UK Unmarried Partner visa for Irish citizens

UK Unmarried Partner Visa Requirements

The Unmarried Partner visa category applies to long-term partners of a British citizen, individuals with indefinite leave to remain in the UK or limited leave to remain as outlined by Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA, who would like to join or stay with their partners in the UK.

To qualify for the UK Unmarried Partner Visa, applicants must make sure that they fulfil certain requirements set out by UK Visas and Immigration policies. They include:

• You and your partner must both be over the age of 18.
• Your partner has to be a British citizen, an individual who has attained indefinite leave to remain in the UK, or limited leave to remain as outlined by Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA.
• You have to have met in person and lived together in a relationship closely resembling marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years.
• All previous relationships must be demonstrably broken down permanently.
• You should demonstrate your ability to speak and understand English to the required level.
• The relationship should be shown to be genuine, with the intention to live together permanently.
• You have to show that you can be properly maintained in the UK without depending on public funds.
•  There should be adequate accommodation for you and any dependent you may have.

What are the financial requirements for the UK Unmarried Partner Visa?

One of the most recurring requirements is visa application concerns money. In order to get approved, one of the things the applicant has to do is show that they can be sufficiently maintained while in the UK so they do not have to require public funds to satisfy any financial requirements.

For the UK Unmarried Partner Visa, the financial requirements state that you have to demonstrate that your partner (or both of you jointly if you are in the UK with valid leave to remain) bring in a gross yearly income that reaches at least £18,600.

Additionally, you need to add about £3,800 for a first child who is not a British settler or an EAA national and £2,400 for each additional child who is not British, settled, or an EAA national.

These financial thresholds are standard and apply to just about every visa. The bare minimum usually requires applicants to demonstrate they can live in the UK on their own funds without having to apply to public funds to sustain themselves.

Meeting the financial requirement for the UK Unmarried Partner Visa

The financial requirement for the UK Unmarried Partner Visa requires that the couple show they can sustain themselves through any of the following ways:

•  Salaried income
•  Non-salaried income
• Salary/dividends from a company investment
• Property rental income
•  Income from investments
• Stocks and bonds
• Shares
• Trust funds
• Pensions
• Maintenance payments
• Insurance payments

Applicants can also opt for cash savings of above £16,000 that have been held for at least half a year or show that they have come from the sale of property or investments within that period.

In some of the cases, it is possible to combine several of the mentioned sources of income to meet the financial requirement.

In other cases, your partner could be receiving certain benefits, in which case different considerations apply.

Unmarried Partner visa holders will be eligible to work and study in the UK. Applicants can submit their unmarried partner visa applications even when the partner is outside the UK, but only if they intend to return to the UK with the applicant.

The application process for an Unmarried Partner Visa is a long and complicated one, requiring the submission of several supporting documents. The recommendation we would like to give is that applicants will have a much easier time if they submit these forms online.

You should be prepared to provide the following details in your unmarried partner visa application:

Your name, your partner’s name, and any dependents’ names

• The date of birth
•  A valid passport and travel document
•  Older passports should have visa pages or entry stamps
• Disclosure about any previous immigration applications
• Disclosure about criminal convictions
• The nationality and birth dates of your parents
• Countries you have lived in or visited
• Details of family and friends in your home country
• Evidence of the current financial capabilities
• Your partner’s settled status or British citizenship
• Proof of a genuine and subsisting relationship
• Your intended accommodation/living situation in the UK
• Disclosure about children. You’ll have to provide information on who has primary responsibility for the child, where they live/have lived, and details about the child’s extended family

In addition to these details, you will also need to give your original copies of some supporting documents that include your passport.

After proving the initial information for your unmarried partner visa application, you will be asked to submit biometric data in the form of fingerprints and a facial photograph. This step happens during an in-person appointment.

Biometrics have to be provided in an approved married partner visa application support centre.

If you have already gotten your UK Unmarried Partner visa, from the Home Office, you will have permission to live with your partner in the UK for 33 months (when applying from overseas) and 30 months (if the application comes from within the UK).

When the 33-month period elapses, you can apply for an extension to the visa for a period of up to five years. If you have lived in the UK for five years on a valid Spouse Visa, you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

As with anything, there are procedures followed when extending the visa. For instance, you still have to prove that you are in a primary relationship with the partner sponsoring your unmarried partner visa application and provide proof of your ability to financially maintain yourself within the UK for the extension period.

If you stay long enough to become eligible for an Indefinite Leave to Remain, you are only one step away from becoming a full British citizen.