Fiancé Visa

Engaged partners of British or Irish citizens, those who are already in the country, those with pre-settled status, those holding a Turkish businessperson or worker visa, and those under humanitarian protection or refugee status are all eligible for the UK fiancé visa. These individuals must marry in the UK within six months of arriving.  It is necessary to apply for a UK fiancé visa from outside of the UK.

Settlement in the UK is not a direct result of obtaining a UK fiancé visa.  On the other hand, you would be able to apply from inside the country to extend your stay via the Spouse visa route after being married in the UK. After five years, the UK Spouse Visa can lead to indefinite leave to remain or settlement in the UK.

UK Fiancé Visa Requirements

To be eligible for a UK fiancé visa, you must prove to UK Visas and Immigration that you fulfill the following criteria:

• Your partner has been granted pre-settled status, is British or Irish, is settled in the UK, has a Turkish Worker or Businessperson visa, or is protected by humanitarian status or refugee status;
• Both of you and your partner are older than 18;
• You have personally met your partner;
• You have an authentic and lasting relationship;
• After arriving in the UK, you plan to be married in six months;
• Any past partnership has ended irreversibly;
• You wish to reside permanently with your partner in the UK;
• You fulfill a financial prerequisite without the help of government;
• For you and any dependents, there is sufficient accommodation;
• You comprehend and speak English at an appropriate level.

Depending on your particular circumstance, the requirements you must fulfill to be eligible for a UK spouse visa may vary.  You might wish to consult with an immigration lawyer for expert advice.

Status of Sponsoring Partner

For your partner to be eligible for a UK Spouse Visa, they have to either:

• possess UK citizenship, whether British or Irish; or
• possess a permanent residence permit, settled status, or indefinite leave to remain in the UK; or
• possess a pre-settled status as listed in the EU Appendix; or
• possess restricted leave to remain as a Turkish worker or Turkish businessperson under Appendix ECAA; or
• possess a status of humanitarian protection or refugee leave in the UK;

The definition of a British Citizen residing in the UK includes a British Citizen who is accompanying you as your partner. Additionally, a person with indefinite leave to remain in the UK includes an individual who is being granted admission for settlement at the same time as you.

Minimum Age for a Fiancé Visa

When you file your application for a fiancé visa, you and your partner must both be older than eighteen.

UK Fiancé Visa Relationship Requirement

There are several components to the relationship criterion for the UK Fiancé Visa:

• There is no degree of relationship that is considered banned or prohibited between you and your partner;
• You have personally met your partner;
• You must have an authentic and lasting relationship;
• In order for your marriage to take place in the UK within six months of your arrival, you must be traveling to the UK;
• Any past relationship has ended irreversibly;
• You must plan to live together permanently in the UK with your partner.

Prohibited Degree of Relationship Requirement

You and your fiancé cannot be in a forbidden degree of relationship as specified by the Marriage Act 1949 and the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship), Act 1986 to be eligible for a UK Fiancé Visa.

This implies that there cannot be any of the following types of interactions between you and your fiancé:

• Adoptive child
• Adoptive parent
• Child
• Former adoptive child
• Former adoptive parent
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Parent
• Parent’s sibling
• Sibling
• Sibling’s child

“Sibling” refers to a brother, sister, half-brother, or half-sister in this list.

A marriage between an individual and any member of the following list will not be eligible for a fiancé visa until both parties are 21 years of age or older. Moreover, it is only applicable if the younger party has never been considered a “child of the family” in relation to the other party before turning 18:

• Child of former civil partner
• Child of former spouse
• Former civil partner of grandparent
• Former civil partner of parent
• Former spouse of grandparent
• Former spouse of parent
• Grandchild of former civil partner
• Grandchild of former spouse

Requirement to Have Met in Person

You have to have had face-to-face meetings with your fiancé. In order to meet the requirement of having “met,” you must be able to show proof of a face-to-face encounter that resulted in the development of a mutual acquaintance. A face-to-face meeting followed by correspondence by phone or letter would not be enough to fulfill the requirements for a UK fiancée visa.

Authentic and Lasting Relationship Requirement

You must present the Home Office with proof that your relationship with your partner is authentic and lasting to be eligible for a UK Fiancé Visa.

A relationship’s genuineness and continuation depend on relevant information and the unique circumstances of each case.

