Cohabitation Evidence for Partner Visa Applications

Applying as an unmarried partner means proving a relationship similar to marriage lasting at least 2 years. That is not quite the same as proving 2 years at one address, and the difference matters for couples who have been apart.

Checked 10 February 20269 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: Costs, English & General
Reading time: 9 min
Last checked: 10 February 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

The rule is a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years, not necessarily 2 years at one address.
GOV.UK's evidence test has three parts: a recognised source, confirmation of the relationship, and less than 4 years old.
Recognised sources are the government, a bank, a landlord, a utility provider, or a medical professional.
There is a published route for couples who cannot live together because of work, study, or culture.
There is a fallback list for people whose documents do not meet the main criteria.

The rule for unmarried partners is a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the date of application. Living together is the usual way to show it, and GOV.UK sets three criteria for the evidence: a recognised source, confirmation of the relationship, and less than 4 years old. There is also a published route for couples who cannot live together. This guide covers both.

What the Rule Actually Says

Paragraph GEN.1.2 of Appendix FM defines a partner as the applicant’s spouse, civil partner, fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, or “unmarried partner, where the couple have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the date of application”. The same test appears at RWP 5.1 of Appendix Relationship with Partner, which governs partner applications on the work and study routes.

The test is the relationship, and its length. It is not written as two years at a single address. GOV.UK’s family visa page reflects that by listing two separate ways to satisfy it:

“you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply”, or
“you’ve been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but you cannot live together, for example because you’re working or studying in different places, or it’s not accepted in your culture”

Cohabitation is therefore the ordinary way to evidence the relationship, not a requirement in itself. That distinction matters for couples separated by work, study, immigration status, or family expectations.

The other relationship requirements sit alongside it: both of you must be 18 or over, you must have met in person, the relationship must be genuine and subsisting, any previous marriage, civil partnership or durable relationship must have permanently broken down, and you must intend to live together permanently in the UK.

The Evidence Test

GOV.UK sets three criteria that a piece of relationship evidence has to meet. Send evidence that:

comes from the government, a bank, a landlord, a utility provider or a medical professional — a recognised, checkable source rather than something you or a friend wrote
confirms your relationship with your partner — GOV.UK’s examples are that you live together, share expenses, or are married or in a civil partnership
is less than 4 years old

That third criterion is the one people miss. A tenancy agreement from six years ago does not meet it, however good the rest of the bundle is.

The Documents GOV.UK Names

a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate
a tenancy agreement, utility bills or Council Tax bills confirming that you live at the same address or pay bills together
a bank statement from a joint bank account, or one confirming that you live at the same address
a letter from your doctor or dentist confirming that you live at the same address

If Nothing You Have Meets the Criteria

GOV.UK publishes a fallback list for exactly this situation. “If you do not have any evidence that meets these criteria, there is other evidence you can provide instead, including”:

a one-off bill like vet’s fees or home repair costs
letters confirming you and your partner are on the voting register for the same address
student finance paperwork confirming that you live at the same address

Note that Council Tax exists in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland the equivalent is domestic rates, and a rates bill plays the same role.

If You Do Not Live Together

GOV.UK sets out what to send instead. Where you cannot live together because of work or study, or for cultural reasons, you need to prove an ongoing commitment to each other, by providing evidence that you:

communicate regularly with each other
support each other financially
care for any children you have together
spend time together as a couple — on holiday or at events, for example

See our guide to communication evidence. Travel records — tickets, boarding passes and passport stamps — also carry weight here, because they date the time you spent together.

How to Assemble It

Whichever route applies, the bundle has to say something about the whole 2 years rather than one moment in it. Spread the documents across the period: something near the start, something in the middle, something recent. Where you have moved, cover each address, and include what shows the move.

Practical points:

Joint documents do two jobs at once — a joint tenancy or a joint account statement shows both names and one address
Two individual documents at the same address can serve where a joint one does not exist, provided each meets the source and age criteria
Where there is a gap, say what it was rather than leaving the caseworker to guess
Anything not in English needs a certified translation

What Follows a Grant

GOV.UK sets the grant lengths on this route: an initial grant lets you stay for up to 2 years and 9 months, and an extension for up to a further 2 years and 6 months, with no limit on the number of extensions. A fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner is granted 6 months and must apply to extend after marrying.

One GOV.UK warning is worth repeating exactly: if you are in the UK as an unmarried partner and you become engaged, do not apply to extend as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner. Apply to extend with the status you already have.

There is also a rule tied to sponsors with protection status: where your partner claimed asylum after 2 March 2026 and their permission ends in less than the period above, your permission ends when theirs does.

Building Evidence Before You Apply

Put bills in joint names where you can, or make sure each of you has something in your own name at the shared address
Open a joint bank account
Register on the electoral roll at the same address
Keep correspondence from the sources GOV.UK names, and note the 4-year age limit when deciding what to keep
Register with the same doctor or dentist, since a letter from either is on GOV.UK’s own list

Next Steps

Read GOV.UK’s three evidence criteria first and test each document you were planning to send against them. Then check which of the two routes you are on — living together, or in a relationship but unable to live together — because they call for different bundles.

Questions and answers

Do we have to have lived together for 2 years?

Not necessarily. The rule, at GEN.1.2(iv) of Appendix FM and RWP 5.1 of Appendix Relationship with Partner, is that an unmarried couple must have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the date of application. GOV.UK's family visa page confirms there are two ways to satisfy it: you have been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply, or you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years but cannot live together — its own examples are working or studying in different places, or it not being accepted in your culture.

What evidence does GOV.UK ask for?

It sets three criteria for the evidence: it comes from the government, a bank, a landlord, a utility provider or a medical professional; it confirms your relationship with your partner, for example that you live together, share expenses, or are married or in a civil partnership; and it is less than 4 years old.

Which documents does it name?

A marriage or civil partnership certificate; a tenancy agreement, utility bills or Council Tax bills confirming that you live at the same address or pay bills together; a bank statement from a joint account, or one confirming you live at the same address; and a letter from your doctor or dentist confirming you live at the same address.

What if we have none of those?

GOV.UK names a fallback list for people whose evidence does not meet the criteria above: a one-off bill such as vet's fees or home repair costs; letters confirming you and your partner are on the voting register for the same address; and student finance paperwork confirming that you live at the same address.

What if we lived together abroad?

The rule does not say the relationship or the cohabitation has to have been in the UK, so evidence from another country can serve. It has to meet the same criteria — a recognised source, confirming the relationship, less than 4 years old — and anything not in English needs a certified translation.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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