You can apply for an extension or renewal of your spouse visa (5 years route) if you are already in the UK with a spouse visa granted under 5 years route and you meet all the eligibility requirements for the grant of extension under 5 years route as set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. An application for spouse visa renewal under the 5-year route can be submitted online 28 days before the expiry of your current leave to remain as a spouse.
An application for a spouse visa extension (5-year route) is made online using the application form FLR (M). An application for a spouse visa extension under 5 5-year route can be submitted to the Home Office UKVI through Super Priority Service to get a faster decision on the application within 24 hours. As a result of a successful application for renewal of spouse visa under the 5-year route, the applicant will be granted further leave to remain for 30 months (2.5 years) under the 5-year route.
Free Immigration Advice For Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)
Our specialist spouse visa solicitors can provide free immigration advice online concerning your application for an extension of your spouse visa from inside the UK. Ask a question to our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors for free immigration advice online, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice with our specialist spouse visa solicitors for your application for an extension of your spouse visa (5 years route).
Specialist Solicitors For Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)
Our spouse visa solicitors are specialists for applications for extension of spouse visa (5 years route) from inside the UK. As one of the best spouse visa solicitors, we have successfully helped thousands of clients with their applications for extension of spouse visa UK under the 5-year route. Our highly experienced and fully qualified spouse visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee spouse visa advice and legal representations for your application for extension of spouse visa (5 years route) from inside the UK.
Premium Solicitors are specialist UK immigration solicitors and the high quality of spouse visa services provided by our best team of fully qualified and experienced spouse visa solicitors is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
How Much Does Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route) Cost?
The costs associated with your application are outlined below:
Our Fixed Fees for Your Application
Our fixed fee for processing your application ranges from £1,000 + VAT to £1,500 + VAT. Our fixed fee will cover all our work on your application, including advising on documents, checking your documents, completing the application form and submitting the application online, booking an appointment for biometrics enrolment, preparing a cover letter in support of the application, uploading all supporting documents to be considered in support of the application, and carrying out all other follow up work until decision by the Home Office UKVI on your application.
Our agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of your case and the volume of work involved in your application. You will make an initial payment of half our fee when we start working on your matter, and the remaining half is due once we have fully prepared the application and it is ready for submission.
Unable to afford the cost of the full service? You have the option to book an appointment online for our one-off immigration advice and consultation service for a fixed fee of £100 (including VAT) or our immigration document checking service for a fixed fee of £300 (including VAT).
UKVI Fees for Your Application
In addition to our fixed fee for assisting you with your application, you are also required to pay the Home Office UKVI fees. The UKVI fee for your application is £1258, and there is an additional charge of £2587.50 for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Therefore, the total amount payable to the UKVI for the application is £3845.50.
Additionally, you can pay an additional £1,000 as a Super Priority Service fee to have your application decided within 24 hours.
What Are The Requirements For Spouse Visa Renewal (5 Years Route)?
The eligibility requirements for an extension of a spouse visa under 5 years route from inside the UK include the following:
Immigration status requirement: The applicant must be currently in the UK under a spouse visa (5-year route) and should apply for renewal prior to the expiry of his/her leave.
Relationship requirement: The applicant must be the spouse of a person who is either a British Citizen, a person with ILR / settled status, an EU national with pre-settled status, a refugee / humanitarian protection status holder, a Turkish Businessperson visa holder or a Turkish Worker visa holder. The relationship of the applicant with the UK sponsor must be genuine and subsisting and the appropriate evidence of genuineness and subsistence of marriage should be provided in support of the application for spouse visa extension;
Suitability Requirement: The applicant should meet the suitability requirements as set out in Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules;
Financial requirement: The applicant should meet the financial requirement for an extension of spouse visa (5-year route). The financial requirement can be met through
- income of the applicant and/or UK sponsor from employment or self-employment; and/or
- savings of the applicant and/or the sponsor; or
- through the rental income of the applicant and/or the sponsor.
Accommodation requirement: The applicant must provide evidence that there will be adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family owns or occupy exclusively;
English Language Requirement: The applicant must meet the English language requirement to show that the applicant has English proficiency at CEFR level A2 as required by the UK Immigration Rules.