Factors the Home Office Takes Into Account When Determining Whether a Relationship Is Authentic and Long-lasting

When determining whether your relationship is genuine and subsisting, the Home Office may consider the following factors:

• Whether you are currently in a committed, long-term relationship with your fiancé;
• Whether you have lived together or are now living together with your fiancé;
• Whether you and your fiancé share parenting duties for children, including biological, adoptive, or stepchildren;
• If there are any financial obligations that you and your fiancé have;
• Whether or not you and your fiancé have traveled to each other’s native nation and relatives;
• Whether you and your fiancé have decided exactly how you will live together practically in the UK;

The Home Office may conduct additional investigations, speak with you and your spouse, or schedule a house visit if it has concerns about the authenticity and subsisting nature of your relationship.

Documents Required to Prove a Genuine and Subsisting Relationship

It is essential to demonstrate consistent communication, affection, emotional support, and a genuine concern for each other’s well-being to meet Home Office requirements.

When applying for a visa in the UK, it’s important to provide proof of cohabitation in addition to a marriage certificate. It’s best to provide documents that have both your and your fiancé’s names on them, such as joint bank statements or utility bills. You can also include documents that were sent to the same address but addressed to you individually. It’s recommended to submit documents from a variety of sources and with dates within the last few years. While official documents are preferred, alternative documents can also be submitted if official documentation is not available.

It is also possible to offer unofficial proof of the relationship if you and your fiancé haven’t lived together for a long time.

The Home Office will be looking for substantial proof of an authentic and ongoing relationship, as was previously stated.  The Home Office may conduct additional investigations, speak with you and your fiancé, or schedule a house visit if it has concerns about the authentic and ongoing nature of your relationship.  It will reject your application for a spouse visa if there are good reasons to suspect that the relationship is not real or ongoing.

Intention to Marry in the UK Within 6 Months

For your marriage to take place in the UK, you have to be applying for entrance into the country. Additionally, as Fiancé Visas are only valid for six months, you must prove to the Home Office that you want to wed within six months of your arrival in the UK. Generally speaking, the Home Office will be looking for some proof of your wedding day preparations and/or plans.

Previous Relationship Broken Down Permanently

You and your fiancé cannot be in a civil partnership or be married to someone else on the date of your Fiancé Visa application to fulfill the conditions for a UK Fiancé Visa. You must both be available for marriage.

You must prove to the Home Office that you are widowed, divorced, or that your civil partnership has been dissolved if you have ever been married or been in a civil partnership.

You will have to present documentation that satisfies the Immigration Rules’ standards. For example, In the United Kingdom, a decree absolute issued by a civil court is required as proof of divorce.  A decree absolute certificate, or a reasonable equivalent as recognized by the laws of the relevant nation, must be used to prove a divorce obtained outside of the United Kingdom.

You might still be eligible for an Unmarried Partner Visa if you and your spouse were previously married and the marriage was not formally dissolved. Evidence that the former relationship has ended permanently and that the current one is authentic and ongoing must be presented.

Intention to Live Together Permanently in the UK

UK Visas & Immigration must be satisfied that you and your fiancé plan to live together permanently in the UK for you to be eligible for a Fiancé Visa.

When you first apply for a fiancé visa, it will be necessary for you to both clearly commit to living together permanently in the UK as soon as your application is approved or as soon as your circumstances allow.

The Home Office would expect any time spent outside the UK to be restricted, justified, and consistent to live together permanently in the UK when you apply for further leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain as a spouse. Valid reasons include vacation time, work-related time spent abroad, training, or study.

The Home Office may question your desire to live together permanently in the UK if you or your spouse-to-be spend most of your time abroad. The Home Office will take into account the purpose of your trip, the duration of your absence, and whether you and your spouse traveled and resided together while you were abroad.

UK Fiancé Visa Financial Requirement

You must meet the financial requirements for the Fiancé Visa to prove that you can support yourself enough in the UK without using government funding.

According to the financial requirements for a UK Fiancé Visa application, unless you are exempt, you must show that your fiancé (or both of you jointly if you are in the country with legal permission to stay) make at least:

• £18,600; plus
• £3,800 for the first child (who is not British, has pre-settled status or settled status, is an EEA national with the right to live in the UK, or has indefinite permission to remain in the UK); plus
• £2,400 for every additional kid (who is not British, has pre-settled status or settled status, is an EEA national with the right to live in the UK, or has indefinite permission to remain in the UK).

If your fiancé is receiving any state benefits or entitlements, there are some special considerations to keep in mind. The financial requirement for a UK Fiancé Visa is that the sponsor must have the ability to “adequately maintain and accommodate” the family member who is being sponsored to enter or stay in the UK.

When you seek to enter the UK as a fiancé for the first time, to extend your stay as a fiancé, or to apply for indefinite leave to remain as a fiancé, you will need to fulfill the financial criteria.

The Fiancé Visa has strict financial criteria that are governed by complex immigration rules. The applicants must provide mandatory documentation evidence to demonstrate that they meet these requirements. It is the responsibility of the applicants to prove that they satisfy the financial conditions. Failure to submit the required financial proof is one of the most common reasons for refusal of a Fiancé Visa application.

