UK Family Visas: Your Journey to Living Together in the UK

UK Family Visas: Your Journey to Living Together in the UK

UK Family Visas provide a legal way for people to join their family members who are British citizens, settled individuals, or have other qualifying immigration statuses in the UK. These visa options focus on keeping families together. They offer straightforward routes for spouses, partners, children, and other relatives to live together in the United Kingdom.

At Bekenbey Solicitors, we are an SRA-regulated law firm led by Dr. Ergul Celiksoy. We understand that these applications are not just legal paperwork; they are about your family, your relationships, and your future. We provide compassionate, expert guidance through what can be a complex and emotionally challenging legal landscape.

A successful family visa application is the first step on a secure path that can lead to a settlement visa, known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), and ultimately, the option to apply for British citizenship. This article offers a detailed overview of the different family visa routes, their specific requirements, and the journey to permanent settlement in the UK.

Which UK Family Visa is Right for You?

"Family Visa" is an umbrella term for several distinct visa categories, primarily governed by the set of rules known as Appendix FM of the UK Immigration Rules.

Choosing the correct pathway is the most critical first step. The route you must take depends entirely on your relationship with your UK-based family member (your "sponsor"):

• If you are a partner (whether married, in a civil partnership, or a long-term unmarried partner), you will apply under the Partner Route.
• If you are engaged to a British or settled person and wish to get married in the UK, you will apply for a Fiancé(e) Visa.
• If you are a child under the age of 18, you will apply as a Dependent Child to join a parent.
• If you are an adult relative (such as a parent or grandparent) who requires long-term personal care, you may be eligible for the Adult Dependent Relative route.

Each of these pathways has its own unique eligibility criteria. This guide will explain each route in detail.

The Partner & Spouse Visa Routes

This category is the most common and covers individuals in a committed relationship with a UK sponsor.

The UK Fiancé(e) Visa

This visa is specifically for individuals who are outside the UK and intend to marry or enter into a civil partnership with a British citizen or settled person.

• Purpose: It is a temporary visa granted for 6 months to allow you to travel to the UK for the sole purpose of getting married or forming a civil partnership.
• Key Rules: You must prove you meet all the requirements of the Spouse Visa (including financial, accommodation, and genuine relationship), except that you provide evidence of your intention to marry rather than a marriage certificate.
• Restrictions: During this 6-month period, you are not permitted to work in the UK.
• The Critical Step: This visa is not a route to settlement in itself. Before your 6-month visa expires, and immediately after your ceremony, you must apply to switch from within the UK to the Spouse Visa (an application known as FLR(M), or Further Leave to Remain). This application will place you on the 5-year route to settlement.

The UK Spouse Visa: For Married Partners

The UK Spouse Visa is the primary route for married partners of British citizens or persons with settled status (ILR), settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or those with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK.

To qualify, you must meet these main requirements:

• Status: You and your sponsor (partner) must both be aged 18 or over.
• Legal Marriage: Your marriage must be legally valid and recognised in the UK.
• Genuine Relationship: You must prove your relationship is "genuine and subsisting", which means it is a real, ongoing relationship and not one of convenience.
• Intention: You must both intend to live together permanently in the UK.
• Core Requirements: You must meet the specific financial, English language, and accommodation requirements detailed in the next section.

The UK Civil Partner Visa

This route is legally identical to the Spouse Visa but is designed for those in a registered civil partnership.

The requirements for the Civil Partner Visa are the same as those for the Spouse Visa. Your civil partnership must be legally recognized under UK law. Civil partnerships registered abroad are usually accepted if they are valid in the country where they were created and meet the UK recognition criteria. All financial, language, and accommodation rules are identical.

The UK Unmarried Partner Visa: Proving Your Long-Term Relationship

This visa is for partners who are in a committed, long-term relationship but are not married or in a civil partnership. This route has seen significant rule changes.

The 3 Core Requirements for All Partner Visas

All partner and fiancé(e) applications are assessed against three key eligibility hurdles.

