The UK Proposed Civil Partner visa category is for engaged partners of British citizens, persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK or limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or Appendix ECAA who wish to enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of their arrival. An application for a UK Proposed Civil Partner visa must be made from outside the UK.
Requirements for a UK Proposed Civil Partner visa application
In order to qualify for a UK Proposed Civil Partner visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:
- Your partner is British, holds indefinite leave to remain, limited leave to remain under Appendix EU or limited leave to remain under Appendix ECAA;
- You are both over the age of 18;
- You have met in person;
- You are both free to enter into a civil partnership;
- Your relationship is genuine and you intend to live together permanently in the UK;
- You intend to enter into a civil partnership within six months of your arrival in the UK;
- Any previous relationships have broken down permanently;
- You will be adequately maintained in the UK without recourse to public funds;
- There is adequate accommodation for you and any dependents;
- You speak and understand English to the required level.
The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances. You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice.
To discuss your UK Proposed Civil Partner visa application with one of our immigration barristers, contact our immigration barristers on 07810 447971 or complete our enquiry form below.
Proposed Civil Partner visa UK financial requirement
In order to demonstrate that you can be adequately maintained in the UK without recourse to public funds, you will need to satisfy a financial requirement.
The financial requirement states that you will need to demonstrate that your partner has 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).
Satisfying the financial requirement
You can meet the financial requirement through your partner’s salaried and non-salaried income, self-employed income, salary and/or dividends from a company of which they are a Director, property rental income, dividends, and income from investments, stocks, shares, bonds or trust funds, pension income, insurance payments, maintenance payments and cash savings above £16,000 that have been held for at least six months unless they can demonstrate that they have come from the sale of property or investments within the last 6 months.
Different considerations will apply if your partner is in receipt of certain benefits.
Proposed Civil Partner visa processing times
UK Visa & Immigration aims to process 95% of UK Proposed Civil Partner visa applications within 12 weeks.
If you require a faster visa processing timeline, most visa application centres outside the UK offer a Settlement Priority Visa Service. This will ensure that your visa application is placed at the front of the queue at every stage of the decision-making process. The visa processing time for the UK Proposed Civil Partner visa application submitted via the Settlement Priority Visa Service is normally not more than 30 working days. A well-prepared visa application may result in a quicker processing time.
Applications for Proposed Civil Partner visas can only be made from outside the UK. It is not possible to switch into the category from within the UK.
Visa application fee
The Home Office application fee for a UK Proposed Civil Partner visa application submitted outside the UK is currently £1,523.
Visa validity period
If your application for a UK Proposed Civil Partner visa is successful, your visa will be valid for 6 months initially.
After your civil partnership ceremony has taken place, you will then be eligible to apply to switch into the Civil Partner category without having to leave the UK.
If your application for further leave to remain in the UK as a Civil Partner is successful then you will be granted further leave to remain for a period of 30 months. You will need to extend your Civil Partner leave for a further 30 months before it expires.
After spending 5 years in the UK as the Civil Partner of a British citizen or settled person, you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
What if I do not enter into a civil partnership within 6 months?
If your civil partnership does not take place before your visa expires, you can apply to extend your stay for a further 6 months in order to allow the ceremony to take place, provided that there is a good reason why it has not done so to date and there is evidence that a ceremony will take place within the next 6 months.
Can a Proposed Civil Partner visa holder work in the UK?
Proposed Civil Partner visa holders are not permitted to work in the UK.
UK Proposed Civil Partner visa application: How our immigration barristers can help
Our immigration barristers regularly assist foreign national proposed civil partners to relocate to, and settle in, the UK with their British citizen or settled partners. We have assisted many foreign national proposed civil partners to prepare and submit successful Proposed Civil Partner visas for UK applications.
Whether you require expert advice on the requirements of the Immigration Rules, an independent assessment of your prospects of qualifying for a visa or professional assistance with preparing an immigration application, our immigration barristers can help.
The financial requirement rules are particularly complex and include mandatory requirements in terms of the documentary evidence that must be provided to UK Visas and Immigration in order to demonstrate access to the relevant funds. Our immigration barristers specialise in assisting applicants with complicated financial circumstances to secure successful outcomes in their visa applications.
We pride ourselves on being approachable and proactive in understanding and meeting our clients’ needs. We are a highly driven team of immigration barristers, dedicated to providing clear and reliable immigration advice to family members as part of a professional and friendly service.