Proposed Civil Partner Visa For UK
You can apply for proposed civil partner visa as a proposed civil partner of a British Citizen or settled person to register your civil partnership in the UK.
Proposed civil partner of a British Citizen or settled person can apply for UK visa entry clearance as a proposed civil partner to come to UK for 6 months and get married to the UK sponsor within the permitted 6 months period. Once married to or registered civil partnership with the UK sponsor, the applicant can then switch from proposed civil partner visa to civil partner visa from inside the UK. Our specialist team of proposed civil partner visa solicitors in London, Manchester and Birmingham can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee legal service for your proposed civil partner visa application. Ask a question to our proposed civil partner visa solicitors for free immigration advice concerning your proposed civil partner visa application.
How To Apply For Proposed Civil Partner Visa?
The UK proposed civil partner visa application is made online by completing an online application form. The completed form is submitted online, the UK visa fee is paid online and all the supporting documents in support of the proposed civil partner visa application are also uploaded online. Once the supporting documents have been successfully uploaded online, you can then schedule an appointment with the UK visa Application Centre for enrolment of biometrics and handing over of your passport for the processing of your proposed civil partner visa application.
Requirements for Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance UK
The applicant applying for proposed civil partner visa UK must meet the following requirements:
- Suitability criteria as set out in Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules;
- Must have met each other;
- Must have intention to live together permanently in the UK;
- Both the applicant and the sponsor must be free to marry each other;
- The applicant and the sponsor must have made appropriate arrangements and plans to get married in the UK;
- Financial requirement whereby the UK sponsor of the applicant must be earning at least £18,600 gross per year or savings of £62,500 if the UK sponsor of the applicant has no earnings from employment, self-employment or other means of income;
- Adequate accommodation for the applicant and the UK sponsor to be accommodated in the UK without recourse to public funds;
- English language requirement to show that the applicant has English proficiency at CEFR level A1 as required by the UK Immigration Rules.
Financial Requirement For proposed civil partner Visa Entry Clearance UK
Meeting the financial requirement is one of the key requirements for an application for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance UK.
Calculating The Financial Requirement
The applicant must provide evidence that the sponsor’s gross annual income is at least:
- Partner with no children – £18,600;
- 1 child in addition to the partner – £22,400;
- 2 children in addition to the partner – £24,800;
- 3 children in addition to the partner – £27,200; and
- an additional £2,400 for each additional Non-EEA child.
The higher financial requirement for applicants applying with child(ren) will apply until the applicant partner qualifies for settlement, even if the child turns 18 before then. However, the 18+ year old’s income and savings will be permitted to count towards the financial requirement.
When Does Financial Requirement Does Not Apply To A Child?
The financial requirement does not apply to a child who:
- Is a British Citizen (including an adopted child who acquires British citizenship);
- Is an EEA national (except where the child is a child of a former relationship and does not have a right to be admitted to or reside in the UK under the Immigration
(EEA) Regulations 2006 or the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016); - Is settled in the UK (holds ILR in the UK) or who qualifies for indefinite leave to enter (ILE); or
- Qualifies under Part 8 or Appendix Armed Forces of the Immigration Rules in a category to which the financial requirement does not apply.
Meeting The Financial Requirement For Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
According to Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, the applicant must meet:
- the level of the financial requirement applicable to their application; and
- the requirements specified as to:
(a) the permitted sources of income/savings; and
(b) the time periods and permitted combinations of sources applicable to each permitted source relied upon; and
(c) the evidence required for each permitted source relied upon.
Income and cash savings must be in the name of the applicant, their partner or jointly. However, income and cash savings of a dependent child of the applicant can also be included once the child has turned 18 years of age.
All employment or self-employment income must come from working legally. All income and savings must be lawfully derived.
What Are The Various Sources Of Meeting The Financial Requirement?
Where the applicant has to meet the minimum income threshold, the financial requirement can generally be met in the following five ways:
- Income from salaried or non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category A or Category B, depending on the employment history.
- Non-employment income, e.g. income from property rental or dividends from shares. This is referred to as Category C.
- Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control. This is referred to as Category D.
- State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant. This is referred to as Category E.
- Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category F or Category G, depending on which financial year(s) is or are being relied upon.
Evidence Flexibility For Financial Requirement
The evidential flexibility is set out in paragraph D of Appendix FM-SE. Under Appendix FM-SE there is discretion for decision-makers to defer an application pending submission of missing evidence or the correct version of it, within a reasonable deadline set for this. Decision-makers will not have to defer where they do not think that correcting the error or omission will lead to a grant.
