TL;DR
A UK Spouse visa needs both partners' passports, your marriage certificate, financial evidence meeting the £29,000 requirement, accommodation evidence, relationship evidence, English at A1, and a TB test if you apply from a listed country. Quality and coherence of the relationship evidence matters more than volume.
The document set at a glance
| Category | Core documents |
|---|---|
| Identity & status | Applicant's passport; sponsor's passport or proof of British/settled status |
| Relationship — legal | Marriage certificate, or 2+ years' cohabitation evidence (unmarried route) |
| Financial | 6 months' payslips + bank statements, P60, employer letter (Category A) |
| Accommodation | Tenancy or deed, council tax, mortgage statement |
| Relationship — genuineness | Photos, communication history, joint bills, statements |
| English | A1 SELT, English-medium degree, or majority-English passport |
| Health | TB test certificate if from a listed country |
Identity and status
- Applicant's passport — current, with previous passports if they show UK travel history.
- Sponsor's proof of status — British passport, or for settled sponsors a BRP / eVisa share code, ILR endorsement, or naturalisation certificate. As physical BRPs are phased out, most settled sponsors now prove status with an eVisa share code generated on gov.uk — generate it close to submission, as share codes expire, and check the link shows the right status before you include it.
The relationship — legal basis
- Married: your marriage certificate. If it's not in English, add a certified translation.
- Unmarried partners: evidence you've lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years — joint tenancy or mortgage, council tax, and post addressed to both of you at the same address from different sources spread across the 2 years. See cohabitation evidence.
Financial evidence (£29,000)
The exact documents depend on which category you use. For Category A (salaried, 6 months with current employer — the most common):
- 6 months of payslips
- 6 months of matching bank statements
- Most recent P60
- Employer letter confirming role, gross salary, contract type and start date
Pay dates on payslips must reconcile with the credits on bank statements. For self-employment, savings, and the other categories, see the financial requirement guide.
Accommodation
Evidence you have adequate accommodation that won't be overcrowded:
- Tenancy agreement or property deed
- Recent council tax bill or mortgage statement
- A letter from the owner if you're staying with family, plus their proof of ownership and consent for you to live there
The test is that the accommodation is owned or occupied exclusively by you or your family, and won't be overcrowded under public-health rules once you move in — so make clear how many people already live there and how many bedrooms it has.
Relationship — proving it's genuine
The Home Office looks for a coherent narrative across several evidence types:
- Origins — how and when you met, early communication
- Continuity — communication history covering the whole relationship (message/email/call exports)
- Shared life — photos at different times and places with both families, joint bookings, joint financial commitments
- Future plans — accommodation arranged, route to settling together
Don't over-bundle. A clean 40–60 page bundle that traces the relationship with dated evidence beats a 200-page dump of every WhatsApp message.
English language (A1)
For a first Spouse visa you need A1 English. Acceptable evidence: an IELTS Life Skills A1 SELT, a degree taught in English (UK ENIC confirmation), or a passport from a majority-English-speaking country. The level rises to A2 at first extension and B1 for settlement — see English requirement.
TB test
If you apply from one of the listed countries, include a TB test certificate from an approved clinic. See TB test certificate.
What a strong relationship bundle looks like
Rather than everything you own, aim for a dated narrative across the relationship:
- 2–4 photos from different times and places, ideally with both families — not 50 selfies
- Communication sampled across the whole relationship (a few messages per month or quarter), not a 200-page dump of one month
- Joint commitments — a joint account, joint tenancy, joint bills, shared bookings
- Statements from family or friends who know the relationship is genuine
- A short cover note tracing how you met through to your plans together
Coherence is the point. A caseworker should be able to follow the relationship from start to present in a 40–60 page bundle without getting lost.
Quick guide to financial categories
Which financial documents you need depends on how you meet £29,000:
| Category | Who it's for | Core documents |
|---|---|---|
| A | Salaried, 6+ months same employer | 6 months' payslips + bank statements, employer letter, P60 |
| B | Salaried, changed jobs in last year | 12 months' payslips + bank statements, current employer letter |
| F/G | Self-employed | SA302/tax calculation, accounts, business bank statements |
| Savings | £88,500 held 6 months | Statements showing the balance held continuously |
Full detail on each is in the financial requirement guide. Pick the right category before you gather documents — claiming Category A without 6 months at one employer is a common refusal.
The unmarried-partner route in detail
If you're not married or in a civil partnership, you apply as an unmarried partner and must show you've lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years. The key is correspondence to the same address from different official sources (banks, utilities, GP, council) spread across the full 2 years — two letters from the same month won't do. A joint tenancy or mortgage running the whole period is the strongest single piece. See cohabitation evidence for what counts.
Assemble it the way UKVI expects
- Bundler — merge everything into one ordered PDF with a cover sheet and clickable index
- Compressor — fit the 6 MB UKVCAS or 2 MB VFS Global upload limit
- Checklist generator — a list filtered to your country, dependants and unmarried/married status
For the full route overview, see the Spouse visa guide.
Sources
Common questions
- 01
What documents do I need for a UK Spouse visa?
Both partners' passports, your marriage certificate (or proof of 2+ years' cohabitation for the unmarried-partner route), financial evidence meeting the £29,000 requirement, accommodation evidence, relationship evidence, English at A1, and a TB test if applying from a listed country.
- 02
How much relationship evidence do I need?
Enough to trace the relationship cleanly from start to present — not everything you have. A coherent 40–60 page bundle (how you met, communication over time, photos with both families, joint commitments) is stronger than 200 pages of every message ever sent. Caseworkers value coherence over volume.
- 03
What financial documents prove the £29,000?
For salaried income (the most common): 6 months of payslips, 6 months of matching bank statements, your most recent P60, and an employer letter confirming role, salary and start date. Self-employment needs your SA302 tax calculation and company accounts. See the financial requirement guide for each category.
- 04
Do both partners' passports need to be included?
Yes. Include the applicant's passport and the British or settled sponsor's passport (or other proof of their status, such as a BRP, ILR/settled-status share code, or naturalisation certificate).
- 05
What if we're not married?
The unmarried-partner route requires evidence you've lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years — typically joint tenancy or bills, correspondence to the same address from different sources across the 2 years, and the usual relationship evidence.
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