7 HIDDEN Spouse Visa UK Fees (& Costs) in 2023
The spouse visa UK fee (cost) in 2023 is £1,846 if you are applying outside the UK and £1,048 if you are applying inside the UK.
The above figures refer to the current Home Office fee you will have to pay the Home Office to process your application.
This article will discuss:
- Other costs involved with UK spouse visa applications that you should be aware of; and
- Frequently asked questions concerning the spouse visa fees and costs.
The below table summarises some of these costs.
| Out-of-country application | In-country application | |
| Spouse visa UK fee (cost) in 2023 | £1,846 | £1,048 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) | £1,872 | £1,560 |
| Housing Report | £80-120 | £80-120 |
| Copy of the title deeds | £3 | £3 |
| Priority (premium) visa services | £500 | £1,000 |
| Lawyer fees | £435-£3,000+ | £435-£3,000+ |
| English language test | £150 | £150 |
| Tuberculosis test | £65-110 | Not applicable |
| Translations | £0-300+ | £0-300+ |
This article has been updated to reflect the Home Office fee increases implemented for applications submitted on or after 4 October 2023.
UK Spouse Visa Fee Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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“Will we be making an Out-of-country or In-country application?
You need to know this as the fees, requirements and process are different.
#1 If the applicant does not have any UK visas, they must make an application from outside the UK.
The applicant is the person that needs the visa to enter the UK.
If the sponsor (UK partner) helps complete the application and submit he supporting documents, this does not change whether an application can be made from outside or from inside the UK.
#2 If the applicant is in the UK as a visitor, they must make an application from outside the UK.
Such applicants will be expected to leave the UK and then submit an out-of-country application from either:
- their country of nationality; or
- country where the applicant holds any type of long-term residency.
#3 To make an application from inside the UK, the applicant must have a UK visa (or leave) that has been granted for longer than 6 months.
An exception here are those who are in the UK on a UK fiancé(e) or proposed civil partnership visa who can apply from inside the UK.
Common visas (or leave) that permit making an in-country application include:
- UK spouse and partner visas
- UK fiancé(e) or proposed civil partnership visa
- Tier 1 visas
- Tier 2 visas or Skilled worker visas
- Tier 4, Long term Student or Graduate visas
- Tier 5 visas, including Youth mobility scheme visas
Out-of-country UK spouse visa application FAQs
What are the Home Office fees for out-of-country UK spouse visas in 2023?
The Home Office fee for out-of-country UK spouse visas in 2023 is £1,846.
This is the amount you must pay the Home Office for your application to be processed.
When is the Home Office fee paid?
The Home Office fee for out-of-country UK spouse visas is paid as part of the online application process.
The date that you pay this fee is the date that the application is considered to have been submitted.
How much is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)?
The Immigration Health Surcharge for out-of-country UK spouse visas is currently £1,872.
This Immigration Health Surcharge increase will come into force on 16 January 2024 at the earliest (subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament) and will result in a cost of £3,105.
When is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) paid?
This is paid as part of the online application form process.
The whole of the IHS is paid at this stage – you do not pay the IHS every year.
In-country UK spouse visa application FAQs
What are the Home Office fees for in-country UK spouse visas in 2023?
The Home Office fee for out-of-country UK spouse visas in 2023 currently remains at £1,048.
However, please note that a 20% increase will be implemented at some point in the near future.
When is the Home Office fee paid?
The Home Office fee is paid on the UK spouse visa online application form.
The date that this fee is paid is important because this is the date that the application is submitted.
How much is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)?
The Immigration Health Surcharge for in-country UK spouse visas is currently £1,560.
This Immigration Health Surcharge increase will come into force on 16 January 2024 at the earliest (subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament) and will result in a cost of £2,587.50.
When is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) paid?
This is paid as part on the UK spouse visa online application form.
The whole of the IHS is paid at this stage – you do not pay the IHS per year.
HIDDEN COST #1
Document translations
As we discuss in part 3 of our 3-part free video series, where certain documents are not in English or Welsh, the Immigration Rules require that a translation must be included in the application.
Where a translation is required, the translated should also be submitted alongside a copy of the original, untranslated document.
