Switching to Unmarried Partner - Update

Does living with your boyfriend under a visitor visa count as "living together" requirement for UP visa?

I have been reading this thread but I think the earlier posts might be outdated now because of changes to the requirements on the UK border agency site...

Thank you!

As far as I am aware, nothing has changed in regards to the requirements for the Unmarried Partner visa.

You need to be living together at the same address, in the same country legally (i.e. not as a visitor, because visitors are not allowed to 'live' in the UK), for 24 consecutive months and you have to prove that you have both been at that address for all of that time. You prove this by getting both your names on the lease, opening bank accounts, getting utility bills in both your names etc. However, visitors cannot open bank accounts or get names on the lease/utility bills as they are only visiting the UK and not living there.

We have seen people being refused Unmarried Partner visas before because they tried to meet the requirements using time spent in the UK and/or US on visitor visas.

If you were to get a student visa or a work visa for the UK for a minimum of 2 years, you could live together for that time and then qualify for the unmarried partner visa (or if he moved to the US on a student or work visa for 2 years), but you won't be able to meet the requirements for the UP visa by using a mixture of student and visitor visas. However, if you were to decide to marry before that, you wouldn't have to worry about meeting the 2-year requirement of living together... you could just apply for a spousal visa once married.

As far as I am aware, nothing has changed in regards to the requirements for the Unmarried Partner visa.

You need to be living together at the same address, in the same country legally (i.e. not as a visitor, because visitors are not allowed to 'live' in the UK), for 24 consecutive months and you have to prove that you have both been at that address for all of that time. You prove this by getting both your names on the lease, opening bank accounts, getting utility bills in both your names etc. However, visitors cannot open bank accounts or get names on the lease/utility bills as they are only visiting the UK and not living there.

We have seen people being refused Unmarried Partner visas before because they tried to meet the requirements using time spent in the UK and/or US on visitor visas.

If you were to get a student visa or a work visa for the UK for a minimum of 2 years, you could live together for that time and then qualify for the unmarried partner visa (or if he moved to the US on a student or work visa for 2 years), but you won't be able to meet the requirements for the UP visa by using a mixture of student and visitor visas. However, if you were to decide to marry before that, you wouldn't have to worry about meeting the 2-year requirement of living together... you could just apply for a spousal visa once married.

Thank you for the info.

Can you combine living arrangements.....say I went to the UK on a student exchange program for a year, and after that year, my boyfriend moved back to the US with me under a work visa, and we stayed in the US for a year and went back to the UK for an UP visa, would that work?

or if I went to the UK under an exchange program for a year, lived with him, and at the end of that year, switched to a student visa(not under an exchange program) and transferred my schooling/finished my degree in the UK, could we get an UP visa after 2 years?

Can being under a student visa count as living with your partner, if you can get your name on the address, bills, ect?

Can anything that is not under a visitor visa count as living together?

thanks xx

You can live anywhere, but you both have to be legally there, and you both have to have proof of you living together.  Living together under a student visa would count.

However, you'll find you probably won't be able to transfer credits and finish a degree in the UK, like you would if you went from one US school to another US school.  The university systems are very different, and the undergraduate courses here are much more structured and meant to be done from start to finish.

Also, work visas are difficult to get in both the US and the UK, and all this switching around could be difficult to time well for the purposes of a UP visa and, so you'll really have to do your homework.

The best I could say is maybe do an exchange, finish your degree in the US, and perhaps you could do BUNAC after that or apply for a UK postgraduate programme.  Or get married.  Those are really your only options, unfortunately.  

I was hoping to get some advice on what my options are. My boyfriend and I have been together for about 8 years, having lived together for over 2.5 of those years (as a student, then tier 1 visa) in Scotland. I currently have the Post Study Work Visa and it is nearly impossible to get another type of work permit or sponsorship.

Can I switch into the Unmarried Partner Visa while I still have my PSW visa? It expires in October. My next question is, can I apply for the UP Visa from outside the UK but still switch from my current category, or do I need to wait until that PSW Visa expires?

I am currently in the US and have been for the last 6 months, but I'm looking to return to the UK next month. During the time apart we kept in contact and visited each other, and I also kept my bank account open in the UK so I was still receiving mail to our address there.

We meet all of the other eligibility requirements for the Unmarried Partner Visa, but I'm just afraid of what might happen if I go back to the UK and try to apply from there before my current leave to remain expires. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

You can switch to UP from PSW any time during your current leave; I was only 1 year into a Tier 1 General before I switched to UP. However, the 6 months you have been apart may cause problems for you unless you have a very good reason for having been apart, like work sent you there or you had a family emergency that required you to be away.

