r/SpouseVisaUk

I am so grateful to be able to write our successful timeline

Uk Spousal Visa Application from Barbados

Priority and Solicitor used

Application - 10th July 2026

Bio - 16th July 2026

Eco - 17th July 2026

24WD

Successful email - 19th August 2026 3:15pm UK time

Thank you to those of you who post your timelines; I too have been addicted to seeing the approvals daily since my Bio appointment.

This process is very emotional and hard, especially the waiting. I find that reaching out and talking to others who were waiting too helped me a lot because they understood.

Applied from Ankara, Turkey.

BIO: 31/12/25

ECO: 10/01/26

Delay: 02/04/26 (2 weeks after 12 week deadline)

Multiple paid enquiries

Multiple MP escalations after delay

No RFI.

Its been complete hell for us both. I would massively encourage anyone who has gone past the 12 week deadline to do a DSAR with the home office.

I discovered on my DSAR that they were unable to verify my second income and that nobody had accessed the file since 21/03 which was the proposed deadline. After seeing this I reached out to my local MP (for the 3rd time) and explained thay my income should be super easy to verify, its a huge company, nobody has reached out for RFI from me or my employer. 3 days later we got the visa.

My case was stuck in admin hell with nobody looking into it. They needed to be nudged, they needed to be told.

I was relentless with paid enquiries and MP escalations but all were met with generic response. Its only when I had the evidence to back up my claims that I feel like some progress was actually made.

Super relieved and now we can move on. (And apply again once we are married lol 😄 )

Happy to answer any and all questions because I know what relief can be gained from this.

Visa: UK Spouse Visa – Standard (Outside UK, Pakistan)
Application submitted: 03/06/2026
Biometrics: 08/06/2026
ECO email: 09/06/2026 – application being prepared for consideration
Generic UKVI processing email: 23/06/2026
Biometrics reminder email: 02/08/2026

It’s been 51 working days for us now and I’m starting to get impatient 😭 I know I’m probably being rash and just need to wait, but it’s getting hard not to overthink it.

We haven’t received a delay email or been asked for any additional documents, and our case is fairly straightforward. Has anyone with similar timelines, particularly around 8 June biometrics, received a decision recently?
Just trying to compare timelines and get an idea of where we might be in the process.

Priority spouse visa

Outside UK: Egypt

Application: 14th July

Bio: 15th July

Eco: 16th July

Paid enquiries: none

Approval day: 19th August

Approval email time: 3:15pm UK

Visa granted from: 26th August

No solicitor used for application, No cohabitation, In a relationship since 2024, married April 2026

Thank you so much to everyone on this sub. It helped so much to see everyone's approvals and timelines. After reading everyone else's finally it's my turn. I hope all of you waiting get your approvals soon too.

Thank you all for your posts, they have helped tremendously through this process.

Biometrics: July 22
Approval: Aug 19, 3:15 pm GMT

Our relationship:
We’ve been together for 2 years and 3 months. We have never lived together however we have spend A LOT of time together in the UK and in other countries just to be together while we didn’t have a visa.

If you are in a similar financial situation as us and worried about evidence (we both have good jobs and support ourselves financially): We have never shared finances or bills other than transfers for our holidays, which we submitted as evidence and that was enough.

We also used a solicitor to help us through the process.

Evidence submitted:
plane tickets
hotels/airbnbs
holidays/trips
photos with family & friends
whatsapp chats/calls
money transfers
gifts
sponsor’s financial evidence
letters

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to hear from people who have applied for, or have experience with, the UK Unmarried Partner Visa under the current rules, particularly where there has been no 2 years’ cohabitation.

My partner and I (31&29) are considering applying, but I’m a little nervous because we have only known each other for around 18 months and have officially been together for 16 months. We have never lived together permanently, so I would really appreciate any advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

Here is our background:

We have known each other for around 18 months and have been officially dating for 16 months.

During the first 10 months of our relationship, my partner visited me in my home country almost every month (sometimes twice a month).

We have travelled extensively together, both within my home country and internationally.

I have visited him in Australia twice in Sydney and twice in Melbourne, and we are currently staying together in Melbourne.