Can I Apply For Spouse Visa Renewal Through Super Priority Service?
As specialist spouse visa solicitors based in London, we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI), and its commercial partners, UKVCAS Sopra Steria, to provide Super Priority Service for spouse visa renewal applications. If you submit your application through Super Priority Service, a decision will be made within 24 hours.
Our spouse visa Solicitors can prepare and submit your spouse visa extension application faster and get you a decision on your application faster through Super Priority Service. This way, you will not have to wait for the decision on your application for months (sometimes years).
How To Apply For an Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)?
To apply for an extension of your spouse visa (5 years route), you should take the following steps:
- Complete the online application form FLR (M) on the UKVI website;
- Submit the completed application online by paying the Home Office UKVI fees which include the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS);
- Book your biometrics appointments with the UKVCAS by creating an account on the UKVCAS web portal;
- Upload all the supporting documents online before the biometrics enrolment appointment date;
- Attend your biometrics enrolment appointment. You should take your BRP card, your passport and your biometrics appointment letter with you when you attend your biometrics appointment;
- Wait for a decision on the application, which will normally be made within 3 to 6 months if it is made through standard service and within 24 hours if it is made through Super Priority Service.
Transitional Financial Requirement For Extension Of Spouse Visa
The Home Office UKVI has introduced the transitional financial requirements for an applicant who made their first application as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner, or as a partner before 11 April 2024 and who was granted permission as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or as a partner on the five-year route to settlement as a result of that application. According to paragraph E-LTRP.3.5 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, a person who has permission as a partner on the five-year route to settlement, or as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, at the date of application, must meet the transitional financial requirement of income which is £18,600 gross per year if they made an application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or partner under Appendix FM before 11 April 2024, which was successful. Under the new rules, where the financial requirement exceeds £29,000 due to the number of children in the family, the applicant will only need to provide evidence of a gross annual income of £29,000.
The transitional financial requirement of £18,600 per year applies to applicants applying for permission to stay with the same partner for whom they were last granted permission. Applicants applying for permission to stay with a new partner must meet the financial requirement of £29,000 gross per annum.
The applicant must provide evidence that the UK sponsor's gross annual income is at least equivalent to the income as given in the table below:
| Applicant | Income Required |
| Applicant applying with no children | £18,600 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 1 non-settled / non-British child | £22,400 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 2 non-settled / non-British children | £24,800 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 3 non-settled / non-British children | £27,200 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 4 or more non-settled / non-British children | £29,000 gross per annum |
What Are Various Sources Of Meeting Financial Requirements?
Where the applicant has to meet the minimum income threshold, the financial requirement can generally be met in the following 5 ways:
- Income from salaried or non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category A or Category B, depending on the employment history.
- Non-employment income, e.g. income from property rental or dividends from shares. This is referred to as Category C.
- Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control. This is referred to as Category D.
- State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant. This is referred to as Category E.
- Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category F or Category G, depending on which financial year(s) is or are being relied upon.
What Is The Adequate Maintenance Requirement For Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)?
Where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of any of the following benefits or allowances in the UK, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement at that application stage by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance” rather than meeting an income threshold of £18,600 or above:
- Carer’s Allowance.
- Disability Living Allowance.
- Severe Disablement Allowance.
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
- Attendance Allowance.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
- Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme.
- Police Injury Pension.
If the applicant’s partner is receiving one of the above benefits or allowances on behalf of their child, the applicant will be able to qualify by meeting the financial requirement through “adequate maintenance.” The evidence required to demonstrate that the applicant’s partner is in receipt of a specified benefit or allowance is specified in Appendix FM-SE.
What Is The Formula For Calculating Adequate Maintenance?
The Homme Office UKVI will use the following formula to determine whether you meet the adequate maintenance requirement for the extension of a spouse visa from inside the UK:
A – B ≥ C (A minus B is greater than or equal to C)
Where:
A is the net income (after deduction of income tax and National Insurance contributions);
B is housing costs (Rent and Council Tax); and
C is the amount of Income Support an equivalent British family of that size can receive.
What Is The Immigration Status Requirement For Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)?
