If you are an Indian national and are looking to move to the UK to reside with your British partner, then you’ll need an appropriate visa for your initial entry in order to reside here long term. If you are entering as a fiancé, partner or spouse, our guide below will help you understand the process.

Stage 1 – application

When applying for a UK spouse visa from India, the first stage is to visit the gov.uk website on which you will have to complete a lengthy application form that seeks 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.

Normally the decision can take up to four months, but a priority service costing an additional INR 54464 will put you at the front of the queue with a decision in around 30 working days. 

Stage 2 – Biometrics meeting and evidence submission

After completing the UK spouse visa from India application, you’ll then be directed to visit another website, VFS Global, in order to arrange an appointment for your biometrics enrolment (facial image and fingerprints). An account with VFS Global is created at the point you are redirected. Follow the online prompts and you’ll soon be able to pick an appointment slot at one of the 19 available locations. If the usual working hours of your chosen location are unsuitable, you can pay an extra INR 3900 to get a ‘prime time’ appointment outside of normal hours. Some locations charge an additional ‘user pay’ fee in order to even arrange a normal appointment with them; if this applies, you’ll be asked to pay before your Indian citizen UK visa appointment is confirmed.

Stage 3 – Evidence

Once the appointment is made, you’ll have to think about how to submit your evidence. We run through all four options to help you decide which is the most suitable:

1. Self-upload supporting documents to the VFS Global website (no additional charge)
   This self-service method requires you to scan all evidence onto VFS Global’s online portal yourself ahead of the appointment. You’ll need to follow their procedural guidance when doing so in order to ensure everything is correctly uploaded. For those that like a hands-on approach, this is the best method as you are able to see exactly what will be submitted to the decision maker.
   
   
2. Document scanning assistance service at the visa application centre (additional fee INR 1300)
   For those without the facilities or willpower to scan, you can purchase a document scanning service and have VFS Global scan for you. All originals are taken to the appointment and then returned to you with the exception of your passport. If you wish to keep your passport back, you need to pay an additional INR 3900 for the passport retention service.
   
   
3. Walk-in UK settlement scanning service (additional fee GBP 75)
   All documents are taken to one of seven VFS Global centres in the UK. This is obviously only possible where all documents are in the UK. A checklist and declaration has to be downloaded, completed and brought to the appointment. All the documents also have to be organised in a specific form.
   
   
4. UK settlement scanning service – postal, for an additional GBP 100 fee (with GBP 25 extra for secure return)
   All documents also have to be in the UK but sent to VFS Global by post rather than in person. There are specific steps that need to be followed if using this option.

Stage 4 - Decision

Once the decision maker has concluded the case, an email will be sent to the applicant to confirm that a decision is made. You’ll be asked to attend the same location where you enrolled your biometrics in order to collect your passport and a letter which will confirm the decision. If you want to avoid that journey, you can purchase the passport return service for INR 685 from VFS Global before you attend the biometrics appointment. This means that once the decision is made, the passport will be posted to you, bypassing the need for physical attendance a second time.

If the visa is granted, you will receive your passport back with an entry-clearance vignette which will enable you to enter the UK within three months. After arrival in the UK, you will then collect the biometric residence permit which sets out your full visa details and duration from a designated post office. All visas are changing to e-visa from 1 January 2025, which means that any visa validity period after this date will be accessible online. 

Help required

If you are struggling or feeling overwhelmed with this process, you may need help from a specialist immigration and visa lawyer. Our family migration team has years of experience dealing with this type of work and will take as much of the stress and uncertainty out of the process of applying for a UK spouse visa from India as possible. Our team regularly works remotely with clients abroad so geographical distance is never an issue. To contact us, please email our immigration team, lead by the head of our family migration team Amna Ashraf. 

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