Table Of Contents
- One is a short-term visa, and another is a long-term visa
- One is for marrying your partner, and another is to live with your partner
- One can be applied from outside the UK only, and another can be applied from outside and inside the UK
- Difference in relationship requirement
- Difference in acquiring leave to remain
- The difference in the source of meeting the financial requirement
- Differences in relationship documents required
- Difference in time length required to apply for indefinite leave to remain
- Conclusion
If you are a foreign national and your fiancé is a British citizen or has settled status in the UK, you can apply for a UK fiancé visa to marry your partner in the UK. While the UK spouse visa is for those who wish to apply to stay with their spouse or civil partner, who is either a British citizen or has settled status, in the UK. The UK fiancé visa is for those who wish to marry their fiancé in the UK within 6 months of their arrival in the UK. The UK spouse visa is for spouses or civil partners who are already married or in a civil partnership.
There are several requirements for both a UK fiancé visa and a UK spouse visa, and many of those requirements are the same. But there are some key differences between the two as well. In this article, we will see key differences between a UK fiancé visa and a UK spouse visa.
1. One is a short-term visa, and another is a long-term visa
The UK fiancé visa is valid for up to 6 months only, while the UK spouse visa permits you an initial stay of 30 months (if you apply from inside the UK) or 33 months (if you apply for a first- time UK spouse visa from outside the UK).
On a UK fiancé visa, you can apply to switch to a UK spouse visa after marrying your partner. On the other hand, unlike a UK fiancé visa, you can apply for a UK spouse visa straight away.
Both visas lead to settlement, but the UK spouse visa takes less time than the UK fiancé visa.
2. One is for marrying your partner, and another is to live with your partner
The purpose of a UK fiancé visa is to marry your partner within 6 months of your arrival in the UK; the purpose of a UK spouse visa is to enter and live with your spouse or civil partner in the UK. On a UK fiancé visa, you cannot work or study in the UK but on a UK spouse visa, you can do both.
3. One can be applied from outside the UK only, and another can be applied from outside and inside the UK
You can apply for a UK fiancé visa only from outside the UK. A UK spouse visa application can be made from outside the UK, and if you are already in the UK on a valid visa, you can apply to switch to this visa from inside the UK as well.
4. Difference in relationship requirement
The UK fiancé visa is for those who are not yet married and are looking to marry a British citizen or a person with settled status in the UK. The UK spouse visa, on the other hand, is for partners who are already married or in a civil partnership where one partner is either a British citizen or has settled status in the UK.
5. Difference in acquiring leave to remain
A UK fiancé visa allows you to enter the UK only. You can get leave to remain only if and when you apply and receive a UK spouse visa after marrying your partner in the UK.
The UK spouse visa allows you to enter the country (if applying from outside the UK) and leave to remain in the UK from day one.
This means through the UK fiancé visa route you need to apply twice (once for a UK fiancé visa and the second time for a UK spouse visa) to be able to receive leave to remain in the UK. On the other hand, through a UK spouse visa, you need to apply once to be able to receive leave to enter and remain in the UK.
6. The difference in the source of meeting the financial requirement
The financial requirement is the same for both UK fiancé visas and UK spouse visas, where you have to meet the minimum annual income requirement of £29,000 if you apply on or after 11 April 2024. This amount is inclusive of any dependent children in both cases.
However, there is a key difference in how you can meet the financial requirement for a UK spouse visa and a UK fiancé visa. The UK fiancé visa can only be applied for from outside the UK, and thus you can only include the income of your sponsoring partner in the UK to meet the financial requirement. On the other UK spouse visa application can be made from inside the UK (when applying to switch to this visa) or outside the UK (when applying for a first-time UK spouse visa also).
If you apply for a first-time UK spouse visa from outside the UK you can only rely on your sponsoring partner’s income but if you apply to switch to UK spouse visa from inside the UK and you are earning in the UK on that visa (you cannot work on a UK fiancé visa or few other visas valid for up to 6 months) then you can rely on your income alone or your income and your partner’s income combined to meet the financial requirement.
7. Differences in relationship documents required
For a UK fiancé visa, you must submit documents of your genuine relationship, such as photos, letters, joint bank accounts, joint tenancy agreements, etc. You also need to submit evidence of intention to marry each other within 6 months such as wedding venue bookings and arrangements for your wedding day. The Home Office must be satisfied that your purpose to marry a British citizen is not solely to obtain residency status in the UK.
For a UK spouse visa, you must submit a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate that is recognized in the UK.
8. Difference in time length required to apply for indefinite leave to remain
On a UK fiancé visa, you are first allowed to enter the UK for 6 months. If you marry your partner within this period and apply to switch to a UK spouse visa, then you can apply for indefinite leave to remain once you have spent 5 years continuously in the UK on a UK spouse visa. The time spent on a UK fiancé visa cannot be counted towards meeting the 5-year residency requirement. This means you need to have lived in the UK for 5.5 years to acquire ILR if you entered the UK through the fiancé visa route.
If you apply for a first-time UK spouse visa from outside the UK, you must spend at least 5 years continuously in the UK to be eligible to apply for ILR. But if you were in the UK on a different visa and then applied to switch to a UK spouse visa, you can include the time spent on the previous visa route, before you received a UK spouse visa, along with time spent on a UK spouse visa for counting the 5 years continuous residence in the UK to obtain ILR.
Conclusion
The UK fiancé visa and spouse visa are for foreign nationals looking to marry or join their spouse in the UK. Both these visa routes come under the UK Family Visa category. Even though there are several similarities in both these visa requirements, there are some differences as well, especially in visa requirements.
In this article, we have touched upon a majority of those differences. However, there may be other differences between the two as well.
You should assess which visa is best suited for you before you apply to marry and/or join your British partner in the UK.
Read Other Blogs:
UK Fiancé Visa – 5 Tips While Applying For It
UK spouse visa fees- things to know before application