Spouse Visa Work Rights in the UK: What You Can Do

Your Right to Work

If you hold a UK spouse visa (also called a partner visa under Appendix FM), you have full and unrestricted work rights in the UK. This means:

• You can work in any job, in any sector
• There is no limit on working hours
• You do not need a sponsoring employer
• You can change jobs freely
• You can be employed or self-employed
• You can study

GOV.UK states it plainly: on a family visa you can work and study, and you cannot usually get benefits or other public funds for yourself or your dependants. That last part is the condition of no recourse to public funds. Appendix FM sets out a narrow exception at GEN.1.11A, where the decision maker is satisfied that the applicant is destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, that there are reasons relating to a child's welfare that outweigh imposing the condition, or that the applicant faces exceptional circumstances affecting their income or expenditure.

One exception on work. A fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner visa is a 6-month family visa, and GOV.UK says you cannot work or study in the UK during the engagement. The right to work comes with the extension you apply for after you marry or form a civil partnership.

The rules for the route are in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. Your permission is recorded as an eVisa, a digital record held in a UK Visas and Immigration account. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024.

Proving Your Right to Work to Employers

All UK employers are legally required to check that employees have the right to work. For spouse visa holders, the employer should:

If you are not a British or Irish citizen, GOV.UK says you can prove your right to work with either a share code or your eligible immigration documents, and that an employer cannot reject one because you chose the other. To get a share code you view your eVisa in your UK Visas and Immigration account. You give the employer the code and your date of birth; you do not have to show them the eVisa itself. A share code lasts 90 days, and you can use it as many times as you need before it expires and get a new one whenever you need one.

The employer then checks the code against the Home Office online service, sees that your conditions allow work, and records the expiry date of your permission so they can repeat the check before it runs out.

The employer-facing guidance is the GOV.UK right to work check page.

If you experience problems with an employer refusing to accept your right to work, see our guide on workplace discrimination.

Self-Employment on a Spouse Visa

Spouse visa holders can be self-employed. This includes working as a freelancer, contractor, sole trader, or setting up a limited company. To start:

• Register as self-employed with HMRC if working as a sole trader
• Register a limited company with Companies House if going the company route
• Get a National Insurance number if you do not already have one (see our National Insurance number guide)
• File self-assessment tax returns annually

Self-employment income can also count toward the financial requirement when you apply to extend your spouse visa or apply for indefinite leave to remain. Appendix FM counts the applicant's own income from specified employment or self-employment on an application made inside the UK, unless they are working illegally. See our self-employment and spouse visa guide for details.

Employment Rights and Protections

As a spouse visa holder working in the UK, you have the same employment rights as British citizens and settled persons. These include:

• The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
• Protection against unfair dismissal
• Paid holiday entitlement
• Statutory Sick Pay, of up to £123.25 a week for up to 28 weeks
• Statutory Maternity Pay, which is 90% of average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week or 90% of earnings, whichever is lower, for a further 33 weeks
• Protection from discrimination
• Health and safety protections
• The right to join a trade union

These are employment rights, and they are not public funds. The no recourse to public funds condition on your permission is about benefits — GOV.UK publishes the list of what counts as public funds. Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay are paid by an employer and are not on that list.

For more on your rights at work, see our guide on employment rights for visa holders.

Tax and National Insurance

Working in the UK means you are subject to UK tax rules. You will pay income tax and National Insurance contributions on your earnings, just like anyone else. Key points:

• If you are employed, your employer deducts income tax and National Insurance through Pay As You Earn
• If you are self-employed, you register with HM Revenue and Customs and file self-assessment returns
• National Insurance contributions build entitlement to the State Pension, though the no public funds condition means you cannot claim the State Pension while you hold this permission — see our tax guide for visa holders

Working While Waiting for a Decision

If you are inside the UK and have applied to switch to a spouse visa from another category, you may have section 3C leave. This extends your previous leave conditions until a decision is made. If your previous visa allowed work, you can continue working. If it did not, you cannot start working until your spouse visa is granted.

If you applied from outside the UK, you cannot work in the UK until your visa is granted and you have physically entered the country with your visa.

Next Steps

Nothing in the permission has to be applied for before you can work: the right comes with the grant. The practical steps most people take on arrival are getting a National Insurance number, opening a bank account and registering with a doctor.

Related guides:

• National Insurance Number Guide
• Opening a Bank Account on a UK Visa
• Right to Work Check Guide
• First Week in the UK Checklist

Questions and answers