You can apply for unmarried partner visa entry clearance from outside the UK if you are resident abroad and have been cohabiting for two years with 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, a Turkish Worker visa holder, or a stateless person.
You can apply for unmarried partner visa entry clearance UK online if you meet all the relevant requirements as set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. An unmarried partner visa is also known as a settlement or Appendix FM Partner visa. If the applicant meets the requirements for entry clearance as an unmarried partner, the applicant will be granted entry clearance for an initial period not exceeding 33 months, and subject to a condition of no recourse to public funds. Before the expiry of the initial 33 months of the unmarried partner visa, the applicant can apply for an extension/renewal of the unmarried partner visa under 5 years route so that the applicant can complete 5 years under an unmarried partner visa and apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under 5 years route.
Free Immigration Advice For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance
Our specialist team of family visa solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online concerning your application for unmarried partner visa entry clearance from outside the UK. Ask a question to our specialist team of family visa solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice with our specialist family visa solicitors concerning your application for unmarried partner visa entry clearance.
Specialist Solicitors For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance
Our expert team of family visa solicitors in London specialises in unmarried partner visa entry clearance applications. We have successfully helped thousands of clients with their unmarried partner visa entry clearance applications. Our best team of family visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration services concerning your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application.
Premium Solicitors are specialist UK immigration solicitors and the high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of fully qualified and experienced immigration solicitors is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
How Much Does Unmarried Partner Visa UK Cost?
The costs associated with your entry clearance application when applying from outside the UK are outlined below:
Our Fixed Fees for Your Entry Clearance Application
Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application ranges from £1,000 to £1,500 (VAT not applicable). 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 (VAT not applicable) or our immigration document checking service for a fixed fee of £300 (VAT not applicable).
UKVI Fees for Your Entry Clearance Application
In addition to our fixed fee for assisting you with your entry clearance application, you must also pay the Home Office UKVI fees for your UK visa entry clearance application. The UKVI fee for your UK visa entry clearance application is £1,846, and an additional charge of £3,105 for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Therefore, the total amount payable to the UKVI for the entry clearance application is £4,951.
Additionally, you can pay an additional fee of £500 for Priority Service to get a decision on your application within 30 working days.
How To Apply For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
The step-by-step process to apply for an unmarried partner visa UK from outside the UK is as below:
- Complete the application form online for unmarried partner visa UK on the UKVI website;
- Submit your completed application form for an unmarried partner visa UK online by paying the application fee for an unmarried partner visa UK. You also have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for the unmarried partner visa entry clearance application.
- Book an appointment with the UK visa application centre for enrolment of your biometrics and to hand over your passport for processing your unmarried partner visa UK.
- Upload all supporting documents online in PDF format before you attend your biometrics enrolment appointment so that they can be considered for the unmarried partner visa application.
- Wait for a decision on your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application which will be made within 30 working days if you apply through Priority Service or within 60 working days if you apply through standard service.
What Are The Requirements For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
The requirements to be met for unmarried partner visa entry clearance include the following:
Valid application: The applicant must submit a valid entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa UK from outside the UK;
Relationship requirement: The applicant must be the unmarried partner (must have lived together for at least 2 years) 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, Turkish Businessperson visa holder or Turkish Worker visa holder. The relationship of the applicant with the UK sponsor must be genuine and subsisting and the appropriate evidence of the genuineness and subsistence of the relationship should be provided in support of the unmarried partner visa entry clearance application;
Age requirement: Both the applicant and the UK partner of the applicant must be aged 18 or over;
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 the grant of an unmarried partner visa entry clearance. The financial requirement can be met through
- income of £29,000 gross per year of the 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 occupies exclusively;
English Language Requirement: The applicant must meet the English language requirement to show that the applicant has English proficiency at CEFR level A1 as required by the UK Immigration Rules;
Tuberculosis Test Certificate: The applicant should provide a Tuberculosis test certificate if this is required under Appendix T of the Immigration Rules.
What Is The Relationship Requirement For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
The applicant’s UK partner must:
- be a British Citizen; or
- have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Settled Status in the UK; or
- be an EAA national with pre-settled status in the UK; or
- have a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa in the UK; or
- have leave to remain as a refugee or a person with Humanitarian Protection (HP).
To apply as an unmarried partner, the applicant and the applicant's partner must have lived together as a couple for at least 2 years in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership. The applicant and their partner must not be within the prohibited degree of relationship. The relationship between the applicant and their partner must be genuine and subsisting. T Any previous relationship of the applicant or their partner must have broken down permanently unless it is a relationship which falls within paragraph 278(i) of the Immigration Rules. The applicant and partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK.
