You will need to meet a financial requirement in order to demonstrate that you can properly maintain yourself in the UK without using public funds.

If your Civil Partner (or both of you if you have legal residence in the UK) is applying for a Civil Partner visa, you will be required to demonstrate that they have a gross annual income of at least:

• £18,600; plus
• £3,800 for a first child (who is not British, settled or an EEA national); plus
• £2,400 for each additional child (who is not British, settled or an EEA national).

 The following are ways to meet the financial requirement for the UK Civil Partner visa:

• salaried and non-salaried income
• self-employed income
• salary and/or dividends from a company of which you are a Director
• property rental income
• dividends
• An income from investments, stocks, bonds, or trust funds, pensions, insurance payments, and maintenance payments.
• At least six months’ worth of cash savings above £16,000* (unless they can be proven to be from the sale of property or investments within the last six months).
• In some cases, it is possible to satisfy the financial need by combining the above sources of income.
• When your partner receives certain benefits, there will be different considerations.

UK Visa & Immigration aims to process 95% of applications for UK Partner visas within 12 weeks after they are submitted.

In the event that you are in need of a faster visa processing timeline, most visa centres outside the UK offer settlement priority service. At every stage of the decision-making process, your UK Civil Partner visa application will be placed in the front of the queue. It normally takes 30 working days to process a UK Civil Partner visa via the Settlement Priority Visa Service.  If the visa application is well-prepared, the process can be sped up.

From within the UK, you will be able to choose between two processing timelines when applying to switch into or extend your Civil Partner status. Your in-country application will be decided within 8 weeks if you apply via the Standard Service. In most cases, you will receive a decision on the next working day after providing your biometric information if you apply through the Super Priority Service.

If you are successful in your application for a UK Civil Partner Visa, your visa will initially last for 33 months. 

Once this period comes to an end, and subject to you being able to demonstrate that you still meet all of the requirements and there have been no changes in your circumstances e.g. a breakdown in your relationship, you are required to extend your leave as a Civil Partner. 

In the case of a Civil Partner applying for leave to remain in the UK, you will be granted 30 months’ leave if your extension application is successful.

In the real world, we understand that things don’t always go to plan.

It’s important to understand that whilst the Civil Partner Visa is an immigration pathway to settlement, this is subject to ongoing compliance with the immigration rules.

There are many considerations such as:

is the relationship subsisting and genuine??

has there been any breakdown in relationship?

Have there been any changes in income?

Are there any criminal convictions?

You may apply for indefinite leave to remain if you are married to a British citizen or a settled person for five years and have met the immigration rules along this journey.

UK Immigration Solicitors are experts in this area and our team are able to ensure that you remain compliant with the rules throughout your immigration journey.

You may need to prove your knowledge of the English language when you apply.

When you do not need to prove it

You do not need to prove your knowledge of English or take a test if one of the following is true:

• you’re applying as a child
• you’re applying as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative
• you’ve been in the UK on a family visa for 5 years and you’re extending it as a partner or parent
• you’re over 65
• you have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement

You also will not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re a national of one of the following countries:

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, USA

How to prove your knowledge of English

You can prove it with an academic qualification, or by taking a test.

Academic qualifications

You can prove your knowledge of English if you have a degree or academic qualification that was taught or researched in English.

If your qualification is from a UK university or college, you only need your degree certificate.

If your qualification is from a university or college outside the UK

You’ll need to provide a certificate from Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) to show that your qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or higher and that it was taught in English.

There are 2 kinds of certificate:

• a statement of comparability
• a visa and nationality statement

You need a statement of comparability if you got your qualification from a university or college in one of these countries:

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, USA

If you got your qualification from a university or college in any other country, you need a visa and nationality statement.

Take an approved English language test

You can prove your knowledge of English by passing an approved English language test.

You must pass at least level A1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale for your first visa application. You can choose to take a higher level test.

If you pass level B1 or higher, you can use your test result again when you apply for settlement after 5 years. Your test still needs to be on the approved list of qualifications and your test certificate must not have been withdrawn by the test provider.

