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Skip to content The UK government recently changed the minimum income requirements from £18,600 to £29000. This comes into effect in April 2024 and affects three-quarters of Brits. Get in touch with us now for advice or support.
The Unmarried Partner Visa UK, commonly known as the UK de facto visa, grants initial residence to individuals with a partner who is either a British citizen or has lived in the UK for a period of up to 33 months.
To discuss your Unmarried Partner Visa application with our immigration lawyers, call 02033844389 for a free consultation or fill out our enquiry form.
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With the Unmarried Partner Visa, people from other countries can come to or stay in the UK to live with a British or Irish citizen partner. This is acceptable as long as they can show they are in a real, long-term relationship with a British citizen or someone who has settled status in the UK through something like indefinite leave to stay.
UK Unmarried Partner visas are given out for 33 months at first, which is two years and nine months. They can be renewed for an additional 30 months, which is two years and six months.
If you come to the UK on an Unmarried Partner visa and stay for 5 years, you might be able to ask for indefinite leave to remain.
People who want to apply for an Unmarried Partner visa should get professional legal help from the UK immigration solicitors. Our skilled and licenced immigration lawyers can give you the information and help you need to make the right choice and send in an application that has the best chance of being accepted. For more information on how we can help you succeed, call us at 02033844389 right now.
Applicants from outside the UK can get a UK Unmarried Partner Visa if they have been in a real relationship with a partner for at least two years and still are;
According to the visa rules for unmarried partners, a person can still apply even if they don’t meet the aforementioned conditions.
Before the Home Office and UKVI (UK visas and immigration) will let you apply for this visa, you must not only meet but also show that you meet all of their requirements. Meeting these standards for eligibility includes the following:
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. Call now at 02033844389.
British immigration rules say that if you want to get a single partner visa, you must show that you can fully support yourself while living in the UK and not need any public money.
Before their partner can come to live with them in the UK, the person who already lives and works there must be able to show that they can meet a certain minimum income level.
By April 2024, this amount will be £29,000, but it will go up in stages throughout 2024 and 2025.
Being in the UK with humanitarian protection or refugee status means you don’t have to meet this basic financial requirement.
It is very important to make sure that you have enough money to get an Unmarried Partner visa. Let UK Immigration Solicitors help you with the process and take away the stress and trouble of applications. You can call us at 02033844389 or email us.
A lot of different types of income, both salaried and non-salaried, can help you meet the Unmarried Partner visa financial income standard. You can hit the limit by getting money from several different places, such as:
If you have personal cash savings of £16,000 or more, you can use them to meet the minimum income requirement for the foreign national single partners visa. You may utilize your savings as an alternative source of funding if your income is insufficient to meet the £29,000 minimum financial criteria. Additionally, you must have saved at least £16,000, plus an extra £2.50 for every £1, so your income is less than the minimum amount required. With these savings, you must have had them for at least six months. The savings of the non-EEA application can be used to reach this amount.
You can also make money without working, like if you own properties and rent them out regularly to make money. Rent income is acceptable, but you can’t utilize the proceeds from the sale of any property to satisfy the financial criteria.
As long as you have settled status in the UK and are making money there, any income you make from hiring others or working for yourself can count toward your income requirement. You can use the money you made before taxes and National Insurance. You can also use cash from being self-employed, like if you run a business in the UK. It is important to remember that you must have worked for the given wage for at least six months.
If you have a trust fund, you can use the money in it to help meet the UK visa minimum salary standard for an unmarried partner. When you apply for the visa, this can be used as proof of your annual gross pay even though it is not the same as a salary.
If your yearly earnings have changed because of things like going on parental leave, sick leave, or anything else, you can use these payments to meet the minimum financial requirement for the unmarried partner visa.
If the person who has lived in the UK for a while is getting a pension, this income can be used to meet the financial requirements for the unmarried partner visa UK. Sometimes this is counted instead of income from a job or being self-employed because it is earned while not working.
For the Unmarried Partner visa, you need to show the Home Office that your bond with your partner is real.
It should be possible for you to do this by showing proof. These papers should come from the government, a bank, a landlord, a utility company, or a medical professional and should prove that you are in a relationship with your partner.
You should utilize papers that are no more than 4 years old.
You could send in any of the following papers, but they are not limited to them:
It might not be easy to show the Home Office that your relationship is real. The process can be made a lot easier with the help of a professional immigration lawyer. UK Immigration Solicitors has a lot of experience helping couples move to the UK, and they offer custom document checking services to help people apply for Spouse, Civil Partnership, or Unmarried Partner visas. To get help right away, call us at 02033844389 or email us.
