Returning to the UK With a Non-UK Spouse

You can return to the UK with a non-UK spouse/partner, but we understand that your circumstances are quite different from those of sponsoring citizens currently residing in the UK.

For one, you yourself are not in the UK (and probably have not been here for a considerable period), so meeting the financial and accommodation requirements, two of the most crucial ones on the list of UK spouse visa eligibility criteria, may be somewhat challenging.

Moreover, we acknowledge that you have been living abroad as a couple.

So, if you have to return to the UK first to make all the necessary arrangements so that your non-UK spouse/partner can apply for a visa, your family life is going to be impacted.

It can be a difficult time for both of you, more so if you have children.

We have put together this article to serve as a practical guide on how you can tackle the ‘hurdles’ while returning to the UK with your non-British spouse/partner.

For professional advice customised to your specific scenario, get in touch with our Total Law team.

Page Contents

• Can You Return to the UK With a Non-UK Spouse?
• Which Visa Does a Non-UK Spouse Need to Enter the UK?
• The Core Eligibility Requirements
• The Financial Requirement: How It Works Differently for Returning Couples
• What If You Can’t Meet the Financial Requirement?
• English Language Requirement
• Accommodation Requirement
• Proving Your Relationship Is Genuine
• Tuberculosis Test Requirement
• Including Dependent Children in the Application
• UK Spouse Visa Application Process: A Step-by-step Guide
• How Long Does the Application Take And What Does It Cost?
• UK Spouse Visa Right to Work, Study and Access Services
• After Arrival: The Path to Settlement and British Citizenship
• Common Reasons for Spouse Visa Refusal
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

British citizens or settled persons returning to the UK may bring their non-UK spouses, civil partners or qualifying unmarried partners along with them through the spouse visa route.

This route falls under the broader UK family visa category (Immigration Rules Appendix FM).

Your non-British spouse/partner may visit you for up to six months on a Standard Visitor visa. However, if you wish to live together in the UK permanently, your spouse/partner must take the spouse visa route.

A spouse visa is valid for up to 33 months and can be renewed for another 30 months. They can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after living continuously in the UK for five years (or three years if you are a British citizen) on a spouse visa.

If you are a UK citizen, your spouse/partner can apply for UK citizenship by marriage as soon as they get their ILR.

Otherwise, they will have to wait for 12 months after receiving an ILR to apply for citizenship in the UK.

For your non-UK spouse/partner to be eligible to apply for a UK spouse visa, you must fulfil the following requirements:

• Age: Both of you must be aged 18 years or more
• Relationship: You must be able to prove that
  • You are married or in a civil partnership that is recognised in the UK, or
  • You have been in a live-in relationship for at least two years prior to your application, or
  • You have been in a relationship for at least two years but could not live together due to valid reasons (e.g., working or studying in different places), or
  • You are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and plan to marry or enter into a civil partnership within six months of arriving in the UK (and any previous marriages or civil partnerships for either of you have legally ended before you submitted your application)
• Funds: You must meet the minimum income threshold (which is currently £29,000) to sponsor your non-British spouse
• Housing: You must make suitable accommodation arrangements for you and your spouse/partner (and accompanying children, if any) per the UK housing standards
• Knowledge of English: Your non-British spouse must be able to prove their knowledge of the English language through one of the available ways (unless exempt)
• Suitability: Your non-British spouse/partner must pass the suitability checks, i.e. the Home Office’s scrutiny of their character, conduct, criminal records (if any) and immigration history
• Intention: You must be able to prove to the Home Office that you have genuine intention to live permanently in the UK together as a couple (can be proven through employment letters, property documents, other close family members currently living in the UK, etc.)

We have discussed the financial, accommodation and language requirements in further detail so as to help you understand how crucial they are in obtaining a spouse visa approval, and how you can meet these requirements.

Even if you cannot meet the financial requirement, your spouse/partner may still apply for a spouse visa, in case:

• You can prove that you as a couple will face significant difficulties if you are to live together outside the UK
• Having prevented them from coming to the UK will amount to a breach of their human rights. Such a visa granted under human rights grounds is usually referred to as the 10-year partner route
• If you receive specific benefits (e.g., carer benefits, disability allowances), you may be exempt from the standard MIR. Instead, you must meet the ‘adequate maintenance’ threshold (decided on a case-by-case basis)

Proving your knowledge of the English language is mandatory to be eligible to apply under the spouse visa route. Certain nationalities (such as Americans or Australians) are, however, exempt as they are deemed to have automatically met this requirement as citizens of a majority English-speaking country.

Non-exempt foreign national spouses, on the other hand, may have to prove their knowledge of the English language unless they:

• Are aged 65 or over, or
• Are unable to take a language test because of a proven long-term physical or mental condition, or
• Have already proved their knowledge of English in a previous successful visa application

If you are required to prove your English language knowledge, you can do so by:

• Having a UK degree taught in English
• Having an overseas degree that was taught in English (subject to a successful Ecctis assessment)
• Passing a Secure English Language Test (SELT) with an approved provider

First-time applicants must pass at least level A1 on the CEFR scale. The minimum requirement will be level A2 for extending your spouse visa after the initial validity period, and level B1 to apply for ILR.

The Home Office rigorously scrutinises all spouse visa applications to rule out any immigration abuse or fraud. Given that, it is crucial to convince them of the genuineness of your relationship.

In fact, the most important documentary evidence for a UK spouse visa application is the proof of your relationship. You may submit the following documents along with your visa application:

• A marriage or civil partnership certificate
• Tenancy agreement, rent receipts, utility bills or tax bills having both your names and your shared address
• Bank statements from a joint account, having both your names and your shared address
• Any other document confirming that you both live in the same address

For couples not currently living together, you must be able to explain the reason(s) thereof (e.g., you are studying in a different location, or you are an unmarried couple and your country’s law/culture does not encourage living together before marriage, etc.) if asked.