As a Civil Partner Visa holder, you enjoy the freedom to work or study in the UK to the same degree that any UK settled person enjoys.

There are no restrictions on Civil Partners or dependents to work or study in the UK whilst subject to immigration control.

You need entry clearance before coming to the UK if you want to enter the country because of your relationship with a British national.

You must have a valid visa that is valid for six months at the time you apply if you are applying from inside the United Kingdom.

If you were admitted into the UK as a visitor or prospective student, for example, or if you were initially admitted for a shorter period of time than six months, you cannot switch to a Civil Partner visa.

You can apply for a Civil Partner visa from overseas or from within the UK.

If you are already in the UK on a work visa, or student visa valid for more than six months, you may be able to switch into a Civil Partner visa.

Any child intending to join the main applicant as part of their visa application is called a dependent.

Children under the age of 18 may enter the UK as your dependents.

They should be applied for at the same time as your Civil Partner visa application. Depending on how many dependent children are being sponsored, your sponsoring Civil Partner will need to prove income of a specific amount.

It is still possible to apply for a UK Civil Partner visa if you are not able to meet certain of the requirements, if you can demonstrate that your relationship would encounter significant difficulties outside the UK.

In order to extend your stay in the UK after your initial grant of leave as a Civil Partner expires, you must apply to UK Visas and Immigration.

As a Civil Partner, you must meet the same requirements as you do for initial applications.  However, you will need to make sure that your application meets the requirements for relationships, finances, housing, and immigration status again.  You will also need to demonstrate your English language proficiency.

Our expert team are ready to guide you through all of the requirements to extend your Civil Partner Visa and will be able to ensure that you qualify before you submit the application.

When you have lived in the UK as the Civil Partner of a British citizen or settled person for five years (60 months), you may be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

In addition to the requirements listed above, you will need to demonstrate that:

• If you have been in this category for any period, you have lived with your Civil Partner permanently in the UK or have a good reason for not doing so, consistent with the intention that you will continue to live together permanently in the UK;
• In order to apply for settlement, you must meet the higher English Language requirement;
• the Life in the UK test must also be passed.

UK Visas and Immigration will consider if you meet the requirements for a further extension of stay as a Civil Partner if you apply for indefinite leave to remain as a Civil Partner but do not meet the above requirements.

If your application for entry clearance, leave to remain or settlement as a Civil Partner has been refused, UK Immigration Solicitor can help you determine whether to submit a fresh application or challenge the decision by appealing to the Immigration Tribunal..

UK Immigration Solicitors offer professional legal advice and representation in all aspects of pursuing UK immigration appeals in addition to preparing high quality visa applications.

We provide immigration appeal representation at hearings before the First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and higher courts, assist with the preparation of appeal bundles, represent you at immigration appeal hearings before the Upper Tribunal, and advise you on the merits of appealing against Home Office decisions. We draft grounds of appeal and applications to appeal and draft appeal bundles.

If you make an application that is refused, you will lose all fees paid and they cannot be reclaimed irrespective of the outcome of your application, so it is extremely important to ensure that things are done correctly the first time round.

It is therefore highly recommended that you seek expert legal assistance.

The UK Immigration Solicitors team can provide you with expert guidance and support and will handle your entire application for one transparent fixed fee.

If you apply outside the UK in 2022, the fee (cost) will be £1,538. If you apply inside the UK, the fee will be £1,048.

The figure here represents the fee that you will have to pay to the Home Office in order for it to process your application only.

It is important to be aware, however, that making these applications involves numerous other costs. It’s not cheap so it is vital that you are successful with your first application. We recommend that you seek expert legal help with your Civil Partner Visa application as the rules are complicated and the costs of refusal are significant.

In the following table, a few of the typical costs associated with this application type are listed.

Please note, the above fees are administrative only and do not cover our professional fees for legal representation.

We provide a full representation service for one transparent, affordable fee to handle your entire case.