Relationship visas are expensive, time pressured and document heavy. For many couples, the real difficulty is not understanding that a route exists, but managing the cost, the timing and the evidence demands over several years.
Applications under the UK spouse visa, the partner visa UK, the unmarried partner visa UK, the fiancé visa, the marriage visa, the civil partnership visa UK and the dependent visa UK all draw on the same core rules but apply them in slightly different ways. When you add extension stages, settlement, possible route changes and personal events like children or separation, the journey quickly becomes demanding.
This guide explains what you can expect to pay, how long each stage usually takes and where the main pressure points are.
Stage 1: Choosing the Right Route
Your first decision is how to enter or remain in the UK with your partner. Some couples start with the fiancé visa UK or the marriage visa UK if they plan to marry in the UK. Others go straight into the spouse visa because they are already married, or into the civil partnership visa UK if they are in or entering a registered civil partnership. Couples who have lived together for at least two years may be better suited to the unmarried partner visa UK.
Where your partner already has a work visa, the dependent visa UK may sometimes be an alternative. However, the longer term settlement route and your future options will differ depending on which path you choose now.
If you are already in the UK on another permission, such as a fiance visa to spouse visa, or a student visa, you may look at switching from student visa to spouse visa in the UK. That switch brings the full Appendix FM rules into play at the point you change status.
Stage 2: Costs and Evidence at the First Application
The headline UK spouse visa fee is only one part of the financial picture. You also need to budget for the Immigration Health Surcharge, document scans, translations, English language tests and, in some cases, legal advice. If you use the partner visa UK or unmarried partner visa, the application fee structure is similar and the cost pattern repeats at each stage of the route.
At the same time, you must meet the UK spouse visa requirements on finances, relationship, accommodation and English language. The financial rules are set out in the UK partner visa minimum income requirements. If you rely on employment income, you often need to provide the UK spouse visa three months’ payslips or longer sequences, together with bank statements and a compliant employer letter. The Home Office then looks at whether you reach the required spouse visa UK salary level.
To show you meet the rules, you need a well organised bundle of evidence. The UK spouse visa document checklist gives a structured list of documents, but you should look at it as a minimum. Your real task is to prove, with clean documents, that the rules are met.
Stage 3: Timescales and the First Grant of Leave
Processing times vary but most applicants expect several weeks or months between submission and decision. During that time, you may be waiting outside the UK or limited in your ability to travel. For routes like the fiancé visa or marriage visa, you have only a short window once granted to enter the UK and arrange the ceremony.
After approval under the spouse or partner category, you usually receive two and a half years’ leave. Whether you came from the fiancé visa route or directly into the spouse category, the clock is now running toward your first extension application.
Stage 4: The Spouse Visa Extension After 2.5 Years
The spouse visa extension after 2.5 years often catches people off guard. You need to show again that you meet the financial, relationship and accommodation rules, and you need to pay the fee and Immigration Health Surcharge again. The evidence standard is no lower at the extension stage than at the first application.
Some applicants at this point consider changing route. You may, for example, be in a long term relationship but not married, so the unmarried partner visa may become relevant. Others weigh up whether a work route or the dependent visa attached to a partner’s visa would fit better. Each change has cost and timing consequences and may reset your route to settlement.
If your relationship breaks down before this extension, the spouse visa divorce rules apply and you must consider alternative options. Your family’s position may then involve other forms and categories, such as Set(F) or Form FLR M in specific child related cases.
Stage 5: Reaching ILR as a Spouse or Partner
Most applicants aim for settlement, usually after five years under Appendix FM. To reach indefinite leave to remain UK spouse status, you must show a continuous relationship, meet the financial requirement, pass the Life in the UK test and satisfy an English language test at the required level.
The entire five year period is assessed. That means cohabitation evidence, financial proof and travel records across both grants of leave. For couples using the partner visa or unmarried partner visa, the same pattern applies. If your journey began on a different route, such as when switching from student visa to spouse visa in the UK, those earlier periods do not usually count toward the five year family route.
Some couples reach ILR while managing wider family steps such as registering a child for British citizenship, which might involve forms like Form FLR M or, where applicable in other routes, Form MN1. Planning these applications together can reduce duplication of effort and cost.
Relationship Change, Discrimination Issues and Their Impact
Not all journeys are steady. If your relationship ends, visa options change immediately. You cannot remain on the spouse or partner route after a final separation. The spouse visa divorce rules, and their counterparts for civil partnerships, require that you move into another category or leave the UK.
In some cases, concerns relate to fairness in how you are treated due to your status. Issues involving marriage and civil partnership discrimination may become relevant in work or service settings. These sit alongside immigration problems and often require separate specialist advice.
Couples where one partner is an EU national may rely on different schemes or combine EU and UK routes. Decisions around marrying an EU citizen in the UK can affect both immigration routes and rights in other settings.
Need Assistance?
Across the full journey, from initial applications through to extensions and on toward indefinite leave to remain status, you will face repeated costs, evidence rules and decision points. Understanding those stages in advance helps you plan timelines, budget realistically and decide when independent advice would add value.
Some applicants present their own cases with no difficulty. Others face obstacles such as complicated financial histories, cross border work patterns, blended families or previous refusals.
For specialist advice, contact our team of spouse visa solicitors to speak with a spouse visa lawyer.