UK Partner Visa Applications – Immigration Rule Changes
It is rare for UK Immigration Solicitors to blog about a relaxation in UK immigration rules but we are delighted to report on a change to Appendix FM and the definition of partner in Unmarried Partner Visa applications.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Family Visa Solicitors
For Family Visa immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Who is a partner for an Unmarried Partner Visa?
Appendix FM is the section of the UK immigration rules that sets out the rules for obtaining UK entry clearance relating to family life. It is this Appendix that defines what a partner is for an Unmarried Partner Visa.
Until 31 January 2024 to qualify for an Unmarried Partner Visa you had to have ‘’been living together with the visa applicant in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the visa application.’’
After 31 January 2024, the wording changed to ‘’where the couple have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years”.
The key point is that Appendix FM no longer requires you to have lived with your unmarried partner for 2 years although you do need to have been in a 2-year relationship.
The change in wording may help international families where a couple has been in a long-term committed relationship but they have not lived together for 2 years. For example, where professional work commitments meant that whilst a couple was together, they could not actually set up a home in the traditional sense.
Who can be a sponsoring partner for an Unmarried Partner Visa?
Appendix FM requires your sponsoring partner to fall within one of these 3 categories:
- British citizen
- Person settled in the UK
- Person with limited leave as a refugee or granted humanitarian protection
If you are not sure if your partner qualifies as a person settled in the UK or whether, for example, if their dual US and UK citizenship qualifies them as a sponsoring partner, then Family Visa Solicitors can advise you on the Family Visa eligibility criteria.
Call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Evidence of your relationship for an Unmarried Partner Visa
Although the wording in Appendix FM may have changed the reality is that Family Visa Solicitors will always need to work harder to prove an unmarried relationship to the Home Office in comparison to a married one or one where a couple has entered a civil partnership.
Accordingly, whilst you may no longer need to prove that you have lived together for 2 years you do need to prove a 2-year relationship. Whilst you may not have lived with your unmarried partner there may still be evidence of financial links, such as a joint bank account or credit card or other evidence of your committed 2-year-plus relationship.
Family Visa Solicitors understand that it can be tempting to provide Home Office officials with overwhelming evidence of an unmarried relationship but that can be counterproductive. For example, you may want to submit statements from all your friends to say you are in a committed relationship or download all your social media posts going back over the last 2 years that contain references to your partner. Producing volume evidence can distract from quality evidence. For example, you may have asked your pension administrator or the HR director at your place of employment to note your cohabitee as your next of kin going back 3 or 4 years ago and this official paperwork may bear more weight than numerous holiday photos of your partner.
To discuss a Unmarried Partner Visa application call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The eligibility criteria for the Unmarried Partner Visa
To qualify for an Unmarried Partner Visa, you and your partner need to be:
- Aged over 18
- In a genuine and subsisting relationship with one another
- Single so have ended any prior relationships
- Intending to live together in the UK
Spouse Visa Solicitors point out that although Appendix FM has changed so you do not have to prove 2 years of living together there is still a requirement for a Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa that you intend to live together in the UK. That means you will not meet the eligibility criteria for a Family Visa if you intend to continue your long-distance relationship and not cohabit with one another.
In addition to those criteria, the visa applicant must also:
- Meet the accommodation requirement
- Meet the English language requirement
- Not have not breached any of the general grounds of refusal for a visa
- Meet the financial requirement
The Unmarried Partner Visa financial requirement
A lot has been written about changes to the financial requirement for Family Visas.
The current financial requirement for the Unmarried Partner Visa is set at a minimum income threshold of £18,600. The financial requirement increases by an extra income of £3,800 where the visa applicant is applying with one dependent child, and by an extra £2,400 of income for each additional child. Normally the sponsoring partner must earn this income as the visa applicant will not have a job in the UK and will be leaving whatever overseas-based employment they were in before a successful Unmarried Partner Visa application.
The government has said that in a 14 March statement of changes to the immigration rules the minimum income requirement will go up to £29,000. This increase will come into force on 11 April 2024. The financial requirement will not stay at £29,000 for long as the government is committed to 2 more increases. The final increase to a minimum income requirement of £38,700 will take effect in early 2025.
If your sponsoring partner does not meet the current financial requirement then Family Visa Solicitors can look at whether you can use the “exceptional circumstances” route in Appendix FM. This type of application is rare as you need to show that a refusal to grant your Unmarried Partner Visa on financial grounds would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences and be a breach of human rights.
Unmarried Partner Visa Solicitors say that as using the exceptional circumstances route is hard it is best to try and submit your Family Visa application before 11 April 2024 to take advantage of the lower minimum income requirement.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Family Visa Solicitors
For Family Visa immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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