The immigration rules require that the applicant must meet the immigration status requirement to successfully extend a spouse visa (5-year route) from inside the UK. For an application for an extension of a spouse visa under 5 five-year route to succeed, the applicant must be currently in the UK with leave to remain as a spouse granted under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules and should be seeking an extension of spouse visa by submitting an extension application. It is also possible to apply for an extension of a spouse visa within 14 days of the spouse visa expiring, and any such out-of-time application will be made as an overstayer but can still succeed under the 5-year route if the applicant has not overstayed for more than 14 days. If the applicant has overstayed for more than 14 days, the applicant may have the option to apply for leave to remain under the 10-year spouse visa route.
What Is The English Language Requirement For Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)?
The applicant must provide specified evidence that he/she:
- is a national of a majority English-speaking country; or
- has passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages with a provider approved by the Home Office, UKVI; or
- has an academic qualification recognised by UK Ecctis to be equivalent to the standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD in the UK, which was taught in English; or
- is exempt from the English language requirement because at the date of application:
- the applicant is aged 65 or over;
- the applicant has a disability (physical or mental condition) which prevents the applicant from meeting the requirement; or
- there are exceptional circumstances which prevent the applicant from being able to meet the requirements prior to entry to the UK.
Can I Switch From the Spouse Visa 10 Years Route To the Spouse Visa 5 Years Route?
If you are in the UK under a spouse visa (10 years route), you can apply for switching to a spouse visa (5 years route) at any time during the validity of your leave under 10 years route. You should ideally switch to the 5-year route as soon as you meet the financial requirement and the English language requirement. Your time for ILR under 5 years route will start from the date you are granted initial leave under 5 years route and all the time you spent under 10 years route cannot be combined with time spent under 10 years route. We can prepare and submit your application through Super Priority Service so that you get a decision on your application within 24 hours.
Can I Re-Apply For Extension Of Spouse Visa After The Refusal?
You may be able to re-apply for an extension of your spouse visa under the 5-year route if your application for an extension of your spouse visa has been refused by the Home Office UKVI and you do not believe you can successfully challenge the refusal of your application. Any such fresh application should meet the requirements as set out in paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules. Also, any such fresh application should be made ideally through Super Priority Service for a decision on the application within 24 hours.
Can I Appeal Against Refusal Of Spouse Visa Extension Application?
If your application for an extension of your spouse visa has been refused by the Home Office UKVI and you have been given the right to appeal against the refusal decision, you should file an appeal with the First Tier Tribunal within 14 days of the refusal decision. The appeal against the refusal decision can be successful on the grounds that the decision to refuse is not in accordance with rules or in contravention of your right to private and family life as envisaged under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). An Immigration Judge at the First Tier Tribunal will hear and determine the appeal. Our specialist spouse visa solicitors can provide the required legal services to represent you in your spouse visa appeal to challenge the refusal decision.
How Can Our Spouse Visa Solicitors Help?
Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations for your spouse visa extension application on a fixed fee basis. Our spouse visa solicitors can legally represent you in your spouse visa extension application and carry out all the work on your application until a decision by the Home Office UKVI on your spouse visa extension application. The immigration casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors regarding your spouse visa extension application will entail the following:
Advice on requirements: Our spouse visa solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your application for spouse visa extension to be successful;
Documentary advice: Our spouse visa solicitors will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your spouse visa renewal application;
Assessing documents: Our spouse visa solicitors will assess your documents to make sure that all the documents you provide in support of your spouse visa extension application are in accordance with the requirements of the immigration rules;
Completing the application form: Our spouse visa solicitors will complete the relevant application form for your spouse visa extension application;
Submitting an application through Super Priority Service: If required, our spouse visa solicitors will submit your spouse visa extension application online through super priority service to get a decision on your spouse visa extension application within 24 hours;
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After the online submission of your application for a spouse visa extension, our spouse visa solicitors will book your appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics;
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist spouse visa solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of your spouse visa extension application to explain all the relevant legal requirements for your application to be approved by the Home Office UKVI;
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our spouse visa solicitors will upload online all the supporting documents to be considered in support of your spouse visa extension application;
Follow-up work: Our spouse visa solicitors will carry out all the follow-up work until a decision by the Home Office UKVI on your spouse visa extension application.