I have stayed with him in Australia for several weeks, always within the conditions of my Visitor Visa (subclass 600).

We have met each other’s families. I have met his family twice — once in Sydney last year and again this July when I visited England. He has also met my family twice.

We have lots of photos, flight bookings, hotel/accommodation records, messages, travel records and other evidence showing our relationship over the entire period.

We have discussed our future together and have plans to get married and start a family in the future.

My partner is currently working in Australia on a work visa, although his Australian visa is due to expire in January. We are hoping to eventually settle together in the UK.

He has good savings and employment/income. He doesn’t currently own a house in the UK, but he is considering buying one before we apply, partly because he feels it would provide additional evidence of our plans to establish our life in the UK.

The main thing worrying me is that we haven’t reached two years together and haven’t had two years of continuous cohabitation.

We genuinely want to build our life together, and we are trying to find a way to be together without having to spend another years in LDR. I understand that having lots of relationship evidence doesn’t automatically mean an application will be successful, and we are trying to be realistic about our chances.

Another concern is finances. My partner is financially stable and has good savings, but I personally don’t have significant savings. Unfortunately, nurses in my country aren’t exactly paid very generously 😂. So most of the financial strength would come from my partner as the sponsor.

For anyone who has applied under the no-cohabitation route, especially with less than two years together, I would really appreciate your experience and advice.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and successfully obtained the Unmarried Partner Visa?

How important was the length of your relationship compared with the overall evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship?

What evidence did you provide to demonstrate that you were in a committed relationship despite not having lived together for two years?

Is there anything you think we should strengthen before applying?

Would buying a house in the UK actually help our application, or is it unnecessary from an immigration perspective?

We are considering getting professional immigration advice as well, but I’d really love to hear from people who have actually gone through this process. Thank you 💗✨

Visa type: Fiancé Visa
Nationality: Brazilian
Country of application: Brazil
Date of application: 14 July 2026
Date of biometrics: 15 July 2026
Service: Priority
WD: 25 radio silence

I’m currently on day 25 of the working days for my priority fiancé visa application and still waiting. I previously had a Marriage Visitor Visa refused on financial grounds, and this time we applied under the adequate maintenance route. Everything seems to be okay with the current application.
I also have a valid ETA, so I’m wondering about going to the UK now and waiting there for the visa to be granted, then leaving the UK and re-entering once the visa is approved. How risky do you think it would be to do this, particularly in terms of being refused entry at the border?
The wait has been excruciating. My fiancé is also dealing with some health issues, and I really want to be there with him.

SO unbelievably happy and relieved to share our approval!

Spouse visa priority from Spain:

Application: 20th July

Bio: 23rd July

ECO: 24th July

Approval: 19th August

Entry: 25th August (we'd asked for 10th August but hey!)

19 Working Days!

In time for our fifth wedding anniversary on the 31st August!! 🥲

Thank you all for the support in this group!

P.s I had a pro-rated pay slip in January as I started on the 19th Jan and it was clearly no issue! Straightforward case with previous Spouse visa approval in 2020 (then we moved abroad and have now come back!)

Luck and love to you all!

Country of application : Algeria 🇩🇿
Service : Priority
Date of application : 14th July 2026
Date of bio : 22nd July 2026
Acceptance : 19th August 2026 (20WD)
Applied through a solicitor
Hello everyone I wanted to thank this group because it helped a lot to both reduce and increase my anxieties haha but seeing so many going through the same thing made me feel like I was in a community that relates to what im going through
To anyone who’s waiting it’s hard but it’s so worth it !! I hope that everyone gets their visa soon

Day 20 no update !

Visa type- fiance
Nationality- Nepalese
Country of application- Nepal
Date of application- 13th July
Date of biometrics- 22nd July
ECO email- 23rd July
priority service

Waiting for decision is tough without any updates :)

Documents submitted : 1st July

Biometric: 2nd July

Approval 19th August.

We did in inside the UK. I have ILR (German) and my husband is Pakistani who came on a work visa and got made redundant.

We did the documentation ourselves and even fell short on proof of address

But thankfully it all went through with no further queries.

