UK family visa: £29,000, five years to settlement and what the application costs

You need a UK family visa to live with a family member for longer than six months. The most common case is joining a husband, wife or partner. Here is who qualifies, what the application costs, and how long before you can apply to settle.

Who can apply for a family visa?

GOV.UK lists several routes: spouse or partner; fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner; child; parent; an adult who needs long-term care from a relative; and a separate private life route for people who have lived in the UK for many years.

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You can apply from outside the UK, or switch or extend from inside it if you already hold a qualifying visa.

What are the conditions for a partner visa?

You and your partner must both be 18 or over. Your partner has to be a British or Irish citizen, settled in the UK, or hold one of the other statuses GOV.UK lists — pre-settled status or refugee protection among them.

You must prove the relationship one of four ways: a recognised marriage or civil partnership; living together for at least two years; being a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner; or a relationship of at least two years where living together was not possible. You also need good English and must meet the financial requirements, and you must both intend to live together permanently in the UK.

How much money do you have to show?

A combined income of at least £29,000 a year. If you first applied as a partner before 11 April 2024 and are extending that same visa, the threshold is £18,600 a year.

Extending applicants need extra income for dependent children: £3,800 a year for the first child and £2,400 for each additional one. If that would take the total above £29,000, you still only need to prove £29,000. Children who are British or Irish citizens, hold pre-settled status, or are settled in the UK do not count.

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Savings can be used instead of income. And there is an exemption: the threshold does not apply where your partner receives one of the listed benefits — Disability Living Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Adult Disability Payment. You still have to show the family can house and support itself without additional public funds; the caseworker looks at income and housing costs together.

What does it cost?

Joining a partner, parent or child from outside the UK costs £2,064, and £1,407 from inside the UK. Each dependant added costs the same again.

An adult cared for by a relative pays £3,635 from outside the UK or £1,407 from inside; where the relative holds temporary protection status, the outside-UK fee is £452.

On top comes the Immigration Health Surcharge. Per adult aged 18 or over: £2,587.50 for 2 years and 6 months, £3,105 for 2 years and 9 months, £5,175 for 5 years. Per child under 18: £1,940, £2,328 and £3,880 respectively. A super priority decision from inside the UK adds £1,000, though it is not available to adults applying as a relative's dependant.

How long does the visa last, and when can you settle?

A first partner visa runs for up to 2 years and 9 months. Extending or switching adds up to a further 2 years and 6 months, and you can extend more than once. If you stay with the same family member, up to 28 days of unused leave are added to the new visa.

You can apply for indefinite leave to remain as a partner after five years of continuous residence in the UK on a family visa. Time on other visas, and time as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, does not count towards those five years — the trap most applicants hit.

GOV.UK notes separately that a partner who was a victim of domestic abuse, and a partner whose spouse has died, may be able to apply to settle sooner.