Learn how to apply for a Eu Spouse Visa in Uk If you want to apply for a Eu Spouse Visa,it is extremely important to carry out proper online research on the name of the service provider and on their certifications.The Eu Spouse visa route is a category of spousal visa within the UK’s points-based system for immigration. If you are married to a European Economic Area (EEA) Citizen you may be able to apply for a UK visa to live in the UK with your spouse on a permanent or temporary basis depending on your nationality and personal circumstances. To find out more, please fill out our initial enquiry form and our specialist immigration status lawyers will contact you within 24 hours.

Eu Spouse Visa In Uk

Many people who marry a European Citizen are able to live in the United Kingdom because of the free movement of people that is allowed throughout the European Union. The number of Europeans living in the UK has increased more than fourfold since 1996 and now stands at around 1 million people.Why do many people want to live in the UK? The UK is a culturally rich country with a lot to offer families. There are many reasons why it may be wise for individuals to either live or thrive in the UK regardless of their current home location.

Check if your partner and children can get visas to live in the UK

This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice forNorthern Ireland, See advice forScotland, See advice forWales

Bringing family members from Ukraine to the UK

There are special rules for family members who are Ukrainian nationals. Check the rules about bringing family members from Ukraine to the UK.

Your partner might be able to get a partner visa to join you in the UK – or stay in the UK if they’re already here. 

If your partner has children aged under 18, your partner can usually also apply for them to get child visas. They don’t need to be your biological children – for example, they can be your step-children. Your partner can:

• apply for the partner and child visas at the same time
• apply for the child visas when they already have a partner visa

Partner and child visas are types of family visa. It will cost over £1,500 for each person to get a family visa.

Your partner’s visa will usually last for 2 years and 9 months – or 2 years and 6 months if they’re already in the UK when they apply. Child visas will last until the partner visa ends – even if they start later. Your partner can usually apply:

• to extend both types of visa before they end
• for them and their children to stay in the country permanently after they’ve had a partner visa for 5 years

If your partner applies for a partner visa you’re called their ‘sponsor’. If they apply for visas for their children, you’ll also be the children’s sponsor.

If you only want to sponsor your children

Your children can usually only get child visas if their parent has a partner visa – or is applying for one.

You might be able to apply for your child to live in the UK permanently instead – this is called ‘indefinite leave’. Your child can get indefinite leave if either:

• you have sole responsibility for them and you have a permanent right to live in the UK
• you and their other parent both have a permanent right to live in the UK – you must both be in the UK or moving to the UK with your child

You have a permanent right to live in the UK if for example you’re a British citizen or you have indefinite leave.

Check if you can get indefinite leave for your child.

To work out if your partner and their children can get family visas, you’ll need to check:

• if you can be a sponsor
• who can apply for partner and child visas
• if your partner needs to take an English language test
• the rules about your income and savings
• the rules about where you live

Check if you can be a sponsor

You can sponsor your partner and their children if you have one of the following:

• British citizenship
• Irish citizenship – you must be living or have lived in the UK
• indefinite leave or right of abode
• settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme
• pre-settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme – you must have come to the UK by 31 December 2020

If you’re a refugee or have humanitarian protection, this also lets you sponsor your partner and their children. If your relationship with your partner started before you had to leave your country, your partner and children can apply to join you under the refugee ‘family reunion’ rules instead. It’s free and easier than applying for family visas. Check how your partner and children can apply for family reunion on GOV.UK.

If you have another type of visa

If your child was born in the UK or one of their parents has British citizenship

If you’re from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein

If you were born in Northern Ireland

Check if your partner can apply for a partner visa

Your partner can apply for a partner visa if they’re one of the following:

• your husband, wife or civil partner
• your fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner
• your partner who you’ve lived with for at least 2 years

You must have met your partner in person, and you must intend to live together permanently. If they’re your fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, it’s okay if you only intend to live together after your marriage or civil partnership.

If your partner is already in the UK, they can only apply if they have a visa that was for more than 6 months when they got it. They can’t apply if they’re in the UK on a visitor visa.

Your partner can’t apply if they owe £500 or more to the NHS.

You and your partner must have ended any past relationships with other people. If you were previously in a marriage or civil partnership with someone else, it must have legally ended.

If your fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner is applying

If you’ve lived together for at least 2 years, It’s usually best for your partner to use that as the basis for their application. This means they:

• will get a visa for 2 years and 9 months – or 2 years and 6 months if they’re already in the UK
• will be allowed to work in the UK
• will not have to make another application and pay another fee after they get married

If you haven’t lived together for 2 years, your fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner can only apply to come to the UK for 6 months. You must get married or register a civil partnership in that time.

If your partner gets the 6-month visa, they won’t be allowed to work. After your wedding or civil partnership ceremony, they can apply for a partner visa as a husband, wife or civil partner – this will allow them to work.

Your partner can only apply for the 6-month visa if they’re outside the UK.

If you and your partner want to get married or register a civil partnership in the UK but you don’t plan to live here, they can come to the UK on a different kind of visa called a marriage visitor visa. This means they’ll have to leave the UK at the end of 6 months. Check how to get a marriage visitor visa on GOV.UK.

Check if your partner’s children can apply for child visas

When your partner applies for a partner visa, they can also apply for their children aged under 18 to get child visas at the same time.

If your partner has already got a partner visa, they can still apply for child visas for their children.

The child visas will last until the end of the partner visa.

If you aren’t a child’s other parent, your partner can only apply for a child visa if they have sole responsibility for them. They have sole responsibility if they’re the only person responsible for the children’s upbringing and welfare.

