Proposed Civil Partner Visa UK

Please ensure that you fulfil the following criteria before applying for a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa with UK Visas and Immigration:

Your partner is a citizen of the UK or Ireland, has made the UK their permanent home, has been awarded pre-settled status, is a Turkish businessperson or worker, is a refugee, or has humanitarian protection;

• Both must be 18 or older
• In-person, you’ve met;
• Your bond is true and everlasting;
• You plan to get a civil partnership registered in the UK no later than six months after your arrival;
• All prior relationships have ended permanently;
• You two plan to make the UK your permanent home;
• You will receive sufficient care in the UK without having to rely on public assistance;
• There’s room for you and everyone who counts on you;
• You are fluent in English and can communicate at a satisfactory level.

Depending on your specific situation, the specific criteria you must meet could change. If you need legal counsel consult our immigration lawyer at Rees Clayton Immigration.

Relationship Requirement

To meet the relationship requirements for this visa, the most important thing is to prove that your civil partnership is legally valid.

This can be achieved by showing documents of a legally recognised civil partnership certificate in the UK.

Nevertheless, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will also demand evidence of the legitimacy and persistence of your relationship. This means that your civil partner connection must be sincere, long-lasting, and free from dishonest motivations.

This is in place to make sure that individuals don’t just go into a civil partnership to sneak around UK immigration laws.

You can show the validity and sustainability of your civil partnership in a number of ways, most of which require presenting a variety of documents and evidence collected throughout your relationship with your civil partner.

How Do I Show That My Relationship Is Sincere?

If you want to obtain a UK Proposed Civil Partner visa, you need to provide proof to UKVI and the Home Office that your civil partnership is real and active.

This is possible if you provide a number of supporting documents with your visa application. The following are just a few examples that could be given:

• Evidence that you cohabitate, like utility bills or a lease agreement
• Utility bills or joint bank accounts are examples of evidence showing you share financial responsibilities.
• Proof, if any, that both of you contribute to raising your kids
• Evidence that you have traveled to each other’s countries of birth
• Images, private letters, text messages, trip details, and other unofficial records or contacts
• It is also required of you to present documentation proving the complete breakup of any prior partnerships or marriages. You can achieve this by providing evidence of a legal separation or, in the case of a civil partnership, proof of divorce. 

What is the Status of Sponsoring Partner?

For a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa to be granted, your partner needs to meet one of the following criteria:

• Pass the UK citizenship test if you are British or Irish; or
• Possess stable status, permanent residence, indefinite leave to remain, or
• Held a status of pre-settlement under the EU Appendix; or
• Fall into one of the categories listed in Appendix ECAA for limited leave to remain as a Turkish worker or businessperson; or
• Hold a valid refugee status or status granting access to humanitarian assistance in the UK.

Any British citizen accompanying you to the UK in your capacity as a partner is also considered a British citizen in the UK. Anyone who is allowed for settlement on the same occasion as you is considered to have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Prohibited Degree of Relationship

According to the Marriage Act 1949, the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986, and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, you and your prospective civil partner cannot be involved in a relationship that is prohibited by law. You have a chance of getting this visa if you satisfy these conditions.

In other words, you and your intended spouse can’t have any ties to the following:

• Adoptive child
• Child
• Adoptive parent
• Former adoptive child
• Former adoptive parent
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Sibling
• Parent
• Child of a Sibling
• Parent’s sibling

Any person who is a half-brother or half-sister is considered a “sibling” in this list.

To apply for a proposed civil partner visa, both individuals involved must be at least 21 years old, and the younger person must not have had any familial relationship with the older person before this age:

• Child of a former spouse
• Child of a former civil partner
• Former civil partner of grandparent
• Former spouse of grandparent
• Former civil partner of parent
• Former spouse of the parent
• Grandchild of a former spouse
• Grandchild of former civil partner

In-Person Meeting Criteria

You are required to have personally met with your prospective civil partner. To prove that you “met,” you must provide evidence of an actual, in-person meeting that led to the development of a friendly relationship between the two people. Meeting in person and then communicating by phone or letter is not sufficient for a UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa.

