Spouse Visa Documents: Complete Checklist

Two Lists, Not One Long One

There is no single official "spouse visa checklist". There are two lists, and it is worth knowing which is which.

The first is GOV.UK's list of information and evidence to have ready. It is broad and partly about information rather than paper.

The second is Appendix FM-SE, which specifies the financial evidence precisely — which documents, covering which period, showing what. That is the part where an application is judged against a written list.

The Home Office's caseworker guidance is that an application should not be refused because a document the rules do not specify was not supplied. This guide therefore says what the rules ask for, and says when something is optional.

Identity and Background

GOV.UK asks you to have ready:

• All your names and your date of birth.
• Your current passport or other valid travel identification.
• Copies of the photo page and any visa or entry stamps in your previous passports.
• Details of any previous immigration applications you made.
• Details of any criminal convictions.
• Your National Insurance number, if you have one.
• Your parents' dates of birth and nationality, if you are applying from outside the UK.
• An email address, to make the online application.

If you already have permission to be in the UK, GOV.UK asks for online proof of your status: a share code from your eVisa. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, and GOV.UK says an existing card can be used for 24 months after its printed expiry date or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first. A share code lasts 90 days once generated.

You do not send photographs of yourself. Your fingerprints and photo are taken at an appointment after you apply, and GOV.UK tells you how to book it.

The sponsor's status is proved by whatever they hold: a British or Irish passport, a share code for settled or pre-settled status, or documentation of indefinite leave to remain. See our requirements guide for the full list of who may sponsor.

Relationship Documents

The relationship must be genuine and subsisting, and you must both intend to live together permanently in the UK. GOV.UK is unusually specific about the evidence it wants. It should:

• come from the government, a bank, a landlord, a utility provider or a medical professional;
• confirm the relationship — for example that you live together, share expenses, or are married or in a civil partnership; and
• be less than 4 years old.

The examples GOV.UK gives are:

• a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate;
• a tenancy agreement, utility bills or Council Tax bills confirming 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;
• a letter from your doctor or dentist confirming you live at the same address.

Where none of your evidence meets those criteria, GOV.UK names alternatives: a one-off bill such as vet's fees or home repair costs, letters confirming you and your partner are on the voting register at the same address, or student finance paperwork confirming you live at the same address.

If you cannot live together because of work, study or culture, GOV.UK asks instead for evidence of an ongoing commitment: that you communicate regularly, support each other financially, care for any children you have together, and spend time together as a couple.

The application form also asks about the relationship directly — how you met, how often you see each other, how long you have lived together, what you pay for together, and whether you are your partner's carer. It asks for details of anyone either of you previously married or had children with, with evidence that those marriages ended, such as a divorce certificate. For the full requirements, see our requirements guide.

Financial Documents

This is the part Appendix FM-SE specifies exactly. The financial requirement is £29,000 a year for a first application made on or after 11 April 2024, and it does not rise for children. The documents depend entirely on the source of the money.

Salaried Employment in the UK (Paragraph 2)

All three of these must be provided:

• Payslips covering the 6 months before the application, where the person has been with the current employer for at least 6 months and relies on the current salary. If they have been with the employer less than 6 months, or the income varied, the payslips cover any period of salaried employment in the 12 months before the application. Payslips must be formal ones issued by the employer showing the employer's name, or be accompanied by a letter from the employer on headed paper, signed by a senior official, confirming they are genuine.
• A letter from the employer who issued those payslips, confirming four things: the employment and gross annual salary; the length of employment; the period over which the salary relied on has been paid; and the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term or agency).
• Personal bank statements covering the same period as the payslips, showing the salary paid into an account in that person's name, or in their and their partner's joint names.

A P60 and a signed contract of employment may be sent in addition, but paragraph 2A says in plain terms that if you do not send them the application may still be granted where the caseworker is otherwise satisfied. They are not on the required list.

Overtime, commission-based pay and bonuses are counted as income where they were received in the period relied on. Where the person is in salaried employment at the date of application, the amount added to their salary is the annual equivalent of their average gross monthly figure for those payments over the 6 months before the application. Travel, relocation, subsistence and accommodation allowances are not counted.

Self-Employment as a Sole Trader, Partner or Franchisee

Paragraph 7 requires all of the following for the last full financial year, or the last two where the average of the two is relied on:

• Evidence of tax payable, paid and unpaid for the last full financial year.
• The annual self-assessment tax return to HMRC, and the Statement of Account (SA300 or SA302).
• Proof of registration with HMRC as self-employed, if available.
• Each partner's Unique Taxpayer Reference, or that of the partnership or business.
• Business bank statements for the same 12-month period as the tax return, where a separate business account is held.
• Personal bank statements for the same 12-month period, showing the self-employment income paid in.
• Evidence of ongoing self-employment dated no more than three months before the application — a bank statement showing trading, or a licence renewal, business rates, business insurance, employer National Insurance contributions or franchise payments.
• One of: audited accounts for the last full financial year, where the business must produce them; or unaudited accounts plus an accountant's certificate from a member of one of the professional bodies the rule names; or a VAT registration certificate and return; or planning permission for the trading address; or a signed franchise agreement. A franchise must supply the agreement.

Two points that catch people out. Self-employed income is the gross taxable profits from the person's share of the business, before deductible allowances, expenses or liabilities — not the net profit figure. And a self-employed person cannot combine that income with cash savings to reach the threshold (paragraph 13(f)).