Your partner can’t apply for a child who is independent, for example if they:

• are living with a partner
• have left home – unless they left home to study

Your partner doesn’t need to apply for children who already have a right to be in the UK – for example if they’re British citizens or they have indefinite leave.

Check the rules about your income and savings

You must show you have a certain amount of income or savings. This is called the ‘financial requirement’.

The normal way to meet the financial requirement is to show your income is at least a certain amount of money each year.

If your partner is already in the UK, you can add their income to yours. If they’re not in the UK yet, you can only include income they’ll still get after they move.

If your partner is applying for themselves and no children, you meet the financial requirements if your income is at least £18,600 each year before tax.

If your partner is applying for children, you can sponsor them if your income is £18,600 plus:

• £3,800 for the first child
• £2,400 for the second child and for each child after that

For example if your partner is applying for themselves and 2 children, you can sponsor them if you earn at least £24,800 each year. This is £18,600 plus £3,800 plus £2,400.

Your income doesn’t include benefits, but it does include:

• earnings from employment or self-employment in the UK 
• a pension
• maternity, paternity, adoption or sick pay
• other income – for example from rent or shares

Your partner doesn’t need to apply for children who already have a right to be in the UK – for example if they’re British citizens or they have indefinite leave.

If your income isn’t enough, you might still be able to meet the financial requirement if either:

• you and your partner have over £16,000 in savings between you
• you get certain disability benefits like Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Carer’s Allowance

If you and your partner have over £16,000 in savings

If you get disability benefits

Check the rules about where you live

Your partner will have to show that where you live is safe, suitable and large enough for the number of people you want to live there with you. You don’t need to own your own home but you do need somewhere you can stay long term. For example you might have a tenancy agreement or a room of your own in your parents’ house.

If you live in council housing or your landlord is a housing association, you can check how many people are allowed to live in your home. This is called the ‘permitted number of persons’ (PNP). The PNP is usually on your tenancy agreement, or you can ask your landlord. Children under 1 year old aren’t included in the total, and children between 1 and 10 years old count as half a person.

If you’re not a council or housing association tenant, check your local council’s guidance about overcrowding. You can find your local council on GOV.UK.

If your partner applies for a 6-month visa as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, you and your partner can live separately when they first arrive in the UK. Your partner will need to give evidence about both:

• where they will live before the wedding or civil partnership ceremony – for example with family or friends
• where they will live with you after the wedding or civil partnership ceremony

Check if your partner needs to take an English language test

Your partner usually needs to take an English language test before they apply for a partner visa. Their children don’t need to take an English language test.

Your partner doesn’t need to take a test if one of the following applies:

• they’re a citizen of a country that’s exempt because English is an official or majority language there – for example Jamaica or the USA
• they have a university degree that was taught or researched in English
• they’re under 18 or over 65 years old

If your partner has a physical or mental condition that stops them passing the test, they might not have to do it. They’ll need to ask their doctor to confirm their condition:

• is unlikely to change
• makes it impossible for them to learn enough English – for example, a learning disability or brain injury that stops them learning the language

You can check the full rules about who needs to take an English language test on GOV.UK.

Taking an English language test

If your partner needs to pass a test, it must be at least level ‘A1’ on the ‘Common European Framework of Reference for Languages’ (CEFR) scale. This tests if they can speak in English and understand spoken English – it doesn’t test reading or writing in English.

They must use an approved test provider. You can find an approved English language test provider on GOV.UK.

If your partner can speak English well

It’s worth your partner taking a higher level test than A1 – this means they can use the result for later visa applications.

They will need to pass a test at:

• level ‘A2’ when they apply to extend their partner visa
• level ‘B1’ when they apply to live in the UK permanently – this is called ‘indefinite leave’

If your partner and children don’t meet the rules for family visas

Your partner and their children might be able to get a visa if an exception applies. The exceptions depend on whether they’re living inside or outside the UK when they apply.

If your partner and their children are already in the UK

If your partner and their children are applying from outside the UK

Check your partner’s rights if they get a visa

If your partner and their children get family visas, they will have the right to:

• rent or buy somewhere to live
• use the NHS
• go to school
• leave the UK and return as many times as they want
• work or study – unless they have a 6-month visa as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner

Your partner and their children usually can’t claim most benefits or apply for council housing. This is called having a ‘no public funds’ condition. Check what benefits they can get while they have a ‘no public funds’ condition.

If your partner and their children get family visas based on exceptional circumstances or private and family life, they might be able to get benefits and council housing. If you’re not sure, check if it says ‘no public funds’ on their documents or their Biometric Residence Permit.

Check the rules about staying in the UK at the end of the visa

Your partner can apply to extend their visa and their children’s visas before they end. The extension will be for 2 years and 6 months.

If your partner got a 6-month visa as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, they need to apply after your wedding or civil partnership ceremony.

If you can’t get married or register a civil partnership within 6 months, your partner can apply for a small extension. They’ll have to explain why the ceremony hasn’t happened yet and give evidence to prove it will happen soon. Get help from a specialist adviser if you need to extend a 6-month visa.

Staying in the UK permanently

When your partner has been in the country on a partner visa for 5 years, they can usually apply to stay in the UK permanently. This is called ‘indefinite leave’. The 5 years doesn’t include any time when they were in the UK on the 6-month visa as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner.

If your partner gets a partner visa based on exceptional circumstances or private and family life, they can only apply for indefinite leave after 10 years.

Your partner can apply for their children to get indefinite leave at the same time as them, or when they’ve already got it. It doesn’t matter how long their children have been in the UK.