How to Meet the Financial Requirement for a UK Fiancé Visa

The UK Fiancé Visa financial criteria can be met in a number of ways, such as by depending on:

• Income from your fiancé’s salaried or non-salaried job (or yours, if you are a worker in the UK with permission);
• Revenue from sources other than work, such as dividends from shares or rental income from real estate;
• Excess of £16,000 in cash savings that you or your fiancé have controlled for at least six months and are kept by you/them;
• Pension of your fiancé and/or yourself, and whether it is a private or occupational pension. Also, please specify whether it is a UK pension or from a foreign country.
• Income earned from self-employment or as a director/employee of a specified UK limited company by you or your spouse (if you have permission to work in the UK).

It is occasionally possible to rely on a combination of the aforementioned revenue streams to meet the required finances. 

As previously stated, if your fiancé receives any state benefits or entitlements, additional factors will need to be taken into account.

Additionally, applicants for Fiancé Visas who depend on their cash savings to meet the financial requirements for the visa should be aware that the amount of cash required in an application for entry clearance and extension differs from the amount needed when applying for an indefinite leave to remain as a spouse.

If the Fiancé Visa application is denied due to exceptional circumstances that would violate Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, consideration may be given to alternative legitimate and reliable sources of income, financial assistance, or finances that are accessible to the couple.

Fiancé Visa Accommodation Requirement

You must show proof that you and your fiancé will have access to sufficient housing in a place you own or inhabit alone, free from the need to depend on public funding when you apply for entry clearance as a fiancée.

It will be necessary for you to show proof of the property’s ownership or occupancy, your legal and exclusive right to inhabit it, and the fact that it won’t be overcrowded or violate any public health laws.

Fiancé Visa English Language Requirement

You must provide proof to the Home Office that you meet the English language proficiency criterion as part of your Fiancé Visa application unless you are exempt.

To be granted entry clearance through the Fiancé Visa route, you must provide proof of at least CEFR level A1 English language proficiency. After switching into the spouse route successfully and requesting further leave to remain as a spouse (after having held leave as a spouse for 2.5 years), you will need to prove that you can speak English at least at CEFR level A2.

You can fulfill the English language requirement for a Fiancé Visa by:

• Possessing the nationality of a nation whose main language is English;
• Completing an authorized English language test with a recognized provider, as listed on Approved Secure English Language Tests and test Centers, at or above the required CEFR level; or
• Possessing an academic degree that is either a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD if awarded in the UK; or, if awarded outside the UK, is judged by Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) to meet or exceed the recognized standard of a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in the UK, and Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) has confirmed that the degree was taught or researched in English at or above the required CEFR level.

To be excluded from the English language requirement, you often need to provide documentation demonstrating either:

• On the application date, you are older than 65;
• You are unable to fulfill the English language proficiency criterion due to a physical or mental disability;
• You may not be able to meet the English language proficiency criterion before entering the United Kingdom due to peculiar circumstances.

Your application for a fiancé visa will be denied if you cannot provide proof that you are exempt or that you fulfill the English language requirement.

UK Fiancé Visa Supporting Documents Checklists

The most frequent cause for a Fiancé visa application to be denied is when the applicant does not provide enough supporting documentation.

Strict guidelines about the documentation needed to support an application for a UK fiancé visa may be found in the Immigration Rules.  Each situation is unique, and depending on the circumstances, various supporting documents may be needed for each application for a spouse visa.

Use of pre-made document checklists for Fiancé Visa applications should be done with extreme caution by applicants.  Getting legal advice from an immigration attorney will guarantee that the documents on the list are suitable for each case.

On the other hand, the application for a Fiancé Visa may be denied if a necessary document is not submitted, is submitted in an incorrect format, or is incomplete.  The processing of appeals might take many months, and the result is not always clear.  A new application will incur more expenses and cause further delays.

UK Fiancé Visa Application Fee

Currently, £1,523 is the Home Office application fee for a UK Spouse Visa application filed outside of the UK.  Currently, £1,033 is the Home Office application fee to prolong your stay as a spouse or switch from within the UK into the spouse category.

UK Fiancé Visa Processing & Decision Waiting Times

The Home Office’s usual response time for a fiancé visa application filed outside of the United Kingdom is three months or twelve weeks.  The Home Office has stated that standard marriage and family visa applications, including Spouse Visa applications, are now being completed within 60 working days following the backlog of applications for the Ukraine Visa Scheme reduced.

Fiancé visa applications can only be submitted from outside of the United Kingdom.  From within the United Kingdom, it is not possible to change into the Fiancé visa category.