The total cost for translations will depend on the number and length of documents that you will need to get translated.
Generally speaking, if a document is important to a visa application, it will need to be translated.
The following is a list of typical documents that must be translated (where applicable):
- The applicant and sponsor’s marriage certificate
- Divorce certificates showing that any legally recognised relationships of the applicant and/or sponsor have broken down permanently
- Degree certificates (where a degree certificate is being used to satisfy the English language requirement)
- Mandatory financial documentation, such as bank statements
We discuss our approach to identifying what documents should be translated in part 3 of our 3-part free video series.
As a general figure, it tends to cost about £60 to translate a one-page document and £85 to translate a two-page document.
Total cost: £0-300+
HIDDEN COST #2
Tuberculosis Test Cost
If you want to make the application from outside the UK, as we discuss in our detailed spouse visa UK 2023 guidance, whether a Tuberculosis test will need to be carried out will largely depend on what country the applicant is resident in when the application is submitted.
If you want to make the application from inside the UK, as we discuss in our FLR M visa 2022 guidance, the Tuberculosis (TB) test does not apply because TB tests are not required for in-country applications.
For those who are required to provide a TB test, the TB test fee can vary between £65 and £110 – depending on the specific test centre where the test will take place.
To find out a more specific figure, search ‘Tuberculosis’ on the gov.uk website and find your country.
It should be noted, however, that for some applicants, getting a tuberculosis test is a lot more costly.
This is because some applicants may have to travel quite a distance to attend the nearest Home Office approved test centre. Some applicants may even have to travel to another country.
In such a case, you will have to consider the costs associated with travel and accommodation – both of which can add up.
A list of Home Office approved tuberculosis clinics can be found here.
Total cost: £65-£900+
HIDDEN COST #3
English language test costs
Not everyone will incur an extra cost due to the English language requirement.
For instance, if you are a national of a majority English speaking country, the cost for most will be £0 as providing a copy of this passport will satisfy the English language requirement alone.
For the majority of applicants, however, they have to sit an English language test at A1 level (if they are applying for their first spouse visa) or at A2 level (if they are applying for their second spouse visa after having initially been granted a 33 or 30-month visa).
If you take the IELTS Life Skills Test (including the A1 IELTS Life Skills test) this will cost approximately £150.
Trinity College London also charges £150 for their English language tests.
Please note that this £150 fee is for one attempt at the test.
If the applicant does not pass the test, the fee will once again have to be paid to retake the test.
“Can I take a higher level test than what is required?”
Yes.
To save money, if the applicant can pass a higher-level test (up to B1 level), it would be recommended to do so.
Even though an applicant who is applying for their first partner visa is only required to sit a test at A1 level, they can choose to sit an A2 test and re-use this same English language test certificate when they submit the spouse visa application (via an FLR(M) visa extension).
An applicant who is either applying for their first partner visa or is extending their spouse visa can also sit a B1 level test. This test will normally be able to be re-used for the extension as well as the Indefinite Leave to Remain application (which is generally made after two spouse visas).
Regardless of the test that you take, please make sure that the test is on the List of Home Office Approved Secure English language tests (SELT) in 2023.
Total cost: £0-150+
HIDDEN COST #4
Applying dependant children
You will also have to pay the Home Office fee, Immigration Health Surcharge and other optional additional services (such as the priority service) for dependant children who are also applying for a visa at the same time as their parent.
Although only a minority of applications include dependant children who are also applying for a visa (children who are British citizens or have settled status in the UK do not need to apply for any UK visas), this is something which is often initially overlooked.
HIDDEN COST #5
Lawyer fees
Contrary to what most immigration lawyers will tell you, you do not need to pay a lawyer to process and submit your application.
Whilst a good immigration lawyer who specialises in UK partner visas will save you a lot of time and make the process a lot less stressful, immigration lawyers have access to the same Home Office guidance and Immigration Rules as you do.
We charge a fixed fee of £2,250 for full legal representation, which is on the mid-higher end of what is generally charged by immigration lawyers.
Our full legal representation service, however, is primarily offered by Ed Lowe, who has worked in the Home Office as a senior Home Office manager for 20+ years.