New Financial Requirement Of £29,000 Gross Per Year From 11 April 2024
As a result of changes to Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules effective from 11 April 2024, the new financial requirement of £29,000 gross per annum applies to applicants who make their first application on the partner route on or after 11 April 2024. You will not have to meet the income requirement of more than £29,000 gross per annum if you have any dependent children applying simultaneously along with the lead applicant, and the threshold will remain at £29,000 gross per annum.
To satisfy the financial requirement for an unmarried partner visa, the applicant's UK partner must be working and earning not less than £29,000 gross per year. The Applicant can combine the sponsor's employment income under Category A with savings if the employment income is less than £29,000 gross per annum. The savings must be £16,000 plus additional savings equivalent to 2.5 times the difference between the applicant's gross annual income and £29,000.
The applicant's own salaried income from overseas does not count towards meeting the financial requirement. However, the applicant's savings, rental income, or pension income (if applicable) does count towards meeting the financial requirement and the UK partner's income.
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.
When Does Exemption From Financial Requirement Apply?
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 £29,000:
- 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 Home Office UKVI will use the following formula to determine whether you meet the adequate maintenance requirement for your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application:
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 Adequate Accommodation Requirement For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
The applicant must provide specified 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 occupies exclusively: accommodation will not be regarded as adequate if-
- it is, or will be, overcrowded; or
- it contravenes public health regulations.
What Is English Language Requirement For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
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 A1 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 Re-Apply For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance After The Refusal?
If the Home Office UKVI refuses your application for unmarried partner visa entry clearance, you can re-apply soon after the refusal decision if you do not want to challenge the refusal by way of an appeal or if you believe that the decision made by the Home Office UKVI is correct and the fresh application can address the concerns of the decision maker.
Can I Appeal Against the Refusal Of Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
If your entry clearance application for the unmarried partner visa has been refused and you believe that the reasons for refusal are unjustified and not in accordance with relevant laws and facts, you can file an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) within 28 days of the refusal decision. Our specialist team of immigration appeal lawyers can represent you in your entry clearance appeal against the refusal of your entry clearance application as an unmarried partner.
How Can We Help With Your Unmarried Visa Entry Clearance Application?
Our specialist team of family visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis in relation to your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa in the UK. Our fixed fee for your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa UK will cover all the work of our family visa solicitors on your entry clearance application until a decision is made by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on your application. The casework to be carried out by our family visa solicitors in relation to your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa UK will entail the following:
Advice on requirements: Our family visa solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you must meet for your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa to succeed.
Advice on documents: Our family visa solicitors will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa UK;
Assessment of documents: Our family visa solicitors will assess your documents to ensure that all the documents you provide in support of your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
Completing application form: Our family visa solicitors will complete the relevant application form for your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa.
Submitting an application through Priority Service: Where possible, our family visa solicitors will submit your online entry clearance application through priority service to get a faster decision on your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa.
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your entry clearance application online, our family visa solicitors will book your appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist family visa solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the entry clearance application to explain all the relevant legal requirements have been satisfied for the approval of the entry clearance application for the unmarried partner visa UK;
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our family visa solicitors will upload all the supporting documents to be considered to support the entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa.
Follow-up work: Our family visa solicitors will carry out all the follow-up work until the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) decides on the entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa.
Why Choose Us For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance Application?
There are a number of reasons why you can choose our family visa solicitors and lawyers in London to handle your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application. The main reasons include the following:
High-Quality Legal Services: Our team of London's best family visa solicitors provides high-quality legal services for unmarried partner visa entry clearance applications. 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 family visa solicitors and lawyers can provide you with expert immigration advice and legal representations for the unmarried partner visa remotely from our offices in London. Using modern technology, our specialist family visa solicitors and lawyers can handle your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application 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 unmarried partner visa entry clearance applications remotely to save your time and travel costs.
Open 7 Days A Week: We pride ourselves on providing dedicated unmarried partner visa advice and legal representation seven days a week.
All Work Carried Out By Qualified Specialist Immigration Solicitors: Our specialist team of fully qualified and experienced family visa solicitors, who have extensive experience dealing with unmarried partner visa entry clearance applications, will carry out all the casework on your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application.
Fast Track Visa Service: Our experienced and qualified family visa solicitors can prepare and submit your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application quickly using the fast track process. Where possible, our family visa solicitors will submit your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application through Priority Visa Service to get a faster decision on your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application.
Free Immigration Advice Online: Our specialist team of family visa solicitors and lawyers can provide one-off free immigration advice online through our website enquiry form.
