Switching to a Partner Visa from Visitor, Student or Work Categories: A Clear Guide for Eligibility and Process

Thinking of switching to a partner visa from a visitor, student or work route? You can often switch while in the UK, but whether you can depends on your current visa type and whether you meet the partner visa rules. If your current visa allows switching and you meet relationship, financial and immigration requirements, you can apply from inside the UK — otherwise you must apply from abroad.

This article explains who can switch, what documents and proofs you need, common tricky cases, and what happens after you apply. Use the guidance to check your eligibility, prepare the right evidence, and avoid delays so you can plan your next steps with confidence.

Eligibility to Switch from Visitor, Student, or Work Categories

You must meet specific rules to switch to a partner visa. Those rules depend on your current visa type, your immigration history, and whether you hold valid leave to remain in the UK.

Who Can and Cannot Switch to a Partner Visa

You can apply to switch to a partner visa from many long‑term routes if you have valid leave to remain. Common eligible routes include the Student visa (including Graduate visa holders within the permitted window) and most work visas such as the Skilled Worker visa. You must usually show a genuine relationship, a sponsor or partner who is a British citizen or settled person, and that you meet the financial and English language requirements.

You cannot switch if your current leave is a short‑term category that the Home Office excludes from switching. Also, if you entered as a visitor and remained without leave, that can block switching. Your immigration history, such as previous refusals or breaches of conditions, can make you ineligible.

Visa Categories Excluded from Switching

Certain visa types do not allow switching inside the UK. Examples you should note:

• Visitor visas (standard Visitor, marriage visit) — generally cannot switch to a partner visa from within the UK.

• Short‑term Student visas — cannot be switched from inside the UK.

• Seasonal Worker visa — switching is not permitted.

• Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa — cannot switch to a partner route.

• Parent of a Child Student visa — excluded from switching.

If your visa is on the Home Office’s “leave outside the rules” list, you cannot switch and must usually apply from abroad. Always check the specific category guidance before applying.

Switching Restrictions Based on Immigration Status

Your current immigration status affects whether you can apply from inside the UK. If you have valid leave to remain under a long‑term route, you may apply to switch within the UK. If you hold visitor status or a temporary short‑term visa, the rules typically require you to return to your home country and apply from there.

Other restrictions include:

• Time limits: some visas (for example the Graduate visa) require switching within a set period after your course ends.

• Unlawful stay: any period without valid leave can cause refusal or require you to regularise from overseas.

• Previous refusals or deportation: these can bar switching and may need legal advice.

Check the exact Home Office guidance for “switching visas within the UK” and confirm whether your category counts as “valid leave to remain” or is listed as “leave outside the rules.”

Key Requirements and Process for Switching to a Partner Visa

You must prove a genuine relationship, meet specific financial and English language tests, and follow a clear online application and biometrics process. You also need to check whether your current visa allows switching from inside the UK and prepare documents like a marriage certificate, bank records and proof of your immigration status.

Proof of Relationship and Legal Status

You must show you and your partner are married, in a civil partnership, or in a long-term relationship of at least two years. Provide original documents such as a marriage or civil partnership certificate, joint tenancy or council tax bills, and photos or messages that show ongoing cohabitation and shared finances.

If switching from a visitor visa, confirm that visitor rules permit switching to a partner route; not all visitor visas allow in‑country switching. If you currently hold a student visa or a work visa (for example a Skilled Worker), include your current BRP (biometric residence permit) or visa vignette to prove lawful status while you apply.

If your partner is the main visa holder, include their visa details and proof they meet their own route’s requirements (for example a Skilled Worker’s Certificate of Sponsorship). If you applied as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, note that you must normally switch to a spouse visa after marriage and provide the marriage certificate.

Financial and English Language Requirements

You must meet the minimum income threshold unless you can use savings or exceptions apply. For a spouse or partner visa, the usual minimum is £18,600 a year, with higher amounts if children are included. Show payslips, bank statements, employer letters, or evidence of a valid Certificate of Sponsorship if switching from a Skilled Worker route.

Savings can substitute if you have held them for six months and meet the set amount. Include clear, dated bank statements and savings account records. Self‑employed applicants should provide tax returns, invoices and business bank statements.

You must satisfy the English language requirement. Accepted proof includes an approved test at the required level, a degree taught in English, or being a national of a majority‑English country. If you rely on test results, ensure they are current and from an approved provider.

Don’t forget to budget for the immigration health surcharge (IHS). Pay it online as part of the application so you get access to the NHS while your application is processed.

Step-by-Step Application Procedure

Start by confirming your current visa permits switching inside the UK. If it does not, you must apply from abroad. Use the official UK Visas and Immigration online form for a partner visa application.

Gather documents: identity, relationship evidence, financial proof, English evidence, current visa/BRP, and any sponsor documents such as a Certificate of Sponsorship if relevant. Translate any non‑English documents with certified translations.

Pay the application fee and the immigration health surcharge online. Complete the online form carefully; errors can cause refusal or delay. When you submit, you will get a reference number and instructions for booking biometrics and any appointment at a UKVCAS service point.

