Who this route is for

You can apply for a family visa if your spouse/partner is either a British or Irish Citizen; is settled in the UK (i.e. has indefinite leave to enter/remain, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (‘EUSS’), or permanent residence under the EU Regulations); or they have been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK. You can also apply for a family visa if your sponsor has pre-settled status under the EUSS and your relationship began on or after 1 January 2021. If your spouse/partner has either settled or pre-settled status under the EUSS and your relationship began on or before 31 December 2020, you should consider applying for a family permit instead of a family visa.

If you are currently in the UK as a visitor, you are generally not allowed to apply for permission to remain in the UK as a spouse/partner and will need to make an entry clearance application from abroad. In the event that you do submit an application whilst in the UK, and you happen to be either a visitor or have exceeded your permitted stay, your application will be evaluated based on Human Rights considerations as stipulated in specific sections outlined in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

If your application is approved on Human Rights grounds, you will be placed on the 10-year route to settlement, with a requirement to renew your permission to reside in the UK every two and a half years. You can switch onto the 5-year route to settlement at any time if you meet all of the suitability and eligibility criteria. If you are already in the UK on another immigration route, you may be allowed to switch into the family route.

Holders of family settlement visas (with the exception of those will leave as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) are permitted to work and study in the UK.

How long is permission to enter or remain in the UK granted for?

If applying for entry clearance from outside of the UK, the initial visa is granted for a period of 33 months. The exception to this is if you apply for entry clearance as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, in which case entry clearance will be granted for 6 months. If applying for limited leave to remain from within the UK (other than as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner), then permission will be granted for a period of 30 months. You cannot apply for limited leave to remain as a fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner unless you have already applied for and been granted entry clearance as a fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner. After 60 months’ continuous residence on the 5-year route, or 120 months on the 10-year route, you may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (otherwise known as settlement). Your period of continuous residence in the UK does not include time spent in the UK with permission as a fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner.

There is a prohibition on employment whilst you are in the UK as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, and you may be billed for medical treatment so should have travel or medical insurance in place before arriving in the UK.

Dependent children

Children under 18 years of age are allowed to enter the country as your dependents. Your spouse/partner will be required to show an income for a certain amount and this level may vary depending on the number of dependent children requiring sponsorship. Children who are British Citizens and/or Irish Citizens do not require permission to enter or remain, and will not be counted when calculating the minimum income threshold. The same applies to children who have settled in the UK, or have pre-settled status under the EUSS.

Matters relating to children can be complex, particularly where the child’s other parent is not your spouse/partner. If you are unsure whether or not your child will qualify for permission to enter or remain in the UK with you, it is recommended that you obtain legal advice before submitting an application.

Financial Requirement

A very important factor for those applying for permission to enter to remain in the UK on the 5-year route, is ensuring that you meet the financial requirement. Only the following sources of income can be counted toward the financial requirement for the purposes of an application for entry clearance:

1. income of the sponsor from specified employment or self-employment, which, in respect of a sponsor returning to the UK with the applicant, can include specified employment or self-employment overseas and in the UK (the sponsor must be able to evidence that they have a job offer in the UK, or if they are self-employed, evidence of prospective self-employment income in the UK);
2. specified pension income of the applicant and/or sponsor;
3. any specified maternity allowance or bereavement benefit received by the applicant or sponsor in the UK, or any specified payment relating to service in HM Forces received by the applicant or sponsor;
4. other specified income of the applicant and sponsor (this refers to non-employment income such as rental income or income from dividends and shares); and
5. specified savings of £16,000 of the applicant and/or sponsor in addition to savings of an amount equivalent to 2.5 times the amount which is the difference between the gross annual income from the sources listed above, and the total amount required.

Where the applicant is applying for limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain from within the UK, then they can rely on their own employment/self-employment income to satisfy the financial requirement.

If you have dependent children who are also applying for permission to enter or remain in the UK, then the minimum income threshold increases. Below is a table of the financial requirement needed to be met:

Case studies:

Combining income

The applicant is applying for a family visa on the basis of their marriage to a British Citizen and has no dependent children. The applicant’s partner works in the UK. He has been employed for over 7 months and receives a gross annual income of £15,000. They receive non-employment income from a rental property which they have owned for 9 years, and receive a gross income of £800 per month from rental property income, therefore the financial requirement is met. The applicant and partner’s total annual income is therefore £24,600 so, by using a combination of different incomes the financial requirement of £18,600 can be met.

Cash Savings derived from the proceeds of sale of a dwelling property

The applicant is applying for a family visa on the basis of their civil partnership with a British Citizen. The applicant and her partner have recently sold their house, and received net proceeds of £72,000 from the property sale, and can evidence the same by way of a recent bank statement.

In order to satisfy the criteria for cash savings, the applicant must provide documents to confirm that the property was owned at the beginning of the 6 months prior to the date of application by the applicant, their partner, or both jointly.

Therefore, the applicant will have to provide the following documents:

• Proof of ownership of the property confirming when the property was purchased;
• Documentation evidencing that the funds deposited as cash savings are the net proceeds of the sale, once any mortgage or loan secured on the property (or relevant share of the property) has been repaid and once any taxes and professional fees associated with the sale have been paid.

Combining cash savings with income

If you need to combine your income with cash savings to meet the financial requirement, you would be required to have savings in the amount of 2.5 times your annual shortfall (if applying for entry clearance or limited leave to remain) or savings amounting to the equivalent of your annual shortfall (if applying for indefinite leave to remain), plus £16,000.

For example, if you are applying for entry clearance and your sponsor is employed at the date of application and earns £15,000 per annum you would need savings of at least £25,000 to meet the financial requirement as their annual shortfall is £3,600 x 2.5 = £9,000 + £16,000 = £25,000 if there are no dependent children applying with you. If you do not receive any permissible income whatsoever, then you would be required to show that you have at least £62,500 in savings to meet the financial requirement as your annual shortfall is £18,600 x 2.5 = £46,500 + £16,000 = £62,500.

Another example, is where an applicant is applying for indefinite leave to remain and receives a gross pension income of £12,500 per annum. If no other source of income can be relied upon, they would need savings of at least £22,100 as their annual shortfall is £6,100 + £16,000 = £22,100. If you are applying for indefinite leave to remain and you do not receive any permissible income whatsoever, then you would be required to show that you have at least £34,600 in savings to meet the financial requirement as your annual shortfall is £18,600 + £16,000 = £34,600. This example assumes that there are no dependent children applying for permission to enter or remain in the UK with the applicant.

Our Process

At Muldoon Britton, we offer a consultation with a prospective client, discuss the different options they have, and then advise them on what visa is best for them.