UK Unmarried Partner Visa for South Africans

The unmarried partner visa enables you to emigrate to the UK on the basis of your relationship with your UK-resident partner.

You must prove that you are in a genuine relationship with your partner which is akin to a marriage/civil partnership which has lasted for at least two years.

One of the following must apply to the applicant’s partner:

• They are a British citizen
• They are a person with settled status in the UK, such as ILR
• They have been given humanitarian protection or refugee status in the UK

If you apply for this visa in South Africa, you can stay in the UK for up to 33 months if your application is successful. If, on the other hand, your partner in the UK applies for the visa on your behalf, the visa will be valid for 30 months.

Visa summary

In order to be eligible for this immigration permission, you will need to fulfil a number of requirements and provide substantial evidence to prove your eligibility.

The main requirements for this immigration permission are as follows:

• Both you and your partner must be at least 18-years-old
• You must have met your partner in-person and been in a relationship with them for at least two years
• Your partner must be a resident in the UK and they will act as your sponsor
• You must be able to demonstrate that your relationship is genuine and that any previous relationships have broken down. (You will need to provide substantial evidence in your portfolio of evidence to prove this)
• Your must have suitable accommodation which you intend to live in with your partner in the UK
• You and your partner must meet certain financial requirements (explained below)

Requirements and eligibility checklist

The genuine relationship test is a key part of all partner visa applications. As an Unmarried Partner Visa applicant, you will need to provide substantial evidence to prove that your relationship is genuine. Indeed, the genuine relationship requirement is perhaps the most significant of all with Partner Visa applications.

Ultimately, the UK Home Office needs to see evidence that the relationship between you and your partner is genuine and akin to marriage/civil partnership.

You will need to provide certain information and documents to prove your relationship is genuine. That being said, there is no specific checklist for the required documents. The documents and information which you need to provide will depend on the nature of your circumstances.

Some of the information which you may need to provide in your portfolio of evidence includes:

• Photographs of you and your partner together
• Birth certificates of any children you have together
• Tenancy or property letters from previous accommodation which you lived in together. You could provide utility bills or council tax bills
• Emails, text messages and letters you have shared with each other
• Receipts from gifts you have bought together and/or tickets of events you have attended together
• Written testimonies from family, friends or professional people

Unmarried Partner Visa applications need to meet certain financial requirements. You will not be eligible for this immigration permission if you cannot meet this condition.

As of 2026, the financial requirement is as follows:

• Your partner must have an income of at least £29,000 per annum in order to be able to sponsor you

Your partner may be able to satisfy the minimum income requirement through employment, self-employment and through other means such as savings, investments, bonds, trust funds and stocks and shares.

Also, you could satisfy the financial requirement through paternity, adoption, pension and sick pay or through property rented income.

It is important to note that you cannot access full welfare support as an Unmarried Partner Visa holder. Also, if your UK-based partner is in receipt of certain benefits, the financial requirement may apply differently to you.

You no longer have to show proof of additional funds if you are bringing children with you to the UK.

Financial Requirements Summary

Whilst English is widely spoken in South Africa, you will still need to take an English language test to prove your knowledge of English.

You will need to be able to demonstrate that your English language ability is at the level of A1 in speaking and listening as set by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Your test must be one of the following:

• IELTS Life Skills A1 Speaking and Listening – provided by IELTS SELT Consortium
• LanguageCert International ESOL SELT A1 (Speaking & Listening) – provided by LanguageCert
• PTE Home A1 – provided by Pearson
• Skills for English UKVI A1 (2 component) – provided by PSI Service (UK) Ltd

You will be exempt from this requirement if you have completed a degree or higher qualification which was taught in English at an approved educational institution. Also, you will be exempt if are aged 65 or over or if you have a mental or physical condition which prevents you from sitting the test.

English language requirements list

You need to be able to demonstrate that you have suitable accommodation to live in in the UK.

It is not acceptable for large families to live in a small house without adequate room space. The accommodation which you intend to live in must have adequate room for you, your partner and any dependents. The accommodation must have an additional room for each dependent who will be joining you in in the UK.

Also, the accommodation must meet the appropriate UK living standards. You might need to provide photographs and other information which show details of the accommodation throughout.

If you would like more information on the accommodation requirement and whether your accommodation is suitable, please do not hesitate to call us on 0333 305 3612.

We are here to provide expert assistance with unmarried partner visa applications.

Accommodation requirements: Acceptable evidence / unacceptable examples

Prior to 31 January 2024, cohabitation was a mandatory requirement for unmarried partners to apply for a UK family visa (the umbrella visa category under which the unmarried partner route falls). This rule has since been revised.

At present, section GEN 1.2 of the Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules defines an unmarried partnership as “where the couple have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the date of application”. Note the absence of the “living together” phrase here.

While living together still strengthens the case for an unmarried partner visa UK, the revised rule makes you eligible to apply even if you did not live together during the qualifying two years due to acceptable and provable reasons.

