Spouse Visa Total Cost: What GOV.UK Publishes, and What It Does Not

The Published Costs, Added Up

These are the figures on GOV.UK, for one adult with no dependants, applying from outside the UK and staying on the route to settlement. See also our cost breakdown and the 5-year route.

First application, from outside the UK

• Application fee: £2,064
• Healthcare surcharge: £3,105. The grant is 2 years and 9 months, and the surcharge is charged in whole years, so 2 years 9 months is charged as 3.
• £5,169

Extension, inside the UK

• Application fee: £1,407
• Healthcare surcharge: £2,587.50, for a grant of 2 years and 6 months
• £3,994.50

Settlement

• Application fee: £3,226
• No healthcare surcharge is payable on a settlement application
• Life in the UK test: £50
• £3,276

Published total across the five years: £12,389.50 in fees and surcharge, or £12,439.50 including the Life in the UK test. That is arithmetic on published figures, not an estimate — but it assumes the fees do not change over five years, which they will.

Applying with children

Every application fee is per person, and a dependent child pays the same as an adult: £2,064 from outside the UK, £1,407 inside. The surcharge is lower for a child under 18: £2,328 for 2 years 9 months, £1,940 for 2 years 6 months, and £3,880 for 5 years. So a partner and one child applying from outside the UK pay £4,128 in fees and £5,433 in surcharge for the first stage.

The Costs GOV.UK Publishes No Price For

These are real costs. GOV.UK sets no price for any of them, because each is a private market where the provider sets its own charge. Rowan does not put a number on them, and a figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate however precise it looks.

• The Secure English Language Test. Approved providers set their own fees, which differ by provider, by test level and by country.
• An Ecctis assessment, if you are proving English through a degree awarded outside the UK.
• Certified translations. Appendix FM-SE says what a translation must contain, not what it may cost.
• The tuberculosis test. Approved clinics set their own fees. The GOV.UK page lists the clinics and the countries where a test is needed, and gives no price. The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of the x-ray.
• Postage, courier and document copying.
• Travel to a visa application centre, a test centre or a TB clinic, and the flight to the UK afterwards.
• An immigration adviser or solicitor. Fees are set by the firm. You can find a regulated adviser on GOV.UK, and ask about fees before instructing. See our comparison of doing it yourself and using an adviser and our note on what advice costs.

One published item that belongs alongside them: the Life in the UK test costs £50, lasts 45 minutes, has 24 questions and a 75% pass mark, must be booked at least 3 days ahead, and can be retaken as many times as needed — paying again each time. It is needed at the settlement stage, and people under 18 or 65 and over are exempt.

Paying for a Faster Decision

The standard waits are 12 weeks from outside the UK, 8 weeks inside where the financial and English requirements are met, and about 12 months inside where they are not. Paying more does not buy the same thing on this route as on the work routes, and this is the part most often got wrong:

• From outside the UK: the priority service costs £500. For a family application as a partner, parent, child or adult coming to be cared for by a relative, GOV.UK says it usually takes up to 30 working days, not the 5 that apply to most other routes.
• Inside the UK: GOV.UK's table of eligible applications shows a family visa cannot use the 5-working-day priority service at all. The only faster option is the £1,000 super priority service, and only where identity is proved in person at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services appointment — not through the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app.
• Each family member applying with you pays the same £500 or £1,000 again.
• GOV.UK adds that if the decision takes longer than the service promises, you will not usually get the money back, and that there is a limit on how many people can use the service at a time.

See our guide to the priority services.

What a Refusal Costs

The published position, without estimating anyone's prospects:

• The application fee is not refunded.
• The healthcare surcharge is. GOV.UK says you get a full refund if the application is refused, or if you withdraw it before a decision. It is paid back to the card or account used, usually within 6 weeks, without you having to ask. If you appeal or seek an administrative review, the refund comes after that is decided — and has to be repaid if it succeeds.
• Applying again costs the full fee and surcharge again. There is no rule limiting how soon or how often you can apply. See our guide to applying again.
• An appeal to the First-tier Tribunal costs £82 without a hearing or £144 with one. Exemptions apply for people on asylum support or legal aid, and there is a help-with-fees scheme.
• An administrative review costs £80, and is cancelled without refund if you make another immigration application while it is outstanding.

Our guide to the mistakes the rules single out sets out where the specified evidence most often does not match what Appendix FM-SE asks for.

What the Surcharge Buys, and What It Does Not

Paying the immigration health surcharge does not make NHS care free. It puts you on the same footing as a resident, which means you then pay what a resident pays. In England that is £9.90 for a prescription and dental charges of £27.90, £76.60 or £332.10 depending on the band. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. See our guide to the surcharge.

The other condition worth budgeting around: permission on this route carries a no recourse to public funds condition, so most benefits are not available while you hold it.

Related Guides

• The official cost breakdown
• Common mistakes
• Doing it yourself, or using an adviser
• The five-year route
• The partner route in full

Questions and answers