Table Of Contents
- What is a UK Unmarried Partner Visa
- Eligibility Requirements for a UK Unmarried Partner Visa
- Age and Relationship Requirement
- Your Partner’s Immigration Status Requirement
- Financial Requirement
- Adequate Accommodation Requirement
- English Language Requirements
- Supporting Documents Requirement Checklist for UK Unmarried Partner Visa
- Final Thoughts
The UK unmarried partner visa allows foreign nationals to join their unmarried partners who are either British citizens or have settled in the UK and live with them in the UK. Unmarried partners must be in a relationship similar to a marriage or a civil partnership for at least 2 years. You need to prove your relationship through various evidences. Unmarried partners can be of the same sex or opposite sex. The UK unmarried partner visa falls under the UK family visa route.
What is a UK Unmarried Partner Visa?
The UK unmarried partner visa is a part of the UK family visa route. If you are an overseas national and your unmarried partner is a British citizen or settled in the UK, you can apply for this visa in 2025 to join them in the UK.
Your partner may be outside the UK when you apply for a UK unmarried partner visa in 2025, but they must intend to return to the UK with you.
Your relationship must be similar to a marriage or civil partnership that is recognized in the UK for at least 2 years before the date of application.
You can apply for the visa from outside the UK or make an in-country application to switch to this visa if you are already in the UK on another valid visa (except a short-term visit visa and UK marriage visitor visa).
If your visa application is approved, you will be granted a leave of up to 30 months. You can also apply for an extension of your visa before your current leave expires to continue living with your partner in the UK.
Eligibility Requirements for a UK Unmarried Partner Visa
When you are applying for an unmarried partner visa in the UK, you are required to meet specific eligibility criteria designed to ensure that you and your partner are in a genuine and subsisting relationship. You also need to meet the financial requirement, accommodation in the UK requirement, and the knowledge of the English language requirement.
1. Age and Relationship Requirement
You and your UK partner must be at least 18 years old on the date of application. You must prove to the UKVI that your relationship is genuine and subsisting, which means you share a real emotional and practical bond, similar to that of a married couple or civil partner. Your relationship must be for at least 2 years before you apply.
Earlier, there was a requirement for the couple to have lived together for at least 2 years before applying for the visa, but that rule has been dropped from UK immigration law. However, the Home Office guidance still considers that if the couple has lived together for at least 2 years, this shows that their relationship is genuine and subsisting. However, if your study or job did not allow both of you to live together, you need to give proof of this to the Home Office.
Other relationship requirements include that you must have met in person. You must demonstrate that a face-to-face meeting resulted in mutual acquaintance.
You must prove your intention to live together permanently in the UK. This will require a clear commitment from both of you that you will live together permanently in the UK immediately after being granted your Unmarried Partner Visa or as soon as circumstances permit thereafter.
Any previous relationship you and/or your partner were in must have broken down permanently. This means if you and/or your unmarried UK partner were previously married or in a civil partnership, then you will generally need to prove that this marriage or civil partnership has ended.
2. Your Partner’s Immigration Status Requirement
Your UK partner must be one of the following:
- A British or Irish citizen,
- A person who has UK-settled status,
- A person who has pre-settled status under the EUSS,
- A person with a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa, and
- A person with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.
3. Financial Requirement
The minimum annual gross income required to meet the financial requirements for a UK unmarried partner visa is currently £29,000. A financial requirement is required to prove that you and your partner can support yourself and any dependent children (if any) in the UK without relying on public funds. There is no additional amount requirement for dependent children.
If you and/or your partner have a combined income that is less than £29,000, you can make up the deficit through your and/or your partner’s combined savings, which must be at least £16,000.
You can also meet the financial requirement through combined cash savings of at least £88,500. You don’t need to meet the financial requirement if your UK partner receives one of the following state benefits or entitlements:
- Disability Living Allowance; or
- Severe Disablement Allowance; or
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit; or
- Attendance Allowance; or
- Carer’s Allowance; or
- Police Injury Pension; or
- Child Disability Payment; or
- Adult Disability Payment
- Personal Independence Payment; or
- Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; or
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement, or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme.
4. Adequate Accommodation Requirement
You must prove that you and/or your partner will be able to house yourself, your UK unmarried partner, and dependent children (if any) without relying on public funds. The property must be exclusively owned or occupied by you and/or your partner, and it must not be overcrowded or contravene public health regulations.
5. English Language Requirements
Unless exempt, you must demonstrate your knowledge of English to at least CEFR level A1. You can prove this by taking and passing an approved English language test.
You can also meet the requirement if you have been taught or researched your graduate degree, master’s degree, or PhD in the UK. However, if you have earned your qualifications outside the UK, they must be equivalent to a UK graduate degree, master’s degree, or PhD, and have been taught in English to meet the English language requirement.
You can meet the Unmarried Partner Visa English language requirement if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country, such as the US, Australia, or New Zealand.
You can be exempt from meeting the English language requirement if one of the following is true, and you must prove it:
- You are aged over 65 when you apply;
- You have a mental or physical, or disability which prevents you from meeting the English language requirement;
- Due to exceptional circumstances, you cannot satisfy the English language requirement before entering the UK.
Supporting Documents Requirement Checklist for UK Unmarried Partner Visa
You are required to submit various documents in support of your UK unmarried partner visa application in 2025. A comprehensive set of supporting documents can significantly enhance your chances of visa approval.
Usually, you need to submit the following documents:
- Your passport or other travel document
- Proof of your partner’s UK status, such as their British passport
- Proof of your relationship, such as your photos at family gatherings, vacations, text and social media messages, or a covering letter. If children are also applying, you can submit their birth certificates to establish their relationship with you.
- Proof such as your partner’s payslips or bank statement to prove that you meet the minimum salary threshold.
- Proof of your knowledge of English.
- Proof, such as a tenancy agreement, to prove your accommodation in the UK.
- Details of any prior criminal convictions, if applicable.
- Details of the foreign countries you’ve lived in and visited.
Final Thoughts
The UK unmarried partner visa is for unmarried couples (of same-sex or opposite sex) to unite and live together in the UK. One person is a non-UK national, while their unmarried partner must be a British citizen or have settlement status in the UK. This is the immigration requirement for an unmarried partner visa.
You and your partner must have met in person, be in a genuine and subsisting relationship, and must have been in a relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership. Any previous marriage or civil partnership you and/or your partner were in must have broken down permanently. You also must intend to live together in the UK permanently after the visa.
You must meet the minimum annual income threshold of £29,000. This includes dependent children as well. There must be adequate accommodation for you, your partner, and your dependent children without recourse to public funds. Unless exempt, you will have to prove your knowledge of the English language requirement.
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