Why Choose Us For Extension Of Spouse Visa (5 Years Route)?
There are a number of reasons why you can choose our spouse visa solicitors and lawyers in London to handle your application for an extension of your spouse visa from inside the UK. The main reasons include the following:
High-Quality Legal Services: Our team of the best spouse visa solicitors in London provides high-quality legal services for extending a spouse visa from inside the UK. The high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of immigration lawyers is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
Remote Legal Services: Our specialist spouse visa solicitors and lawyers can provide you with expert spouse visa advice and legal representations remotely from our offices in London. Using modern technology, our specialist spouse visa solicitors and lawyers can handle your application for an extension of your spouse visa remotely without the need for you to visit our offices. Whilst we are more than happy to welcome clients into our offices, if this is their preference, we are proud to be able to offer our legal services for spouse visa applications remotely to save your time and travel costs.
Open 7 Days A Week: We are open seven days a week and pride ourselves on providing dedicated spouse visa advice and legal representation.
All Work Carried Out By Qualified Specialist Immigration Solicitors: Our specialist team of fully qualified and experienced spouse visa solicitors, who have extensive experience dealing with spouse visa applications, will carry out all the casework on your application for an extension of your spouse visa in the UK.
Fast Track Visa Service: Our experienced and qualified spouse visa solicitors will be able to prepare and submit your application for an extension of your spouse visa in the shortest possible time using the fast track process. Where possible, our spouse visa solicitors will submit your spouse visa application through the Super Priority Visa Service to get a faster decision on your spouse visa application within 24 hours.
Free Immigration Advice Online: Our specialist team of spouse visa solicitors and lawyers can provide one-off free immigration advice online for an extension of a spouse visa UK through our website enquiry form.
Fixed Fees With Payment Plan: Our spouse visa solicitors and lawyers charge reasonable and affordable fixed fees for an application for an extension of a spouse visa. You have the option to pay our fixed fee in two instalments, whereby you pay half of the agreed fixed fee when we start working on your spouse visa application and the remaining half when we have fully prepared the spouse visa application, and it is ready for submission to the Home Office UKVI.
What Are Our Other Spouse Visa-Related Services?
- Spouse Visa UK
- Entry Clearance For Spouse Visa UK
- Switching Into Spouse Visa UK (5 Years Route)
- Switching Into Spouse Visa UK (10 Years Route)
- Extension Of Spouse Visa (10 Years Route)
- ILR As A Spouse (5 Years Route)
- ILR As A Spouse (10 Years Route)
- Family Visa UK
- In-Country Immigration Appeals
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For Spouse Visa Extension (5 Years Route)?
Following are the various frequently asked questions (FAQs) about an application for an extension of a spouse visa under 5 years route:
You can apply for a spouse visa extension under the 5-year route within 28 days before the expiry of your current leave to remain as a spouse.
Yes, it is very common for the Home Office UKVI to grant leave to remain under the 10-year route where the applicant allegedly does not meet the requirements for the grant of leave under the 5-year route.
In the event of the Home Office granting leave under the 10-year route, the applicant will not be given the right to appeal the refusal in the First Tier Tribunal. Such a decision of the Home Office UKVI can only be challenged by way of Judicial Review in the Upper Tribunal.
Our expert team of Judicial Review solicitors can help you with your Judicial Review against the Home Office UKVI decision to grant you leave under the 10-year route instead of the 5-year route if you believe that the decision not to grant leave under the 5-year route is wrong and unlawful.
The processing time for renewal of a spouse visa (5-year route) is dependent on the type of service you use to apply for an extension of your spouse visa. The processing times for renewal of spouse visa (5 years route) are as follows:
Standard Service
The Home Office UKVI is likely to decide on an application for spouse visa renewal under standard service within 3 to 6 months.
Super Priority Service
An application for spouse visa renewal under the Super Priority Service is normally decided within 24 hours.
