Is your spouse’s visa nearing its expiration date? The Spouse Visa extension is your gateway to staying in the UK with your loved one for an additional 30 months.
Why stress over the paperwork when help is just a call away? Call 02033939272 for expert guidance tailored to your needs. Whether in person, over the phone, or online, our UK immigration experts are here to make the process seamless and stress-free.
Act now to keep your journey together uninterrupted!
Individuals from outside the UK residing in the country on a Spouse Visa are eligible for the Spouse Visa extension.
Spouse visas can be renewed or extended if the original visa holder wishes to remain in the UK beyond its expiration. The additional 60 months granted by the Spouse Visa is equivalent to 2 years and 6 months. After the extension ends, you can be considered for Indefinite Leave to Remain, a pathway to British citizenship.
You must demonstrate that you have been in a genuine relationship with your spouse or partner and that you currently fulfil all the other requirements that were applicable when you initially applied for your spouse visa; these requirements are identical to those of the original spouse visa.
Before your current authorisation expires, you need to file for a visa extension.
To renew your spouse visa uk, you must still satisfy all of the requirements for this visa. This includes:
If you want to extend Spouse Visa UK, you will have to show proof that you are in a real relationship.
Along with proof of residency in the UK, you’ll need to show that you and your partner have been living together. As proof of the relationship, you can submit letters that were mailed to both the applicant and their spouse at the same address.
In some cases, the Home Office may request documents including utility bills, bank accounts, and council tax invoices. Please ensure that all evidence you submit is in its original format, dated, and printed on official letterhead.
In the end, you’ll need proof that you and your partner have been living together during your UK residency and that you plan to keep living together in the UK for the duration of the extension and maybe beyond.
Spouse visa applicants often are required to detail both their own and their partner’s financial situations when applying to renew their visas.
You will need to meet the financial requirements based on when you initially applied for your Spouse visa.
You will need to provide evidence of a combined annual income of £18,600 if your visa application was submitted prior to 11 April 2024. You will also need to show that you have extra money for:
To qualify, you must earn a minimum of £3,800 per year for the first children and £2,400 per year for every subsequent child.
If your child is a UK citizen or Ireland, has pre-settled status, or is permanently settled in the UK, you will not be required to provide extra evidence of money.
If your visa application was submitted before April 11, 2024, you will be required to provide evidence of a combined annual income of £29,000 for both you and your spouse.
This minimal requirement will be reduced if your sponsor is receiving specific disability or carer’s payments.
Additional funds for children will not be required of you.
It should be noted that the Spouse visa extension applications will be affected by the general minimum income criteria increase in 2024 and 2025. In most cases, the minimal requirement for extending a spouse visa will be the same as the one you were first required to meet.
The majority of spouse visa applications have financial requirements, but certain applicants who wish to remain in the UK are exempt from them.
If your partner (sponsor) receives one of the following advantages, you won’t be required to meet the cash requirement:
Applicants seeking an extension of their Spouse Visa must fulfil the character suitability requirements, often called the good character requirement. You should be prepared for the Home Office to look into your immigration status and actions while you’re in the UK.
Your character will not be considered suitable if you have a criminal record or have violated any restrictions imposed on your UK residency. The Home Office will also look at whether you owe money to the NHS or to a court or another organisation.
You should normally be considered suitable for the position based on your character if you have lawfully resided in the UK and have acted properly.
The majority of countries require applicants for spouse visas to demonstrate proficiency in spoken and listening English at the A2 level, as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
To be eligible for an extension, you must pass an English proficiency test at the A2 level, even if you passed at the A1 level when you initially filed for your Spouse visa.
You can get an extension without taking the exam again if:
Some candidates will not be required to take the English test. Among these are:
When your spouse’s visa expires after 2.5 years, you can apply to have it extended by filling out the FLR(M) form. The application is lengthy and requires numerous types of documents and materials. The FLR(M) form must be filled out accurately and completely. No matter how minor an error is, it will result in a rejection.
You are obligated to attend a face-to-face interview that may be requested by the Home Office if they determine that the evidence you have provided is insufficient.
As was already said, you will need to show that you are qualified for a Spouse Visa extension by giving several documents. You have to submit the papers in their original form, but there are some exceptions for banking records.
