Requirements for a fiancé visa
The UK fiancé visa category allows the engaged partners of British citizens or settled persons to come to the UK and get married. The fiancé visa UK application process is quite complex and the applicant has to meet certain requirements to qualify
About Fiancé Visa UK
Any person who intends to marry a British citizen, a person with indefinite leave to remain, leave to remain as a refugee or limited leave to remain under Appendix EU is eligible to apply for the fiancé visa.
If the fiancé visa requirements are met, successful applicants will be granted entry clearance for six months. The applicant has to marry within the validity period of the visa. Once the visa expires, the person can switch to the UK spouse visa.
Requirements for a UK Fiancé Visa
To be eligible for the fiancé visa, the applicant and his partner must satisfy the following criteria:
- You and your fiancé must be 18 years of age or older
- Your partner is a UK citizen, a settled person, a person with leave to remain as a refugee or holds indefinite leave to remain, limited leave to remain under Appendix EU and Appendix ECAA
- Any previous relationships that you and your partner had broken down
- You are in a genuine relationship with your partner
- You need to pass the approved SELT test to prove that you can understand and communicate in English to the level of A1
- The marriage must be valid, genuine and subsisting i.e. ongoing. In the case of a fiancé visa, there must be an intention to marry and some evidence of looking into the arrangement of getting married in the UK.
- Finance requirement. Generally, this means that the sponsor must have an annual salary of £18,600, or the couple may have savings of £62,500 or the sponsor may be in receipt of certain public benefits.
- Accommodation in the UK. The various ways in which this requirement can be met is including a tenancy, owned property, living with friends and family.
- TB certificate is also required depending on the country of residence of the person applying.
Fiancé Visa Financial Requirement
The applicant and the engaged partner must prove that they can sustain themselves and their dependents financially without recourse to public funds.
To satisfy a financial requirement, the applicant’s partner must have a gross annual income of at least:
- £18,600
- £3,800 for the first child (not British, settled, or an EEA national)
- £2,800 for each child after the first (not British, settled, or an EEA national)
The income of the partner can be proved through salaries, self-employment, property rental, dividends, stocks, shares, pensions and savings etc.
Requirements for a Fiancé visa UK extension
If you fail to get married within the validity period, you can seek a fiancé visa extension by submitting a second application. To qualify for a UK fiancé visa extension, the applicant must meet the following criteria
- You are living in the UK on a valid fiancé or proposed civil partner visa
- Your fiancé still holds the status of a British national or settled person
- Explain the reason why you could not get married within the 6-month period
- You are still capable of meeting the same maintenance requirements
Applying for the UK Fiancé Visa
The applicant has to submit a UK fiancé visa application and pay relevant fees. Currently, the applicant has to pay £1,523 when applying from abroad and £1,033 when applying from within the UK. There is also an Immigration health surcharge to pay. Currently it is £624 per year.
Although there is no specific timetable for when you will get a decision on the application, the expected processing time is within 2 to 3 months.
If the application is approved, the visa will last six months and the applicant has to get married within this timeframe.
