If your spouse, unmarried partner or civil partner is a UK citizen, or is settled in Britain, and you are currently living overseas, IJN Law can help you apply for a Spouse, Unmarried Partner or Civil Partner visa to join them in the UK.

Finding the correct information online can be a minefield when you don’t know where to start.  Often limited information is provided without clarification on the complex visa rules and requirements.

The Visa requirements are summarised below;

• You and your partner both need to be 18 or over.
• Your partner must either:
• Be a UK Citizen or have settled status.
• Be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein and have pre-settled status, they must have started living in the UK before 1 January2021.
• Have a Turkish Businessperson visa or Turkish Worker visa.
• Have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.
• You are in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK or you’ve been living together in a relationship as unmarried partners for at least 2 years when you apply.
• You are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving.  If you are a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, you must be seeking entry to the UK to enable your marriage or civil partnership to take place in the United Kingdom.
• The relationship between you and your sponsor must be genuine and subsisting.
• You must have met your partner in person.
• If married, you were free to marry.
• You intend to live permanently with your sponsor in the UK and have adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds.
• Your sponsor meets the financial requirement. This would normally mean having an income of at least £18,600 per year (this increases if you have children) and/or having sufficient savings.
• You meet the English language requirement.

If the visa application is successful the initial entry clearance visa is granted for 33 months which enables you to travel to the UK in good time.

The route to settlement is 5 years so you will need to make a further leave to remain application prior to the expiry of the initial visa.  If granted you will be given a further 30 months.

The qualifying criteria for UK spouse and partner visas is very strict. Any error on an application form or not including the correct documentation could result in delays or visa refusal.

 Did you know?

When providing proof of your six months bank statements as proof of income.  It is imperative to follow the following guidance:

Full six months bank statements.  Originals should be provided and the statements should show your full details on each page i.e. account name, number and address

Please note that bank statements MUST be:

(1) on official bank stationery; or

(2) electronic bank statements which are either accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page.

The Employer Letter guidance states;

Letter from the employer to confirm the following:

1. the person’s employment and gross annual salary;
2. the length of their employment;
3. the period over which they have been or were paid the level of salary; relied upon in the application; and
4. the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term contract or agency).

At IJN Law we have years of experience in keeping up to date with changes in the law and identifying the finer details of the policy guidance, making sure our clients don’t miss a thing.

IJN Law works closely with you to ensure that your application is accurate and sufficiently evidenced to give it the best possible chance of approval by the Home Office.  We won’t let you apply if it isn’t!  

IJN Law can help with

• Compiling your documents checklist to support your spouse or partner visa application 
• Drafting supporting letters from your landlord/property owner and employer
• Spouse or partner visa application document checking service
• Advising on, preparing and submitting your application to the Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration

What if my visa is refused?

If your visa has been refused then there will be a right of appeal.  For out of country applications you will have 28 days to lodge your appeal to the Immigration Tribunal here in the UK and for in country applications 14 days.

If the deadline has passed then it is still possible to appeal late providing reasons for any late submission.  The Tribunal will then advise on the next steps.

IJN Law can assist with any appeal. It is important to contact us at the earliest with a copy of the refusal decision letter and fully copy of the application form and supporting documents.

It may be that appealing will not necessarily be your best option and advisable for a fresh application to be submitted.  Our advice will be based on your personal circumstances. We will factor in appeal timeframes, your financial circumstances and of course the merits based on why the application has been refused.