Company Director of a UK Limited Company

Where the company is a small one controlled by the family — the type described in paragraph 9(a) — the self-employment rules apply instead, and the evidence includes company tax returns (CT600), accounts, and evidence of salary and dividends. Where the company is not of that type, a director's salary is evidenced as ordinary salaried employment, with evidence that the company is not of the specified type, such as the latest annual return filed at Companies House.

Cash Savings

• Personal bank or savings account statements showing that at least the level of savings relied on has been held throughout the 6 months before the application, in the name of the applicant, the partner, or both jointly.
• A declaration by the account holder of where the money came from. This is required, not optional.

The account must allow the money to be withdrawn immediately, even if there is a penalty for doing so. Money moved from investments, shares, bonds or trust funds within the 6 months, or the net proceeds of a property sale, can count, with the 6-month clock adjusted accordingly.

The savings figure itself is £16,000 plus 2.5 times the shortfall — £88,500 with no other income. At settlement the multiplier does not apply, so it is £16,000 plus the shortfall, or £45,000. For the calculation, see our financial requirement guide. For the threshold, see our income threshold guide.

Pension, Rental and Other Non-Employment Income

Pension income needs a document from the paying body — the Department for Work and Pensions, another government department, an overseas pension authority or a pension company — confirming the entitlement and amount, plus at least one personal bank statement from the previous 12 months showing the pension being paid in. The pension must have become a source of income at least 28 days before the application. See our guide to pension income.

Documents Dated Close to the Application

Where Appendix FM-SE asks for evidence covering a period that ends with the date of application, the most recently dated part of it must be dated no earlier than 28 days before you apply.

English Language Documents

One of the following:

• A Secure English Language Test certificate at level A1 or higher in speaking and listening, from an approved provider. A pass at B1 or higher can be reused at settlement, provided the test is still on the approved list and the certificate has not been withdrawn.
• A degree certificate, where the degree was awarded by a UK institution and taught in English. GOV.UK says the certificate alone is enough here, even if you studied outside the UK.
• An Ecctis assessment, where the degree was taught in English but awarded outside the UK. Ecctis gives you a code confirming the qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or higher and was taught in English. A previous Ecctis certificate can be reused.
• A passport showing nationality of one of the countries on the fixed exemption list: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, or the USA.

No English document is needed at all if you are over 65, have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement, are applying as a child, are applying as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative, or have been on a family visa for 5 years and are extending as a partner or parent. See our English language tests guide.

Accommodation Documents

Appendix FM requires evidence of adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, which the family own or occupy exclusively. Accommodation is not adequate if it is or will be overcrowded, or if it contravenes public health regulations. Appendix FM-SE also asks for the monthly housing and Council Tax costs of the place you live in or will live in.

The rules do not name a fixed list of accommodation documents in the way they do for money. In practice the evidence is whatever establishes those points — a tenancy agreement, a mortgage statement, a letter from the owner where you are staying with family, a Council Tax bill, or a property inspection report.

Additional Documents

Tuberculosis Test Certificate

Needed if you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more, you have lived in a country on GOV.UK's list for 6 months or more, and you were living there — or in another listed country — within the last 6 months. A fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner needs one even though the permission is for less than 6 months. The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of the x-ray.

Previous Applications and Refusals

GOV.UK asks for details of any previous immigration applications you have made, and of any criminal convictions. Deception in a previous application is a suitability ground in its own right under Appendix FM.

Evidence That a Previous Marriage Ended

Appendix FM requires any previous relationship of either party to have broken down permanently, and GOV.UK asks for details of anyone either of you previously married or had children with, with evidence that those marriages ended — a divorce certificate, for example.

Change of Name Evidence

If either party has changed their name, provide the deed poll or other legal documentation.

Translation Requirements

Any document not in English or Welsh must be sent in the original language with a full translation. Appendix FM-SE paragraph 1(j) says the translation must be dated and must include:

• confirmation that it is an accurate translation;
• the full name and signature of the translator, or of an authorised official of the translation company;
• the translator's or company's contact details; and
• if you are applying inside the UK for permission to stay or for settlement, certification by a qualified translator, and details of the translator's or company's credentials.

GOV.UK does not publish a price for translation. Translators are a private market and charge what they charge, so any figure quoted elsewhere is someone's estimate rather than a published rate. See our hidden costs guide.

If Something Is Missing

Appendix FM-SE paragraph D sets out what the caseworker may do before refusing:

• Where a document from a sequence is missing (one bank statement from a run), is in the wrong format (a letter not on letterhead), does not contain all the specified information, or was not sent at all, the caseworker may write and request it, with a reasonable deadline.
• Where a document is in the wrong format or is missing information, but that information can be verified from other documents sent, from the issuing organisation's website, or from a regulator's website, the application may be granted anyway.
• Where there is a valid reason a specified document cannot be supplied — it is not issued in that country, or has been permanently lost — the caseworker has a discretion not to apply the requirement, or to ask for something else instead.
• The caseworker will not ask for a missing document where they do not expect fixing it to change the outcome because the application will be refused for other reasons.

After you apply you attend an appointment to give fingerprints and a photo, taking your passport with you; GOV.UK says you usually get it back the same day. If you need documents back before a decision, GOV.UK has a service to request their return, and notes you might have to cancel the application to get them.

For the fees, see our cost breakdown. For advice on an individual case, only a regulated adviser can give it — see what that costs.

You may also find our DIY vs Solicitor and UK Visa Fees: Complete Guide helpful.

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