Financial Requirements for Proposed Civil Partner Visa UK

To prove that you can support yourself effectively in the UK without using public funds, you’ll have to meet a financial requirement.

The UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa application requires proof of a gross annual income of £29,000 or more from your prospective civil partner (or from both of you jointly if you are both in the UK with lawful leave to remain) unless an exemption applies.

The minimum income requirement does not yet include a separate component for children.

When it comes to the financial criterion that the sponsor can “adequately maintain and accommodate” the family member being sponsored to join or remain in the UK, there are different factors to examine if your prospective civil spouse is receiving specific state benefits or entitlements.

When applying to join the UK as a proposed civil partner, extend your stay as a civil partner, or seek indefinite leave to remain as a civil partner, you will need to meet the financial criteria.

Several complicated immigration regulations relate to the proposed civil partner visa’s financial requirement, and one of them is the need for documentary evidence. Applicants must provide evidence that the financial criteria have been satisfied. Refusal of a visa application through this route often occurs due to the absence of required financial proof.   

How to fulfil the Financial Requirements for Proposed Civil Partner Visa? 

Several methods can meet the UK Proposed Civil Partner Visa financial requirement:

• Salaried or non-salaried employment of your intended civil partner (and/or you if you can work in the UK);
• Non-employment income, such as rent or dividends;
• Cash savings above £16,000 held by your intended civil partner and/or you for at least 6 months and under their/your management;
• UK or foreign state, occupational, or private pension of your intended civil spouse and/or yourself;
• Income from self-employment and as a director or employee of a UK limited company of your intended civil partner (and/or you if licensed to work).
• Some financial needs can be met by combining the above sources of income.

Different concerns apply if your intended civil partner receives state benefits or entitlements.

Proposed Civil Partner Visa applicants who rely on cash savings to meet the financial requirement should note that the level of cash savings required in an entry clearance and extension application is different from that required for indefinite civil partner leave.

In rare cases when visa refusal would violate ECHR Article 8, the couple’s other credible and stable income, financial support, or funds may be considered.

Our immigration solicitors are experts in Proposed Civil Partner Visa and help UK applicants manage the difficult evidence requirements.

Accommodation Requirement

One of the requirements for entry clearance as a proposed civil partner is proof that you and your spouse will have sufficient housing, either privately owned or rented, that does not require public funding.

In order to proceed, you will be required to present documentation that proves the property’s ownership or occupancy, your exclusive legal right to occupy it, and the absence of overcrowding or violations of public health standards.

English Language Requirement

To apply for a Proposed Civil Partner Visa, you must demonstrate to the Home Office that you meet their English language requirement, unless an exemption applies.

You must show that you can communicate effectively at the CEFR level A1 or higher to apply for admission clearance on the Proposed Civil Partner Visa route. After 2.5 years of being a civil partner and successfully switching to this status, you will be able to ask for extra leave to stay one, but you will need to prove that you can communicate at least at the CEFR level A2 in English.

To fulfil the English language requirement of the Proposed Civil Partner Visa, you can:

• Being a citizen of a country where English is the widely spoken language;
• Passing an official English test at or above the required CEFR level, given by a recognised test centre listed on the list of Approved Secure English Language Tests and Test Centres; or
• Holding a degree that is either a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD if conferred in the UK, or, if conferred outside the UK, is considered by Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) to meet or surpass the expected standard of a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in the UK, and Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) has verified that the degree was taught or researched in English at or above the necessary CEFR level.

To often avoid the English language requirement, you’ll need to provide evidence of either:

• You’re over 65 when you apply;
• Also, you are unable to fulfil the English language requirement due to a mental or physical disability;
• You are unable to meet the English language requirement before visiting the UK due to exceptional circumstances.
• You will not be granted a Proposed Civil Partner Visa unless you can provide proof that you meet the English language requirement, or that you are exempt.