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Skip to content The proposed Civil partner visa is suitable for you if you are outside of the UK, already engaged, and want to join your UK-settled legal partner to marry within 6 months of arrival in the UK. You must meet the financial requirements.
If you need immediate and personalised assistance with your visa application you can contact our Immigration solicitors at 02033844389.
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If you are engaged to a British or Irish citizen, settled in the UK, have a pre-settled status, or are a refugee or humanitarian seeker in the UK and want to start a civil partnership within 6 months of arriving, you may be eligible for the UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa. You can’t apply for a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa from inside the UK.
With the UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa, you can’t move to the UK right away. As long as you have entered a civil partnership in the UK, you will be able to use the Civil Partner visa route to stay in the UK longer. After 5 years, the Civil Partner Visa UK can lead to an indefinite leave to remain or settlement in the UK.
To get a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa, you will need to show UK Visas and Immigration that you fulfill the following conditions:
According to your situation, the exact standards you need to meet may be different. You should get professional help from a visa lawyer.
Call us at 02033844389 to speak with one of our immigration solicitors about your fiancé or proposed civil partner visa application.
If your partner wants to get a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa, they must either
Anyone who is a British citizen and is coming to the UK with you as your partner is also a British citizen. A person with indefinite leave to stay in the UK includes someone who is coming to the UK to settle down at the same time as you.
At the time you apply for the visa, both you and your partner must be at least 18 years old.
The relationship requirement is composed of multiple parts:
You and your intended civil partner must not be in a relationship that is against the law, as described in the Marriage Act 1949, the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986, and the Civil Partnership Act 2004. If you meet these requirements, you may be able to get this visa.
This means that you and the person you want to marry must not be connected in any of the ways below:
“Sibling” in this list refers to a brother, sister, half-brother, or half-sister.
A proposed civil partnership between a person and any of the following people will not be eligible for a proposed civil partner visa until both parties are at least 21 years old and the younger person has never been related to the other person as a child before this age:
You and the person you want to marry must have met in person. It’s necessary to have “met,” which means that you must be able to show that you met in person and became familiar with each other. The conditions for a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa cannot be met just by meeting in person and then communicating by phone or writing.
Depending on your circumstances, you may need to satisfy different requirements so it is strongly advisable to confirm your eligibility in advance of making an application. For help call 02033844389.
You will need to meet a cash requirement in order to show that you can live comfortably in the UK without using public funds.
You must show that your proposed civil partner (or both of you together if you are in the UK with valid leave to stay) makes at least £29,000 a year unless you are exempt. This is per the financial requirement for a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa.
You no longer have to meet a necessary income level in addition to having a child.
The sponsor needs to be able to “adequately maintain and accommodate” the family member they are sponsoring to enter or stay in the UK. If your intended civil partner receives certain state benefits or entitlements, special rules will apply.
You will need to show proof of funds when you first apply to enter the UK as a potential civil partner, when you apply to stay longer as a civil partner, and when you apply for leave to remain in the UK indefinitely as a civil partner.
The proposed rules for the Proposed Civil Partner Visa’s financial requirements are very complicated and include strict requirements for required documents. It is up to the applicants to show that they can meet the cash requirements. Without the required financial proof, a visa application through this route is often denied.
The following are ways to meet the financial requirements for the UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa:
When your partner receives certain benefits, there will be different considerations. For assistance call 02033844389.
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:
Also, you 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
You can prove it with an academic qualification, or by taking a test.
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 certificates:
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.
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.
If you are outside of the UK
You can only take a SELT with one of the following providers:
If you are outside of the UK
You can only take a SELT with one of the following providers:
The main reason a Proposed Civil Partner Visa application is turned down is that the applicant does not provide enough documentary proof to back up their application.
The Immigration Rules are very strict about the papers that must be sent with an application for a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa. To apply for a Proposed Civil Partner Visa, you will need different papers depending on your situation.
People who want to apply for a Proposed Civil Partner Visa should be very careful when using pre-made paper checklists. If you talk to an immigration lawyer, you can be sure that the papers on the list are right for your situation.
To the same extent, an application for a Proposed Civil Partner Visa could be turned down if a necessary document is missing, in the wrong formatting, or does not include all the necessary information. It can take months to decide on an appeal, and the result may not be clear. It will cost more and take longer to make a new application.
Our UK immigration solicitors help people who want to apply for a Proposed Civil Partner Visa by giving them expert advice on the documents they need to make sure their application is successful. They also make sure that the supporting papers follow the Immigration Rules.
