How can my US partner come to live permanently in the UK with me?

If you are a British citizen, or settled in the UK, your US partner may be able to come to the UK under an Appendix FM partner visa (also often called a family or partner visa).

This a UK immigration route for people seeking to enter or remain in the UK on the basis of their family life with their partner. It does not require you and your partner to be married.

To apply for this visa, you and your partner need to meet certain eligibility requirements. Both of you need to be over the age of 18, and if you are not in a marriage or civil partnership, you will need to prove that you have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years at the date of your application. You can evidence this in the form of documents, such as utility bills, tenancy or mortgage agreements and bank statements that show both of you living at the same address at the same time. If you are married, you will need to evidence this in a form of a marriage certificate.

The main requirement that must be met is the financial one. On entry clearance, the British national needs to show that they earn at least £18,600 per year (if children are part of the application, this amount will increase). On extension, the British national’s and/or the migrant’s salary can be considered. It is also possible for entry clearance and extension applications to consider the savings of either the British national or the migrant, or both. A minimum of £62,500 must have been held for at least 6 months at the time of application (again, if children are part of the application, this amount will increase). There are various other ways of meeting the financial requirement, however, they are quite complex.

There are a number of other criteria that must be met, including providing proof of knowledge of English language. This type of visa will allow your partner to stay in the UK for 2 years and 9 months, after this period they will need to apply to extend their visa. 

Alternatively, if you are neither a British citizen nor settled in the UK, but you have a UK visa, your unmarried or married partner may be able to join you in the UK under your current visa as your dependant.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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