If you are a South African national intending to come to the UK as the spouse or partner of a British citizen, or someone settled in the UK, you may need to apply for a UK partner visa to do so.

In this guide, we detail step-by-step the processes involved in applying for a UK partner visa, also known as a spouse visa. There may also be another route available to you which is discussed at the end of this article.

Stage 1 – UK partner visa application

The first stage is to visit the gov.uk website where you will have to complete a lengthy UK partner visa application form which asks detailed questions about your background and current circumstances. Take your time completing this as it is important for the application to be factually correct and consistent with the evidence you will provide for assessment. Once the UK partner visa application 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.

Stage 2 – Biometrics meeting and evidence submission

Upon payment of the UK partner visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) to the Home Office, your application will be submitted to UKVI. At this stage you will be sent an email confirming your application has been submitted with a link to access the website of TLS Contact to complete the final stage.

If you wish to seek priority service, there is an additional fee of GBP 500 to pay to get a decision within 30 working days. Normally a decision takes up to four months under standard service.

TLS Contact must be used in South Africa in order to book an appointment to enrol biometrics and to provide supporting documents. Whilst this is a purely administrative stage of the UK partner visa application, it is no less important than the form itself.  Our team ofimmigration lawyers have a great deal of experience in navigating this section of the process, and as such, we have provided a step-by-step guide below.

Stage 3 – TLS contact

Your first task is to decide where in South Africa you will attend a visa appointment. There are five UK Visa Appointment Centres (VACs) in South Africa:

1. Cape Town
2. Durban
3. Johannesburg
4. Port Elizabeth
5. Pretoria

Next, you must choose a date. You are presented with an online calendar displaying all available dates and time slots to choose from. Whilst most appointments should be free, some slots are charged so it simply a case of selecting what you prefer.

Once you have chosen your VAC and selected a date and time for your appointment, you will be tasked with submitting your supporting evidence. You have three ways to do this:

1. The ‘self-service’ option (free of charge)
   This is our preferred method of submission as it is free of charge and gives you the ability to upload all documents yourself. You will be able to drag and drop documents into the upload section of the webpage and inspect each file as you go. Once completed, you will be provided with a list of uploaded items which you must bring along to your appointment.
   
   
2. Document scanning assistance in South Africa (GBP 86.25)
   This is a chargeable service. You will be required to take all physical documents to the meeting and have an assistant at the Visa Application Centre conduct the scanning for you. You will be unable to see the documents that are scanned so fully rely on them conducting the job properly. 
   
   
3. Document scanning assistance in United Kingdom (GBP 115)
   This is another chargeable service which is based in the UK. This requires all physical documents to be sent to a hub in London with an online or bank transfer payment made. Rather than taking their supporting documents to the VAC, an applicant can post their bundle directly to London.  Given the possibility of postal delays and loss of items, this is not our recommended option. 

Stage 4 - Decision

The timescale for consideration begins after the biometrics are completed. You will be notified of the decision by email.

If your application is successful, your passport will be returned to you which will contain an entry clearance vignette which will be valid for an initial period of three months. Once in the UK, you will be able to collect your visa on a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) which will be valid until 31 December 2024   and the remainder of the visa will be available online via the new e-visa system.  

Alternatives to the UK partner visa for South Africans

Depending on your partner ancestry, you may have alternatives to applying for a visa as a spouse or partner member.
The first option is known as the UK Ancestry visa. It is open to Commonwealth citizens who are able to show that they have a grandparent born:

• in the UK, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;
• before 31 March 1922 in what is now the Republic of Ireland; or
• on a British-registered ship or aircraft.

To be eligible for this visa you must also be 17 years or above, have enough money to support yourself and any dependents without help from public funds, and have the ability and intention to work in the UK.

The second option may be registration as a British citizen if you were born abroad to a British mother between 1949 and 1983. In a case our firm assisted with in 2018, Advocate General for Scotland v Romein, Ms Romein was not able to obtain citizenship after her birth because at the time it was not possible for women to pass citizenship on to their children.

The consequence of this judgement is that anyone born abroad to a British mother between 1949 and 1983 can now apply for registration as a British citizen, regardless of whether their birth was, or would have been, registered with the British consulate.

Help required

Our immigration solicitors have assisted with many applications for partner and ancestry visas from South Africa and we have a wealth of experience navigating the tricky submission procedures. If you would like help completing your UK partner visa application from South Africa, please do not hesitate to contact our immigration team, headed by Amna Ashraf, for expert advice and assistance.

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