This visa provides an opportunity for non-British partners to live and work in the UK. You can apply for this family visa if you are the husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried partner (living together in a relationship for at least 2 years) , fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner (will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving)of a specified partner.
Call us on 0207 100 2525 for immediate help & assistance with your situation.
We’re here to help you in person, via the phone or online.
To successfully obtain a family visa as a partner or spouse, you must meet the following requirements:
This type of visa is aimed at highly paid individuals who want to continue working with their current employer at a UK branch or location. It replaces the previously offered Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) visa.
You must meet several requirements to be eligible for this type of visa. The most notable among these is the minimum salary threshold, which may make this visa accessible only for those who work in senior positions.
The key requirements for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa include the following:
You must also meet specific financial requirements to demonstrate that you can support yourself once you arrive in the UK.
The visa application fee for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa is £625 if your visa duration is up to 3 years. For a visa duration of above 3 years, the fee is £1,235. You can expect a decision on your visa application within three weeks.
You can consult our Senior or Specialist Worker visa solicitors for help and guidance with the visa application process.
You can apply online. You would also need to attend an appointment at a visa application centre to enrol biometric data (photograph and fingerprints) as part of the process.
Not only will you need to fill in the application form correctly, you will also need to upload copies of the required supporting documents, which can be extensive.
If the caseworker examining your application has doubts about the genuineness of your relationship, you may be asked to attend a Spouse Visa Interview. You will be asked questions about your relationship and each other to see if your marriage is authentic, and not a sham.
You need to complete an online application to attend a physical (biometric) appointment whether applying from inside or outside the UK.
An application made from outside the UK could take around 3 months to be processed. Priority services are available in some countries, for expedited processing. On approval, your passport would be endorsed with a “vignette” to allow you to travel to the UK. You would need to collect your biometric residence permit on arrival to the UK from a pre-selected Post Office.
Although the decision would normally be issued within 12 weeks of your biometric appointment your biometric residence permit will usually take a further 10 working days to be issued from the date of the decision.
From outside the UK the spouse visa (classified as a “settlement visa” for the purpose of entry clearance) the visa cost is £1523. The settlement priority service, if available in the country of application would be an additional £573.
The applicant must also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is £624 per year (£312 for every 6 month period). The spouse visa is granted for a 30 months (2.5 years) inside the UK, therefore the total surcharge would be £1560 for leave to remain. From outside the UK, the visa is granted for 33 months, therefore the total surcharge would be £1,872.
Applicants need to show they meet the English language requirements, in Speaking and Listening. For your initial application you will need to pass an approved English language test at least a CEFR level A1 in speaking and listening, which is beginner’s level. For your extension after 2.5 years, you must prove that you pass an approved English language test at least a CEFR level A2.
Those who hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or a PhD, awarded by an educational establishment in the UK can rely on this to meet the English language requirement.
Individuals who hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD that was awarded by an educational institute outside of the UK, will be required to obtain confirmation from UK NARIC that the award is at an equivalent level to a UK degree. This is still the case even if the award was issued in a majority English speaking country.
In addition, certain applicants will be required to obtain UK NARIC confirmation that the award was taught or researched in English to a suitable level of the CEFR.
