Family & Spouse Visas in United Kingdom
Sponsoring a partner, children, or parents
A British citizen or settled person may sponsor a partner, children and, in narrow circumstances, an adult dependent relative. The route is document-heavy and, since April 2024, financially demanding: the minimum income requirement for partners was raised from GBP 18,600 to roughly GBP 29,000, with further increases having been announced and then kept under review.
| Route | Family visa, partner of a British citizen or settled person source |
| Minimum income | Raised in April 2024 to roughly GBP 29,000 gross per year, with savings alternatives source |
| Initial permission | Commonly two and a half years, then extended source |
| Route to settlement | Commonly five years on the partner route, ten years on certain other family routes |
| English requirement | Required at application and at higher levels for later stages |
The minimum income requirement
The sponsor must show income at or above a published threshold, which rose in April 2024 from GBP 18,600 to roughly GBP 29,000 gross per year. Further planned increases were announced and subsequently kept under review, so the operative figure should be read from the current published guidance rather than from press coverage of an announcement.
The requirement may alternatively be met with cash savings above a formula-based level, or by a combination of income and savings. The rules on what income counts are strict: employment must usually be evidenced over a qualifying period, self-employed income is assessed by reference to full tax years, and prospective earnings of the applicant partner generally do not count while they are outside the United Kingdom.
Since the earlier increases the requirement no longer varies by number of children, which was a change from the previous structure.
Who can be sponsored
- A spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner where the couple has lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years, or a fiance or proposed civil partner.
- Dependent children, generally under 18 at the date of application, applying with or to join a parent.
- An adult dependent relative, such as an elderly parent requiring long-term personal care, on a route that is deliberately restrictive and where refusals are common.
- Family members of people on work and study routes apply as dependants of that route rather than through the family visa, and those rules differ.
The shape of the route
Permission is granted in stages, commonly two and a half years at a time, with an extension application and its own fees and surcharge at the midpoint. Settlement on the partner route is commonly reached after five years of continuous permission, provided the relationship, financial and English requirements are met at each stage.
Where a requirement cannot be met but refusal would breach family or private life rights, permission may instead be granted on a ten-year route to settlement. That route reaches the same destination, but twice as slowly and with more application cycles, each carrying its own fee and health surcharge.
English language at each stage
A partner applying from abroad generally needs English at a basic level, commonly A1, with a higher level such as A2 required at the extension stage and B1 required for settlement. Certain nationalities and holders of degrees taught in English are exempt.
Because the level rises at each stage, the requirement is best treated as a sequence rather than a single hurdle cleared at the outset.
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Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.