If you want to get an Unmarried Partner visa, you usually have to show that you can speak English at a certain level.
There are a number of ways to show this, such as:
This rule does not apply to people over the age of 65 or who have a physical or mental condition that makes it impossible for them to meet it.
For an Unmarried Partner Visa, you have to submit a number of papers that show you are eligible. Some of these are:
Here are the steps you need to take to apply for an Unmarried Partner Visa:
From outside the UK, the cost of applying for an Unmarried Partner visa is £1,846. It will cost £1,048 if you are applying from inside the UK.
You will also have to pay an extra £1,035 a year for immigration health care. Moreover, you will have to pay £5,175 if you want to stay in the UK for five years.
UKVI can take up to 24 weeks to process your application if you are not in the UK when you submit it.
From within the UK, it could take up to 8 weeks or even up to 12 months to process your application if you don’t meet all the standards.
You might have to pay extra to get your application handled faster, but this is usually possible.
If you need to quickly send in your Unmarried Partner visa application you can contact our UK immigration solicitors. If your case is important, we can help you put together a full application and document package in just a few days. For urgent help, call us at 02033844389 or send us a message online.
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 Unmarried Partner visa application will be placed in the front of the queue. It normally takes 30 working days to process a UK Unmarried 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 Unmarried 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. Dial 02033844389.
If you are successful in your application for a UK Unmarried 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 an Unmarried Partner.
In the case of an Unmarried 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 Unmarried 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 personalised assistance call your immigration lawyer at 02033844389.
Yes, people who want to get a UK Unmarried Partner visa can also ask to bring family members with them on the trip.
As long as your children are under 18, you can bring them into the UK with you as your dependents.
This application for your children should always be made at the same time as your first application for a UK partner visa as a single person.
From April 2024 on, if you bring dependent children with you to the UK on an Unmarried Partner visa, you will not have to show proof of extra funds.
As is common, an unmarried partner of a UK citizen may reach their visa expiration date but wish to remain in the country with their long-term spouse. Luckily, you can apply for an extra 30 months of validity while you’re in the UK, on top of the initial 33 months.
You can ask UKVI (UK visas and immigration) to extend your stay before the end of your initial leave. Maintaining your home and paying your bills will be the same as before, and you must still be living with the settled partner you came to the UK to live with.
A lot of couples use the unmarried partner visa as the first step on their way to getting Indefinite Leave to Remain and live together forever in the UK. With an extra 30 months on top of the first 30 or 33 months, you will finally reach five years. At that point, you may be able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
In order to extend your stay in the UK after your initial grant of leave as an Unmarried Partner expires, you must apply to UK Visas and Immigration.
As an Unmarried 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 UK relationships Visa, finances, housing, and immigration status again. You will also need to demonstrate your English language proficiency.
Our expert team is ready to guide you through all of the requirements to extend your Unmarried Partner Visa and will be able to ensure that you qualify before you apply.
To extend your visa call 02033844389 for a tailored solution.
If your application for an Unmarried Partner Visa is denied, you may be able to file an appeal. However, the process for appealing an Unmarried Partner Visa can be hard to understand.
If your Unmarried Partner Visa was turned down, here are the steps you need to take to appeal:
You have the best chance of being approved if you work with a group of experienced immigration solicitors. You can call us at 02033844389 or email us if you need help with your case.
In addition to offering immigration services, our immigration lawyers assist individuals from around the world to obtain Unmarried Partner Visas for the UK.
In order to obtain an Unmarried 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 Unmarried 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.
Most of the time, a child needs a visa in order to live in the UK. For instance, if their parent is a foreign national working or studying in the country, the child may need a Child Dependant Visa.
Yes, people with an Unmarried Partner visa can work in the UK. This includes paid, free, volunteer, and self-employed work.
You can also go to school while you are in the UK.
If you don’t meet the two-year requirement, you might still be able to apply for a family visa if you can show that living as a couple outside of the UK would cause you and your partner a lot of problems that can’t be solved or that it would be against your human rights to be unable to live in the UK or be forced to leave.
We strongly advise that you talk to one of our immigration lawyers about your specific situation. Call our immigration lawyers at 02033844389 for a free consultation, or fill out our contact form.
There are some situations where you might not have to pay the entry fee.
Some of these are if you:
If you fall into one of these categories, you can request a fee waiver by visiting gov.uk.
People who want to apply for an unmarried partner visa don’t have to live together right now. Having lived together for at least two years is the most important thing. In this case, you can apply to join your partner in the UK from outside the UK.
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