​Be prepared if you need to secure a UK partner visa - Mark Templeton

Thankfully, the UK’s visa system has evolved to acknowledge modern relationships, and it’s now more straightforward for couples to permanently set up home in the UK. A partner visa allows British citizens, EU nationals with status in the UK and those permanently settled in the UK to sponsor their overseas partner to apply to stay here permanently.

Before 31 January 2024, this visa was only granted if the couple’s relationship met specific criteria:

• If the overseas partner was not entering the UK for the initial purpose of marrying or becoming a civil partner, the couple had to be already married or in a civil partnership.
• Unmarried partners could qualify, but faced an additional requirement to have lived together continuously for at least two years.

Since 31 January, however, unmarried partners only need to show they have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years.

This will help couples who may have met and formed a permanent relationship anywhere in the world but, for various reasons, not been able to live together. It could also apply where an overseas partner has been in the UK on a different visa, and they wish to apply to stay with their partner in the UK but haven’t been able to live with them for various reasons.

This relaxation of the rules is more in tune with modern relationships and allows couples in these situations to plan a future together in the UK rather than having to live apart while waiting to marry or enter a civil partnership. It’s also a positive development for employers as they have a higher chance of retaining the individuals in this situation rather than the overseas partner (or both) having to leave the UK for a period of time.

But there’s a catch. The Home Office will now be stricter about what relationships qualify as being similar to marriage or civil partnerships.

As the Home Office must assess each relationship without the ‘classic’ evidence of a formal relationship and proof of living together, a significantly higher volume of evidence is required. Having now prepared several of these applications, I’ve built up a best practice approach:

• Applications must be carefully prepared to show the relationship is similar to marriage or civil partnership.
• A detailed relationship history, which pulls together evidence to show the level of contact between the couple, is crucial. This is likely to include digital communications, photographs, and proof of time spent together.
• An application should clearly explain why a marriage or civil partnership hasn’t or won’t take place, and why it hasn’t been possible to live together either at all or on a sustained basis.

Our immigration team has successfully secured partner visas for several couples who have been unable to live together up until now and are applying as “unmarried partners”. So, it can be done. But it’s important to obtain expert advice from the outset to present the best possible application to the Home Office. Getting it right first time is crucial as, if the Home Office decides a relationship does not meet their definition, changing its mind becomes an even greater challenge, and delays the ability of couples to start or continue their life together in the UK.

Mark Templeton is Director and Head of Immigration, Anderson Strathern