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 Proposed Civil Partner Visa application will be placed in the front of the queue. It normally takes 30 working days to process a UK Proposed 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 Proposed Civil Partner Visa 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.
A Proposed Civil Partner Visa can be extended for a maximum of 6 months if there is good demonstrable reason why the proposed civil ceremony has not taken place within 6 months of arrival. Once the civil ceremony has concluded, you will need to apply for a Civil Partner Visa. This can be done from outside of the country and it is also possible to switch your Proposed Civil Partner Visa to a Civil Partner Visa whilst in the UK subject to meeting certain UKVI criteria
Our expert team can provide you with further guidance about switching visas after marriage.
Our expert team is ready to guide you through all of the requirements to extend your Proposed Civil Partner Visa and will be able to ensure that you qualify before you submit the application.
To discuss your case call 02033844389.
The initial validity of a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa is six months if your application is successful.
Once your Civil Ceremony has been completed, you will be able to apply to switch into the Civil Partner category without leaving the UK.
You will be granted further leave to remain in the UK as a Civil Partner for a period of 30 months if your application is successful. Before your Civil Partner leave expires, you will need to extend it for a further 30 months.
When you have lived in the UK for five years as the Civil Partner of a British citizen or settled person, you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
Although the Proposed Civil Partner Visa expires after 6 months, you can apply for another 6 months so the civil ceremony can take place if you can satisfy the UKVI that there is a good reason why the civil ceremony has not taken place yet and prove that it will conclude within the next 6 months.
In the real world, we understand that things don’t always go to plan.
It’s important to understand that whilst the Proposed 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:
You may apply for indefinite leave to remain if you have been 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 can ensure that you remain compliant with the rules throughout your immigration journey. For further information call 02033844389.
When you have lived in the UK as the Proposed Civil Partner Visa 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:
UK Visas and Immigration will consider if you meet the requirements for a further extension of stay as a Proposed Civil Partner Visa if you apply for indefinite leave to remain as a Proposed Civil Partner Visa but do not meet the above requirements.
If your application for entry clearance, leave to remain or settlement as a Proposed Civil Partner Visa 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.
As with most things in life, think accountant, doctor, or electrician, it is possible to do it yourself if you’re suitably qualified and competent. You can complete your own visa application if you feel you have the required understanding of the Home Office rules, requirements, and specified evidence thresholds. However, it is not ordinarily recommended if you are not totally comfortable with understanding and satisfying UKVI immigration rules.
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 Proposed 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.
Fees Type | Outside UK | Inside UK |
Current Proposed Civil Partner Visa Application Fee (as at 05/2022) | £1,846 | £1,048 |
Immigration Health Surcharge (HIS – applies to all applicants to cover health care) | £1,872 | £1,560 |
Housing Report (confirms whether your proposed accommodation is suitable) | £80-120 | £80-120 |
Copy of the title deeds (confirms ownership of property) | £3 | £3 |
Priority (premium) Visa Services (Optional if you want fast processing) | £573 | £500-800 |
Typical Lawyer Fees (typical industry-wide figures for competent legal assistance) | £1,800 – £3,500 | £1,800 – £3,500 |
Bank statements (your bank may charge you to provide you with stamped statements) | £0-80 | £0-80 |
English language test (must be an approved certificate as explained above) | £150 | £150 |
Tuberculosis test (required for certain countries) | £65-110 | Not Required |
Translation Costs ( required if documents are not in English) | £0-300+ | £0-300+ |
Please note, that 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.
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 Proposed Civil Partner Visa application. Depending on how many dependent children are being sponsored, your sponsoring Proposed Civil Partner Visa will need to prove income of a specific amount.
In addition to offering immigration services, our immigration lawyers assist individuals from around the world to obtain Proposed Civil Partner Visas for the UK.
In order to obtain a Proposed Civil Partner Visa, our immigration lawyers can be of assistance to you in assessing the merits of the application, overcoming challenges, assisting in preparing the application, or representing you in challenging a decision to refuse an application.
Having a proactive approach to understanding and meeting the needs of our clients is something we take pride in. Our team is committed to providing clients with clear and reliable immigration advice within a professional and friendly environment.
By now you would have realised that when it comes to Proposed Civil Partner Visas, we are the go-to experts.
We are the original and still the best! Proud to be the UK’s #1 Immigration Law Firm.
