United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · Processing time
Family visa (partner/spouse): how long does it take?
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
GOV.UK publishes 12 weeks outside the UK and up to 6 months during peak periods for spouse/partner visas.
How long does the Family visa (partner/spouse) take to process in United Kingdom?
The typical published decision window is 3 months – 6 months from a complete application. GOV.UK publishes 12 weeks outside the UK and up to 6 months during peak periods for spouse/partner visas.
Source checked against GOV.UK — Family visas on 10 September 2026.
Typical wait
3 months – 6 months
from complete application
Government fees
Application: £2,064 outside the UK or £1,407 inside. Adult IHS is additional and depends on the grant length; under-18s use a reduced rate. The itemised fee guide separates these cases.
Last checked
10 September 2026
Reality vs official timing
- Official clock
- Official window with caveat
- Delay trigger
- After 168 days
- Source checked
- 10 September 2026
Use 3 months – 6 months as the official headline, then read the route caveat: Priority service available for an additional fee in most countries, reducing to 30 working days.
What is the Family visa (partner/spouse)?
Visa for partners of British citizens, settled persons, or certain other qualifying sponsors.
The partner route is for a qualifying relationship with a British or Irish citizen, a settled person or someone with another expressly eligible status. Ordinary work-visa and Student dependants use their own routes; a partner relationship alone does not make this the correct family application.
- Sponsorship: No job offer or employer sponsor is required.
- Settlement: This route can lead to permanent residence.
- Typical permit length: An initial partner grant is normally up to 2 years 9 months; an extension or in-country switch is normally up to 2 years 6 months. Some grants are shorter, including qualifying protection-status cases tied to the sponsor’s expiry.
- Indicative government fees: Application: £2,064 outside the UK or £1,407 inside. Adult IHS is additional and depends on the grant length; under-18s use a reduced rate. The itemised fee guide separates these cases.
Priority and fast-track options
Priority service available for an additional fee in most countries, reducing to 30 working days.
How to read this estimate
The 3 months – 6 months window is the time GOV.UK — Family visas typically associates with the Family visa (partner/spouse) — measured from a complete, correctly-lodged application through to a decision, not from when you start gathering documents.
- Collecting documents, getting qualifications recognised, and booking consular appointments all happen before the clock starts.
- If the authority requests more information, the clock pauses until you reply — so a fast, complete response keeps your place in the queue.
- Processing times shift with application volumes and policy changes. The GOV.UK — Family visas page linked below is the only figure that is current on the day you apply.
Official source
GOV.UK — Family visas
https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse
Cite or reuse this dataset
This figure is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the Visa Atlas page for the compiled, dated dataset, and cite the official source for the underlying government rule.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Family visa (partner/spouse) processing time dataset", https://visaatlas.org/processing-times/uk/family-spouse. Last checked 10 September 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/processing-times
Primary source (1)
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Family visa (partner/spouse) take to process?+
The typical wait is 3 months – 6 months from submitting a complete application. GOV.UK publishes 12 weeks outside the UK and up to 6 months during peak periods for spouse/partner visas. These figures come from GOV.UK — Family visas and were checked on 2026-09-10. Always confirm on the primary source before you apply.
When does the 3 months – 6 months clock start?+
The clock starts when GOV.UK — Family visas receives a complete, valid application — not when you begin collecting documents. Gathering evidence, getting qualifications recognised, and booking consular appointments all happen before the window starts.
Is there a way to speed up the decision?+
Priority service available for an additional fee in most countries, reducing to 30 working days.
What makes an application take longer than expected?+
The most common reasons for delays beyond the published window are: missing or incorrect documents, a request for more information (which pauses the clock until you reply), background or medical checks, and consular appointment backlogs in your country. Submitting a complete, well-organised application on day one is the single biggest thing you can do to stay inside the published window.
When should I treat my Family visa (partner/spouse) application as delayed?+
Wait until you have passed the upper end of the published window (3 months – 6 months) before treating it as delayed. At that point, a single polite status enquiry through the official channel is reasonable. Do not chase repeatedly, as this tends to slow a case rather than speed it up.
Next steps
Reviewed by Sam Parks, Editor and lead researcher.