For those who would like to take responsibility for their application, but would like to save time researching the required supporting documents and letters, our £435 DIY Application Pack Service (which comes with a 100% money-back guarantee) may be of interest.
With this service, we tailor document checklists and letter templates according to the information you provide us.
Whether you pay us money or not, we are always happy to help. This is why we have spent many hours on our free guides, which can be found here:
- Spouse Visa UK (for spouse visa applications made outside the UK);
- FLR M Visa (for spouse visa applications made inside the UK);
- UK Unmarried Partner visa; and
- UK Fiancé(e) Visa.
Total cost: £435-£3,000+
HIDDEN COST #6
Priority (premium) Visa Services
The spouse visa UK fee of £1,846 for out-of-country applications and £1,048 for in-country applications does not include some other additional services that you may want to consider.
For applications made from outside the UK
If you want your visa processed sooner rather than later, you can consider the Priority visa service – depending on availability.
When this service resumes, this service will cost, on average, £500, and will put your application “at the front queue at every stage of the decision-making process
This priority service will increase the processing time to, on average, 30 working days.
If you are interested in the priority visa service, please ensure that you purchase the settlement or migration priority visa service. This is because overseas visa centres also sometimes offer a different priority visa service which is catered for non-partner visa applications.
There are, however, some people who are advised to not use the priority visa service, including those who have :
- been refused a visa for the UK, and/or;
- been deported, removed, or otherwise required to leave the UK, and/or;
- been refused leave to enter the UK, and/or
- had leave to remain in the UK curtailed by the Home Office, and/or;
- overstayed a period of leave in the UK, and/or;
- been refused a visa for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America, or the Schengen countries, and/or;
- been refused leave to remain in the UK by the Home Office, and/or;
- you have been interviewed, detained, or prosecuted by the police for any offence in the UK or elsewhere, and/or;
- you have an unspent criminal conviction in any country, and/or;
- you have committed a criminal offence in any country.
For more information about this, feel free to read our spouse visa UK processing time in 2023 article.
Applications made from inside the UK
#1 The super-priority service.
For those who are making their spouse visa application from inside the UK, they can often consider purchasing the super-priority service – depending on availability.
This should allow you to receive a decision from the Home Office within 1 working day at the cost of £1,000.
#2 The priority service.
You may have read about a £500 priority service that reduces the processing time to 5 working days.
This, however, is not available for in-country spouse visa applications.
Total cost: £1,000
HIDDEN COST #7
Conversion rates
For out-of-country applications, the Home Office fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) are normally not charged in British pounds.
Rather, these will likely be listed in Euros, USD or another currency – depending on the country in which the applicant will be applying from.
The conversion rates used here can result in partners sometimes having to pay up to 10% above – or below in the overseas currency compared to the rate found on Google or another popular exchange rate platform.
In-country applications are always charged in British pounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the spouse visa UK fee paid?
The Home Office processing fee is paid on the spouse visa online application. The date that the spouse visa UK fee is paid is the date that the application is technically submitted.
Can someone other than the applicant pay the spouse visa UK fee?
Yes - it is very common for the sponsor (the UK partner) or other family members to pay the Home Office fees.
Do I really have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?
Unfortunately, the Immigration Health Surcharge is a compulsory payment - you have to pay this. If the Immigration Health Surcharge is not paid, the application will be deemed 'invalid'.
Will the Home Office fee be refunded if my application is refused?
Unfortunately, you will lose the Home Office fee if your application is refused - which is another reason why you should take the time to read the Home Office guidance and articles on this website.
SUMMARY
Whilst some of these costs are compulsory (i.e. IHS & Tuberculosis tests for the majority of people) many of these costs are optional.
With this being said, regardless of the optional costs you choose to purchase, it is always good to be better prepared for what you may be charged once you apply.
If you would like to receive a custom-tailored document checklist and letter templates, feel free to check out our £435 DIY Application Pack Service.
Alternatively, if you would like Ed Lowe, an incredibly experienced immigration advisor who has worked at the very heart of the Home Office for 20+ years, to deal with your case from start to finish, we charge £2,250 for our Full Legal Representation Service.
