How to Prove Your Relationship Is Genuine

The requirement, and where it is written

The relationship requirements for partners sit in Appendix Relationship with Partner to the Immigration Rules. The Home Office publishes the guidance its own caseworkers apply, Relationship with a partner: caseworker guidance, and everything in this entry is quoted from it. It was last updated on 8 October 2024.

Two things must be shown. The relationship must be genuine — not a sham — and it must be subsisting, meaning current and continuing. Where a couple are married or in a civil partnership, the guidance says they "will generally have satisfied the genuineness part of this requirement by providing evidence of a valid marriage or civil partnership".

The burden is on the applicant. The standard is the balance of probabilities — "more likely than not". Not beyond doubt, and not a high bar; the guidance warns caseworkers that they "must ensure you reduce the risk of imposing a high burden of proof on applicants".

There is no document list

The guidance states this twice, in nearly the same words:

"There is no specified evidence for proof of relationship so you cannot refuse an application for lack of a particular document but must consider whether you are satisfied that the relationship is genuine and subsisting on the balance of probabilities."

And on how much is expected:

"You should not need to see numerous documents covering an extended period to be satisfied the relationship is genuine and subsisting."

It adds that evidence "is strengthened where there is evidence of living together over time, for example, shared financial responsibilities and household bills over the last 12 months", and that "depending on the circumstances of the applicant and their partner some applicants will have more, some will have less, supporting evidence".

The three weight categories

The guidance divides evidence into three categories and says plainly what each is worth.

Strong

"Evidence that is issued by an organisation and/or service provider that carries out checks on the person involved, for example their identity, address, immigration status. This evidence is official and verified by the issuing organisation. You should give this evidence the most weight." And, decisively:

"Where an applicant can show sufficient strong evidence to satisfy you that the relationship is genuine and subsisting, you do not need to see other types of evidence."

Acceptable

"Documents issued by a third party organisation or service provider but may not have involved checks on the person involved and therefore may not have been verified as correct... and/or it may be outdated. You should give this evidence reasonable weight but may want to see more than one piece."

Weak

"Evidence from individuals with no official capacity or has not been verified by the provider of the document. There is a higher chance that such evidence may be false, or it may only indirectly show information relevant to what you are trying to assess. You should give this evidence some weight but may want to see it in combination with one of 2 examples of strong or acceptable evidence."

The guidance then closes off the obvious misreading of that: "You should not refuse an application simply because the applicant has only provided weak evidence."

What is in each category

This is the table the guidance publishes, reproduced as its four subject rows.

A valid marriage or civil partnership

• Strong: marriage certificate; certificate of civil partnership.
• Acceptable and weak: the guidance lists nothing.

Living together — documents should show both names, or link both people to the same address over time

• Strong: tenancy agreement; mortgage agreement; letter from landlord; documents of ownership deeds.
• Acceptable: utility bills, for example council tax, electricity, gas, water; other bills such as phone, TV licence, cable TV; other official documents linking both people to the same address, such as driving licences, GP or medical letters, payslips, and letters from the Department for Work and Pensions or HM Revenue and Customs; electoral register confirmation; documentation issued by a student finance body showing a UK address.
• Weak: other dated, UK-addressed domestic bills, for example veterinary bills or home services and repairs; letters of support from friends, relatives or religious leaders with British citizenship; a written statement from the applicant.

Shared financial responsibilities

• Strong: bank statements, joint or individual; mortgage agreement.
• Acceptable: insurances; car finance; joint purchase receipts.
• Weak: other domestic bills — home services and repairs, veterinary bills.

Other evidence of a genuine relationship when living apart

• Strong: money transfers; bank transactions; birth certificates of children, where relevant.
• Acceptable: temporary work contract or employment letter; study course documents; flight, train and bus tickets; holiday bookings.
• Weak: communication records (certified transcripts); photographs of times spent together; written statements from the applicant; letters of support from family, friends, family doctors, religious or tribal leaders.

The guidance adds one presentational point: "Ideally any evidence will show both the applicants' and their sponsoring partner's names, where it does not, the different pieces of evidence provided should cover the same time period."

Photographs and messages

This is where the published guidance departs furthest from the common account of what an application should contain. It says:

"Applicants are not encouraged to provide photographic evidence or evidence of interaction over email, WhatsApp or other social media as they can be falsified and are difficult to verify. However, this does not mean such evidence has no weight at all."

Both halves of that sentence are the rule. Photographs and message histories are in the weak category, alongside letters of support and the applicant's own written statement, and are described as evidence a caseworker may want to see "in combination with one of 2 examples of strong or acceptable evidence". GOV.UK publishes no recommended number of photographs, no recommended length of message history, and no recommended format for either. Where a figure appears elsewhere, it is someone's guess.

Couples who have not lived together

The rules do not require a married couple or civil partners to have lived together. For an unmarried couple the requirement is a relationship "similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years" before the date of application, and the guidance is explicit that "there is no requirement for the parties to a durable relationship to have been living together for at least 2 years".

Where a couple are living apart, the guidance asks the caseworker to be satisfied there is a reasonable explanation, and gives examples: work, cultural reasons while overseas, or one partner living temporarily with a close family member to provide care. It says the caseworker "should also expect to see additional evidence of commitment such as shared financial responsibility or visits".

For same-sex couples in countries where the relationship is not recognised, the guidance directs caseworkers to the relevant Country Policy and Information Notes and to look instead for "evidence of regular communication, visits, holidays, events attended, financial support, joint care of any children the partners have together, or any other evidence showing an ongoing relationship".

Cultural awareness

The guidance devotes a section to this, and it is worth reading in its own words:

"You must not presume that relationships always start, develop and subsist in the same way relationships commonly do in the UK. Every relationship is unique, and its start, development and continuation are usually influenced by local customs and traditions."

It gives three examples of customs that affect what evidence exists at all: those that permit couples to live together only after marriage; those that discriminate against gay and lesbian relationships, so same-sex couples cannot easily live together; and patriarchal customs that "do not routinely include women on official documents such as household bills or financial evidence".

Where there is little or no documentary evidence

The published sequence is:

1. The caseworker must consider any explanation given for the lack of evidence, and decide whether it is reasonable.
2. If no explanation was given on the form, they may contact the applicant and request further evidence, under the evidential flexibility guidance.
3. If there is still not enough, they may consider arranging an interview, after discussing with a senior caseworker.
4. Only if they are not satisfied the relationship is genuine and subsisting must the application be refused.

The guidance also notes that a document not in English needs a certified translation, and that where one is missing the caseworker should contact the applicant to ask for it rather than refuse.

Second and later applications

The test narrows once a relationship has already been accepted. The guidance says that where an applicant has already proven the genuineness of the relationship in a successful application, on a later application based on the same relationship "you normally only need to be satisfied the relationship is subsisting... You do not need to reconsider evidence already accepted in a previous application."

And on settlement specifically: "Applicants for settlement will not be asked on the application form to provide documentary evidence of their relationship subsisting unless their circumstances have changed since their last application for permission."

Where both partners are in the UK, the guidance says the caseworker may use "direct checks" with third parties instead of documents. If those checks show the couple are not currently living together, or return something unclear or inconsistent, the guidance says the caseworker "should not automatically refuse" but should contact the applicant and ask for evidence.

Related entries

The relationship test is one requirement among several. See also the financial requirement, the English language requirement, the accommodation requirement, and the route as a whole in our partner and spouse route entry. If an application has been refused on this ground, our guide on refusal reasons and on reading the decision letter set out what happens next.

Questions and answers