As a Turkish national, if your spouse, cohabiting partner or fiancé is a British citizen or settled person, then you can apply for a visa to come to the UK on the basis of your relationship.
The route you follow depends on whether you wish to visit the UK or settle here. If you wish to visit, then you would acquire a visitor visa and leave within six months. If you wish to settle in the UK, you will be required to follow a five-year visa process that leads to settlement.
We’ve written up a guide on applying for a partner visa from Turkey. Read on to learn more.
Stage 1 – UK family visa application
The first stage when applying for a partner visa from Turkey is to visit the gov.uk website on which you will have to complete a lengthy UK family visa application form. The form asks detailed questions about your background and current circumstances. Take your time completing this part as it is important for the application to be factually correct and consistent with the evidence you will provide for assessment. Once the form is completed and confirmed, you’ll be directed to pay the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (compulsory charge for access to NHS in the UK for the duration of the visa). The date both payments are paid is the official application submission date.
There are two types of service to be availed. The standard service costs GBP 1846 and provides a decision within four months. The settlement priority service costs an additional GBP 500 and provides a decision within 30 working days.
Stage 2 – Biometrics meeting
After you submit your UK family visa application on the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) website, you will also be given a 16-digit Unique Application Number (UAN) and you will be redirected to a confirmation page asking you to complete the ‘next steps’ of submission. It is at this point where you will be required to register with another website called TLS to book your appointment.
There are six Visa Application Centres (VACs) in Turkey, located at Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Istanbul and Izmir. Most centres offer weekend appointments at an additional fee of TRL 3,500. If you are unable to come to any of the six centres, you can pay GBP 413 to have them come to a venue of your choice.
Stage 3 – Evidence submission
The next stage of a partner visa from Turkey application is the submission of evidence. There are three ways to submit the documents, regardless of the choice of biometrics location.
- Free option – Self-upload scanned copies to TLS online portal
This is generally the preferred method for submitting supporting evidence as it eliminates the need to have paper copies of all of the evidence with the applicant in Turkey. It also ensures that the applicant is satisfied that all of the evidence has been uploaded in the correct format. - TRL 4,200 – Scanning service at appointment
Under this option, you would bring paper copies of all of your supporting evidence to your appointment, to be scanned by a member of staff at the appointment centre. Whilst this may sound like the easiest option, it will involve spending more time at the VAC and lacks the ability to see what has been scanned. Any incorrect or incomplete submissions can lead to your partner visa from Turkey application being refused. - GBP 150/210 – Scan documents in the UK
The sponsoring partner or agent can post the documents to a scanning hub in London to have them scanned within five days (GBP 150) or one day (GBP 210). A specified sorting and formatting method must be followed as directed on their website.
Your passport will generally be retained by the VAC until a decision is made on your partner visa from Turkey application. If you do require to retain your passport for travelling or other purposes, then you are required to pay TRL 3,000 to keep it. Once a decision is made, the passport will be endorsed with entry clearance vignette valid for initial entry to the UK. Your full visa duration will subsequently be accessible once you have moved to the UK.
Help required
Our immigration solicitors have assisted with many applications for family visas from Turkey and we have a wealth of experience navigating the tricky submission procedures. If you would like help completing your UK family visa application from Turkey, please do not hesitate to contact our family migration team, headed by Amna Ashraf, for expert advice and assistance.
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