Decision-makers are also able to grant an application despite minor evidential problems (but not where specified evidence is missing entirely). There is also discretion for decision-makers where evidence cannot be supplied because it is not issued in a particular country or has been permanently lost. Decision-makers have general discretion to request additional information or evidence before making a decision.
Exemption From Financial Requirement For Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance UK (Adequate Maintenance)
Where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of any of the following benefits or allowances in the UK, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement at that application stage by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance” rather than meeting an income threshold of £18,600 or above:
- Carer’s Allowance.
- Disability Living Allowance.
- Severe Disablement Allowance.
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
- Attendance Allowance.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
- Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme.
- Police Injury Pension.
If the applicant’s partner is in receipt of one of the above benefits or allowances on behalf of their child, the applicant will be able to qualify by meeting the financial requirement through “adequate maintenance”. The evidence required to demonstrate that the applicant’s partner is in receipt of a specified benefit or allowance is specified in Appendix FM-SE.
Adequate Accommodation Requirement For Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance UK
The applicant must provide specified evidence that there will be adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family own or occupy exclusively: accommodation will not be regarded as adequate if-
- it is, or will be, overcrowded; or
- it contravenes public health regulations.
English Language Requirement For Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance UK
The applicant must provide specified evidence that he/she:
- is a national of a majority English speaking country; or
- has passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages with a provider approved by the Home Office, UKVI; or
- has an academic qualification recognised by UK NARIC to be equivalent to the standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD in the UK, which was taught in English; or
- is exempt from the English language requirement because at the date of application:
- the applicant is aged 65 or over;
- the applicant has a disability (physical or mental condition) which prevents the applicant from meeting the requirement; or
- there are exceptional circumstances which prevent the applicant from being able to meet the requirement prior to entry to the UK.
What Is The Processing Time Of Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance?
The proposed civil partner visa entry clearance UK is normally processed within 12 weeks if application is made under standard service and within 6 to 8 weeks if the application is made using priority service.
Re-Applying For Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance After The Refusal
If your application for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance has been refused by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) and you believe that the decision to refuse your application is valid and lawful and therefore cannot be challenged by way of Entry Clearance Appeal Against proposed civil partner Visa Refusal, you have the option to re-apply for proposed civil partner visa. We can provide the required legal help and assistance with re-applying for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance after the refusal.
Switching From Proposed Civil Partner Visa To Spouse Visa
A peson who is in the UK on proposed civil partner visa can switch from proposed civil partner visa into civil partner visa from inside the UK as soon he/she has registered his marriage/civil partnership with his/her partner. Such application for switching from proposed civil partner visa to civil partnership visa is made online using appliation form FLR (M) before the expiry of proposed civil partner visa. As specialist civil partner visa solicitors, we can provide Super Priority Service for application for switching from proposed civil partner visa to civil partner visa and get decision on your application within 24 hours of the biometrics enrolment date.
How Can We Help?
Our expert team of proposed civil partner visa solicitors specialise in proposed civil partner visa entry clearance applications. If instructed to represent you regarding your application for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance, we will carry out all the work on your application until a decision is made by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) on your proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application. The immigration casework to be carried out by our expert team of proposed civil partner visa solicitors will include the following:
- Assessing your eligibility for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance by considering all your personal circumstances;
- Advising you on the weaknesses and strengths of your proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application;
- Advising you on the relevant documents to be submitted in support of your proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application;
- Assessing your documents to ensure that the documentary evidence is as per requirements of the Home Office UKVI immigration Rules;
- Completing and submitting the online application form to apply for proposed civil partner visa UK entry clearance by gathering all the relevant information from you and your partner;
- Helping you with paying the proposed civil partner visa application fee for the application;
- Where necessary, preparing detailed witness statement of the applicant and/or the sponsor explaining the background of their relationship and other relevant factors pertaining to the proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application;
- Preparing a detailed cover letter to introduce and support your proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application;
- Uploading online all the relevant supporting documents and scheduling an appointment for submission of passport and enrolment of your biometrics at the relevant visa application centre;
- Liaising with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) for a timely decision on your proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application.