Hi!  Sorry if this has been asked before but I am unable to find it right now if it has. If you are in the UK on a student visa and have lived together for over 2 years, and qualify in all other ways for an unmarried partner visa, would you apply under SET(M) or under FLR(M)?  There is a significant difference in cost, especially if applying in person.  I think it is the FLR(M) because of already being in the UK with permission.  If all the qualifications are met, is there any reason to think that it would be difficulty to get this visa?   Thanks!

Hi!  Sorry if this has been asked before but I am unable to find it right now if it has. If you are in the UK on a student visa and have lived together for over 2 years, and qualify in all other ways for an unmarried partner visa, would you apply under SET(M) or under FLR(M)?  There is a significant difference in cost, especially if applying in person.  I think it is the FLR(M) because of already being in the UK with permission.  If all the qualifications are met, is there any reason to think that it would be difficulty to get this visa?   Thanks!

You need the FLR(M). You don't qualify for the SET(M) -ILR, because you have to hold a FLR(M) or a Spouse/CP/Unmarried Partner visa already & have 2 years residence to qualify for SET(M).

Thanks WebyJ. That's what I thought, but wanted to be sure we were reading this clearly. That seems like good news since the FLR(M) is cheaper than the SET(M) .  And it seems like a better idea to go for this rather than the Post Study Work Visa, which would not lead to ILR if we decide to stay in England permanently or long term rather than move to the States in a couple of years.

That seems like good news since the FLR(M) is cheaper than the SET(M)

You can't compare it like that, because as WebyJ said you can only use SET(M) 2 years after getting FLR(M) or a spouse visa. Unless you decide to leave the UK you are going to have to pay for both FLR(M) and SET(M)

Hi guys! I'm new here and have skimmed through what's been said on this board but am seeking a little clarification. I've been dating a Brit for over three years but I've been in America for most of that time. We've visited each other several times, and we did share a lease for about three months. When the stipulation says that you have to have been living together in a relationship for two years, does this mean that you absolutely HAVE to have been sharing a lease? We've lived "akin to husband and wife" as much as you can when you live in different countries. I'm currently on a student visa and would really like to stay here after it expires in March. Help please?

(On a somewhat related note, if the UPV isn't an option for me, how hard is it to switch from a student visa to a work sponsored visa??)

Cohabitation is a requirement, yes.

Yes, it means you must have lived together (full time) for a minimum of two years. The way couples do this is that usually one of them is on another visa in the other person's country.

It isn't necessarily hard to switch to a Tier 2 visa; the hard part is finding a position with an employer who is able and willing to sponsor you.

Thanks for letting me know! This is much cheaper than consulting with a lawyer.

Is there a way to let employers know in a nice way that you would need them to sponsor you, but that you would do all the work and they just have to hire you? Sorry, I feel like now I should be switching to a different message board.

Thanks for letting me know! This is much cheaper than consulting with a lawyer.

Is there a way to let employers know in a nice way that you would need them to sponsor you, but that you would do all the work and they just have to hire you? Sorry, I feel like now I should be switching to a different message board.

Well, the problem is that it's not quite as simple as 'just hiring you' - it is the company that has to do all the work, not you (there's not much you can do, to be honest, except wait for them to do the leg work and sort out your visa paperwork, so you can apply for the visa).

If the company is not yet a registered Tier 2 sponsor, they have to apply to become a sponsor and get a Tier 2 sponsor licence - this will cost them about £1,000 to do so, and currently sponsor licences are taking at least 5 months to be processed. Then after they have the licence, they have to give you a job offer and issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CAS).

They can only get you a CAS if the job meets certain criteria... either if it is listed on the skills shortage list, or if you meet the criteria to forego the resident labour market test (i.e. due to studying for a degree in the UK), or they have meet the resident labour market test, proving they have advertised the job in the UK and across the EU for a required length of time and could not find any suitable candidates, before they can hire you.

Honestly, sponsored work visas can be very hard to qualify for, and if you don't qualify for the unmarried partner visa, it might be worth considering getting married in the UK and switching to a spousal FLR(M) visa instead (same as an unmarried partner visa, but instead of living together for 2 years, you just have to be married).

Just a note though, that the family visa rules (spouses, unmarried partners etc.) changed in July 2012, and this thread hasn't been updated since October 2011, so much of the advice on it is out of date now and may not be accurate.

Can we have an update on this please?  It will be 2 years this October of me being in the UK.  I have been with my boyfriend for 3. I have lived with him off and on for the 2 years, during a study abroad, then a student visa.  Now I am here under a Tier 2.  My name is not on any of the utilities or lease, but I have been getting mail here for the last 2 years, things such as phone bill, bank statement, university correspondence. Would those items work as proof of living together for the 2 years? 

Also, I have to wait 5 years before I can apply for settlement?  Can I do this with 2 years of a student visa and 3 years on a work visa, or does it all have to be on one visa? 

Thank you!