Spouse Visa Decision Letter: How to Read and Understand It

How the decision reaches you

GOV.UK's processing-times guidance describes the end of the wait in the same words for applications made inside and outside the UK: "You'll get a letter or email to let you know that a decision has been made on your application."

Where the application was made outside the UK at a visa application centre and the passport was left there, GOV.UK adds that you "should not return to the VAC until you have been contacted".

If it is a grant

GOV.UK sets out what you receive:

"You'll get an eVisa (a digital record of your identity and immigration status)... Your decision email or letter will tell you how to access your eVisa. You'll need to create a UKVI account, if you do not have one."

Two physical documents that older accounts still describe no longer exist for new grants. GOV.UK records that "UKVI stopped issuing visa vignette (stickers) to successful new applicants on 1 July 2026", and biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024. If you are reading advice about a 30-day or 90-day sticker, or about collecting a permit after arrival, it is out of date. Our entry on the eVisa covers the account and the share code.

What the grant contains

• Length. Paragraph D-ECP.1.1 of Appendix FM sets entry clearance at "an initial period not exceeding 33 months" — GOV.UK renders this as up to 2 years and 9 months. An extension or switch inside the UK is up to a further 2 years and 6 months. A fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner is granted 6 months.
• Conditions. A no recourse to public funds condition applies to every grant on this route. There is no restriction on work or study — except on the fiancé route, where the grant is "subject to a prohibition on employment".
• Which paragraph you were granted under. This matters more than it looks. A grant under D-ECP.1.1 or D-LTRP.1.1 leads to settlement after 60 months. A grant under D-ECP.1.2 or D-LTRP.1.2 — where exceptional circumstances applied — leads to settlement after 120 months. GOV.UK's settlement guidance tells applicants to "check the letter you got from the Home Office when your ‘leave to remain’ was last approved" to find out which route they are on.

If it is a refusal

A refusal letter is written against the Rules, and identifies the paragraphs relied on — for example E-ECP.3.1 for the financial requirement, E-LTRP.1.7 for a genuine and subsisting relationship, or E-LTRP.3.4 for accommodation. Those references are the most useful part of the letter, because they say precisely what was not met.

The letter also states which challenge, if any, is available. The tribunal guidance puts it plainly: "You can only appeal to the tribunal if you have the legal right to appeal — you'll usually be told if you do in your decision letter", and "your decision letter will usually tell you if you can apply for an administrative review and if you do not have the right to appeal".

Deadlines for an appeal

From the First-tier Tribunal's guidance:

• In the UK: 14 days from the date you received the decision letter.
• Outside the UK: 28 days from the date you received the decision letter.
• Where the letter says you must leave first: 28 days from the date you left the UK.

"If you submit your appeal after the time limit, you must explain why. The tribunal will then decide if it can still hear your appeal." A fee may be payable and GOV.UK says to contact the tribunal if you are unsure whether you have to pay one. The tribunal's contact is contactia@justice.gov.uk, or 0300 123 1711, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm; it "cannot give you legal advice".

Deadlines for administrative review

• In the UK: 14 calendar days from receiving the refusal notice — 7 calendar days if you are detained.
• Outside the UK: "You must apply within 28 days of getting the decision."
• Fee: £80. It is refunded where the decision under review is withdrawn, and not refunded where the original decision is upheld.
• How long: GOV.UK's page for applicants outside the UK currently states that "it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review".

Our entries on appealing and on making a fresh application cover the difference between the two, and refusal reasons covers the grounds themselves.

The language a refusal letter uses

The phrasing is standard, and it tracks the standard of proof rather than expressing a view of the applicant. The relationship guidance sets that standard as the balance of probabilities — whether something is "more likely than not".

• "I am not satisfied that..." The decision-maker was not persuaded to that standard on the material provided. It is a statement about the evidence, not a finding of dishonesty.
• "The evidence submitted does not demonstrate..." Something specified was missing, or covered the wrong period. Where a specified document under Appendix FM-SE is the problem, the letter usually names it.
• "Having considered all the evidence..." The decision-maker is recording that the assessment was made in the round, as the guidance requires.
• "You have a right of appeal..." The decision engaged rights that carry an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, with the deadlines above.

What follows a grant

• Create the UKVI account the decision email points to, and access the eVisa.
• Note the expiry date. Every subsequent application on this route is measured against the date it is made, and permission continues while an in-time application is decided: GOV.UK says "you can stay in the UK until you've been given a decision, as long as you applied before your last visa expired".
• Note which paragraph the grant was made under, for the 60-month or 120-month question above.
• Keep the letter. GOV.UK's settlement guidance sends applicants back to it years later to establish which route they are on.

Our extension entry covers what the next stage requires.

Related entries

• The partner and spouse route
• Appealing a refusal
• Reapplying after a refusal
• eVisas and the end of the permit
• Common application mistakes

Questions and answers