My only advise to anyone is to ensure you have a clear checklist and make sure it’s easy to review for someone at the home office. I labelled everything and had a clear system of headings and subheadings labelling everything e.g. 1A. 1b 2a etc I do think that probably made a positive difference hence why no further requests.

I also provided a PowerPoint with all the pictures/messages in a clear order and then had to take screenshots and upload it via a PDF (it doesn’t let you upload a pp) - anyway - I think that helped.

This thread definitely was a big support and seeing the approved notification from others always filled me with hope. Good luck to everyone still waiting or who will apply!

Edit: So sorry for the confusion, just to clarify we are applying as fiancés, not unmarried partners! I was just confused whether this still applies to us or not!

I've been reading the caseworker guidance, and in one of them, it says this:

The 2-year period for a relationship between a couple who are not married or in a

civil partnership must have been completed prior to the date of application. The 2-

year period does not require evidence of cohabitation for the period and will take

account of instances where, for example, the couple are currently living apart for

work reasons in order to meet the financial requirements of the rules. The essential

point is that the relationship has been genuine and subsisting for the duration of the

2-year period and continues to be at the date of application.

Where the definition of partner is not met because a couple who are in a genuine

and subsisting relationship have been together for less than 2 years, the

requirements of Appendix FM cannot be satisfied other than on the basis of

exceptional circumstances.

Does that mean that you can only apply if you have been in a relationship for 2 years, or am I misinterpreting it? I've been with my partner officially since April 2025 so that would make it 1.5 years at the point of application, but we're also engaged. Should I be worried about this?

Im British citizen born in uk and my wife is Pakistani citizen born in Pakistan. We are married but have no cohabitated yet. A cultural Pakistani relationship

Im applying for the spouse visa and have met all the relevant requirements however im not sure about the accommodation. Is there anyone who has been in a similar situation to me.

I live with my mum. My mum is a tenant in a council property and she is on and has always been on benefits. I am not on benefits but I have always lived with her. I will move out eventually after my wife comes to the uk but for now I will bring my wife to my mums house and will use my mums house for evidence.

I have the tenancy agreement, permission letter from mum, permission email from housing association/landlord. But it is still a council property. There is no overcrowding. We will have our own room of course and occupy it exclusively.

Will home office accept me living with my mum and bringing my wife to this council property or will I have to find a different property. I don’t want to rent a place for a couple months for no reason until my wife comes when I could just save by living with my mum.

I’d appreciate any help and wisdom ❤️

Hi everybody! My partner and I are getting ready to apply for an unmarried partner visa, so we’re trying to gather as much evidence as possible. I’ve been reading a lot on Reddit about this topic, but I wanted to get some recommendations and opinions from you as well.
This is our current situation so far:
My partner is from the UK, and his income alone fully covers the £29,000 financial requirement.
We have been in a relationship for one year, so we’re planning to apply next year. In the meantime, we’re meeting each other as often as possible, and I’m planning to stay at his place for 1–2 months. Does anyone have any advice on how we could prove this? Maybe a letter from his landlord?
We have flight bookings/reservations and lots and lots of pictures together, including pictures with each other’s family and friends.
We regularly transfer money to each other for dinners, little gifts, etc. I’ve also heard that it might be a good idea to set up a Revolut Pocket so we can start saving money for the whole application process. Would this be useful as evidence of our relationship, or would it not really count as having a shared account?
We’re planning to write a timeline of our relationship highlighting the important moments, as well as a future plan for our life together, including sharing an apartment, having a joint bank account, getting married, and eventually living together in the UK.
What do you think of all of this? Are we on the right track? Are there any other things you would recommend we do to strengthen our application?
Any advice or recommendations would be more than appreciated! ☺️

Hey all, hoping someone's been through something similar.

Applying for a UK spouse visa from abroad on the savings route (money side is fine). My partner's my sponsor and has settled status. We're in a civil partnership, relationship is 100% genuine — lived together in the UK for about a year before, plus loads of time together since, and we're actually together right now.

