A practical guide to partner evidence, the £29,000 financial requirement, English and costs. Unmarried partners do not always need two years of cohabitation.
Published service fees for one applicant. Confirm your deliverables, availability and any extras in writing before ordering.
We are not VAT registered and do not add VAT to our service fees. Government fees, IHS, translation charges and VFS or courier charges are separate unless expressly included in your written quote. Premium coordination does not include the UKVI priority fee or guarantee a faster decision.
Rules and sources checked: 5 November 2026. General information; confirm the rules for your application date.
Both partners must be at least 18. Eligible sponsors include British or Irish citizens and people settled in the UK; GOV.UK lists other eligible statuses, so check the sponsor’s exact permission. You must intend to live together permanently and meet the relationship, financial, English, accommodation and suitability requirements.
A recognised marriage or civil partnership is one way to prove the relationship. Unmarried partners generally need a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership lasting at least 2 years. Living together for the full 2 years is not an absolute requirement: where you could not live together, explain why and provide evidence of an ongoing commitment. A marriage certificate alone does not establish that every visa requirement is met.
A standard partner entry grant is up to 2 years 9 months. An in-UK extension or switch is up to 2 years 6 months. Some sponsor-status cases have shorter grants. Settlement is a separate application: the current standard partner route can lead to eligibility after 5 qualifying years, subject to all requirements. Time as a fiancé(e) does not count towards those 5 years.
Official sources: Partner
The usual minimum income requirement for a new partner application is £29,000 a year. There is no additional child uplift under that standard threshold. Specified benefit cases use an adequate-maintenance test instead, and exceptions or human-rights cases need individual advice.
For a qualifying income shortfall at entry or extension, the usual cash-savings calculation is £16,000 + 2.5 × the annual shortfall. Savings alone therefore require £88,500. For example, £21,000 of eligible annual income leaves an £8,000 gap: £36,000 of qualifying savings is the usual amount. Savings must meet the ownership, access, source and evidence rules; normally the relevant amount must have been held for 6 months, with specific exceptions such as qualifying proceeds from assets held for the required period.
These rules do not mean every income source can be combined with savings. Employment, self-employment, company-director income, pensions and other income have different calculation and evidence requirements. Overseas earnings of an applicant coming from Thailand are not simply added to a sponsor’s UK salary. Returning sponsors may have a specific overseas-employment and UK-job-offer route.
If the first partner application was made before 11 April 2024 and you continue with the same partner, transitional rules may use £18,600 plus £3,800 for the first relevant child and £2,400 for each further relevant child, capped at £29,000. Children with specified British, Irish or settled status are excluded. The £38,700 proposal is not the current standard partner threshold.
Official sources: Family Income · Finance
For the usual first partner or parent application, the English requirement is CEFR A1 in speaking and listening. At a later extension, A2 normally applies if the earlier requirement was met at A1. An approved test is one way to qualify; accepted qualifications and nationality, age, disability or exceptional-circumstance exemptions may apply. A degree taught in English outside the UK requires the appropriate official assessment where specified.
For settlement under the relevant family rules, the current level is B1 in speaking and listening, with the scheduled increase to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027, unless exempt. This settlement change does not turn the first partner application into a B2 application. The Life in the UK requirement is separate. Check the approved test and test centre before paying.
Official sources: Family English · English Settlement
For documents not in English or Welsh, provide a full translation that UKVI can independently verify. The translation should confirm that it is accurate, give the date, and include the translator’s full name, signature and contact details. Include all relevant pages, stamps, annotations and reverse sides; submit the original-language document with its translation as instructed.
Use the passport spelling of names consistently and explain genuine differences with the relevant name-change or civil records. Do not alter an original document to make it match. A translation, notarisation and legalisation are different services: check the actual application instructions before paying for additional certification. A document written in English by its issuing authority may not need a separate translation, but it must still contain the required evidence.
Official sources: Translation · Family Evidence
You normally need a TB certificate when coming to the UK for 6 months or more if you have lived in a listed country, including Thailand, for at least 6 months and were living there within the last 6 months. The fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner family route can require screening even though permission is for 6 months. Nationality alone does not decide whether a test is needed.
GOV.UK lists both IOM Bangkok and BNH Hospital as approved providers in Thailand. Their published fees are IOM ฿3,800 for applicants aged 11 or over and ฿2,350 under 11; BNH ฿4,000 for adults and ฿2,500 for children. Confirm the applicable fee, location and any additional tests with the clinic before booking. A certificate is normally valid for 6 months from the chest X-ray date.
Tell the clinic about previous TB and pregnancy. The clinician decides which tests are necessary. Sputum testing can take several weeks; do not assume everyone with previous TB receives the same test or timetable. Children must attend the appropriate assessment even when an X-ray is not required.
Official sources: Tb · Tb Thailand
Checked against the fee schedule effective 8 October 2026: Standard Visitor up to 6 months £135; 2 years £506; 5 years £903; 10 years £1,128. Partner/fiancé(e) entry clearance is £2,064; an in-UK family application is £1,407. Student is £558. Standard Skilled Worker entry clearance is £819 for sponsorship up to 3 years or £1,618 over 3 years. Immigration Salary List and Health and Care cases have different fees.
The IHS is normally £1,035 per year for adults, or £776 for students, their dependants and applicants under 18. It is based on permission length, not simply course or employment length, with part-years charged under the official half-year rules. Visitors do not pay it; an application from outside the UK for permission of 6 months or less is also exempt. Other exemptions exist.
A usual 33-month adult partner entry grant therefore costs £2,064 + £3,105 IHS = £5,169 before other costs. A usual 30-month adult partner extension or switch costs £1,407 + £2,587.50 IHS = £3,994.50 at today’s rates. Fees may change before a later application. Tests, translations, travel and optional VFS services are separate.
Our published service prices are in Thai baht and payment to us is by bank transfer only. Pound-to-baht conversions are estimates; the government and other providers determine their own payment amounts and exchange rates. Confirm your written service quote before transferring.
Start with the relevant GOV.UK application. If instructed to attend a visa application centre, book through the official VFS UK-in-Thailand portal after completing the online application and payment steps. VFS collects biometrics and documents; UKVI decides the application. Paid lounge, scanning or appointment services do not improve eligibility or the chance of approval.
Published standard times for applications outside the UK are usually 3 weeks for Visitor, Student and Skilled Worker applications, and 12 weeks for partner, parent, child and adult-dependent-relative family applications. The clock starts after the required identity/biometric step and submission, not when you first start filling in a form. These are service standards, not guarantees; additional checks can take longer.
Where offered, Priority costs £500 and normally targets 5 working days for most visas or 30 working days for family applications from outside the UK. Super Priority costs £1,000 and usually targets the next working day, with weekend and holiday adjustments. Eligibility and availability depend on the route and booking system. Confirm the actual option before relying on it and do not book travel until you have the decision.
Official sources: Processing · Priority · Vfs
An eVisa is the digital record of your immigration permission and its conditions. Access it through a free UKVI account and follow the instructions in your decision email. Check your name, dates, conditions and linked passport before travelling. A valid existing vignette remains valid until it expires.
Keep the passport or travel document in your UKVI account up to date. Use the appropriate GOV.UK service when asked to prove your status. Having an eVisa does not itself give permission to work: your particular visa conditions decide that.
Official sources: Evisa
This guide summarises the linked official sources and cannot determine an individual application. For eligibility, exceptions, refusals or appeals, consult a suitably authorised adviser. UKVI makes the decision. Our administrative service fees are separate from government and third-party charges.
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