UK Family and Spouse Visa Solicitors

Our spouse visa solicitors and London immigration lawyers provide expert immigration advice if you want to apply for a family visa as a spouse, unmarried partner, civil partner, child, parent or adult dependant relative and join your family in 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 family and spouse visa advice services

Our immigration solicitors in London have many years of experience in helping reunite families on family visas with:

Advice on eligibility for a UK spouse or family visa

A spouse visa lawyer can help with advice on eligibility for a family visa and identify the key documents to prove visa eligibility. This is especially important if you are applying for an unmarried partner visa and need to evidence the length of your relationship or if your sponsoring partner has complicated finances and needs to combine sources of income to meet the family visa financial requirement

Help completing a UK family or spouse visa application

The UK family visa and spousal visa application process is complicated and confusing. Our Legal 500 recommended immigration solicitors provide support and practical guidance on everything you need to do to give your application the best chance of success.

Our immigration experts have the experience to advise you on the complexities and evidential issues that can occur with visa applications and extensions, such as unmarried or LGBTQ couples proving their relationship or couples in arranged marriages who may have had a previous spouse visa refusal if the Home Office refused to accept their relationship was genuine.

UK spouse and family visa refusals, judicial reviews and appeals

If your UK spouse or family visa application has been refused, there are three routes to challenge a UK family or spouse visa refusal:

1. Make a new UK spouse or UK family visa application – addressing the points that led to your visa being refused
2. Judicial Review – challenging the lawfulness of the decision to refuse your visa application. You may have a good case to argue that the law was not properly applied by Home Office officials to your UK family or spousal visa application or the correct process was not followed
3. UK family or spouse visa appeal – you may be able to appeal a spouse visa refusal to an immigration tribunal on human rights grounds. In an appeal, you can submit new evidence in support of your application

If you previously had an application refused a specialist spouse visa lawyer at OTS Solicitors will analyse what went wrong with your refused application and advise you on which of the three routes is best for your situation.

UK spouse visas explained

What is a UK spouse visa?

A UK spouse visa (also known as a UK marriage visa) allows you to live and work in the UK if you are married to a British citizen or a person with settled status in the UK.

How do I apply for a UK spouse visa?

If you want to apply for a UK spouse visa, talk to a family immigration lawyer for help completing the online application and collating the documentation you need for a successful family visa application. If you are already in the UK on a visa, such as a student visa or work visa, you may be able to switch to a UK spouse visa provided you and your spouse meet the eligibility requirements.

Our UK spouse visa solicitors will:

Check eligibility and gather documents

The first stage in the UK spouse visa application process is to check you meet the family visa eligibility criteria. If not, you may qualify for a different type of visa, such as a skilled worker visa.

A spouse visa solicitor will identify the documents you need to support your application. These will depend on your circumstances and those of your sponsoring husband or wife. For example, the evidence you need to prove you meet the financial requirement for a spouse visa will be different if your spouse is self-employed, a company director or in receipt of a pension or rental income

Complete online spouse visa

A lawyer for visa application will submit your application online after carefully considering your circumstances and clarifying any potential issues. For example, if you and your spouse have lived apart for several years

Attend appointment and submit information

Attending an appointment to have your photograph and fingerprints taken is part of any UK spouse visa application. A lawyer for spouse visa will explain where the appointment will take place and the biometric process

How long is a UK spouse visa issued for?

A UK spouse visa is issued for 30 months if you applied from within the UK and 33 months if you applied from overseas.

Before your spouse visa expires you need to apply for a spouse visa extension. You will need to meet the same eligibility criteria as your first spouse visa application, including the minimum income requirement.

After you have lived in the UK for five years you can apply to settle in the UK if you meet the eligibility requirements for an indefinite leave to remain application.

Our immigration lawyers will support you at each stage of your immigration journey from your initial visa application, visa extension and settlement application, including an application for British citizenship

What are the requirements for a UK spouse visa?

The requirements for a UK spouse visa are:

1. Age - you and your spouse must be at least 18 years old
2. Relationship - you must be legally married and be in a genuine relationship. The rules say you must have met one another and not have married by proxy. You must intend to live together permanently
3. Financial requirement - your sponsoring partner must meet the minimum income financial requirement when you apply for a first spouse visa. For spouse visa extensions and applications for settlement, your sponsoring partner’s income and your income can be combined to meet the income financial requirement
4. Accommodation – you must have suitable accommodation for you, your spouse and any dependent children
5. No public funds – you or your sponsoring spouse must have enough money to support yourselves (and any dependent children) without claiming public funds
6. English language – you must satisfy the English language requirement or be exempt from sitting the English language test

What is the financial requirement for a spouse visa?

