UK Spouse Visa Checklist

Although our London Spouse Visa Solicitors make hundreds of Spouse Visa applications each year, we are great believers in using checklists. They can help avoid mistakes and ensure that you get your Family Visa as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

In this blog, our UK Immigration Lawyers look at what is in our Spouse Visa checklist and why.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors 

For efficient Spouse Visa advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.

Does following a Spouse Visa checklist guarantee Spouse Visa approval?

Our Visa Lawyers wish it was as simple as following a checklist to guarantee you get a visa. It isn’t. A checklist is a useful tool but your Spouse Visa Lawyer needs to know how the immigration rules and guidance on Family Visas apply to your family's circumstances. Then we can work out how best to word your application and collate the documents to support your Spouse Visa application.

Blindly following a checklist is lazy. You need a Visa Solicitor who uses a Spouse Visa checklist as an aide and not as their sole source of working out what to put in your visa application and what documents to send with it.

What happens if I don’t follow a Spouse Visa checklist?

If you don’t follow a Spouse Visa checklist there is a greater chance of your visa application being refused by the Home Office. You then have three options:

1. Make another Spouse Visa application
2. Appeal the decision
3. Apply for a judicial review

If you, or a former solicitor, made a mistake and forgot to include a bit of information or to supply an essential document it's unlikely that an appeal or judicial review is the correct route to take. Our UK Immigration Lawyers are likely to recommend that we prepare a fresh application but one that addresses the reasons for the Home Office refusal of your first application and uses a checklist to double-check that all the basics are covered and the application is tailored to your personal and financial circumstances.

If you are interested in changing immigration solicitors read our blog here.

Checklist to check if your partner can sponsor you for a UK Spouse Visa

To be eligible to apply for a Spouse Visa, you and your partner must be 18 or over.

Your partner must meet one of these criteria:

1. Be a British or Irish citizen
2. Have Indefinite Leave to Remain
3. Have settled status or permanent residence
4. Have protection or refugee status

Checklist of eligibility criteria for a Spouse Visa

As well as your partner meeting the eligibility criteria to sponsor your Spouse Visa application, you need:

1. To be legally married to your sponsoring partner or in a civil partnership. The marriage or partnership must be legally recognised in the UK. If you are not married you may qualify for an Unmarried Partner Visa
2. To be in a genuine relationship with your partner
3. To intend to live together in the UK
4. Financial requirement - to evidence that your sponsoring partner meets the minimum income requirement for a Spouse Visa
5. To pass an English language test or be exempt from the English language test because you are from a majority English-speaking country or you are exempt because of your qualifications
6. Accommodation requirement -to be able to show there is adequate accommodation in the UK for yourselves and any dependents

You also need to check that your application won't be refused under the general grounds for refusal in Part 9 of the immigration rules. For example, your application could be refused because of your immigration history or a previous criminal conviction.

Checklist of documents needed for a Spouse Visa application

You need to be able to prove that you meet each of the Spouse Visa eligibility criteria. That means providing evidence about:

1. Your identity and that of your sponsoring partner
2. Your marriage and your relationship
3. Your partner’s financial situation and accommodation

The evidence you need to produce on each of these three aspects depends on your circumstances and those of your husband, wife or civil partner.

If you have dependent children, you will also need to provide documents for them, such as birth certificates.

Checklist of evidence of identity and status documents needed for a Spouse Visa application

A Spouse Visa applicant needs to provide:

1. Valid passport or other valid travel identity papers
2. Copies of the photo page and any visa or entry stamps in previous passports
3. Details of any previous visa applications
4. A copy of your biometric residence permit (if you have one)
5. Details of any criminal convictions
6. TB certificate if required by the immigration rules because you spent time in a country on a prescribed list
7. English language test reference to prove you have passed the test or evidence you are exempt

A sponsoring spouse needs to provide:

1. Proof of nationality such as a copy of their passport
2. Evidence of UK immigration status, such as British citizenship or Indefinite Leave to Remain
3. A sponsorship declaration to show evidence of willingness to sponsor

