Spouse visa

Overview

If you apply from outside the UK, you are usually given permission for 2 years and 9 months. If you switch or extend in the UK, you are given 2 years and 6 months. Most people extend once and then apply to settle after five years.

You can work in any job, run a business and study. You cannot claim most benefits (public funds). Your status is held as an eVisa, which you view and share through a UKVI account.

What you need to know now:

• The minimum income requirement is still £29,000 a year. It has not changed since 11 April 2024, although the Migration Advisory Committee reviewed it in 2025.
• For settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027, the English level rises from B1 to B2.
• If your partner has refugee or humanitarian protection status and claimed asylum on or after 2 March 2026, your permission will end on the same date as theirs if theirs ends sooner.

The Government has proposed wider changes to settlement, known as "earned settlement". These are proposals, and this page describes the Immigration Rules in force on 1 November 2026.

Who can apply

You can apply if you are legally married and you and your partner are both 18 or over. Your partner must be:

• a British or Irish citizen
• settled in the UK, for example with indefinite leave to remain or settled status
• an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen with pre-settled status who started living in the UK before 1 January 2021
• in the UK with refugee or humanitarian protection status, or with permission as a stateless person
• in the UK as a Turkish Worker or Turkish Businessperson

Partners of people on work or study visas, such as Skilled Workers or Students, apply as dependants on that person's route instead. If you are not yet married, see our Unmarried partner visa page or the Marriage Visitor visa. Civil partners have their own page: Civil partner visa.

Requirements

• A valid marriage: it must be legally valid and recognised in the UK. Any earlier marriage or civil partnership of either of you must have ended.
• Met in person: you must have met each other in person.
• A genuine relationship: your marriage must be genuine and continuing, and you must both intend to live together permanently in the UK.
• Money: you must meet the financial requirement, explained below.
• Accommodation: you must have adequate housing for your family without relying on public funds.
• English: you must meet the English language requirement at each stage.
• Suitability: you must not fall for refusal on grounds such as criminality, deception or a poor immigration history.

Financial requirement

You and your partner must usually show a combined gross income of at least £29,000 a year. If you are applying from abroad, your own salary does not count, but your partner's does. If your partner is moving back to the UK with you, their earnings abroad can count, together with a UK job offer that starts within 3 months of their return. Once you are in the UK, your own legal earnings can count towards an extension.

Income can come from employment, self-employment, a pension or other sources such as rent. The evidence rules are strict. If your partner has worked for the same employer for at least 6 months at the salary you rely on, you need 6 months of payslips and matching bank statements, plus a letter from the employer. If they have been in the job for less than 6 months, a different test looks back over 12 months. Self-employed income is assessed from the last full financial year, or an average of the last two.

Cash savings can make up a shortfall. The first £16,000 does not count, and the shortfall is multiplied by 2.5. For example, if your partner has earned £24,000 in the same job for over 6 months, the shortfall is £5,000, so you need savings of £16,000 plus £12,500: £28,500 in total. With no income at all, you would need £88,500. Savings must have been held for at least 6 months, in your name, your partner's name or jointly.

The figure is different in two cases. If your partner receives a disability or carer's benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance, you only need to show that you can be adequately maintained without further public funds. If your first successful application as a partner or fiancé(e) was made before 11 April 2024 and you are extending with the same partner, the old figure of £18,600 applies, plus £3,800 for the first child and £2,400 for each further child, capped at £29,000.

Accommodation

You need housing that you own or occupy exclusively as a family. It must not be overcrowded under UK housing standards and must meet public health rules. Typical evidence is a tenancy agreement or title deeds, often with a property inspection report.

English language

You need English at level A1 (speaking and listening) for your first application, A2 when you extend, and B1 when you settle, rising to B2 for settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027. You can meet it with an approved test, a degree taught in English, or by being a national of a majority English-speaking country. You are exempt if you are 65 or over, or if a disability prevents you from meeting it.

How to apply

1. Check every requirement, especially the financial evidence rules.
2. Gather your documents: passports, marriage certificate, evidence of your relationship, financial and accommodation evidence, English evidence, a TB certificate if needed, and certified translations.
3. Apply online on GOV.UK and pay the Home Office fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge.
4. Prove your identity: at a visa application centre if you are abroad, or at a UKVCAS service point if you are in the UK.
5. When you are granted, set up your UKVI account to access your eVisa.

Visitors, and people with permission of 6 months or less, cannot switch to this route in the UK. Fiancé(e)s are the exception.

Costs

• the Home Office application fee, which is lower in the UK than from abroad
• the Immigration Health Surcharge, paid for the whole period of permission
• priority or super priority fees, if you want a faster decision
• English test, TB test, translations and the Life in the UK test later on

Current Home Office fees and the surcharge appear on this page and on our UK visa fees page. For a family total, use our visa cost calculator. If you are in the UK and cannot afford the fees, you may be able to apply for a fee waiver.

Processing times

From outside the UK, decisions usually take about 12 weeks. In some countries you can pay for a priority decision, which for family visas usually takes about 30 working days.

In the UK, an extension or switch that meets the financial and English requirements usually takes about 8 weeks, and super priority is available for an extra fee. If you are relying on an exception, such as a British child or insurmountable obstacles, expect about 12 months.

Partners and children

Your children under 18 can apply with you or join you later. They are given permission in line with yours. For new applications, children are covered by the same £29,000 figure: no extra income is needed for them. Children born in the UK can be added to your next application. See Children, elderly relatives and family reunion for other relatives.

Extending your stay and settlement

Apply to extend before your permission runs out. The same requirements apply, but your own UK earnings now count.

After 5 years as a partner you can apply for indefinite leave to remain. You must still meet the financial requirement, pass the Life in the UK test and show English at B1 (B2 from 26 March 2027). Time on other visas, or as a fiancé(e), does not count towards the five years.

If you cannot meet the financial or English requirements, you may still be granted permission where refusal would be unjustifiably harsh, for example because you have a British child or there are insurmountable obstacles to family life abroad. You are then on the 10-year route and can settle after 10 years. More detail is on our settlement page.

If your partner is British, you can apply for British citizenship as soon as you have indefinite leave to remain, provided you have lived in the UK for at least 3 years and meet the other requirements.

How we can help

We check whether you meet the financial requirement and which category of evidence fits your situation, for example a change of job or mixed income from a salary and a rental property. Getting this wrong is a common reason for refusal.

We give you an evidence list, review every document, and prepare the application with a covering letter showing how each rule is met. If you cannot meet a requirement, we advise on the exceptions and prepare the legal representations.

We also deal with Home Office requests and, after a refusal, advise on appeals and judicial review.

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch from a visitor visa to a Spouse visa?

No. A visitor cannot switch to the 5-year partner route in the UK. You would need to leave and apply from abroad, unless refusal would breach your human rights. Our human rights claims page explains how those cases work.

We married abroad. Is our marriage recognised?

Usually yes, if it was legally valid where it took place and you both had the capacity to marry. A religious ceremony that was not registered may not be valid, so check before you apply.

My partner has just changed job. Can we still apply?

Yes, but the evidence changes. If they have been with the new employer for less than 6 months, the Home Office also looks at their earnings over the previous 12 months.

Do we need to have lived together before applying?

No. Married couples do not need to have lived together, but you must intend to live together permanently in the UK.

Will the £29,000 figure change?

Not at present. Any change would need a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, and we update this page when that happens.