Our Fees For Proposed Civil Partner Visa Entry Clearance UK
Our fixed fees for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application from outside the UK are given in the table below:
| Our Service | Our Fee |
| Full service for proposed civil partner visa Entry Clearance to cover all the work until decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) | From £1,000 To £2,000 (no VAT) |
The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee for proposed civil partner visa entry clearance, the applicant also have to pay the Home office UKVI fees for the UK visa entry clearance application.
FAQs – Proposed Civil Partner Visa UK
A proposed civil partner is a person who wishes to legally register his / her partnership with another person of the same sex.
In an application as a proposed civil partner, the ‘sponsor’ is the person with whom the applicant intends to register a civil partnership.
Both the applicant and the UK proposed civil partner of the applicant must be aged 18 or over for proposed civil partner visa application to succeed. In cases where the applicant is within a couple of months of their 18th birthday, and the other party is 18 or over, the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) has discretion to issue UK visa entry clearance but valid only from when the person under 18 has reached their 18th birthday.
Intention to live permanently with the other means an intention to live together, evidenced by a clear commitment from both parties that they will live together permanently in the UK immediately following the outcome of the application in question or as soon as circumstances permit.
In a case considered in the High Court in November 1996, Keen J held that:
‘The concept of intention is no doubt a complex one, but it appears to me that one can indeed have a genuine intention, notwithstanding that the carrying out of that intention is dependent on, or could be frustrated by, some extraneous event.’
He went on to conclude that the requirement of the Rules relating to the intention of the parties to the marriage could be met where the British citizen (or legally resident foreign national) spouse insisted on remaining in the UK. In other words, a conditional intention to live together could be sufficient to meet the ‘intention to live together permanently’ requirement.
Yes, the Immigration Rules for proposed civil partner visa application require that both the applicant and the UK sponsor must have met each other in person otherwise the application for proposed civil partner visa can be refused by the Entry Clearance Oficer (ECO) for this reason.
In case of Abdulmajid Esmail Jaffer, the Tribunal held that ‘to have met’ meant something more than a mutual sighting. They also felt that a mere coming face-to-face followed by telephone or written contact would be insufficient to satisfy the rule, as would a family background together with such a face-to-face meeting. In their view the essential test of whether the rule had been satisfied was whether the couple had had a face-to-face meeting which in itself had resulted in the making of mutual acquaintance.
A relationship that has developed over the Internet would not satisfy the ‘to have met’ requirement unless the relationship included a personal face-to-face meeting between the couple concerned. Evidence of a face-to-face meeting might include a travel history, relevant email exchanges etc.
For single adults, the Registrar normally accepts the parties’ declaration that they are free to marry. The ECO may, therefore, accept a similar verbal statement by an applicant, together with any supporting correspondence from the person he / she is going to marry. This is unless there are strong grounds to believe that one of the parties is still married/in a civil partnership or has been married / in a civil partnership previously and is concealing this fact. In such cases the ECO may make whatever enquiries as seem appropriate.
Where the ECO has doubts about an applicant’s intention to marry, the ECO may ask to see evidence of freedom to marry before issuing an entry clearance which may include:
- Widowed person: death certificate of the late spouse.
- Surviving civil partner: death certificate of the deceased civil partner.
- Divorced person: evidence of divorce e.g. a divorce certificate.
- Dissolved civil partnership: evidence of the dissolution, for example, dissolution certificate.
The Home Office UKVI fee for proposed civil partner visa UK is £1523.
In addition to the UK visa fee, you will also have to pay the legal costs of solicitors if you are getting professional services for your proposed civil partner visa UK. Fixed fees charged by our expert team of proposed civil partner visa solicitors are given in the table below:
| Our Service | Our Fee |
| One-Off immigration consultation for proposed civil partner visa Entry Clearance | £80 (no VAT) |
| One-Off Application Checking Service / Documents Assessment | £3000 (no VAT) |
| Full service for proposed civil partner visa Entry Clearance to cover all the work until decision by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) | From £1,000 To £2,000 (no VAT) |
The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the proposed civil partner visa entry clearance application and the volume of casework involved in the application.
Proposed civil partner visa UK fee is paid to the Home Office UKVI at the time of online submissino of the proposed civil partner visa application.
Applicants for proposed civil partner visa UK do not have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for their proposed civil partner visa application.
In the event of refusal of proposed civil partner visa application, the applicant will lose his/her UK visa fee because the proposed civil partner visa fee will not be refunded to the applicant. It is therefore important to have proper legal help and assistance with the preparation and submission of the proposed civil partner visa application.