How British Nationals can return and settle with their Partners in the UK

If you are a British national (or have settled status in the UK) currently living abroad and wish to return with your (non-British) partner to settle together back in the UK, your partner must apply for a UK spouse / partner visa for entry clearance (also referred to as leave to enter).

A partner can be a:

• fiance(e) / proposed civil partner;
• spouse;
• civil partner;
• unmarried partner (Only applicable to couples that have been a committed relationship for at least 2 years which is akin to a marriage / civil partnership)

To be granted the visa, the applicant needs to show that they meet all of the requirements for a partner visa, as stated under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. This applies whether the UK sponsor is currently residing in the UK or living overseas and will be returning to the UK with their partner (the applicant).

The requirements are that:

• The applicant must be outside the UK;
• The applicant must have made a valid application for entry clearance as a partner;
• The applicant must meet the “Suitability” test;
• The applicant must meet the “eligibility” requirements which include:

i)   the relationship requirements;

ii)  the financial requirements;

iii) the accommodation requirements; and

iv) the English language requirement

Financial Requirement

For UK partner entry clearance visa applications, the applicant and/or sponsor must meet the current minimum income threshold of £29,000 gross per annum.

Income sources that qualify to meet the minimum income threshold (for spouse/partner entry clearance applications) are: 

Applicant and/or Sponsor:

• Non-employment income e.g. rental income from property;
• Cash savings (*A minimum of £88,500 for a single applicant is required if relying on this source alone);
• Pension Income;

Sponsor only:

• Salary from Employment;
• Self-employment income;
• Income as a Director of a UK Limited company

Note that some of these sources can also be combined to meet the minimum income threshold, however, this will be subject to further criteria depending on which sources will be included in the application.

There are also exemptions to the financial requirement. For instance, if the sponsor is in receipt of certain welfare benefits, such as Carer’s Allowance, then they will be exempted from meeting the financial requirement. They do, however, need to satisfy that the maintenance and the accommodation will be adequate for both the sponsor and partner and any other dependants, without further recourse to public finds.

Financial Requirement for Sponsors returning to the UK

For applications where the sponsor is also overseas and returning back to the UK, the same financial requirement above applies, however there is additional criteria if they will be relying on employment income to meet the financial requirement. - This has 2 parts which must both be satisfied as follows:

1) The sponsor must have a confirmed offer of employment (starting within 3 months of their return to the UK) with a salary that meets the threshold of £29,000 gross per annum  (solely or combined with other permitted income sources - see below*).

* non-employment income, cash savings or pension.

AND

2) The sponsor must have been employed (overseas) in the 12 months immediately prior to the application being submitted with income that meets the threshold of £29,000 gross per annum (solely or combined with non-employment income and/or pension received over the same 12 month period).

Other Requirements of the Spouse/Partner Visa

Suitability Test Requirement

Briefly, this relates to the applicant’s character and immigration history (if any) in the UK. For instance, if the applicant has criminal convictions in the UK or in another country, if they have been deported from the UK in the last 10 years, if they have been in breach of their conditions of stay in the UK, (if they previously lived here), and if they owe any money to the NHS (if they stayed in the UK and received medical care at an NHS hospital). These factors will be taken into account by the ECO, and failure to disclose such information could result in a refusal of the application.

Relationship Test Requirement

At the time of making an application, both the applicant and sponsor partner must:

• Be over 18
• Have met in person
• Not be related to each other
• Be in a genuine and subsisting relationship
• If either person were previously married/in a civil partnership, the previous marriage/s must have permanently broken down
• Intend to live together permanently in the UK once the visa is granted

The Accommodation Requirement

This relates to the property where the couple will be living. If the couple have no children, then 1 room in a shared flat/house, is sufficient, either rented or owned. If the couple have a child/children over the age of 10, they will need a separate room for the child. This could be a 1 bedroom property with a separate sitting room (which is not shared with anyone else), or a 2 bedroom property. The housing regulations regarding overcrowding rules are used as a guideline in terms of “adequate accommodation.”

The English Language Requirement

For a partner visa application, a minimum of level A1 pass mark for the English language test is sufficient to meet this requirement.

There are also exemptions to this requirement. This includes children under 18 years old, applicants over the age of 65, if the applicant is a citizen of a majority English-speaking country, such as the USA or Australia, or if the applicant has studied a degree. If this was studied outside the UK, and was taught in English, the applicant must show that Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) has deemed their degree as equivalent to that of a UK degree. If they studied a degree course (Bachelor’s and/or Master’s), in the UK, then this would also be sufficient for meeting the English language requirement.

Let Us Help You with your UK Spouse/Partner Visa Application

As you can see, there are many requirements that need to be addressed and met by a partner visa applicant before they can be granted with a visa.

All of these requirements must be evidenced by supporting documents, and these supporting documents must be ones that have been specified on the Immigration Rules.

This type of application is not straightforward and it is recommended you seek assistance from a UK Immigration expert if you have any concerns about your application.