A fiancé is a man who is engaged to be married. A fiancée is a woman who is engaged to be married. The fiancé visa is also often referred to as the ‘prospective marriage visa’. Fiancé visas are different from other partner visa categories in that with a fiancé visa there is no requirement for the applicant and the sponsor to have lived together before making an application. Once the marriage or civil partnership has taken place, the person can apply for an extension of stay on that basis.
Fiancé visa requirements
To qualify for a fiancé visa, you must meet the following criteria:
- The applicant will be aged under 18 on the date of arrival in the UK
- You and your future spouse must have met each other
- You and your future spouse must intend to live together on a permanent basis once married
- You must show that any previous relationship that you or your partner were involved in has ended (whether it was as a married or an unmarried couple)
- You and your future spouse must have enough funds to support yourselves (and any dependants) without claiming public funds
- Your fiancé must be earning a minimum of £18,600 per annum or have savings to be able to sponsor you. The level of this financial requirement will increase if you are also sponsoring children as dependants.
- You must have suitable accommodation available for you, your future spouse and any dependents
How long can you stay on fiancé visa?
A fiancé visa grants you entry to the UK for six months during which time you are required to marry your fiancé in the UK.
Once you are married, you can apply for a spouse visa from within the UK. The spouse visa enables you to work in the UK and will initially be granted for 30 months. After spending five years on a spouse visa, you are then eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain as long as your marriage is subsisting, and you can continue to meet the financial requirements.
Dependents
If you and your fiancé have children under the age of 18, they are only allowed to enter the UK as your dependents if it can be proven that it would cause serious problems if they are not allowed to enter the UK at the same time. As such, it may be a better option to wait until after you and your fiancé are married before making applying for the entry of your dependents.
English language requirements
All partners, spouses, civil partners and fiancés must be able to prove that they can speak and understand the English language. As part of your application, you will need to provide evidence to show that you have passed an English language test from an approved test provider.
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