Here's what's stressing me out: my partner's been living and working remotely abroad for about 2 years now, and the work's open-ended so we don't have a set date for going back to the UK yet. The plan is definitely to live in the UK together once the visa comes through, and we've got a landlord letter saying a flat's ready for us when he's back. But I keep reading that they scrutinise whether you really intend to live in the UK, and I'm nervous ours looks shaky because he's been away so long with no firm return date.

So basically:

• Anyone applied where the settled sponsor was still abroad at the time? Did they question the UK intention?
• Did not having a fixed return date actually cause issues, or was genuine intention + a place to live enough?
• What did you put in to show you're serious about moving back? Did it help?
• Anyone get asked for more info on this instead of just getting refused?

Any stories welcome, good or bad. Just trying to figure out if there are any risk of rejection. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I used joint income with partner to meet the 29k Fin requirement

Relying on my income and partner’s self employment.

I put in the application she makes £10,588 from her self employment for the previous tax year ,

but when we got the SA302 it was £13,204 accountant gave us and that’s what I uploaded.

So there’s a mismatch in what was filed in application and what was uploaded!!

Question is I’ve done biometric Sunday and just realised this mistake, I called UKVi today the lady that picked the phone said I should withdraw the application .
Has anyone been in this situation or what would you suggest ?

Would I be rejected out rightly, or be contacted for correct info from the case worker. Pls help.

Thanks In advance

When doing the application do we submit all documents digitally or do we also send printed documents via dhl?

Thanks

Hi everyone, i posted here two days ago asking about how long it takes for a spouse visa to be issued. My spouse's visa is out now. It took 1 month and 2weeks from within the UK.

I switched from a skilled worker visa to a spouse visa. My question now is should I inform my employer. Am I supposed to inform my employer. I really wish I could quit immediately. But I need another job before I can leave. Company policy is 1month notice if you wish to quite. However since I switched am I to inform my employer about this

Please advise

Visa type: Spouse{husband with two kids dependants]
Nationality: kenyan
Country of application: KENYA
Date of application: May 22 2026
Date of biometrics: 02 JUNE 2026
Service: Standard
I received a delay email from UKVI saying the application could not be decided within the published processing time ON DAY 55 ie 17/08/2026. No additional documents have been requested.

Has anyone with similar dates, Anxiuos as hell. how long does one wait after this?
Thanks and good luck to everyone waiting 🤲

I cannot thank Reddit family enough for assisting me all the way. So I’m sharing my experience for whoever needs any reference.

1. we went for visa medical (TB Test) on 5th June 2026

2. we went to VFS Kolkata, India for our Biometric on 20th July.

3. Husband’s visa got approved on 5th August 2026

4. I got mail from UKVI about RWP 6.1 & RWP 6.2 (Additional proof of our continuous relationship) on 5th August 2026

5. Received another mail for delay in decision due to this query on 5th August 2026

6. I prepare all the documents and mail UKVI on 10th August 2026. (Mail sent successfully)

7. Saw online that it is better to keep the size of the mailed documents within 10-15mb. (Although no such limitations were mentioned in my query mail). Again I sent the compressed version of the documents in the same trailing mail on 12th August 2026.

8. I got my E-visa on 14th August 2026.

The documents which I had submitted:

1. Cover Letter declaring our Legal & Social marriage details, Visa application details of both me and my husband, listing all the documents I’m attaching as additional proof.

2. Since I have not yet changed my address from my maternal home to my current residence, I notarised an Affidavit stating that I’m currently living with my husband in my present address.

3. My Marriage Registration Certificate

4. Invitation card for my legal & social marriage along with photographs.

5. My husband’s passport where my name is mentioned as his spouse

6. My Husband’s PF nominee & Health insurance dependent details where my name is mentioned.

7. We dated since 2019. I gave 5 photographs of us for each year.

8. Regular transaction details between us

9. Utility bills under my name in my present address

10. Regular calls & messages between us.

11. Travel history (ticket details & photographs on our vacations together)

There were no list of documents mentioned in the query mail but reddit helped me a lot preparing all these list of documents. So I’m sharing my experience if I could help anyone. Thank you so much! The anxiety during this period is beyond imagination. Please stay as calm as possible as there are no other way!