Family visa solicitors

Applicants making their first partner‑route application on or after 11 April 2024 must show a minimum gross annual income of £29,000 or savings of £88,500. Those who first applied before 11 April 2024 and are now extending under the transitional rules must meet a £18,600 income requirement or hold £62,500 in savings.

The standard route is a five‑year pathway to settlement:

• Entry clearance is typically granted for 33 months, or 30 months if applying from within the UK.
• A further extension of 30 months is required before applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

You must continue meeting the relationship, financial, and English‑language criteria at each stage. If you fail to meet all the requirements the Home Office may either refuse your application or place you on the 10 year route to settlement.

Under Appendix FM, a spouse/partner visa is for couples who are already married, in a civil partnership, or in a durable relationship and allows immediate long‑term residence in the UK with full work rights, whereas a fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner visa is a short‑term six‑month route solely for entering the UK to marry or register a civil partnership, does not permit work, and requires the applicant to switch into the partner route (FLR(M)) after the marriage to begin the standard five‑year settlement pathway.

No. Although both visas allow a person to come to the UK to marry or enter a civil partnership, they are fundamentally different routes under the Immigration Rules.

A fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visa under Appendix FM is a family‑based route. It is granted for six months, allows the holder to marry or form a civil partnership in the UK, and then switch into the partner route from within the UK, leading to long‑term residence and settlement.

A marriage visit visa under Appendix V (Visitor Rules) is a short‑term visitor route. It permits entry to the UK solely to marry or form a civil partnership, after which the individual must leave the UK. Holders cannot work, cannot extend or switch to another visa category from within the UK, and the route does not lead to settlement.

No. You should apply as soon as possible after the relationship breaks down and do not wait for your visa to expire. Applications can be made from inside or, in limited cases, outside the UK if you were abandoned overseas.

A partner (spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner in a genuine and subsisting relationship for at least two years) or a child under 18 can apply as a dependant of a main visa holder under routes such as the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility categories. You must show a qualifying relationship in line with the Immigration Rules.
Not all visa routes allow dependants, and some job roles restrict dependants entirely.

The requirements for ADR applications are exceptionally strict. Applicants must provide detailed evidence proving:

• They require long‑term personal care to perform daily activities (e.g., washing, dressing, eating).
• The required care is not available or affordable in their home country.
• That the sponsoring relative in the UK can adequately maintain, accommodate, and care for them without recourse to public funds.

This is not an exhaustive list.