Meeting the Financial Requirement: The £29,000 Threshold Explained

CRITICAL UPDATE: Transitional Rules for Existing Visa Holders

• How to Meet the Requirement: The £29,000 income can be met through:
  • Salaried employment of the sponsor (or the applicant, if they are in the UK with permission to work).
  • Self-employment income (this is highly complex and typically requires 1-2 years of full accounts and tax returns).
  • Pension income, dividends from shares, or rental income.
  • A combination of these sources.
• Using Cash Savings: If your income is below £29,000, you can use cash savings to make up the difference.
  • The Rule: You must have a minimum of £16,000 in savings, plus an additional amount.
  • The Formula: Any savings above £16,000 are divided by 2.5 to calculate the "annual income" equivalent. For example, £20,000 in savings would provide £1,600 in "income" ([£20,000 - £16,000 = £4,000], then [£4,000 / 2.5 = £1,600]).
  • Worked Example (Savings Only): To meet the entire £29,000 requirement with only savings, you would need £88,500. The calculation is: [(£29,000 × 2.5) + £16,000 = £88,500]. These funds must be held in an accessible account for at least 6 months.
• Exemptions: The £29,000 rule does not apply if the UK sponsor receives certain benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or Carer's Allowance. In these cases, you are "exempt" and must instead prove you can "adequately maintain" your family without recourse to public funds. This is a lower, different financial test.
• Future Policy: The government had planned further increases to £38,700, but these are currently on hold pending a review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). We remain up-to-date on all policy announcements.

Proving Your Knowledge of English: The CEFR Scale

You must also prove you can speak and understand English. This requirement follows a progressive journey as you move towards settlement.

• The Levels:
  1. First Application (Fiancé/Spouse Visa): You must pass a Secure English Language Test (SELT) at Level A1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
  2. First Extension (after 2.5 years): The requirement increases. You must pass a test at Level A2.
  3. Settlement (ILR) (after 5 years): You must pass a test at Level B1.
• Strategic Advice: The rules permit you to re-use a test certificate for future applications, as long as it's from an approved provider and not withdrawn. Therefore, if you are confident in your English, we advise taking the B1 level test for your very first application. If you pass, you can use this single B1 certificate for your A1 initial application, your A2 extension, and your B1 settlement application, saving you time and money.
• How to Meet the Requirement: You can meet this by:
  1. Passing a SELT from a Home Office-approved test provider.
  2. Being a national of a majority English-speaking country (e.g., USA, Australia, Canada).
  3. Holding a university degree that was taught or researched in English.
• Exemptions: You are automatically exempt if you are aged 65 or over, under 18, or have a long-term physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement.

The "Adequate Accommodation" Requirement

You must prove that you and your family will have a suitable place to live in the UK. The accommodation must be "owned or occupied exclusively" by your family and must not be "overcrowded" as defined by UK Law (the Housing Act 1985).

Evidence for this includes tenancy agreements, mortgage documents, a Land Registry title, or a letter from the property owner. When you are living with other family members, a formal property inspection report is often the best evidence to provide.

Your Path to Settlement: The 5-Year vs. 10-Year Route

For most, the family visa is a "route to settlement", but the timeline can differ.

The 5-Year Route to Settlement

This is the standard, most direct pathway for applicants who meet all the requirements of Appendix FM (Financial, English, etc.).

• The Journey:
  1. Initial Visa: Granted for 33 months (if applying from outside the UK) or 30 months (if applying from within the UK).
  2. Visa Extension: You apply for a further 30-month extension (known as FLR(M)).
  3. Settlement (ILR): After successfully completing 60 months (5 years) of continuous residence on this route, you become eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Once you have ILR, you are free from immigration restrictions. After holding ILR for a period (typically 12 months if your partner is British), you can apply for British citizenship.

The 10-Year Route to Settlement (The "Exception" Route)

This is a critical pathway for applicants who have a genuine relationship but cannot meet all the strict requirements of the 5-year route, for example, they cannot meet the £29,000 income rule.

• Who is it for? If you cannot meet the financial or English rules, you may still be granted leave to remain if your refusal would breach your Article 8 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to private and family life).
• The Legal Test: This is not a "tick-box" application. It is granted on discretionary, "exceptional circumstances", where the Home Office agrees that refusal would result in "unjustifiably harsh consequences" for you, your partner, or a relevant child.
• The Journey: If successful, you are granted leave in 30-month (2.5 year) segments. You must complete four of these visa applications, totalling 10 years, before you become eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

This is a complex application based on human rights that requires skilled legal arguments. If you think you might need to use the 10-year route, it is important to seek legal help.

A Note on Policy Changes: Will the 5-Year Route be Scrapped?

There has been a lot of media coverage about a May 2025 government White Paper. It suggests increasing the standard settlement period from 5 years to 10 years. This has caused a great deal of anxiety for families.

We can clarify that these proposals are aimed primarily at work visa routes (the Points-Based System). The government's own policy documents explicitly state that exceptions will be made for certain categories, including dependants of British citizens (the Family Route), who are expected to retain the 5-year pathway to settlement.

Bekenbey Solicitors continuously monitors all policy changes to provide you with the most accurate and current advice.

Visas for Children and Other Relatives

Bringing Your Children to the UK (Dependent Child Visa)

This route allows a child under 18 to join their parent(s) in the UK.

