Apply For An Unmarried Partner
UK immigration rules recognize the importance of same-sex relationships and common-law couples on the same basis as legal spouses. Even if you are not legally married or registered as civil partners, but wish to live in the country with your long-term partner, you may request for an Unmarried Partner Visa.
To apply for this kind of visa, you need to follow these steps:
- Fill in an online form for an Unmarried Partner Visa in the UK. The form you need to use differs for applications filed within the UK and outside the country.
- Pay the required application fees and immigration health surcharge.
- Where necessary, make an appointment at UKVCAS or a local visa application centre to provide biometric data (fingerprints and photographs).
- Upload all documents required to support your application.
- If relevant, respond to further document requests or interview by the Home Office.
What Is The UK Unmarried Partner Visa?
Unmarried Visa (also known as UK Defacto Visa) allows a person to live in the UK for 33 months (if applying from abroad) or 30 months (if applying from the UK) with an opposite-sex or same-sex partner who is a UK citizen or resident who qualifies as a Sponsor.
Formally, UK Unmarried Partner Visas belong to Family visas, which apply to unmarried couples, as well as children, parents, spouses, or civil partners.
Please note that you must be in a committed relationship with your partner living in the UK for at least 2 years and meet the specified requirements.
If your application for an Unmarried Partner Visa is successful, you will have the right to live with your partner and officially work in the UK.
Eligibility For Unmarried Partner / Same-sex Partner Visa
In order to obtain a visa under this category, you and your partner must be 18 or above and meet the following requirements:
- You must have been in a relationship with your partner for at least two years at the time of the application, and your commitment is similar to married couple or civil partners.
- You must meet the English language requirement.
- You must be able to financially support yourself and any dependants. Read here the Financial Requirements https://qc-immigration.com/financial-requirements-partner-visas/
- There must be adequate accommodation for you, your sponsor and any dependants.
- You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK.
If there is any reason why you have not been able to cohabit, we may explain this with supporting evidence. For example, you cannot live together due to work, study, cultural, religious or other reasons.
Unmarried Partner Visa UK requirements
To qualify for the Unmarried Partner Visa, you must prove that you meet all the requirements set by the Home Office and UKVI (UK visas and immigration).
Status of Sponsoring Partner
You may obtain an Unmarried Partner Visa if your partner meets one of the following requirements:
- Is a British or Irish citizen.
- Has Indefinite Leave to Remain in the country or Settled Status, which means they have permanent residence in the UK.
- Has Pre-settled Status as an EEA national.
- Has limited permission to remain as a Turkish Business person or a Turkish Worker in accordance with the ECAA Annex.
- Has refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.
- Has recognised stateless status in the UK.
- Is a member of HM Armed Forces.
Age Requirements for the Unmarried Partner Visa
When applying for the Unmarried Partner Visa, both partners must be of legal age, that is, over 18 years.
Relationship Requirement
If you wish to apply, you and your partner need to prove that:
- You know each other personally.
- You have been in a relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership for the last 2 years (if you lived together for 2 years some time ago, you need to prove that your relationship continues and that you plan to live together).
- Your relationship is genuine and subsisting.
- You intend to live together in the UK permanently.
- Your previous marital or other relationship (if any) is permanently terminated.
UK Unmarried Partner Visa Financial Requirements
When considering your application, the Home Office will check whether you have enough funds to fully support yourself during your stay in the UK without resorting to public funds.
There are minimum annual income requirements (before tax and national insurance) for obtaining the Unmarried Partner Visa, which you must confirm before you receive your visa.
- £18,600 for applicants without children (from 11 April 2024, the amount will increase from £18,600 to £29,000, and to £23,496 for HM Armed Forces personnel).
- Additional £3,800 for those with one child.
- Additional £2,400 for each additional child.
The financial requirement does not apply to children who are:
- UK citizens
- Irish citizens
- EEA citizens with pre-settled status
- Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status holders
- Eligible under Part 8 or Appendix Armed Forces where the financial requirement does not apply.
When calculating your annual income, your salary from employment is taken into account, along with funds from other financial sources:
- Income you receive from self-employment or as a director of a UK limited company.
- Cash savings of over £16,000.
- Pension payments.
- Non-employment income, for example, from rental of residential/commercial real estate or dividends.
To calculate how much your cash savings over £16,000 could reduce your income requirement, you need to:
- Calculate the average amount of your savings over the last six months.
- Subtract £16,000 from average savings.
- Divide the remaining amount by 2.5 (the number of years the Visa is issued).
For example, if you have £21,000 in savings, you can reduce the annual income requirement by £2,000. An amount of £62,500 (£88,500 from 11 April 2024) will completely eliminate the minimum income requirement of £18,600.
If the applicant's UK resident partner receives one of the benefits listed below in their child's name, they can meet the financial requirement called adequate maintenance instead of minimum income requirements. Such benefits include:
UK Unmarried Partner Visa Residence and Language Requirements
The prerequisite for obtaining this type of visa is that one unmarried partner (Sponsor) must be permanently resident in the UK and have either British / Irish citizenship or ILR. British citizens who are abroad but intend to return to the country are considered UK residents.
Applicants over 18 and under 65 must meet English language proficiency requirements. That is, you need to prove that you speak English at a level not lower than A1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
You can do this by obtaining a degree or other academic qualification taught in English, or by completing a qualifying English test from a test centre that is approved on the UK Home Office website.
UK Unmarried Partner Visa Document Requirements
When submitting your application, you will be asked to provide a number of documents confirming your eligibility for the Visa, namely:
- Your valid passport.
- Copy of your biometric residence permit (BRP) or existing Visa.
- Proof that you will have adequate accommodation in the UK.
- Proof that you meet financial requirements, examples would depend on your financial circumstances, including and not limited to:some text
- Bank statements showing your and your partner’s income and any cash savings.
- 6 months’ payslips or more, depending on the nature of your employment.
- A letter from the applicant's employer or partner detailing the length of service, position, salary, and confirmation that the payslips provided are genuine.
- Proof of income from other sources, such as pensions or rental property.
- Information about previous immigration applications you have made.
- Information about any criminal convictions.
- National insurance number (if available).
- Results of a tuberculosis test (TB) (if you are from a country where this procedure is required to apply for a visa).
In addition, the Home Office expects to see significant evidence of regular contact, joint responsibilities, emotional support and interest in each other's well-being, and that you are dependent on each other. It may require:
- Your partner's details, including their name, date of birth, nationality, passport, and right to reside in the UK.
- Evidence of your relationship with your partner, showing when and how you met, how often you see each other, etc. – any evidence provided must be recent, illustrating the depth and length of your relationship.
- Evidence of how long you have lived together, such as joint bills, mortgages, leases, and other services you pay together.
- Evidence that you are providing care to your partner.
- Information about persons with whom your partner was previously in a civil/official marriage or had children, including divorce certificates.
- Information about persons to whom your partner provides financial support.
All documentation not in English or Welsh is subject to mandatory certified translation.