Spouse Visa UK Application – Requirements & Eligibility

Table Of Content

1. Requirements And Eligibility
2. Financial Requirements
3. How Can You Meet The Income Requirement?
4. Exemption

UK spouse visa is a route that allows married foreign partners of a British citizen or one with settled status such as ILR to come or join (if the applicant is already in the UK) and live with their partner in the UK. Spouse visa UK application is a visa route under the UK family visa category. This is also a route to settlement in the UK after continuously living for 5 years in the UK.

Requirements And Eligibility

If you want your spouse visa UK application to be successful, you and your partner must meet certain requirements.

1. You and your partner must be 18 or over.

Your partner must be one of the following:

• A British or Irish citizen
• Have settled status allowing them to live and work in the UK without any time restriction such as Indefinite Leave to Remain or proof of permanent residence
• From the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein have been granted pre-settled status.
• Have a Turkish Businessperson Visa or Turkish worker visa.
• Have acquired a refugee status or permission to stay with humanitarian protection.
• Staying in the UK as a stateless person with valid permission

2. You and your partner must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship.
3. After your Spouse Visa UK application is successful, you and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK.
4. You and your partner must have met in person.
5. You and your partner must be married to each other which is recognized in the UK.
6. If any relationship you and/or your partner were in with someone else previously must have broken permanently at the date of application
7. You must meet financial requirements without relying on public funds
8. You must meet adequate accommodation requirements.
9. You must meet English language requirements.

Financial Requirements

For a successful spouse visa UK application you and/or your partner must meet one of the critical requirements which is the financial requirement.

You and your partner need to show that your combined income (your spouse’s in the UK income or you and your spouse’s joint income) is at least £29,000.  

As per the new changes in the rules you and your partner don’t need to earn additional income for dependent children if you are applying for a fresh UK spouse visa.

How Can You Meet The Income Requirement?

Your own and your partner’s combined income and/or savings (if you are already in the UK) can meet the financial requirements in one of the following ways:

• Income earned in the UK from salaried or non-salaried employment
• Income earned from self-employment or as a director of a limited company in the UK   
• Non-employment income such as rental income or dividends from equities
• Combined cash savings (your partner’s and/or yours) above £16,000 held for at least 6 months
• Pension income

You can also combine any of the above means in certain circumstances to satisfy the minimum income requirement.

Exemption

You will be exempted from meeting a minimum income requirement if your partner is receiving of one of the following benefits:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
• Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme
• Police Injury Pension
• Child Disability Payment
• Adult Disability Payment

In exceptional circumstances where denying you a spouse visa would result in a breach of ECHR Article 8 third-party support to you and your partner can be considered to meet the financial requirement.

Including your children in Spouse Visa UK Application

You can add children to your application as dependents if both of the following is true:

• Your children are under 18 at the time of application, or they were under 18 when they were first granted leave
• Your children are not living an independent life