A sponsoring husband or wife must earn a minimum of £29,000 a year to sponsor their spouse on a family visa.

If you or your sponsoring spouse are concerned that you will not meet the financial requirement it is best to speak to a family immigration lawyer. The financial requirement rules are complicated and, with expert spouse visa advice, you may qualify for a visa. For example, a spouse may meet the financial requirement if they combine several sources of income (such as a pension or other income), receive a specified state benefit or if one of you has savings over a minimum threshold.

Exceptional circumstances and the income threshold for a spouse visa

Talk to our immigration specialists if you do not meet the income threshold for a spouse visa. They may be able to get the Home Office to exercise discretion and grant your visa application because of your exceptional circumstances.

If you can demonstrate exceptional circumstances when you apply for family visa the Home Office may consider other funds to allow you to meet the financial eligibility criteria, such as:

• Credible guarantee of financial support from a third party
• Prospective earnings if you or your sponsor have a new job
• Any other credible and reliable source of income or funds available to you

The exceptional circumstances must mean the refusal of your UK spouse visa application would be a breach of Article 8 human rights as it could result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for you, your partner or a dependent child under the age of 18 years.

The Home Office weighs up the genuineness, credibility and reliability of the other sources of income, financial support or funds to see if the financial requirement is met. If it is not, you may still be granted a visa if the Home Office can be persuaded, using a test of proportionality and human rights, that the application should be granted.

Minimum income threshold changes

The UK government changed the minimum income threshold for a spouse visa in April 2024.

If you made a UK family visa application before 11 April 2024, any spouse visa extension application and indefinite leave to remain application is decided on the financial requirement rules in place at the time of your first spouse visa application. If you are applying to extend your family visa or to settle in the UK speak to a lawyer for spouse visa about the transitional financial eligibility provisions and the evidence you need to support your extension or settlement application.

How long does it take to get a spouse visa in the UK?

The timeline for obtaining a spouse visa depends on several factors, such as whether you are applying from within the UK or overseas.

If you are applying from outside the UK and do not use the Home Office priority service it may take several weeks to get a spouse visa decision. It takes around five days if you elect to use the Home Office priority service. The exact timeframe depends on:

1. Complexity of your application – if your sponsor is self-employed or a company director or if you are asking the Home Office to exercise discretion because of exceptional circumstances it may take the Home Office longer to decide your application. A well-prepared application and documents that address how the financial requirement or exceptional circumstances are met will speed the process up
2. Immigration record – if you have an immigration record in the UK it may take longer to check your application. For example, if you have previously been refused a visa or if you were accused of breaching a condition of an earlier work visa or student visa
3. Time of year – sometimes you may be unlucky as your application reaches the Home Office when they are overwhelmed by spouse visa applications

Our immigration solicitors will advise you at each step of the application process and keep you informed.

UK family visas explained

UK family visas include spouse visas and five further categories of family members:

1. Unmarried partner visas for unmarried couples
2. Child visas for dependent children
3. Adult dependant relatives visas for adult dependents
4. Parents visas
5. Civil partner visas if you are in a legally recognised civil partnership

The eligibility requirements for each family visa depend on the category of visa you are applying for. Our immigration experts prepare applications after carefully considering your family circumstances and the relevant Home Office guidance for your visa category.

UK unmarried partner visas explained

What are the eligibility requirements for a UK unmarried partner visa?

The requirements for an unmarried partner visa are similar to a spouse visa but you need to pay particular attention to proving you have lived together for at least two years in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership.

The other requirements are:

1. Age – you must both be over the age of 18
2. Accommodation – have suitable accommodation
3. English language – either pass an English language test or be exempt from the test
4. Minimum income threshold – a sponsoring partner must earn at least £29,000 a year
5. No public funds – you must be able to support yourself without access to state benefits
6. Living together – you must intend to live together permanently in the UK

OTS Solicitors are experts in collating the best evidence in your circumstances to prove your relationship is akin to marriage and that you meet the minimum income threshold.

