UK Fiancé Visa: Entry Clearance to Marry in the UK

What Is a Fiancé Visa? How It Differs from a Spouse Visa

	Fiancé Visa	Spouse Visa
Status at application	Engaged, not yet married	Already married or civil partner
Duration	6 months	33 months (entry clearance)
Permission to work	No	Yes
Next step	Switch to spouse visa after marrying	FLR(M) extension after 30 months

The fiancé visa exists for one purpose: to allow the couple to marry in the UK. If you arrive on a fiancé visa and the marriage does not take place before it expires, you must leave the UK. There is no extension and no alternative route.

Who Can Apply?

The applicant must intend to marry a person in the UK who is a British or Irish citizen, a person with Indefinite Leave to Remain or EU Settled Status, a person with refugee status or humanitarian protection, or a person on a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa. Both parties must be free to marry under UK law — neither can be already married, and both must be 18 or over. The applicant must not be in the UK at the time of the application.

Eligibility Requirements

Genuine intention to marry: Both parties must genuinely intend to marry within the six-month visa period
Financial requirement: The UK-based partner must meet the £29,000 income threshold
Accommodation: Adequate accommodation must be available that is not overcrowded
English language: The applicant must meet A1 level (speaking and listening)
Age: Both parties must be aged 18 or over
Free to marry: Neither party can already be married or in a civil partnership with someone else

The Financial Requirement

The same £29,000 income threshold applies for a fiancé visa as for a spouse visa. The evidence format is identical: six months of payslips and corresponding bank statements for Category A salaried employment, plus an employer letter. One practical point: the financial evidence will be assessed twice — once for the fiancé visa application and again when you apply to switch to a spouse visa after the marriage.

Genuine Relationship Evidence

For a fiancé visa, the key relationship question is whether the relationship is genuine and both parties genuinely intend to marry. This requires much of the same evidence as a spouse visa application: photographs together spanning the relationship, communication records, evidence of visits, evidence that family members on both sides know about the relationship and the planned marriage, and a covering letter explaining the couple's plans — when and where the marriage is planned, any arrangements already made.

Processing Times and Fees

The fiancé visa fee is £2,064 (the same as the spouse visa entry clearance fee). There is no Immigration Health Surcharge for a fiancé visa — the surcharge becomes payable when you switch to the spouse visa. Standard processing is up to 24 weeks. Priority and super priority services are available where offered.

Given the six-month time limit of the visa, plan the application timeline carefully. If the application takes twelve weeks to process, there is a narrow window of around three months to organise and complete the marriage before the visa expires.

Switching from Fiancé Visa to Spouse Visa After Marriage

After the marriage takes place in the UK, you apply to switch to a spouse visa — specifically, a leave to remain under FLR(M) — before the fiancé visa expires. What the switching application requires:

Marriage certificate (you must be legally married by the time of the switching application)
Full spouse visa evidence pack: financial documents, relationship evidence, accommodation evidence, English language certificate
Your current fiancé visa details
Biometric enrolment at a UKVI service centre

Processing typically takes eight to twelve weeks. During this period, your leave is extended by Section 3C law. Once the FLR(M) is granted, the standard partner route begins: 30 months of leave, followed by a further FLR(M) extension, followed by ILR after five years.

Common Refusal Reasons

Relationship not found genuine. Where the couple has only met recently, has limited documentation, or where the caseworker identifies inconsistencies.
Financial requirement not met. The same evidence failures that cause spouse visa refusals apply equally here.
No genuine intention to marry. Where there is no evidence of wedding planning — no venue booking, no date set, no family involvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a UK fiancé visa?

Entry clearance granted for six months to enter the UK to marry a British citizen or settled person. It does not permit work or study.

Can I work on a fiancé visa?

No. Work is only permitted after switching to a spouse visa.

How do I switch to a spouse visa after marrying?

Submit an FLR(M) application before the fiancé visa expires, with the marriage certificate and full spouse visa evidence.

What if I do not marry before the visa expires?

Leave the UK before the visa expires. The fiancé visa cannot be extended. Remaining without leave makes you an overstayer.