Partners who are not married

Who Can Apply

You can apply as an unmarried partner if:

• You have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the date of application, and that relationship is genuine and subsisting
• You and your partner are both aged 18 or over, and you have met in person
• Your partner is a British or Irish citizen; or has settled in the UK, for example with indefinite leave to remain or settled status; or is from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein with pre-settled status and started living in the UK before 1 January 2021; or holds a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa; or has protection status as a refugee or person with humanitarian protection; or was given permission to stay as a stateless person before you became partners
• Any previous relationship either of you has been in has broken down permanently
• You and your partner intend to live together permanently in the UK
• You meet the financial requirement
• You meet the English language requirement
• You have adequate accommodation

Check the GOV.UK partner visa page for the full eligibility criteria.

Proving the 2 Years

GOV.UK gives two routes to the same requirement. The first is that you have been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply. The second is that you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years but cannot live together, for example because you are working or studying in different places, or it is not accepted in your culture. Where you rely on the second, GOV.UK asks you to show an ongoing commitment to each other: that you communicate regularly, support each other financially, care for any children you have together, and spend time together as a couple.

For the first route, the Home Office caseworker guidance names the documents that carry the most weight. It calls this strong evidence, because it is issued by an organisation that checks the person:

• Tenancy agreement, mortgage agreement, deeds of ownership, or a letter from the landlord
• Utility bills: council tax, electricity, gas, water
• Other bills: phone, TV licence, cable television
• Other official documents linking you both to the same address: driving licences, letters from a doctor or medical service, payslips, letters from the Department for Work and Pensions or HM Revenue and Customs
• Bank statements, joint or individual, and a mortgage agreement, as evidence of shared financial responsibility

Below that the guidance has an acceptable column, which includes electoral register confirmation, student finance paperwork showing a UK address, other dated UK-addressed domestic bills such as vet bills or home repairs, insurance, car finance and joint purchase receipts. Below that again is a weak column: photographs, message transcripts, written statements and letters of support.

Two lines from that guidance are worth quoting against the instinct to send everything. It says you should not need to see numerous documents covering an extended period. And it says there is no specified evidence for proof of relationship, so an application cannot be refused for the lack of a particular document. Where documents show only one name, the guidance says the different pieces should cover the same time period. See our cohabitation evidence guide and our relationship evidence guide.

Compared to the Spouse Visa

The unmarried partner and spouse visa are very similar:

• Same fees: £2,064 from outside the UK, £1,407 inside, plus the same health surcharge
• Same financial requirement: £29,000 a year, or £88,500 in savings held for 6 months
• Same path to ILR: 5-year route to indefinite leave to remain
• Same work rights: Full unrestricted work rights
• Different evidence: Cohabitation evidence instead of marriage certificate

The difference in evidence is real: a marriage or civil partnership certificate is the single entry in the strong column for that row of the guidance table, and it settles the point on its own. Two years of a relationship has to be built from other documents. Whether to marry is not a question a guide can answer for you. See GOV.UK for the current requirements.

Common Challenges

• Breaks in living together: the guidance meets this directly. Where a couple are not living together, the caseworker must be satisfied there is a reasonable explanation, and it gives examples: work, culture while overseas, or one partner living temporarily with a close relative to provide care. It then expects additional evidence of commitment, such as shared financial responsibility or visits.
• Different countries: If you lived together in a different country before the UK, provide evidence from that country.
• Limited documentary evidence: the guidance anticipates this too. Its cultural awareness section tells caseworkers not to presume relationships work the way they commonly do in the UK, and gives examples: customs that permit living together only after marriage, discrimination that stops same-sex couples living together, and patriarchal practices that keep women off household bills and financial documents. Where only weak evidence exists, the guidance says caseworkers should not refuse on that basis alone, must consider the wider circumstances, and may write to ask about them.

If you want help, use a regulated adviser. GOV.UK has a directory, and our DIY vs solicitor guide sets out what each option involves.

Next Steps

Work out first which of the two limbs applies to you: 2 years living together, or 2 years in the relationship with a reason for living apart. That decides what the evidence has to show. The financial and English requirements are then the ordinary partner ones. Our documents checklist covers the rest of the application, which is the same.

Related guides:

• Spouse Visa UK Guide
• Cohabitation Evidence
• Relationship Evidence Examples
• Spouse Visa vs Fiance Visa

Questions and answers