Unmarried partner visa solicitors

Get a free consultationFixed fee from £1,000 plus VAT, agreed in writing. A solicitor tells you within one working day whether your case looks workable.

We prepare unmarried partner visa applications at a fixed fee from £1,000 plus VAT, with a solicitor checking every requirement before anything is submitted. The unmarried partner visa is for couples who are not married or in a civil partnership but have been in a relationship like marriage for at least two years. Everything else matches the spouse visa: the same financial, English and accommodation requirements, the same length of visa, the same five-year route to settlement, and the right to work from arrival.

The two-year relationship rule

You must show that you have been in a committed relationship for at least two years at the date of application. Until 2024 the rule required two years of living together. The current rule accepts a relationship of two years where you have not lived together, provided you can show why (work in different countries, cultural or family reasons, immigration restrictions) and that the relationship is otherwise like a marriage: shared finances, visits, plans made together, family and friends who know you as a couple.

Where you have lived together, the evidence is simpler: correspondence addressed to each of you at the same address, spread across the two years, from official sources (bank, council, utility, GP, employer). Six or more items covering the period, ideally from different sources, is the usual standard.

Who can apply as an unmarried partner

Your partner is British, settled, has pre-settled status, or has refugee status or humanitarian protection.
You are both 18 or over and any previous marriage or relationship has ended permanently.
You intend to live together permanently in the UK.

The financial requirement

Most new applicants need the sponsor (the British or settled partner) to earn at least £29,000 a year before tax, or to hold enough cash savings to make up the gap. If you were already on the partner or fiancé route before 11 April 2024, the old £18,600 threshold still applies when you extend. Income can come from a job, self-employment, a pension, rent or savings, and each source has its own rules on the documents you must send. Our guides to the financial requirement and the savings route set out the figures and the evidence, and the income and savings checker works out your own numbers.

Evidence of the relationship

Cohabitation evidence covering two years, where you have lived together.
Where you have not: travel records, photographs across the period, message histories, evidence of financial support, statements from family and friends, and an explanation of why you lived apart.
Evidence that any previous relationship has ended.

This is not a complete list. What you need depends on your circumstances, and the documents vary from case to case. Your solicitor will tell you exactly what applies to you.

Fees and timescales

The same as the spouse visa: £2,064 from abroad, £1,407 in the UK, health surcharge £1,035 a year, 12 weeks standard from abroad and 8 weeks in the UK. See our fees for our fixed fee.

Questions people ask

We have been together three years but only lived together for one. Do we qualify?

Possibly. The rule is two years in a relationship like marriage, not two years at one address. The year apart needs a reason and evidence of the relationship during it. This is where applications are won or lost, so take advice before applying.

Should we marry instead?

If you can marry easily, a spouse application is simpler to evidence. If marrying means travel, cost or delay, the unmarried partner route avoids it. Marrying after the visa is granted does not affect your status.

Can we switch to the spouse visa later?

Yes. If you marry during the visa, your extension can be made as a spouse. Time on either route counts towards the five years.