Can my husband, wife or civil partner come to live in the United Kingdom?
This page explains how your husband, wife or civil partner can join you in the United Kingdom if you are permanent resident in this country.
If this page does not answer all your questions, you can contact us.
Your husband, wife or civil partner may come with you to the United Kingdom, or join you here, if you are aged 21 or over and you:
- currently live in the United Kingdom and are settled here; or
- are returning to the United Kingdom with him/her to live here permanently.
He/she must show that:
- you are legally married to each other or have registered a civil partnership;
- you are going to live together permanently as man and wife, or as civil partners;
- you have met each other;
- you can support yourselves and any dependants without help from public funds;
- you have adequate accommodation where you and your dependants can live without help from public funds; and
- he/she is aged 21or over.
If you have more than one husband or wife, only one of them will be allowed to join you here as your husband or wife.
Your husband, wife or civil partner must obtain permission to enter the United Kingdom before travelling here. We call this permission (entry clearance). It will be in the form of a visa or entry clearance certificate. To obtain it, he/she should apply to the British diplomatic post in the country where he/she lives. For information about visas, see our visa services website.
When your husband, wife or civil partner arrives in the United Kingdom, he/she will be given permission to live and work here for two years. Near the end of the two years, if you are still married or in a civil partnership and plan to live together, your husband, wife or civil partner may apply to live here permanently. See Settlement for details of how to apply for permanent residence.
In some cases, we can give your husband, wife or civil partner permission to live permanently in the United Kingdom as soon as he/she arrives. To qualify for this, you must:
- have married or formed a civil partnership four years or more ago;
- have spent those four years living together outside the United Kingdom;
- now be returning to the United Kingdom to settle here together; and
- your spouse/partner must (unless aged 65 or over) have sufficient knowledge of the English language and about life in the United Kingdom.
See Partners and children for details of how you can be joined by your:
- fiance, fiance or proposed civil partner;
- unmarried or same-sex partner; or
- children (including adopted children) or your partner's children.
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Terms explained
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Civil partnership
A legal relationship that can be registered by two people of the same sex and that gives the couple legal recognition for their relationship. In a range of legal matters, civil partners are treated the same as opposite-sex partners who are married.
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Dependant
Someone who depends on you financially, such as a husband, wife, partner, or child.