Checklist of evidence of marriage and relationship evidence needed for a Spouse Visa application

Marriage and relationship evidence requirements include:

1. Evidence of marriage - your marriage certificate
2. An official transcription if the marriage certificate isn’t in English – your transcription won't suffice as it needs to be certified
3. Evidence your relationship is genuine. This could be evidence that you lived together overseas, travelled to meet one another whilst you were living overseas, photographs of time spent together, historical WhatsApp or other communications, such as your phone records. You can also include a statement giving a timeline of your relationship, the time spent together and the reasons for any periods spent apart. Family or others may provide a supporting statement. Your Immigration Solicitor can assess who, if anyone, should provide a supporting statement. For example, a statement from a professional you both had contact with may carry more weight than the evidence of a family member
4. Evidence you intend to live together in the UK. This could include evidence of your planned accommodation whilst living in the UK

Checklist of evidence of financial and accommodation evidence needed for a Spouse Visa application

Financial and accommodation evidence is very specific to your circumstances and those of your sponsoring partner. With a first Spouse Visa application, where you are applying for the visa from overseas, your Immigration Lawyer will need this evidence from your sponsoring partner in the UK:

1. Evidence your partner meets the minimum income requirement for the Spouse Visa. This is currently set at an income of £29,000 gross per year. Alternatively, if your partner doesn’t qualify on income, you may still qualify for a Family Visa if your partner can provide evidence that they are in receipt of a specified benefit or they have savings (or you do) that meet the immigration rules and enable you to meet the financial requirement through savings alone or through a combination of income and available savings
2. Proof of accommodation in the UK – this could be evidence of home ownership, mortgage, tenancy agreement or evidence that family can accommodate you and your presence and that of your spouse won't create overcrowding. The evidence could include an accommodation inspection report to confirm that the housing will not be overcrowded as defined by the regulations

Evidence that a sponsoring partner meets the financial requirement is very case-specific. Not all sources of income count as sometimes a partner can or cannot combine two or more sources of income to meet the minimum income requirement.

Evidence of income to meet the minimum income requirement can include:

• Employed income pay slips for the preceding six months, a letter from the employer setting out employment and salary and bank statements showing receipt of the salary into the account
• Self-employed business accounts for self-employed income, tax returns for the relevant period and bank statements
• Pension documents for pension income (private or state pension) and annuities and bank statements
• Benefits -evidence of entitlement to a specified state benefit
• Savings – the rules are complex and require evidence of cash savings of at least £88,500 if you are solely relying on savings to meet the financial requirement. You also need evidence of the legitimate source of the funds and evidence of the time the savings have been held for

How the Visa Lawyers at OTS Solicitors can help with your Spouse Visa application

At OTS Solicitors our Legal 500 recommended Spouse Visa Solicitors will take a measured and careful approach to your Family Visa application. We will use a Spouse Visa checklist that’s relevant to a 2025 Spouse Visa application but we won't slavishly rely on the checklist. We will make sure that your named London Visa Lawyer will prepare your application after carefully considering the latest immigration rules and guidance and your circumstances and those of your sponsoring spouse.

Our Spouse Visa application process involves:

1. Consultation to check that a Family Visa is the best visa option for you and that you and your sponsoring partner meet the eligibility criteria
2. Identifying any potential issues with your Spouse Visa application (such as your previous immigration record) or identifying the evidence and documents you will need to supply in the circumstances of your application
3. Preparation such as preparation of any relevant statements or checking your documents
4. Application completion and then submitting it to the Home Office for approval
5. Communicating with the Home Office if they raise queries and keeping you informed on the progress of your application

We recommend that you contact our specialist Spouse Visa Lawyers for a phone or online consultation to check that you want to work with our experts to achieve your Spouse Visa and entry clearance to the UK.

Speak to our Family and Spouse Visa Lawyers in London now.

For advice on family visas call us for an appointment at our offices in London or for a phone, Zoom or Skype consultation.

For expert help contact our Spouse Visa Solicitors.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.

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