Fiancé & Proposed Civil Partner Visa

To gain permission to enter the UK as a fiancé or proposed civil partner you will need to satisfy the following requirements.

1. The applicant’s partner (the sponsor) must be

- a British Citizen in the UK;

- present and settled in the UK;

- in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection; or

- with EU Pre-Settled Status.

2. Both parties to the relationship must be aged 18 or over at the date of application and not be within the prohibited degree of relationship.

3. The applicant and their partner must have met in person.

4. They must intend to marry or enter a civil partnership within the duration of the visa (6 months). You should note that the 6 months will run from the date the visa is issued, not the date of entry to the UK.

5. They must intend to live permanently with the other as his or her spouse or civil partner following the marriage or civil partnership.

6. Any previous relationship of the applicant or their partner must have broken down permanently.

7. The applicant must meet a specific financial requirement (read more below).

8. The couple must be able to accommodate themselves and any dependants adequately without additional recourse to public funds both before and after the ceremony.

9. The applicant must demonstrate a minimum competence in the English language. This can be done either by being a citizen of a specified country, holding a degree level qualification that was taught in English, or by passing an approved English language test to level A1. To extend a spouse visa applicant's must demonstrate English language at level A2, and B1 for indefinite leave to remain.

The financial rules apply equally across all partner visa types. In other words, the requirements for a fiancé or proposed civil partner visa are the same as for spouse or civil partner visa. We set out below a summary of the main rules.

Applicants must show that they meet certain minimum income or savings thresholds to qualify for the visa. These income requirements are due to significantly increase on 11 April.

The annual income thresholds until 11 April are:

- Applicant with no children: £18,600

- First child: an additional £3,800*

- Subsequent children: an additional £2,400 per child*

* Applies only to children that are dependants on the application and are not British citizens or already settled in the UK.

From 11 April, the minimum earning requirement will be £29,000. There are no additional increments for children. The minimum earning requirement will increase further in late 2024 to £34,500, and to £38,700 in 2025.

The sources of income which are acceptable are:

- employment or self-employment of the sponsor;

- certain permitted sources other than employment, such as rent from property, ongoing payments from insurance policies, e.g. income protection;

- state or private pensions of the sponsor; or

- maternity allowances or bereavement benefits received in the UK.

Shortfalls in income can be made up from savings in excess of £16,000. For example, if your sponsor’s income is £17,000, you will have a shortfall of £1,600. The amount of savings you would need to hold is £20,000 (i.e. £1,600 x 2.5 + £16,000).

If your sponsor does not have an income, the amount of savings you need to hold rises to £62,500.

Savings must be held in an account in your or your partner’s name for 6 months prior to the date of application. It may be possible to rely on funds held in a non-cash form, e.g. a managed investment account, but it may be necessary to convert the funds to cash account before applying.

Lastly, it is possible to rely on funds released from the sale of property where it can be demonstrated that you have owned the property for more than 6 months.

Applicants will be exempt from these financial requirements if their UK sponsor receives a specified disability related benefit or carer’s allowance. In these circumstances, it is necessary to show that the couple can still maintain and accommodate themselves without additional recourse to public funds.

This fiancé or proposed civil partner visa can only be obtained from outside the UK. It is not possible to obtain this visa from within the UK. 

The application should be lodged at the nearest British overseas post authorised to deal with such matters. The process involves submission of an online application and digital specified evidence, attendance at a biometric appointment and potentially an interview.

Applicants from certain specified countries may be required to undertake a tuberculosis test.

Processing times at the moment fluctuate depending on the circumstances of the case. Standard applications will typically take between 1-6 months. Super priority applications should take up to 6 weeks.

UK visa fee - £1846

Priority settlement option - £500

Some (but not all) British visa application centres around the world normally offer a ‘Priority Settlement Service’. This is an additional cost service that will place your application at the front of the processing queue, we would advise you to check with us or on the internet as to when the priority service for fiancé or proposed civil partner visas are reinstated. Use of this service may speed up the processing time for your application, however, the Home Office do not guarantee expedited treatment.

Applicants are not required to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge fee (IHS fee) for a fiancé or proposed civil partner visa. However, they will need to pay the IHS fee when switching to the spouse or civil partner routes.

- Comprehensive legal advice.

- Ensuring your application meets the legal requirements.

- Assistance with compiling the complex evidence required for this category.

- Completion and submission of all forms and supporting documentation.

- Booking a biometric appointment.

In our experience it is very important applications for a fiancé or civil partner visa are prepared thoroughly but more so given the lengthy current processing times.

- Ongoing liaison with the authorities where possible.

If you would like to discuss your application for a fiancé or proposed civil partner visa in more detail, please contact us on +44 (0)20 7038 3980, email us at info@rlegal.com or use our online enquiry form.