Under the UK immigration Rules, there is no specified residence requirement for extension of a spouse visa. However, as the spouse visa category is a settlement category, it is expected that the applicant intends to live permanently in the UK with the UK sponsor in order to settle in the UK. Long absences from the UK may raise a question mark on the applicant's intention to live permanently in the UK with the UK sponsor.
The documents to be submitted in support of the spouse visa renewal will vary depending on the personal circumstances of the applicant and the UK sponsor. Generally speaking, you may need to provide various documents in support of your application for spouse visa renewal under 5 years which may include the following:
- your current and previous passports
- your biometric residence permit
- your spouse's immigration status documents e.g. British passport or ILR BRP card
- evidence of relationship with your spouse including marriage certificate and evidence of cohabitation with your spouse
- evidence to show how you meet the financial requirement of earning £18,600 or more e.g. pay slips, bank statements and other relevant documents as per your circumstances
- evidence of your accommodation in the UK
- evidence of meeting English language requirements e.g. English test certificate or degree certificate etc
- if either the applicant or the UK sponsor was previously married, the divorce certificate of the applicant or the sponsor, as the case may be
It is pertinent to note that the supporting document to meet the financial requirement will vary from case to case depending on how the financial requirement is being met. Our expert team of solicitors for spouse visa renewal can assess your personal circumstances fully and give you a complete list of all the documents required to be submitted in your application as per your personal circumstances.
The applicant's application for extension of spouse visa (5 years route) will be refused (mandatory refusal) if following paragraphs apply:
- The applicant is currently the subject of a deportation order.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because they have been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment for at least 4 years.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because they have been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment for less than 4 years but at least 12 months, unless a period of 10 years has passed since the end of the sentence; or
- The applicant's presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good because, in the view of the Secretary of State, their offending has caused serious harm or they are persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law.
- The applicant's presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good because their conduct (including convictions that do not fall within paragraphs S-LTR.1.3. to 1.5.), character, associations, or other reasons make it undesirable to allow them to remain in the UK.
- The applicant has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement to-
- attend an interview;
- provide information;
- provide physical data; or
- undergo a medical examination or provide a medical report.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because the Secretary of State:
- has made a decision under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention to exclude the person from the Refugee Convention or under paragraph 339D of these Rules to exclude them from humanitarian protection; or
- has previously made a decision that they are a person to whom Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention applies because there are reasonable grounds for regarding them as a danger to the security of the UK; or
- considers that they are a person to whom sub-paragraph (a) or (b) would apply except that (i) the person has not made a protection claim, or (ii) the person made a protection claim which has already been finally determined without reference to Article 1F of the Refugee Convention or paragraph 339D of these Rules; or
- has previously made a decision that they are a person to whom Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention applies because, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, they constitute a danger to the community of the UK.
When considering whether the presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good any legal or practical reasons why the applicant cannot presently be removed from the UK must be ignored.
The applicant will normally be refused on grounds of suitability if any of the following paragraphs apply.
- Whether or not to the applicant’s knowledge –
- false information, representations or documents have been submitted in relation to the application (including false information submitted to any person to obtain a document used in support of the application); or
- there has been a failure to disclose material facts in relation to the application.
- A maintenance and accommodation undertaking has been requested under paragraph 35 of these Rules and has not been provided.
- The Secretary of State has given notice to the applicant and their partner under section 50(7)(b) of the Immigration Act 2014 that one or both of them have not complied with the investigation of their proposed marriage or civil partnership.
The applicant may be refused on grounds of suitability if any of the following paragraphs apply.
- The applicant has made false representations or failed to disclose any material fact in a previous application for entry clearance, leave to enter, leave to remain or a variation of leave, or in a previous human rights claim; or did so in order to obtain from the Secretary of State or a third party a document required to support such an application or claim (whether or not the application or claim was successful).
- The applicant has previously made false representations or failed to disclose material facts for the purpose of obtaining a document from the Secretary of State that indicates that he or she has a right to reside in the United Kingdom.
- The applicant has failed to pay litigation costs awarded to the Home Office.
- One or more relevant NHS bodies has notified the Secretary of State that the applicant has failed to pay charges in accordance with the relevant NHS regulations on charges to overseas visitors, and the outstanding charges total at least £500.