Some of the information you may need to give depends on your situation and includes:
You will need to show your current passport or another legal form of identification for travel. It is required that you bring a copy of the picture page and any pages with visa stamps from any previous cards you may have. You will also need to show proof of your relationship with your partner and any children you are asking for.
Pay Stubs and bank records will need to be shown. Electronic financial papers are fine to show as long as they are backed by a letter from the granting authority.
An English test certificate from a recognised institute is required. (unless exempt)
A certificate of marriage or civil partnership recognised by UK law. You must provide documentation that you are in a genuine relationship and have lived together for the whole of your stay in the UK.
The application fee for extending a spouse’s visa is £1,048. Still, you might need to think about other fees.
An expert translator will be required to convert any of your documents from a language other than English or Welsh. You should also think about the cost of taking the English language test if you have to.
In addition, the £1,035 monthly immigration healthcare surcharge must be maintained. Your spouse visa extension application may take 8 or 12 weeks to be processed, depending on your eligibility.
Submit your application to the Home Office once you have collected all of your supporting documents and completed the FLR (M) form. You are required to pay in full upon completion of the application and before submission. Additionally, your application will be automatically rejected if the whole amount is not paid.
Eight weeks is the typical processing time for renewing a spouse visa to the UK. However, for the majority of UK cards, the super-priority service will provide you with a response much faster. The renewal application will be processed in one business day by this service, which costs an additional £610.
Our objective is to increase your chances of getting granted a Spouse Visa extension as much as possible. You will be assigned a professional lawyer who will review your case and determine whether you are eligible.
Call us at 02033939272 or send us an online message to begin the process of applying for a UK Spouse Visa extension.
The Home Office will inform you in a decision letter explaining why your application was denied. You should be able to fix these little mistakes and resubmit your application in most cases.
You do not have the right to challenge a spouse visa extension denial in general. If you believe the Home Office made a mistake, you may be able to request that the application be examined via a ‘Administrative Review‘, or Judicial Review in more serious circumstances. There are time constraints associated with appealing the Home Office’s decision, so you should seek counsel as soon as possible after getting the rejection.
If your request to extend your spouse’s visa is granted, you will be granted an additional 30 months (or 2.5 years) to remain in the UK. By the time the extension expires, you will have resided in the UK for a total of five years.
To continue your permanent residency in the UK, the next step is to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain status. One can easily live and work in the UK with this sort of permanent residence.
One can apply for British citizenship after one year of living in the UK with Indefinite Leave to Remain. In addition, they can apply for a visa to enter the UK.
At Rees Clayton Immigration, we take pride in supporting couples who wish to build their lives together in the UK. Our team of immigration experts offers a full range of legal services tailored to your needs, including guidance on the spouse visa extension checklist to ensure every requirement is met.
An experienced solicitor will carefully assess your circumstances and guide you through the process of applying for a spouse visa extension. Once prepared, we’ll submit your application promptly and efficiently.
For more details or personalised assistance, call us at 02033939272 or fill out our Contact Us form.
If your application to renew your UK Spouse Visa is denied, you will have 14 days from the day you received the decision letter to choose a First Tier Tribunal.
After this 14-day deadline, you will have to explain why you sent in your request late. Then, the decision to hear your case will be made by the First Tier Tribunal.
From within the UK, you can seek to extend your spouse’s visa for £1048. Additional fees, like the Immigration Health Surcharge and the cost to submit your biometric data, will also be applied.
You have to fill out an FLR (M) form to be qualified for a UK Spouse Visa extension after 2.5 years in the UK. Also, most of the time, you will need to meet these conditions:
When you apply for a spouse visa extension, you need to show proof that you are in a genuine relationship with your partner. If these things are true about your visa renewal, you may remain in the UK till you can file for ILR.
In order to extend a spouse’s visa in several countries, including the UK, you are required to demonstrate competency in English by passing the A2 exam. Additionally, it evaluates the candidate’s proficiency in basic English language skills.
If you want to stay longer in the UK and aren’t sure about any part of the process, you should talk to a professional. Please know that our immigration lawyers are here to help and guide you.
These are our services:
Our immigration attorneys can also assist you in appealing a refusal to renew your UK Spouse Visa by the Home Office. We can assist you with filing an appeal and, if necessary, we can send an expert immigration lawyer to represent you at a hearing before the First Tier Tribunal. You can call us at 02033939272 or email us to get specific legal help or information.