A person who is an unmarried partner of a British Citizen or of a person who is present and settled in the UK can apply for UK unmarried partner visa. If the applicant is outside the UK, an entry clearance application as an unmarried partner should be submitted to the British High Commission/Embassy/Consulate in the country of nationality or country of origin of the applicant. If you are already in the UK with a visa issued for longer than six months, you can switch into unmarried partner visa from inside the UK by making an application to the Home Office, UKBA. 

An application for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as an unmarried partner of a person present and settled in the UK can be made to the Home Office, UKBA on the completion of  two years probationary unmarried partner visa which was granted under the Immigration Rules in place before 9 July 2012 as an unmarried partner of a person present and settled in the UK. A person who was granted initial entry clearance or leave to remain as an unmarried partner under the Immigration Rules in place from 9 July 2012 will have to complete 5 years residence in the UK under unmarried partner visa before an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as an unmarried partner can be made to the Home Office, UKBA.

Followings are the various applications which can be submitted to the Home Office, UKBA as an unmarried partner of a British Citizen or a person present and settled in the UK:

Entry Clearance As Unmarried Partner

If you are an unmarried partner of a person present and settled in the UK, you can apply for entry clearance as an unmarried partner. The applicant applying for entry clearance as an unmarried partner of a settled person must meet the following requirements:

- Suitability criteria as set out in the Immigration Rules;
- Genuine and subsisting relationship as an unmarried partner of a person present and settled in the UK; 
- Financial requirement whereby the UK unmarried partner of the applicant must be earning at least £18,600 gross per year or they have savings of £62,500 if the UK unmarried partner of the applicant has no earnings from employment, self-employment or other means of income;
- Adequate accommodation for the applicant and the UK unmarried partner to be accommodated in the UK without recourse to public funds;
- English language requirement to show that the applicant has English at CEFR level A1 as required by the UK Immigration Rules.
 

Financial requirements
 

The applicant must provide evidence that the sponsor's gross annual income is at least:

- £18,600;
- an additional £3,800 for the first Non-EEA child; and
- an additional £2,400 for each Non-EEA additional child; alone or in combination with
- specified savings of-(i) £16,000; and
(ii) additional savings of an amount equivalent to 2.5 times the amount which is the difference between the gross annual income and the total amount required.

When determining whether the financial requirement is met only the following sources will be taken into account:

- income of the partner from specified employment or self-employment, which, in respect of a partner returning to the UK with the applicant, can include specified employment or self-employment overseas and in the UK;
- specified pension income of the applicant and partner;
- any specified maternity allowance or bereavement benefit received by the partner in the UK;
- other specified income of the applicant and partner; and
- specified savings of the applicant and partner.
 

Exemption From Financial Requirement
 

The applicant will be exempt from meeting the financial requirement of £18,600 or above if the applicant’s partner is receiving one or more of the following:

(i) disability living allowance;
(ii) severe disablement allowance;
(iii) industrial injury disablement benefit;
(iv) attendance allowance; or
(v) carer’s allowance; and

Where the applicant is exempt from meeting the financial requirement, the applicant must provide specified evidence that his/her partner is able to maintain and himself/herself, the applicant and any dependants adequately in the UK without recourse to public funds.

Adequate Accommodation Requirement
 

The applicant must provide specified evidence that there will be adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family own or occupy exclusively. Accommodation will not be regarded as adequate if:

- it is, or will be, overcrowded; or
- it contravenes public health regulations.
 

English language requirement
 

The applicant must provide specified evidence that he/she:

- is a national of a majority English speaking country; or
- has passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages with a provider approved by the UK Border Agency; or
- has an academic qualification recognised by UK NARIC to be equivalent to the standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD in the UK, which was taught in English; or
- is exempt from the English language requirement because at the date of application:
the applicant is aged 65 or over;
- the applicant has a disability (physical or mental condition) which prevents the applicant from meeting the requirement; or
- there are exceptional circumstances which prevent the applicant from being able to meet the requirement prior to entry to the UK.
 

Length of Stay Granted As A Result of Successful Application For Entry Clearance As An Unmarried Partner
 

If the applicant meets the requirements for entry clearance as a civil partner the applicant will be granted entry clearance for an initial period not exceeding 33 months, and subject to a condition of no recourse to public funds.

How To Challenge the Refusal of Your Unmarried Partner Visa For the UK

If your application for unmarried partner visa for UK has been refused by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO), you would get a right of appeal against the decision of the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. An Entry Clearance Appeal against the refusal of your unmarried partner visa for UK should be filed with the First Tier Tribunal in the UK within 28 days of the receipt of the notice of refusal.

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What we can do for you

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 If instructed to represent you regarding your application for UK unmarried partner visa, the work carried out by our immigration solicitors will include the following:

- Detailed instructions from you and advise you about the relevant immigration laws and procedures to be adopted by the Entry - Clearance Officer (ECO) in your UK unmarried partner visa application;
- Discuss your application for entry clearance for UK unmarried partner visa in detail with you and advise you about the weaknesses and strengths of your application;
- Advise you about the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your UK unmarried partner visa application;
- Consider contents of the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your UK unmarried partner visa application and discuss the same with you;
- Complete the relevant immigration form for your UK unmarried partner visa application and discuss the same with you;
- Prepare a sponsorship declaration for you, if necessary;
- Prepare a covering letter to introduce and support your UK unmarried partner visa application;
- Liaise with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) for an expeditious decision on your civil partner visa application;
- Protect your interests while your unmarried partner visa application is pending with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) and keep you informed of the progress on your unmarried partner visa application;
- Follow up work until decision is reached on your unmarried partner visa application;
- Advise you about the implications of the Entry Clarence Officer's decision.
 

Our Fees For Unmarried Partner Visa For UK
 

We will charge you a fee from £1,000 for our professional immigration services in relation to your entry clearance application as an unmarried partner of a settled person where the financial requirement is being satisfied only through employment of the sponsor. The agreed fee will depend on the complexity of the matter and the casework involved in the matter.

We will charge you a fee from £1,200  for our professional immigration services in relation to your entry clearance application as an unmarried partner of a settled person where the financial requirement is being satisfied through self-employment or savings of the sponsor/applicant. The agreed fee will depend on the complexity of the matter and the casework involved in the matter.

If you cannot afford to pay our fee in full at the time of instructing us in relation to your matter, you can pay half of the fee at the time of instructing us and rest of the fee can be paid by monthly instalments.

The agreed fee will cover all our work until decision by the Home Office on the application. However, it is pertinent to note that the agreed fee will not cover any disbursements to be incurred by us on your behalf e.g. translation of documents, Home Office fee etc.