The onus is on you and your unmarried partner living in the UK to prove that you have been living apart due to valid reason(s), including (but not limited to):

• You were waiting for immigration permission from the Home Office to join your partner living in the UK (while this applies to applications made from outside the UK, you cannot rely on this explanation if you are already in the UK on a different visa)
• You and your partner have been studying or working at different countries or even at different paces within the UK
• Living together before marriage is not acceptable in your (or your partner’s) society, culture, or religion. Some countries even have laws in place to prevent unmarried couples from living together
• You are in a same-sex relationship which is not recognised or accepted in your current country of residence, or you are not allowed to live together even if such relationships are not unlawful there

While all the above reason(s) and such others are genuine issues that can make unmarried couples live apart, the Home Office will rigorously scrutinise each case to detect and prevent any immigration abuse or fraud. You must have strong evidence to prove beyond any reasonable doubt(s) that although you were living apart, your relationship is genuine, durable, and subsisting in nature.

The most important documentary evidence for a UK unmarried partner visa application is the proof of your relationship. You may submit the following documents along with your visa application if you have been living together:

• Tenancy agreement, rent receipts, utility bills or tax bills having both your names and your shared address
• Bank statements from a joint account, having both your names and your shared address
• Any other document confirming that you both live in the same address

For couples not living together, you must be able to prove that you have an ongoing mutual commitment by providing evidence such as:

• Regular correspondence (letters, emails, etc.)
• Financial interdependence (e.g., monetary support to each other, joint assets or loans, etc.)
• Proof of shared parental care for any children you may have
• Photos from holidays or events where you were together, etc.

You will also have to provide evidence that supports your reason(s) for living apart, such as immigration status, working/studying information, societal/religious/cultural or legal explanations, etc.

As we mentioned above, you will need to provide certain information to prove you meet the genuine relationship requirement.

As well as this information, you will need to include a number of documents and other information in your portfolio of evidence to prove your eligibility.

These documents are as follows:

• Copy of passport
• Copy of partner’s passport and immigration status in the UK
• Proof that previous relationships have broken down (if applicable)
• Details of your accommodation plans
• English language test pass certificate/result (if applicable)
• Bank statements or payslips which prove that you meet the financial requirements
• Details of where you have previously lived
• Information of any dependents who will be joining you

As of February 2026, the cost of an unmarried partner visa is £2,064. If your application is completed and submitted from inside the UK, the cost is £1,321.

You also need to take into account the cost of the English language test, as well as the cost of having your biometrics taken.

As you will be residing in the UK for over 6 months, you will need to provide biometric information (fingerprints and a photo). In most cases, you will be able to provide this information at a visa application centre in South Africa. The biometrics cost an additional £19.20.

You will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fee of £1035 for adults and £776 for under 18s.

Also, another cost to bear in mind is translation fees. If any of your documents are not in English or Welsh, they must be translated by an official translator. (You will need to include both the translated and original versions in the portfolio of evidence).

In most cases, unmarried partner visa applications are processed within 12 weeks. Bear in mind that if there are problems with your application, such as missing documents or information, the processing of the application will be delayed.

If your application is accepted, you will be free to move from South Africa to the UK on the basis of your relationship to your partner.

You can stay in the UK for up to 30 months if your partner applied for the visa on your behalf in the UK, or 33 months if the application was made in South Africa.

You can apply for an extension to your immigration permission before your current permission expires, which will be valid for the same period of time.

Pathway to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

You will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status after you have spent five years living in the UK under the unmarried partner visa. You must still be in a genuine relationship with your partner and satisfy the Home Office that you intend to continue your relationship after obtaining ILR. You will not be allowed to include any time spent in the UK on another visa or as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner for this purpose.

The qualifying period can be two years and 10 years, respectively, if you are on the 2-year or 10-year route instead. For people on the 10-year route, they must have had permission to be in the UK based on their relationship with their unmarried partners for at least 12 months.

ILR allows you to lawfully live, work and study in the UK without any additional permission or requirement to renew your leave periodically. After you have lived in the UK for 12 months under ILR, you will be eligible for full British citizenship (or dual citizenship).

The first step is to understand why your application was rejected. On your visa refusal letter, the reason/s for the refusal will be highlighted.

If there is a clear reason for the refusal, the best option is to resubmit the application with the mistakes rectified.

However, if you believe your application was unfairly rejected, you could choose to challenge the Home Office’s decision.

If you think a clear mistake was made when your application was submitted, such as a key piece of information not being taken into account, you could choose to go ahead with an administrative review. With this option, your application will be reconsidered by a different immigration official.

If you want to challenge the Home Office’s decision, we can help you every step of the way with our specialist appeal package.

Call us now on 0333 305 3612 to find out more.

Even if you do not need meet the standard requirements for an unmarried partner visa, you may still apply to join your partner in the UK via alternative routes, such as:

• If you are a EEA/ Swiss national with pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• If you have limited leave to remain as a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker under Appendix ECAA
• If you are the parent of a child in the UK who is a British or Irish national
• If your non-British/Irish child in the UK has lived in the country for at least seven years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave
• If you will face unsurmountable difficulties if you cannot live together with your unmarried partner as a couple outside the UK
• Stopping you from coming to the UK or making you leave the country will breach your human rights

Like all UK visas, you must be aware of what you can and cannot do in the UK on an unmarried partner visa. Any breach may invalidate your visa even if it’s within the validity period, and you may have to leave the UK as a result.

On an unmarried partner visa, you can live, work and study in the UK without requiring any additional permission. However, you cannot usually access public funds for you or your dependants.

You can travel outside the UK on an unmarried partner visa but ensure that you are not absent from British soil for more than 180 days in any 12-month period (unless permitted under the Appendix Continuous Residence). You may otherwise fail to meet the continuous residence requirement mandatory to apply for ILR.