Rowan

Visitor to Spouse Visa Switch

Appendix FM paragraph E-LTRP.2.1 bars an applicant who is in the UK as a visitor. This guide sets out that bar, why the EX.1 exception does not reach it, and the route the rules leave open.

Checked 13 March 20268 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team
Section
Visitor Visa
Reading time
8 min
Last checked
13 March 2026
Source
The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not
Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

  • Switching from Visitor to Spouse Visa inside the UK is not normally permitted.
  • You must return home and apply for a Spouse Visa from your home country.
  • Getting married in the UK on a visitor entry does not change this rule.
  • Very limited exceptions exist for compelling or compassionate circumstances.
  • The published decision time for a partner visa from outside the UK is 12 weeks.

You cannot normally switch from a Visitor Visa to a Spouse Visa from inside the UK. The standard route is to return home and apply for a Spouse Visa from there. This guide explains the rules, the limited exceptions, and how to plan your application.

The General Rule

The UK immigration rules are clear: you cannot switch from a Visitor Visa to a Spouse Visa from inside the UK. Visitors are expected to leave at the end of their visit, regardless of any change in personal circumstances during their stay.

This applies whether you entered with a Standard Visitor visa or without one, as a national who does not need a visit visa. It also applies if you marry or form a relationship during your visit.

Why You Cannot Switch

The bar is written into the partner rules rather than the visitor rules. Paragraph E-LTRP.2.1 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules says the applicant “must not be in the UK — (a) as a visitor; or (b) with valid leave granted for a period of 6 months or less”, apart from leave as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, or leave granted while family court or divorce proceedings are running. Separately, Appendix V requires a visitor to leave at the end of the visit.

Getting Married in the UK

If you want to get married in the UK and then stay, you need to plan carefully:

  • A Standard Visitor visa does not allow it. GOV.UK lists marrying, registering a civil partnership, and giving notice of either as things you cannot do as a Standard Visitor.
  • Marriage Visitor visa. This is the visa for coming to the UK to marry or register a civil partnership. It costs £135, allows a stay of up to 6 months, and GOV.UK says you cannot extend it or switch to another visa on it. You leave after the ceremony and apply for a partner visa from outside the UK.
  • Do not overstay. Staying beyond your visa expiry after marriage is illegal and will seriously harm any future Spouse Visa application.
  • Apply for the Spouse Visa from abroad. After your marriage, return home and apply for a Spouse Visa with your marriage certificate as evidence.

See our visitor visa wedding guide for more on getting married while visiting.

Exceptions

The visitor bar in E-LTRP.2.1 carries no exception. The paragraph that follows it, E-LTRP.2.2 — about being on immigration bail or in breach of immigration laws — is the one that can be disapplied by paragraph EX.1, where there are insurmountable obstacles to family life continuing outside the UK, or a genuine parental relationship with a child in the UK. Being in the UK as a visitor is not covered by that.

A claim that refusing leave would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is a different kind of application, not a switch, and paragraphs GEN.3.1 and GEN.3.2 of Appendix FM govern when exceptional circumstances are considered. Rowan cannot tell you whether your circumstances meet that test. The register of regulated immigration advisers lists people who can, and our guide to adviser costs covers what that costs.

The Route as the Rules Set It Out

  1. Visit the UK on a Standard Visitor visa, or a Marriage Visitor visa if you are marrying here.
  2. Return to your home country before your visa expires.
  3. Apply for a Spouse Visa from your home country. See our Spouse Visa guide for requirements.
  4. Wait for the decision. The published service standard is 12 weeks from the biometrics appointment; with the priority service, where it is offered, GOV.UK says a family visa applied for outside the UK usually takes up to 30 working days.
  5. Travel to the UK on your Spouse Visa.

This is the route the rules set out. Staying beyond the end of your visit is overstaying, which can lead to refusal, removal, and a ban on re-entry. For information on financial evidence for the partner route, see our adequate maintenance test guide.

Next Steps

Related guides:

Questions and answers

Can I switch from a Visitor Visa to a Spouse Visa in the UK?

Generally, no. You cannot switch from a Visitor Visa to a Spouse Visa from inside the UK. You must return to your home country and apply for a Spouse Visa from there. There are very limited exceptions based on compelling or compassionate circumstances.

What if I get married while visiting the UK?

Marrying in the UK does not give you the right to stay. A Standard Visitor visa does not permit you to marry, register a civil partnership, or give notice of one — that needs a Marriage Visitor visa, which costs £135, lasts up to 6 months and cannot be extended or switched. Either way you leave at the end of the visit and apply for a partner visa from outside the UK.

How long does a Spouse Visa take after returning home?

The published service standard for a partner visa applied for outside the UK is 12 weeks from the biometrics appointment. Where the priority service is offered, it costs £500 and GOV.UK says a family visa applied for outside the UK usually takes up to 30 working days with it.

Are there any exceptions to the switching rule?

Not to the visitor rule itself. Appendix FM paragraph E-LTRP.2.1 says the applicant must not be in the UK as a visitor, and that paragraph carries no exception — the EX.1 exception applies to the separate paragraph E-LTRP.2.2, about immigration bail and breaches of immigration law. A human rights claim is a different kind of application, not a switch, and the Immigration Advice Authority register lists advisers who can look at one.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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