For fresh applications for fiancé visas filed outside of the United Kingdom, the Super Priority Service is not available. On the other hand, as of January 9, 2023, current applicants who still have a pending Fiancé visa application have the choice to upgrade to a 15-day/3-week Priority Service.  Early in 2023, the Home Office expects to relaunch the Priority Visa program for Fiancé visa applications filed outside of the United Kingdom.

Duration of a UK Fiancé Visa

Your UK fiancé visa will initially be valid for six months if your application is approved.

You will then be able to apply to move into the Spouse category without leaving the UK after your wedding has taken place.

If your request for further leave to remain in the UK as a spouse is approved, you will be given 30 months of additional leave to remain in the country.  Before it ends, you will have to add another 30 months to your Spouse leave.

You can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK if you are the spouse of a British citizen or permanent resident and have lived in the UK for five years.

Working in the UK on a Fiancé Visa

Those with fiancé visas are not allowed to work in the UK.

UK Fiancé Visa Frequently Asked Questions

For those who wish to travel to the UK for a marriage ceremony, there are two main immigration options: the Fiancé visa and the Marriage Visit visa.

Those who wish to announce their imminent marriage or travel to the UK to get married can apply for a Marriage Visit visa.

The Fiancé visa is meant for people who are engaged to be married to a citizen of the United Kingdom or Ireland, people who have limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA, people who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, and people who have humanitarian protection or refugee leave. These people can visit the UK with the visa and get married within six months of arriving.

Where Can I Apply for A UK Fiancé Visa?

A UK fiancé visa application must be submitted from outside the country. If not as a guest, you should apply in the nation where you now reside. Being a citizen of the nation is not required.

How Do I Apply for a UK Fiancé Visa?

An online application form is used to apply for a fiancé visa.

Consult an immigration lawyer to ensure that the application form you are using is appropriate for your specific situation before applying for a UK fiancé visa.

While you are completing your Fiancé Visa application form, you should also be getting ready your supporting documentation. Certain criteria call for certain documents to be dated before the date of the online application submission.

People can provide scans of the supporting documentation for their fiancé visa using the current system, which the Home Office can assess. However, as the Home Office updates this system periodically, you should confirm the specific application process for the nation in which you want to apply at the time of application.

What if I Do Not Get Married Within 6 Months?

You can apply to extend your stay for an additional six months if your marriage does not occur before your fiancé visa expires. This will allow the ceremony to take place, given that there is proof that a ceremony will occur within the next six months and a valid reason why it hasn’t happened yet.

When Can I Apply for a British Passport?

You will initially be allowed to stay in the Fiancé Visa category for a duration of six months.  You can seek a shift into the Spouse Visa category once you are married.  Should this application be approved, you will receive an additional two and a half years of leave. After that time, to extend your leave for an additional two and a half years, you must apply for it before it expires.

The majority of those in the Fiancé Visa category have a five-year settlement timeline. This implies that they are qualified for Indefinite Leave to Remain following two grants of thirty months each.

Some individuals will require four leave grants as part of their ten-year settlement process. You can apply both leave grants toward the time required for the ten-year route if, after entering the UK, you decide to convert from the five-year to the ten-year route.

If you are married to a British native and have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, you can apply right away to become a British citizen. You should wait a full year before applying if you are not married to a British citizen.

What if My Fiancé Visa Application Is Refused?

You should be able to file an appeal if your application for a UK spouse visa is refused. This is due to the fact that a spouse application is inherently considered a human rights claim.

The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in the United Kingdom will hear the appeal.

It will be possible for you and your fiancé to appear before the judge and provide evidence if you are in the UK.

Your fiancé may attend if you are not in the UK, however, in that case, you may submit a statement and supporting documentation for the Tribunal to take into consideration. If giving testimony virtually makes sense in your situation, arrangements could be made for you to do so.

Filing an immigration appeal is a time-consuming process that can take several months to complete. It’s important to note that the outcome of an appeal is not always certain. We highly recommend seeking the guidance of an experienced immigration attorney before challenging the denial of a fiancé visa application.

What if I Cannot Satisfy the Requirements for a UK Fiancé Visa?

For reasons related to human rights, you can still be permitted entry or stay in the UK even if you are unable to meet the conditions for a UK Fiancé Visa, For instance:

• You are the parent of a British or Irish citizen child living in the UK;
• It would be unreasonable for your child, who has been in the UK for at least seven years, to leave the country;
• Living together as a couple outside of the UK would provide very real challenges that you and your fiancé could not overcome;
• Otherwise, preventing you from entering the UK or forcing you to leave would be a violation of your human rights.

More information on: GOV.UK