UK Unmarried Partner Visa

What are the financial requirements for the Unmarried Partner visa? 

The sponsor, or the British citizen or person with the settled status of the Unmarried Partner Visa must be able to prove to the Home Office that they meet the financial requirement of a minimum income threshold of at least £18,600 ($25,800).

Should the sponsor have dependent children, the financial requirement then increases. For the first child, the sponsor should earn an additional gross income of £3,800 ($5,271), and £2,400 ($3,329) for every other child.

The Unmarried Partner visa UK financial requirements can be met through income from standard salary and non-salaried income, self-employed income, salary and/or dividends from a company of which you are a Director, property rental income, dividends and income from investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds, pension income, insurance payments, maintenance payments and cash savings above £16,000 that have been held for at least six months.

If the UK sponsor doesn’t meet the above requirements, they can meet it by instead being in receipt of public funds like disability allowance, carer’s allowance, personal independence payment, and/or some Armed Forces or War Pensions schemes.

To prove you and your partner’s financial situation in order to be eligible for the UK unmarried partner visa must be shown by the following proof:

• Bank statements that have proof of income
• 6 months of payslips
• An Employer letter on headed paper with the following information:
  • Confirmation of employment
  • Job title(s)
  • Length of service
  • Type of contract
  • Earnings before tax and National Insurance

Required documents and information for the Unmarried Partner visa

For the Unmarried Partner visa, there are a number of required documents and information required. The information is as follows:

• The names of yourself, your partner, and any dependents
• Dates of birth
• Valid passport or travel document with blank visa pages
• Entry stamps in older passports
• Information about any previous immigration applications
• Information about any criminal convictions (if applicable)
• Nationality and dates of birth of your parents
• Countries that you have visited and/or lived in
• Details of family and friends in your home country
• Evidence of your financial situation and cash savings
• Your partner’s right to UK citizenship or settled status
• Proof of a genuine and subsisting relationship such as indefinite leave
• Suitable accommodation in the UK. To be suitable accommodation, the property should either be owned by or occupied by the family and not living there by public funds. There must also be adequate sleeping areas for everyone, and a description of the property’s rooms must be provided including who will be in each room.
• If you have a dependent child, you will be asked to provide information on who has primary responsibility for the child

All information needs to be provided in English or Welsh, and some of the documents require the original documents.

Following all of the initial information applicants need to provide biometric information, fingerprints and facial photographs, for their biometric residence permit.

Please note that Canadian applicants are exempt from the English language requirements and don’t need to do the English langue test for the unmarried partner visa application, as Canada is a majority English-speaking country.

What is the application process for the UK Unmarried Partner visa?

If you are living in the UK already on valid immigration status, you can apply for this visa from within the UK. However, if you are on a visa such as a visitor visa, you must apply from Canada. When applying from Canada, there are a number of steps to follow which we have detailed below.

Firstly, the application starts online. After filling out and submitting the online application form, you will be required to visit one of the visa application centres in Canada to give your biometrics.

Following the appointment, you are required to post your appointment confirmation letter, your application form, passport, a prepaid return shipping label, and any supporting documents that you haven’t uploaded to the online portal to the UKVI. After which, the Home Office will process your application.

After the application form is submitted for the UK unmarried partner visa, it can take anywhere from 10 – 12 weeks for the immigration process to get a response on the application.

If you get the visa, you can travel to the UK. For entry clearance with the unmarried partner route, you should travel with your supporting documents and be ready to answer any questions asked by the immigration officer at the port of entry.

How can Total Law help?

Applying for this visa on your own can be quite challenging. At Total Law, we pride ourselves on helping individuals reunite with their partners and family members.

Our lawyers’ legal knowledge covers the UK and Canadian immigration and we can help you. We can prepare a top-quality application that maximizes your chances of success and will liaise with the Home Office on your behalf. Please call us today on +1 844 290 6312, or contact us online via our live chat.