Unmarried Partner Visa

An Unmarried Partner Visa is designed for British Nationals, or those settled in the UK, who wish to bring their long-term unmarried partner to the UK and make their permanent home in this country.

This is not a separate visa category and in fact, falls under the spouse visa category, with the rules around it being largely the same.

RVS Solicitors Can Help You Obtain an unmarried partner Visa in the UK

One of the highlights of our work is reuniting families and bringing couples together.

Our specialist immigration solicitors have represented, with success, hundreds of couples in their quest to be reunited in the UK and they can make that happen for you too.

See our client testimonials to see how we’ve helped reunite couples and families in the UK.

The rules and regulations around Unmarried Partner visa can be challenging. To ensure that you have the best chance of success from your first attempt, it is imperative that you secure the best immigration representation available. Our immigration solicitors specialising in Unmarried Partner visas will effortlessly guide you to success.

Contact our family and spouse lawyers to find out more how we can help you. Call us on 020 3372 5125 or fill in the online form.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

What are the requirements for UK Unmarried Partner Visa?

To successfully apply for a UK Unmarried Partner Visa, you need to:

• be over 18 years of age
• Live in a genuine, subsisting relationship akin to marriage with a British national or a person settled in the UK
• prove you can meet the financial requirements for this route
• meet the English language requirements
• have suitable accommodation
• Provide TB certificate if you are resident of a country from which such certificate is required.

What is the Relationship requirement for UK Unmarried partner visa?

To meet the relationship requirement for the UK Unmarried partner visa, you will need to demonstrate that you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship with a British national or someone who is settled in the UK.

As an unmarried partner, you will normally be required to demonstrate that you have cohabited as a couple for at least 2 years. The cohabitation could have happened in the UK or overseas. You will need to provide evidence of this by way of showing shared accommodation, shared financial responsibilities, like paying bills etc.

While the 2 year cohabitation is the default position when it comes to Unmarried Partner visa, it can be dispensed off, if the couple can prove their relationship is a durable one irrespective of the duration. More often this happens if the couple has a child or there were special circumstances that prohibited the couple from living together for a while, but evidence of the strength of relationship is available.

As part of relationship requirement, you will also need to show that any previous relationship that you had has terminated. Therefore, if you were previously married, you will need to supply a divorce certificate to evidence the termination of that marriage.

What is the financial requirement for UK Unmarried Partner visa?

The financial requirements which you need to meet for this route can be a bit overwhelming, in particular when it comes to the evidential part of it.

The sponsoring partner needs to show they earn:

• a minimum of £18,600 per annum if it’s only the partner who is applying;
• If the sponsoring British citizen and their foreign partner have a dependent child, the threshold rises to £22,400. A further £2,400 is added for any additional child.

There are number of ways to meet this requirement. You can use income from employment, self-employed, rental or share income or cash savings. If you are relying only on cash savings, the savings must be at least £62,500 and will grow if there are dependent children.

If you are applying from overseas to join your partner in the UK, you cannot rely on your own income from employment or self-employment.

In some cases, it is also possible to use third party financial support. You will need to prove you have exceptional circumstances for third party support to be acceptable and you will need to prove that such support will continue for the duration of your stay.

If your British or settled partner is someone who receives benefits as disabled person or a carer, you can rely on that income and you will not need to prove that it comes to the required £18,600 per year. They will instead need to prove that they can support you and any dependent child adequately. There is a special formula that is used to calculate this adequate maintenance.

How can I prove my knowledge of English Language?

You will need to prove your knowledge of English Language at minimum CEFR Level A1, if this is your first application as an unmarried partner, or if you are applying to extend your leave in this category, then CEFR Level A2.

If you are a national of qualifying English speaking country, you will not be required to provide any additional evidence, proof of nationality will suffice.

If you do come from any other country, you will need to provide one of the following:

• degree certificate or academic qualification that was taught or researched in English. Your qualification must be recognised by UK NARIC as being equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or higher; or
• Certificate of passing relevant English language test from a qualifying test provider.

If you are above the age of 65 or are someone with mental or physical disability that prevents you from sitting or taking an exam, you will not be required to prove your language knowledge.

How to meet accommodation requirement for UK Unmarried partner visa?

As part of the application, you will need to prove that as a couple, you will have adequate accommodation. This means you will need to show there is at least one room only for your exclusive use as a couple. You will need to have more rooms, if there are children as well. It doesn’t matter what the nationality of the children is. The rules for assessing whether the accommodation is overcrowded or not are as follow:

• Children under 1 can share a room with parents;
• children under 10 are considered as half a person, so can share a room.
• Children over 10 of the same sex can share a room, but not children over 10 of the opposite sex, so you will need to have a separate room for them.
• If there are any other adults in your family or household, they need their separate rooms as well.

To provide evidence of your accommodation, you can rely on surveyor reports, estate agent reports, property deeds and any other independent source of information showing the number of the rooms in the property.

How long will I be able to remain in the UK on Unmarried partner visa?

As partner visa is, in effect, the same route as the spouse visa, you will be granted a 33 months leave, if applying from overseas, or 30 months, if applying from within the UK. You will then need to apply for your visa extension and if successful, you will be granted a further 30 months leave.  After 5 years on this visa, you can apply to settle in the UK. If you get married to your partner during your leave, this will not alter in any way the timeline towards your settlement.

Can I bring my child to the UK?

Unmarried partner visa allows you to bring your dependent child to the UK with you. Whether the child is with your British or settled unmarried partner or from a previous relationship, does not matter. If the child doesn’t have British nationality, you will need to apply to get a visa for them as well. If the child is from a different relationship, you will need to show that you have the care of the child.

What can I do on Unmarried Partner visa?

Your unmarried partner visa will allow you to live and work in the UK. You will be able to take any job that you are qualified for without needing to have a sponsorship from a UK based employer, you can establish your own business and be a self-employed person, you can own a property and do most of the things that a British person can. You will not be able to access public funds and the family should always be mindful that they will need to show that they can independently maintain themselves.

How can RVS Solicitors help you?

At RVS Solicitors we have a team of solicitors specialising in unmarried partner visas. The years of experience our team has accumulated has saved our clients a lot of grief and finances.

We offer a wide range of services: we can advise you in respect of your application, carry out document checking and or take over the matter fully for you, leaving you to only worry about the logistics of your move.

If you wish to apply for a UK Spouse or Family visa, please contact our London office on 020 3372 5125 or complete our online form to make an appointment. 

To read more about similar issues please visit our blog or read on how we have helped others in similar circumstances by visiting our success stories