What Happens After You Apply: Spouse Visa Timeline

The Timeline: Step by Step

Here is what happens after you submit your Spouse Visa application, broken down into stages.

Step 1: Online Submission

You complete the online application form, pay the application fee (£2,064 from outside the UK, or £1,407 from inside) and the Immigration Health Surcharge. You receive a confirmation email with your application reference number. Keep this safe as you will need it for all future enquiries.

For the full cost breakdown, see our Spouse Visa cost guide.

This is also the point at which you choose whether to pay for a faster decision, and the family route is the one where that choice behaves differently from every other route. GOV.UK's faster decision service says:

• From outside the UK, the priority service costs £500 and usually takes up to 30 working days for a family application as a partner, spouse, parent, child or adult coming to be cared for by a relative — not the 5 working days it means on other routes.
• From inside the UK, GOV.UK's table for a Family visa gives the 5-working-day priority service as not available, whether you use a UKVCAS appointment or the ID Check app.
• From inside the UK, super priority at £1,000 for a decision by the end of the next working day is available on a Family visa only if you prove your identity at a UKVCAS appointment. GOV.UK gives it as not available through the ID Check app.
• GOV.UK also says there is a limit on how many people can pay for a faster decision, and that if the option is not offered you can still make a standard application.

Step 2: Biometrics

From Outside the UK

You book an appointment at a visa application centre to give your fingerprints and photograph and to submit your supporting documents. Your passport may be held there while the application is decided. Centres sell their own extra services around that, including arrangements for keeping or returning a passport; those are the centre's commercial offerings and GOV.UK does not publish their prices, so this guide quotes none.

From Inside the UK

You prove your identity either at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) centre or with the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app, and you upload your supporting documents online. Which one you use is not just a convenience: it decides whether the super priority service is open to you, as set out above. GOV.UK says the time runs from the day of your appointment, or from the working day after you finish uploading your documents if you use the app.

Step 3: Document Review

The Home Office reviews all your submitted documents. This includes:

• Verifying your identity documents.
• Checking your financial evidence against the £29,000 threshold.
• Reviewing evidence of your genuine and subsisting relationship.
• Confirming your English language qualification.
• Checking your accommodation arrangements.

Make sure you have provided everything on the documents checklist to avoid delays at this stage.

Step 4: Possible Request for More Information

If the caseworker needs additional evidence, they will contact you. This is sometimes called a "Request for Information" or "Evidence Request." Common reasons include:

• Bank statements that do not clearly show salary payments.
• Missing pages from documents.
• Questions about gaps in employment or relationship evidence.
• Need for additional proof of cohabitation or communication.

Respond as quickly as you can. GOV.UK does not describe the clock as pausing. What it says is that a decision can take longer than the standard — for example where the Home Office needs to ask you for more information or check details with another government department — and that you will be told if that is the case. On the paid services it adds that once the further information has been received, the application will be prioritised, and that a decision running past the standard does not usually get your money back.

Step 5: Possible Interview

Most Spouse Visa applicants are not called for an interview. However, the Home Office may request one if they have concerns about:

• Whether the relationship is genuine.
• Discrepancies in the information provided.
• Previous immigration issues.

If you are called for an interview, attend on time and answer all questions honestly. The interview is typically conducted at a Home Office location or the visa application centre.

Step 6: Decision

Once the Home Office has completed its review, they will make a decision:

If Approved (From Outside the UK)

Your permission is issued as an eVisa in a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. GOV.UK says eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents: nothing is posted out, there is no biometric residence permit to collect — those stopped being issued at the end of 2024 — and new applicants are not given a vignette sticker in the passport. GOV.UK says that if you already hold a vignette it stays valid until it expires. You add your passport or travel document details to the UKVI account, and you travel on the eVisa. Set the account up at gov.uk/get-access-evisa and check the record matches your details.

If Approved (From Inside the UK)

You receive electronic confirmation of your new visa, and the eVisa in your UKVI account is updated with the new permission and its conditions. Nothing is posted to you.

If Refused

You receive a decision letter explaining the reasons for refusal. You may be able to appeal or apply for an administrative review. See our visa refused guide for your options.

Section 3C Leave (Inside UK Applicants)

If you apply from inside the UK before your current permission expires, and it runs out before a decision is made, your permission is extended automatically by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971. This means:

• You can continue living in the UK legally.
• You can continue working if your current visa allows it.
• Section 3C(3) says the extended leave lapses if you leave the United Kingdom. This is not a caution about risk; it is what the section says happens.
• Section 3C(4) also says you cannot make another application to vary your leave while it is extended this way, though the application you already have can be varied.

Tracking Your Application

While waiting for a decision, you can check your application status through:

• The Home Office online enquiry form on GOV.UK.
• Your visa application centre's tracking system (if applying from abroad).
• Your solicitor, if you used one.

For processing time expectations, see our Spouse Visa processing time guide. You can also contact the Home Office if your application is delayed.

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