Regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority · Ref No. F201700062
Family and Partners
A spouse or civil partner application is about proving a genuine relationship and meeting the other requirements of the route at the same time.
Most refusals we see are about evidence rather than the relationship itself.
A partner application under Appendix FM is decided on four broad questions: is the relationship genuine and subsisting, is there an adequate financial position, is there adequate accommodation, and does the applicant meet the English language and suitability requirements.
Most refusals are not about whether the couple love each other. They are about evidence: gaps in the financial documents, a specified document missing, or a history that has not been explained.
The financial requirement can be met through employment income, self-employment, non-employment income, pension income, cash savings, or a combination of permitted sources. Each source has its own specified evidence, and the rules on what counts are unusually prescriptive.
Where the sponsor has recently changed jobs, is paid variably, is self-employed, or is returning to the UK from abroad, the calculation changes. These are the cases where advice earns its cost, because a well-structured application can often be made now rather than in six months.
Where the requirement cannot be met, exceptional circumstances and the position of any children can still be relevant, but those arguments need to be made deliberately and with evidence.
Good relationship evidence is a timeline, not a bundle. It shows how you met, how the relationship developed, periods spent together and apart, cohabitation where it exists, financial interdependence, and contact with each other's families.
Quality matters more than volume. A structured selection of documents across the whole period is more persuasive than hundreds of screenshots from the last two months.
Applicants who meet all the requirements are normally placed on the five-year route to settlement. Those granted on the basis of exceptional circumstances or family life outside the rules are usually placed on the ten-year route.
The difference is significant in cost and time, and it is often possible to move between them later. That should be part of the strategy from the first application rather than a discovery at the extension stage.
What is actually needed depends on your circumstances. We confirm the list with you before anything is prepared.
We start with your history, your relationships, your work and your time in the UK. The right route follows from the facts.
We explain which route fits, what it requires and what the realistic alternatives are if it does not.
We work out what the Home Office will expect, what you already have and what needs to be obtained.
We prepare the application, explain anything that needs explaining and advise on what happens after submission.
This page is general information about UK immigration and is not advice on your individual circumstances. Requirements, guidance and procedures change. Please obtain advice before relying on anything published here.
We will tell you how UKU can assist, and what the realistic options are.