• Who Qualifies: The child must be under 18, not married, and not living independently. They must be applying to join a parent or parents who is British, settled, or applying for a visa at the same time.
• The "Sole Responsibility" Test: The most complex scenarios arise when only one parent is in the UK. In this situation, the UK-based parent must typically prove they have had "sole responsibility" for the child's upbringing. This is a very high legal and evidential threshold that requires extensive proof.
• Evidence: You must provide birth certificates showing the names of both parents, as well as evidence of your relationship and the child's living arrangements.

Adult Dependent Relative (ADR) Visa

This route is for adult relatives (such as a parent or grandparent) of a British or settled person who requires long-term care.

• Extremely Restrictive: This route is notoriously difficult to succeed under and has one of the highest refusal rates.
• Correction: This visa can only be applied for from outside the UK. You cannot switch into this route from within the UK (unless you are extending an existing ADR visa).
• The 3-Part Test: The applicant must prove all of the following:
  1. Care Need: They require long-term personal care to perform everyday tasks (e.g., washing, dressing, cooking) due to age, illness, or disability.
  2. Unavailable Care: This required care is not available or is not affordable in the country where they live.
  3. Sponsor Undertaking: The UK sponsor can and will provide all necessary care, accommodation, and financial support without recourse to public funds. The sponsor must sign a 5-year undertaking to this effect.

Considering the high evidential burden, we offer practical and straightforward evaluations of eligibility before moving forward with this difficult application.

UK Family Visa Application Costs and Processing Times

Understanding the full costs and timelines is essential for planning. The following tables provide an overview of the key figures.

Table 1: UK Family Visa Costs (2025)

Note: Fees are per person. The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a required fee that must be paid in full at the start for the whole duration of the visa.

Table 2: UK Family Visa Processing Times (2025)

Note: Processing times are estimates from UKVI and can vary significantly based on the complexity of the case and Home Office workloads.

What If Your Visa is Refused? Your Rights and Options

A visa refusal can be devastating, but it is not always the end of the road. It is vital that you do not simply re-apply without first understanding the precise reasons for the refusal and assessing the correct legal remedy.

Common reasons for refusal include:

• Failing to meet the financial requirement.
• Providing insufficient evidence of a "genuine and subsisting relationship".
• Errors in the application or missing documents.
• Failing to disclose a past issue (known as "suitability" grounds).

Your refusal letter will state your legal rights, which have become increasingly complex.

• Administrative Review (AR): For most applications made from outside the UK (entry clearance), your main right is an Administrative Review. This is not an appeal. It is a request for the Home Office to check for a "case working error" (e.g., they miscalculated your income). The fee is £80, and the process can take 12 months or more.
• Immigration Appeal: For applications made from within the UK that are refused on human rights (Article 8) grounds, you may have a full right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). This allows an independent judge to hear your case and review the merits of the decision.
• Fresh Application: In some cases, where a clear mistake was made in the application, the fastest and most effective remedy is to submit a new, stronger application that directly addresses the reasons for refusal.

A refusal creates a complicated legal situation. It is important to seek immediate legal advice from an expert. Bekenbey Solicitors can review your refusal letter, suggest the best remedy, and represent you in an appeal or review.

Our Expertise, Your Future: Trust Bekenbey Solicitors

Navigating UK family immigration law is complex and emotionally draining. A small mistake on a form or a missing document can result in a costly refusal, financial loss, and ongoing separation from your family.

At Bekenbey Solicitors, your case is handled by an experienced team led by Dr. Ergul Celiksoy. Our firm offers a unique combination of legal expertise and academic rigour:

• SRA-Regulated: We are a fully regulated Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) law firm, bound by the highest professional standards of ethics, competence, and client care.
• Academic Rigour: Dr. Celiksoy holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Nottingham. His legal research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals. This means we do not just know the rules; we understand the complex legal theory and Home Office policy behind them.
• International Expertise: Dr. Celiksoy is one of the few lawyers qualified to practice in three major places: as a Solicitor in the UK, an Attorney in California (USA), and a lawyer in Turkey. This provides us with a unique global view on complex immigration cases.

Our promise is to provide personalized, strategic advice. We do not just fill in forms. We build the strongest possible case for you. We carefully document your relationship and finances to address any Home Office concerns ahead of time and improve your chances of success.

Your journey starts with a conversation. Contact Dr. Ergul Celiksoy and the Bekenbey Solicitors team today for a comprehensive consultation on your family visa case. Call us at +44 7784 720070 or email info@bekenbeysolicitors.com.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration rules change frequently. Please contact Bekenbey Solicitors for advice specific to your circumstances.