If you switch from a student visa to a Skilled Worker before applying for a partner visa, make sure your Skilled Worker status and Certificate of Sponsorship are intact and that you remain legally resident while switching to the partner route.

Providing Biometrics and Attending UKVCAS

After you apply, book an appointment at a UKVCAS service point to give biometric information: fingerprints and a digital photo. Attend the appointment with the passport and any documents requested by UKVCAS.

UKVCAS also lets you upload supporting documents in person or online. Use the service to scan and send originals where required. Keep copies of everything you submit and the UKVCAS appointment confirmation.

If you already have a BRP, you may be asked to surrender it or show it at the appointment. Processing can take several weeks; you will be told whether you get a decision or a biometrics-based interview. If the Home Office needs extra information, respond quickly to avoid delays.

Common and Special Switching Scenarios

You often need to meet specific eligibility rules, show relationship evidence, and maintain valid leave when switching. Some routes allow in‑country applications; others require you to apply from abroad.

Student to Partner Visa

If you hold a Student visa and plan to switch to a partner visa, you must prove your genuine relationship and meet the financial and English language requirements. You’ll usually need to show at least 6 months of cohabitation, or marriage/civil partnership documents if applicable.

Check the financial threshold that applies to partner routes; it is commonly a minimum income or savings requirement. Evidence can include payslips, bank statements, or a sponsor’s tax records if a skilled worker or health and care worker sponsor supports you.

Apply before your Student visa expires. If you graduate and hold a Graduate visa, the rules differ and you may have extra options to switch from that status instead.

Work Visa to Partner Visa

Switching from a Skilled Worker (including health and care worker or care worker categories) to a partner visa is possible if you meet the partner route criteria. You must still have valid leave when you apply and provide proof of your relationship alongside the correct financial evidence.

If your partner is a settled person or a British citizen, the maintenance requirement differs from switching to a partner who is a visa holder with limited leave. You should explain employment gaps and supply employer letters, payslips, and bank statements. Dependants on Tier 2 who became Tier 4 students will need to show how their status changed when applying as a partner.

Switching from Graduate or Global Talent Visas

Switching from a Graduate visa often requires you to apply for the partner route from inside the UK before your Graduate permission ends. The Graduate visa does not lead directly to settlement, so a partner visa may be a better route if you have a qualifying relationship.

Global Talent visa holders can also switch to a partner visa, but the Home Office will expect clear relationship evidence and financial compliance. If you or your partner hold Global Talent, include proof of endorsement or records of your grant and any relevant employment to show stability and intention to remain together in the UK.

Dependants and Family Members

Dependants on work or student routes can usually apply as partners or family members, but each route has distinct rules. For example, a Tier 2 dependant who later became a Tier 4 student must evidence continuous lawful residence and the change in status when applying as a partner.

If you are the sponsor, your income and immigration status determine what your family can apply for. Provide marriage or cohabitation evidence, children’s birth certificates if applicable, and proof of adequate accommodation. Dependants switching to a partner route must ensure their current leave covers the application date.

After Your Application: What to Expect and Long-Term Implications

You will wait for a decision, may need to comply with conditions while you wait, and should plan how this switch affects your route to settlement or whether you must apply from abroad later.

Decision Times and Staying in the UK

Decisions usually take 8 to 12 weeks for in‑country switching, though times vary by visa type and workload at UKVI. If you applied to switch from a visitor, student or work category to a partner visa within the UK, you normally stay lawfully while the application is processed, provided you applied before your current permission expired.

You must keep to the conditions of your current visa until a decision arrives. For example, students must not exceed permitted working hours; visitors must not do prohibited work. If your current visa does not allow switching (some visitor routes do not), you may have needed to apply from abroad instead.

UKVI may invite you for further information or biometrics. Respond quickly to any requests to avoid delays or refusal.

Reasons for Refusal and How to Avoid Them

Common refusals include failing to meet the relationship Genuine and Subsisting test, insufficient financial evidence, missing documents, or problems with English language proof. Errors on the application form, inconsistent statements, or incomplete sponsor details also trigger refusals.

To avoid refusal, submit clear, dated evidence of cohabitation and communication (bank statements, tenancy, photos, messages). Provide exact financial documents that meet the minimum required maintenance or salary threshold. Use approved English tests or recognised exemptions and ensure translations where needed.

If you receive a refusal, you may have a right of appeal or administrative review in some cases, but many partner refusals do not allow appeal and require you to apply again. Check whether you must leave the UK to reapply or whether you can correct the issue within country.

Route to Indefinite Leave to Remain

A partner visa normally leads to settlement if you meet continuous residence, income, and relationship rules. You usually need 5 years on the partner route (two or five years depending on the specific visa) before applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). You must show you still live with your partner and meet the financial threshold at the ILR stage.

Document continuous lawful residence and absence limits. Keep evidence of cohabitation over the qualifying period and hold valid English language and Life in the UK pass evidence if required. If you have to leave the UK and apply from abroad at any point, those time gaps can affect your qualifying period, so plan moves carefully.

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