Family life visas

To be considered as partners, you would need to be married, in a civil partnership, engaged or in a relationship like a marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years.  

The sponsoring partner would need to be British, or settled in the UK (i.e. with indefinite leave to remain), have refugee status or humanitarian protection, pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or permission to stay as a worker or Turkish businessperson, or in the UK with permission as a Stateless person.

The requirements for a visa as a spouse or partner are:

• You and your partner are aged 18 or over.
• Your relationship is real and continuing at the time of your application.
• Where relevant, your marriage or civil partnership is valid and properly registered.
• If you are a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, you will need to show that you are coming to the UK to get married or form a civil partnership.
• Any previous relationships you and your partner had have broken down permanently.
• You and your partner intend to live together permanently in the UK.

There are other requirements, such as the need to show that you have accommodation that is good enough. 

Find out how to apply for as a partner or spouse on GOV.UK.

Your sponsoring partner must be able to financially support you. They are required to earn a minimum salary of £29,000. This minimum income requirement increased in April 2024. 

For those who already have a family visa or applied before the minimum income increase in April 2024, the previous threshold of £18,600 will still apply. The £18,600 threshold also applies to extensions and settlement applications as long as the applicant is staying with the same partner

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) increased on 6 February 2024. For adults, it rose from £624 to £1,035 per year, and for children and other discounted categories, it increased from £470 to £776 per year.

If you do not meet all the requirements, you may still be eligible for permission to enter or stay in the UK, based on human rights and exceptional circumstances. This is a complicated application, and we suggest you get legal advice. 

Please see our more detailed information about immigration advice, finding a lawyer and how to work with a lawyer. 
 

Entry clearance as a partner is usually for 33 months. Leave to remain as a partner is usually for 30 months, and applications for indefinite leave to remain can usually be made after 5 years (60 months). 

However, partners usually need to wait longer before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain if an application is granted under exceptional circumstances. Applications under exceptional circumstances may therefore be more expensive. This is due to the costs incurred by renewing leave to remain over a longer period of time.

Permission to enter the UK as a fiancé(e), is granted for six months only, and it may be possible to apply to extend a visa once married or in a civil partnership.

Different applications may also be possible for spouses and partners with EU nationality or refugee status.

If your application involves an EU national, the please refer to our pages for European Londoners to assess your eligibility under this route.

If you application involves a spouse or partner with refugee status in the UK, please refer to our page on Asylum and Refugees to assess your eligibility under this route.

You may be able to apply for a visa to join or stay with your child in the UK. You can only apply as a parent of a child living in the UK if you are not eligible to apply as a spouse or partner. 

Your child would need to have one of the following forms of citizenship or status:

• British citizenship
• Indefinite leave to remain
• Pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme,
• they have lived in the UK for at least seven years and it would not be reasonable for them to leave the UK.

The requirements for a visa as a parent are:

• You are aged 18 or over.
• Your child is under 18 on the date you apply.
• Your child is living in the UK.
• You have a real and continuing relationship with your child.
• You have sole or shared parental responsibility for your child.
• Your child normally lives with you, or you have direct access to them and take an active role in their upbringing.

Find out how to apply as a parent on GOV.UK.

There is no minimum salary requirement for parent applications, but you will need to show that you and your family can properly accommodate and financially maintain yourselves.

If you do not meet all the requirements, you may still be eligible for permission to enter or stay in the UK based on human rights grounds. This is a complicated application, and we suggest you get legal advice. 

Please see our detailed information about immigration advice, finding a lawyer, and how to work with a lawyer. 
 

Entry clearance as a parent is usually for 33 months. Leave to remain as a parent is usually for 30 months and applications for indefinite leave to remain can usually be made after 5 years (60 months).