Fixed Fees With Payment Plan: Our family visa solicitors and lawyers charge reasonable and affordable fixed fees for unmarried partner visa entry clearance applications with the option to pay our fixed fee in two instalments whereby you pay half of the agreed fixed fee when we start our work on your unmarried partner visa entry clearance application and the remaining half when we have fully prepared the unmarried partner visa entry clearance application and it is ready for submission to the Home Office UKVI.
What Are Our Other Unmarried Partner Visa Related Services?
- Unmarried Partner Visa
- Switching Into Unmarried Partner Visa (5 Years Route)
- Switching Into Unmarried Partner Visa (10 Years Route)
- Extension Of Unmarried Partner Visa (5 Years Route)
- Extension Of Unmarried Partner Visa (10 Years Route)
- ILR As Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)
- ILR As Unmarried Partner (10 Years Route)
- Family Visa UK
- Appeal Against Refusal Of Unmarried Partner Visa UK
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For For Unmarried Partner Visa Entry Clearance
Following are the various Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about entry clearance for unmarried partner visa UK:
You will be granted an entry clearance vignette for 90 days to enter the UK. You will then collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BPR), which will show your unmarried partner visa, which is valid for 33 months.
The evidential flexibility is set out in paragraph D of Appendix FM-SE. Under Appendix FM-SE, decision-makers have the discretion to defer an application pending submission of missing evidence or the correct version of it within a reasonable deadline set for this. Decision-makers will not have to defer if they do not think correcting the error or omission will lead to a grant.
Decision-makers can also grant an application despite minor evidential problems (but not where specified evidence is missing entirely). There is also discretion for decision-makers where evidence cannot be supplied because it is not issued in a particular country or has been permanently lost. Decision-makers have general discretion to request additional information or evidence before making a decision.
The documentary evidence to be submitted in support of the unmarried partner visa entry clearance for the UK varies from case to case, depending on the personal circumstances of the applicant and the UK sponsor. Our fast-track family visa solicitors can provide you with a comprehensive list of supporting documents after fully assessing the personal circumstances of the applicant and the UK sponsor.
The processing time of the unmarried partner visa entry clearance application is as follows:
Standard Service
An application under standard service is normally decided within 60 working days of the biometrics enrolment at the UK visa application centre.
Priority Service
An application under Priority Service is normally decided within 30 working days after biometrics enrolment at the UK visa application centre.
If your entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa is refused by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO), you will get a right of appeal to challenge the refusal of your application. You should file an appeal against the refusal of an unmarried partner visa within 28 days of receiving the refusal decision.
Yes, you can work full-time whilst living in the UK on an unmarried partner visa. You can be employed or self-employed whilst in the UK on an unmarried partner visa.
An entry clearance application for an unmarried partner visa UK will be refused mandatorily if any of the following paragraphs are applicable:
- The Secretary of State has personally directed that the applicant's exclusion from the UK is conducive to the public good.
- The applicant is currently the subject of a deportation order.
- The exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good because they have:
- been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 4 years; or
- been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months but less than 4 years, unless a period of 10 years has passed since the end of the sentence; or
- been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of less than 12 months, unless a period of 5 years has passed since the end of the sentence.
- The exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good because, for example, the applicant’s conduct (including convictions which do not fall within paragraph S-EC.1.4.), character, associations, or other reasons, make it undesirable to grant them entry clearance.
- 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.
- It is undesirable to grant entry clearance to the applicant for medical reasons.
- The applicant left or was removed from the UK as a condition of a caution issued in accordance with section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 less than 5 years prior to the date on which the application is decided.
- The Secretary of State considers that the applicant’s parent or parent’s partner poses a risk to the applicant. That person may be considered to pose a risk to the applicant if, for example, they -
- have a conviction as an adult, whether in the UK or overseas, for an offence against a child;
- are a registered sex offender and have failed to comply with any notification requirements; or
- are required to comply with a sexual risk order made under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and have failed to do so.
The applicant will normally be refused unmarried partner visa entry clearance 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 or required under paragraph 35 of these Rules or otherwise and has not been provided.
- The exclusion of the applicant from the UK is conducive to the public good because:
- within the 12 months prior to the date on which the application is decided, the person has been convicted of or admitted an offence for which they received a non-custodial sentence or other out of court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record; or
- In the view of the Secretary of State:
- the person’s offending has caused serious harm; or
- the person is a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law.
- The applicant may be refused on grounds of suitability if the applicant has failed to pay litigation costs awarded to the Home Office.
- The applicant may be refused on grounds of suitability if 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 have a total value of at least £500.