How long can I remain in the UK under an unmarried partner visa?

If you apply for your unmarried partner visa while living in the UK, you can remain in the UK for up to 30 months. If you apply from overseas your visa will last for 33 months. You can apply to extend your unmarried partner visa. Once you have lived in the UK for at least five years you may qualify to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

UK dependent child visas explained

The eligibility requirements for a UK dependent child visa

The eligibility requirements for a UK dependent child visa are that the child must be under 18 years of age and must not be leading an independent life, married or in a civil partnership or have children of their own.

Are there any financial requirements attached to a UK dependent child visa?

For a UK dependent child visa where the parent is a British citizen or settled in the UK, the sponsoring parent needs to earn at least £29,000 to meet the minimum income threshold. The amount is the same whether a sponsoring parent sponsors one dependent child or several.

UK adult dependent relative visas explained

Can I move an adult relative that needs care to the UK?

If you are settled in the UK your dependent adult relative can apply for a visa to secure indefinite leave to enter.

What are the eligibility requirements of a UK adult dependent relative visa?

There are four key eligibility requirements for the adult dependent relative visa:

1. Relationship – the applicant must be an eligible relative such as a parent, child over the age of 18, grandparent or sibling
2. Dependency – the applicant must be dependent on their sponsor. This could be dependency through age, infirmity or other vulnerability
3. Financial – the sponsor must meet the minimum income threshold or have sufficient savings to meet the financial requirement
4. Age – applicants must be over the age of 18. Children under the age of 18 can apply for a child visa

The relative visa requires specialist preparation as the applicant needs to show that they need long-term care from their sponsoring relative and the care is not available to them in the country where they live due to unavailability or unaffordability or because there is nobody there who can provide it (such as close family).

Adult dependent relatives of a person in the UK with refugee leave, humanitarian protection or limited leave under Appendix EU

If the visa applicant’s sponsor has limited leave as a refugee or humanitarian protection or is in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EU, and the adult dependant relative visa requirements are met, the applicant will be granted entry clearance. The visa holder will need to leave the UK at the same time as the sponsor’s leave expires.

UK parent visas explained

A parent can apply to join their child in the UK under the parent route if the child is a British citizen or meets the eligibility criteria, such as having settled status or having lived in the UK for at least seven years.

The definition of parent for the UK parent visa

For the UK parent visa, a parent includes biological, adoptive parent and step-parent (if a biological parent has died).

What are the eligibility requirements for entering the UK on a parent visa?

The four key parent visa eligibility requirements are:

1. Child’s age – the child must be under 18. If the child is over 18 there are other visa options
2. Child’s status – the child must either be a British citizen, have settled status, humanitarian protection or have lived in the UK for at least seven years. If the child has lived in the UK continuously for seven years the parent must show that it would not be in the child’s best interests to leave the UK and live overseas with their parent
3. Relationship – the applicant must be the child’s biological, adoptive or step-parent
4. Financial – the parent must meet a financial threshold or demonstrate adequate maintenance funds

The immigration rules on parent visas are complex. For example, the rules are different if you are applying as a sole parent or if your child’s status is based on seven years of continuous residence.

Why choose OTS Solicitors to assist you with UK family and spouse visa applications?

Our immigration solicitors understand how invested you are in reuniting with your family on a family or spouse visa. We promise to:

• Explain the visa requirements and how the immigration rules apply to your family
• Identify the best documents to help you secure your visa
• Communicate with the Home Office and keep you informed

You can confidently choose OTS Solicitors as your family visa lawyers because:

• We have an excellent success rate in family visa applications
• We hold the highest Law Society Accreditation award in immigration law
• We have excellent client recommendations on our website as well as on sites such as Trust Pilot and Google
• We are recommended in Legal 500 for our immigration work
• You will work with a named lawyer and support staff available to take your calls and answer your queries
• We are experts in family visa applications and know how to prepare a compelling application, the documents to best support your application and how to tailor your application to meet complex Home Office guidance
• Our immigration solicitors work closely with our specialist family lawyers if you require joined-up immigration and family law advice
• Our London immigration lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu and Punjabi

Our dedicated immigration lawyers will ensure that your family or UK spouse visa application receives the care and attention to detail that you and your family deserve.

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.