Guides / Spouse and partner visas

Spouse and partner visa applications under Appendix FM

What the gov.uk partner application asks for, where firms lose time preparing it, and how Aion fills it from the client's documents. Written for immigration solicitors and IAA-registered advisers.

Last updated: 15 October 2026

The application at a glance

• From outside the UK: an online entry clearance application on gov.uk.
• Extending or switching from inside the UK: the online FLR(M) application.
• The relationship: the applicant must show one of four things: a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK; at least two years living together; at least two years in a relationship where the couple cannot live together, for example because they work or study in different places; or that they are a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner who will marry in the UK within six months of arriving (gov.uk).
• Length of leave: up to 2 years and 9 months on a partner visa, then a further 2 years and 6 months on extension. The earliest a partner can apply to settle is after 5 continuous years in the UK on a partner visa. Time as a fiancé(e) does not count.

What the online form asks for

The gov.uk information list is long, and most of it has to be gathered from several documents at once:

• Identity: every name used, date of birth, the current passport, the photo page and every visa or entry stamp in previous passports, and a National Insurance number if the applicant has one. Applicants outside the UK also give their parents' dates of birth and nationalities. Applicants with status give eVisa proof or their BRP.
• Immigration history: previous visa applications and any criminal convictions.
• The relationship: how the couple met, how often they see each other, how long they have lived together (with proof such as council tax bills), what they pay for together, and whether the applicant is their partner's carer.
• The partner: name, date of birth, nationality, passport and right to be in the UK, plus anyone the partner supports financially, such as their parents.
• Family: anyone either partner was previously married to or had children with, with evidence such as a divorce certificate. Every child is listed, including children who are not applying, with their passport details, who they live with, who else has parental responsibility, and the countries they have visited or lived in.
• Where they have lived and travelled: countries lived in and visited, plus family and friends in the applicant's country of birth or nationality.
• English language: level A1 for the first application and A2 for the extension, unless an exemption applies (Appendix FM).
• Money: for partners first applying on or after 11 April 2024, a gross income of at least £29,000 a year. Partners already on the route under the earlier rules stay on the £18,600 threshold plus any child amounts. Employed sponsors evidence it with payslips, bank statements and an employer's letter.
• Other evidence: a TB test certificate for applicants from listed countries, and certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.

Where firms lose time

The same facts, typed again

Almost everything the form asks is already written down somewhere: in the passport, the marriage certificate, the payslips and the client's questionnaire. A caseworker still has to type each detail into the form and check it against the source. A mistyped passport number or date has to be caught before submission, not after.

Children and previous relationships

The form wants every child, including those staying behind, and every previous marriage on both sides. For each child it asks for passport details, living arrangements and parental responsibility, not just a name and date of birth. That takes several rounds with the client, and gaps tend to surface only when the form demands an answer.

Travel and residence history

The form asks for countries lived in and visited, and wants copies of the entry stamps in previous passports. That usually means working through old passports page by page and asking the client to fill in the rest.

Financial detail that has to match

The sponsor's employer, start date, salary and pay dates have to agree with the payslips and bank statements exactly. Each figure has to be cross-checked by hand against the documents.

How Aion handles a spouse or partner application

1. Start an application in Aion, choose the route, and say whether the applicant is currently in the UK. Add your firm's representative details.
2. Upload the client's documents as files, a whole folder or a .zip. Aion reads them and extracts names, dates, passport and reference numbers, addresses, relationship and employment details into a single summary.
3. Your caseworker checks and edits that summary before anything is filled. The original documents are deleted as soon as extraction succeeds, and within 24 hours at the latest if a run fails.
4. Aion fills the gov.uk application in a live browser your team can watch.
5. It stops at the Declaration page and hands back a report of anything missing or uncertain, so your caseworker knows exactly what to check or complete.
6. Your team reviews the whole application and submits it. Aion never submits.

Spouse and partner applications are among the routes firms already run through Aion, alongside settlement, naturalisation and Skilled Worker. Aion fills every gov.uk immigration form except asylum.

What stays with your firm

• Advice on whether the client meets the financial, English and relationship requirements.
• Representations, cover letters and the evidence bundle.
• Submitting the application, paying the fee and booking biometrics.

Worried about putting client data into an AI tool? Read Is it safe to use AI for UK visa applications? and our security summary.

Sources: gov.uk: Family visas, partner and spouse · gov.uk: Information you must provide · Immigration Rules: Appendix FM. Requirements change. Check gov.uk before relying on any figure here.