Unmarried Partner Visa UK from Philippines

The Unmarried Partner visa is intended to allow the family reunification of couples who are not married. If you are UK-based and you and your unmarried partner wish to live in the UK together, this may be the best fit for you.

There are a number of situations in which you may be eligible to have your partner join you through this route, for example if you are a British or Irish citizen, settled in the UK, or if you are in the UK as a refugee or with humanitarian protection.

This visa will generally allow the holder to remain in the UK for a period of two and a half years and can be extended, so long as the eligibility criteria continue to be met. This visa type also provides a route to permanent settlement, known in the UK as ‘indefinite leave to remain’, once the holder has lived continuously in the UK for at least 5 years.

Page Contents

• What Is The UK Unmarried Partner Visa?
• Unmarried Partner Visa Requirements
• Unmarried Partner Visa UK Financial Requirements
• Accommodation Requirement for Unmarried Partner Visa
• What are the English language requirement for Unmarried Partner visa?
• How to Apply for a UK Unmarried Partner Visa?
• What Documents Will I Require?
• Unmarried Partner Visa Cost and Processing Time
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

In order for your Filipino partner to be eligible under this route, the two of you will need to satisfy a number of requirements. These are as follows:

• You, as the sponsoring partner, have one of the following:
• British citizenship
• Irish citizenship
• Permanent settlement status (indefinite leave to remain) in the UK
• Refugee status
• Humanitarian protection
• You are both over 18 years of age
• You have been in a relationship for 2 years or over. This relationship must have been comparable to marriage or civil partnership (which you will be expected to prove)
• You intend to live together in the UK
• Any previous romantic relationships have now permanently ended
• You meet the minimum income threshold
• Your partner has proficient English language skills

To be eligible for an Unmarried Partner visa, you must show proof that you and your partner have a combined yearly income of at least £29,000.

You can do this by showing proof of funds via sources such yearly salaried income, self-employed income, cash savings over £16,000, pensions or passive income (such as through rental properties).

You may be exempt from meeting this requirement if your partner is in receipt of certain benefits, such as the Disability Living Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance or Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment.

Note that you may have to meet a different financial requirement if you are applying to extend your Unmarried Partner and you first applied for your visa before 11 April 2024.

As part of the visa application process, you will have to show proof that you and your partner will have adequate accommodation to live in while in the UK.

This includes having to prove the following. You must show that your accommodation:

• Is legally owned or occupied exclusively by you or your family
• Has been obtained without recourse to public funds
• Will not be overcrowded in accordance with the Housing Act 1985
• Will not breach public health and safety violations

There are specific requirements you must follow to demonstrate the above, especially in relation to proving that your accommodation will not be overcrowded.

Filipino applicants for the Unmarried Partner visa must prove their English language ability in order to apply.

Generally speaking, you will be able to do this in a couple of ways, including the following:

• Taking and passing an approved English language test at level A1 or higher on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale
• Showing proof of an academic qualification that was taught or researched mostly in English. You may need to pay for an assessment through Ecctis to do this

Alternatively, you will satisfy the requirement if you are also a citizen of one of the exempt majority-English speaking countries.

You will not have to meet the requirement if you are you’re over 65 or you have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement.

Applications for the Unmarried Partner visa should be submitted online, via the UK government website. This is the stage at which you will submit your required evidence.

Applicants will also need to attend an appointment at which they provide their biometric data (specifically their fingerprints and photograph). If your partner is applying from within the Philippines, they will need to attend this appointment at a UK visa processing center. In the Philippines, these can be found in Cebu and Manila.

Once the required stages have been completed, the application will then be processed. If the application is successful, a visa will then be provided which can either be used to enter the UK or to extend a current stay in the case of applicants who already reside in the UK.

The visa is generally granted for a period of two and a half years, which can be extended if the eligibility criteria continue to be met. Once the holder has lived in the UK consistently for 5 years, they may also be eligible to apply for permanent residence (indefinite leave to remain) and eventually for UK citizenship.

Whilst the exact required documents will vary on a case by case basis, the documents which your partner will need to provide for an Unmarried Partner visa will generally be as follows:

• Valid passport
• Any relevant additional travel documents
• Proof of a relationship which has been ongoing for at least 2 years
• Proof that you, as the sponsoring partner, meet the income threshold. Note that for first-time applicants, only the sponsoring partner’s income is taken into account, but the visa-holder’s income can be taken into account later, when applying for visa extensions or for permanent settlement
• Proof that any previous romantic relationships have permanently ended
• Proof of your intention to live together in the UK
• Proof that your partner has sufficient English language proficiency

Documents should be translated into either English or Welsh by a certified translator.

Note that, the more evidence which you are able to provide in support of your relationship, the more likely it is that your application will be successful. Many unsuccessful applications are due to a failure to provide sufficient evidence of relationship status.

In order to apply for a UK Unmarried Partner visa from outside of the UK, applicants will generally need to pay a fee of £1,938. In order to apply for an extension from within the UK, the fee will generally be £1,321.

The application may also involve additional costs, for example paying for the translation of documents into English or Welsh. Some applicants also choose to pay for legal assistance with their application, in order to make the process as smooth as possible. Contact Total Law today on +44 (0) 333 305 9375 to learn more about how we can help.

Applications will generally take up to 12 weeks to process, although this may vary based on how many other applications are also being processed at the same time. In order to minimize delays, make sure to submit all of the required evidence at the time of application and to promptly provide any additional information which is requested by the Home Office.