You must also be able to prove that you have an ongoing commitment by providing evidence such as:

• Correspondence (letters/emails) of a regular nature
• Proof of providing financial support to each other
• Shared childcare
• Photos from holidays or events where you were together, etc.

If your spouse/partner is applying for a spouse visa from certain listed countries, the Home Office mandates a tuberculosis (TB) test that they may need to take unless otherwise exempt. They must submit the test results as part of their spouse visa application process.

To protect public health in the UK and to prevent a potential TB outbreak in the country, the Home Office mandates this test for foreign nationals who are coming to the UK for more than six months from certain countries where TB is considered to be prevalent by the UK Government.

You will need to be tested for TB if you:

• Have lived in any of the listed countries for six months or more prior to your application date
• Were living in such a country within the past six months

Most of these listed countries have TB test clinics approved by the Home Office. These clinics are designated to conduct TB tests for UK visa applicants and issue certificates as per the UK Department of Health Protocol. The Home Office will not accept a TB test certificate from any clinic that is not pre-approved by them.

You may visit the Home Office website to get the full list of approved TB test clinics in your country of residence.

If your country does not have a Home Office-approved TB test clinic, you must take the test in an approved clinic in any of the neighbouring countries (which also means that you will first need to apply for a visa for the said country unless exempt for your TB test purposes).

If your child can claim British citizenship by descent, they will not need a visa to come and live in the UK. Otherwise, they may be added to your spouse’s application as dependants if they are:

• Under 18 at the time of the application
• Not married and not living an independent life

Post 2024, returning families do not need to meet any additional income requirement for accompanying dependent children.

Similar to all UK visas, applying for a spouse visa UK is an online process. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the application process:

• Create an account with your email ID on the Home Office website to get started
• Have all your supporting documents and other relevant information ready with you so as to answer the questions on the online form completely and accurately
• Start filling in the online application form. You can save your form and complete it later, if required
• Once you have completed the online form, submit the same along with scanned copies of required supporting documents
• Pay the required visa processing fees and immigration health surcharges (IHS) by a credit or a debit card, unless exempt
• Wait for a decision from the Home Office. If your visa is approved, login to your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to access your eVisa (as physical visa stamps or biometric residence permits are no longer in use)

Note that, you will have to prove your identity as part of your UK spouse visa application process. How you need to do so depends on where you are from and the type of passport you have.

If you are eligible to prove your identity through the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app, you can use the same to scan your required documents to prove your identity. Otherwise, to prove your identity, you will have to book an appointment with your nearest visa application centre (VAC) in the country of your current residence from where you are applying.

Many UK embassies and consulates outsource the biometrics and document collection parts to third-party service providers (usually VFS Global or TLScontact). Check if there is any such official third-party consular service provider in your country of current residence. If yes, their websites will mention the VACs run by them in your country.

On the appointment date, you will need to submit your biometric information (i.e. fingerprints and facial image) as well as your passport and other supporting documents at the centre, and attend a visa interview if required.

It may take up to 12 weeks to receive a decision on your spouse visa application when applying from outside the UK. Given the strict and meticulous eligibility and evidence requirements of a UK spouse visa, we also recommend setting a realistic timeline of 4-6 months for planning your approach before you proceed with your application.

You can pay an additional fee of £500 to avail the priority (30 days) service, or of £1000 to avail the super priority (by next working day) service, if eligible.

The spouse visa processing fee is £2,064 when you apply from outside the UK. You will also have to pay the IHS, which will be £3,105 for the initial visa validity period of 33 months.

However, your spouse visa fee may be waived if you do not have a living place in the UK, or cannot afford your essential living expenses, or have an income so low that paying the visa fee will harm your children’s wellbeing.

Once you have your spouse visa application approved, it is advisable to check what you can or cannot do in the UK on this visa to avoid any immigration breaches.

On a spouse visa, you can:

• Work in the UK without requiring any additional permission (although there is no visa requirement for you to be gainfully employed or have your own income if your spouse is willing to, and can, provide you with the required financial and housing support)
• Study
• Access public amenities like free healthcare, i.e. the internationally-acclaimed NHS (you will have to pay the necessary immigration health surcharge while applying for your visa)
• Add children under 18 to your application as your dependants

You cannot, however, access UK public funds for yourself or your dependants.

A spouse visa comes with an initial validity of 33 months, and can be extended for another 30 months via an FLR(M) extension. It will allow you to work or study in the UK, and access public funds for yourself and your dependents if otherwise eligible.

After living in the UK for five years legally and continuously on a spouse visa, you can apply for ILR provided you meet the other relevant conditions. However, you will not be allowed to include any time spent in the UK on another visa or as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner for this purpose.

Once you receive your ILR, you will have to wait for at least 12 months before you can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation (provided you meet the specific eligibility criteria).

If you are married to, or in a civil partnership with, a British citizen, the residency requirement for obtaining ILR is three years. You can also apply for British citizenship by marriage immediately after receiving ILR in that case.

Your family visa UK application may be refused or rejected for several reasons, such as:

• Failure to prove a genuine relationship with your spouse/partner
• Failure to establish your genuine intention to live together as a family
• Insufficient funds (or failing to prove your means of subsistence)
• Inadequate accommodation
• Lack of required knowledge of English (or failing to prove so)
• Incomplete application form
• Failure to submit required documents supporting your case, especially even after a request from the Home Office
• Fraudulent supporting documents
• Existing criminal records
• Previous incidents of immigration rule violations