and living together with your spouse for at least 2 years
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You have been in a relationship with your spouse for at least 2 years but not living together for work, study, or cultural reasons.
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You are the fiance, fiancee, or proposed civil partner and planning on getting married in the UK within the next 6 months.
Whichever is the case, you will need to provide sufficient evidence to support it.
Your Financial Eligibility
You will need to prove that you and your partner will be able to stay in the UK without any financial assistance. This means you two have a regular income. The minimum required annual income of you and your partner together needs to be £29,000.
This requirement will be reduced in case this application is for an extension of the spouse visa and you have originally applied with the same partner before 11th April 2024. In that case, the required minimum combined income of you and your partner should be £18,600 per annum.
Additional income will be needed in this case if you have kids. For the first child, additionally, the joint income should increase by £3,800 per annum, and for the second child onwards it should increase by £2,400 per annum per child. However, the upper limit is £29,000, and once the minimum requirement calculation exceeds this value, only showing a joint annual income of £29,000 will be enough.
There will not be any minimum income requirement for those whose spouse is already receiving disability or carer’s benefits.
Your Knowledge of English
You will be required to prove that you have a good knowledge of English. This is possible by getting a certificate on your English language skills from one of the recognized centers. Please check the list of accepted certificates so that your visa is not rejected.
Restrictions with UK Spouse Visa
While the spouse visa is the best option for partners to go to the UK and live with their spouse, there are few restrictions associated with it.
Restriction of Duration of Stay
The spouse visa will not permit you to stay indefinitely with your partner in the UK. This is not even the case if your partner is a citizen of the UK or an Irish citizen.
You will be given a spouse visa with a time limit. In case you are married or in a relationship for over 2 years with your partner, the spouse visa will be valid for 2 years and 9 months. Thereafter, if you wish to stay with your partner, you will need to get this visa extended.
If you are applying for this visa as a fiance, fiancee, or a proposed civil partner, then you will need to get married within the next 6 months in the UK. This is because your visa will have a validity of just 6 months in this case. Thereafter, you will be able to apply for an extension of the visa based on your married status.
For those who are renewing this visa or shifting to this visa, the validity of the visa will be 2 years and 6 months.
The spouse visa is not the same as an indefinite leave to remain in the UK. You will only be able to apply for the ILR after you have completed 5 years of stay in the UK. The calculation of 5 years will not include the 6 months that you spent in the UK as a fiance, fiancee, or proposed civil partner.
The UK spouse visa requirements need to be met as per the category under which you will be applying. So, make sure that you have gone over all the requirements before sending your application. Otherwise, your application will be rejected. Also, when you are trying to go for an extension or your spouse visa, or you are trying to switch to the spouse visa from any other type of visa, you will need to apply with time in hand. Do not wait for your current visa to expire. The spouse visa application processing time should be taken into account.