UK Fiancé(e) visa (engagement visa)

What a UK fiancé(e) visa is

The fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visa is the entry stage of the family visa as a partner. GOV.UK grants it for 6 months to someone who will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving, and who intends to live in the UK with their British, Irish or settled partner afterwards. Every other partner requirement — the £29,000 financial requirement, English at A1, adequate accommodation and a genuine relationship — applies from the very first application.

The route has two distinct phases. During the engagement you cannot work or study. After the ceremony you apply from inside the UK to extend your stay as a partner; when that is approved you receive 2 years and 6 months with the right to work and study, and your 5-year route to settlement begins. Time spent as a fiancé(e) does not count towards settlement.

Eligibility in detail

All partner requirements apply, plus the two fiancé(e)-specific proofs GOV.UK sets out: the plan to marry within 6 months and the ending of any previous marriage.

• Both aged 18 or over

  You and your partner must both be 18 or older when you apply.

• Your partner’s status

  British or Irish citizen; settled in the UK; an EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic or Liechtenstein national with pre-settled status living here before 1 January 2021; a Turkish Businessperson or Worker visa holder; a person with protection status; or a stateless person granted stay before you became their partner.

• Plan to marry within 6 months

  You must prove that you will marry or become civil partners in the UK within 6 months of arriving — venue bookings, register office correspondence and a realistic timetable.

• Previous marriages ended

  Evidence that any earlier marriage or civil partnership of either of you has ended, for example a divorce certificate or a death certificate.

• Genuine relationship, met in person

  Evidence from a government body, bank, landlord, utility provider or medical professional, less than 4 years old, plus proof of ongoing commitment where you have not lived together.

• Intention to live together permanently

  You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.

• Financial requirement

  Combined income of at least £29,000 a year from the permitted categories, or cash savings above £16,000, unless your partner receives a listed disability or carer’s benefit.

• Adequate accommodation

  Somewhere for you both to live without relying on public funds and without overcrowding, assessed alongside your income and housing costs.

• English language at A1

  An approved SELT at CEFR A1 or higher, a degree taught in English, or an exemption. A2 is needed at the first extension after 2.5 years if you only passed A1; B1 for settlement.

• Suitability

  None of the general grounds for refusal apply — deception, criminality, previous immigration breaches or NHS debt.

The following can count as income:

• Employment income before tax and National Insurance shown on payslips or a P60 — UK-earned only.
• Self-employment or UK limited-company director income shown on a Self Assessment return, based on the last 6 months or more before you apply.
• Cash savings above £16,000 held for at least 6 months (divided by 2.5 for an entry clearance application under the Appendix FM guidance).
• Pension income.
• Non-work income such as property rental or dividends.

Fees and costs

Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 3 August 2026. The route involves two applications: the fiancé(e) visa from outside the UK and the partner extension after the wedding.

Fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visa (outside the UK):

Application fee (partner category, outside the UK)

£2,064

Each dependant child

£2,064

Immigration health surcharge

Not payable — applications from outside the UK for 6 months or less are exempt

Priority service (optional)

£500

Biometric appointment

Required — no separate fee listed on GOV.UK

Partner extension after the marriage or civil partnership (inside the UK):

Application fee (inside the UK)

£1,407

Healthcare surcharge, adult — 2 years 6 months

£2,587.50

Healthcare surcharge, child — 2 years 6 months

£1,940

Super priority service (optional)

£1,000

A fee waiver is available if you do not have a place to live and cannot afford one, cannot afford essential living costs, or have a very low income and paying would harm your child’s wellbeing. English tests, translations, register office fees and any TB test are paid to third parties.

Processing times

Fiancé(e) applications are decided under the family visa standard, which is longer than most other visa categories.

Fiancé(e) visa — applying outside the UK (partner category)

12 weeks

Priority service — family visas from outside the UK

Usually 30 working days

Partner extension after marriage — inside the UK, requirements met

8 weeks

Partner extension — inside the UK, income or English not met

About 12 months (no service standard)

Super priority service — inside the UK

End of the next working day

Marriage Visitor visa (for comparison)

3 weeks

Processing starts when you attend your biometric appointment or finish uploading documents through the ID Check app. You will be contacted if your application will take longer, for example because documents need verifying or you are asked to interview.

Documents you will need

Adapted from GOV.UK’s “information and evidence you must provide” for the partner category, with the fiancé(e)-specific items added.

What you can and cannot do during the engagement

On a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visa you cannot:

• Work, whether employed, self-employed or voluntary.
• Study.
• Claim benefits or other public funds.
• Extend the fiancé(e) visa itself — after the ceremony you apply to extend as a partner instead.

You can:

• Give notice of marriage or civil partnership at a UK register office and marry within the 6 months.
• Apply from inside the UK to extend your stay as a partner once you are married or in a civil partnership — GOV.UK lists the 6-month fiancé(e) visa as one of the short visas from which an in-country family application is allowed.

Application process

Route to settlement and citizenship

Your settlement clock starts with the partner extension, not with the fiancé(e) visa.

Common reasons fiancé(e) applications are refused

Each reason corresponds to a mandatory requirement in the partner rules or the general grounds for refusal.

• The financial requirement is not met, or the specified evidence for the income category is missing or does not cover the required period.
• The intention to marry within 6 months is not evidenced — no venue booking, register office contact or realistic timetable.
• A previous marriage or civil partnership of either partner has not been shown to have ended.
• The relationship is not shown to be genuine — no evidence of having met in person, or evidence that is older than 4 years or from an unacceptable source.
• The English test was not taken with an approved provider or was below CEFR A1, and no exemption applies.
• Accommodation evidence is missing or the property would be overcrowded.
• The partner does not hold a qualifying status — for example they are in the UK on a work or student visa.
• The applicant has applied for a Marriage Visitor visa while intending to stay, or for a fiancé(e) visa while already in the UK as a visitor.
• General grounds for refusal: false representations or documents, a criminal record, previous overstaying or breach of conditions, or unpaid NHS debt.

Source note

Information sourced from GOV.UK (“Family visas: apply, extend or switch”, last updated 3 August 2026; “Marriage Visitor visa”, 29 April 2026; “Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application”; “Visa processing times: applications outside the UK”, 26 June 2026; “Visa processing times: applications inside the UK”, 29 April 2026; and “Get a faster decision on your visa, settlement or citizenship application”, 20 July 2026), and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.