A Strategic Guide to Resolving UK Spouse Visa Refusals

If you are a citizen or someone with settled status in the UK, you can bring your spouse or partner to the country to live together as a family. A spouse visa UK is a subcategory of family visa.

Like all legal immigration routes, the visa applicant and their spouse/partner settled in the UK must fulfil certain conditions to get a positive decision on their application. Unfortunately, many spouse visa applications are refused not because the applicants do not meet the eligibility criteria, but because they fail to understand the importance of submitting compelling evidence in support of their claim.

With UK immigration policies getting stricter by the day, consider consulting a competent and experienced UK spouse visa lawyer from the very start of your application process. They can help you understand the common errors leading to a spouse visa refusal, and guide you to avoid such mistakes. For a spouse visa refused even after taking all precautionary steps, your lawyer will help you appeal the decision or seek an administrative or judicial review as necessary.

How Difficult Is It to Get a UK Spouse Visa in 2026?

With widespread public anxiety over the increasing net migration numbers in recent years, the successive UK governments have continuously been tightening immigration policies. In such a situation, the Home Office is now even more rigorously scrutinising all visa applications to rule out any possible immigration system abuse, and the spouse visa is no exception.

In fact, to be successful with your UK spouse visa application, it is not enough to meet the visa-specific eligibility requirements. You must be able to convince the Home Office that your marriage or partnership is genuine, and you have sufficient financial means to support and accommodate yourself and your family in the UK without claiming access to public funds.

See also: Exploring the Future of International Travel

Common Reasons for Spouse Visa Refusal

A refusal of your spouse visa application will jeopardise your planned family life in the UK, apart from suffering a considerable financial loss as the visa fees are not refundable. So, to start with, you must be aware of the common reasons or mistakes on the visa applicant’s part that may lead to a spouse visa refusal.

Your family visa UK application may be refused or rejected for several reasons, such as:

• Failure to prove a genuine relationship with your spouse/partner settled in the UK
• Failure to establish your genuine intention to live together as a family (unless a victim of domestic abuse)
• Insufficient funds (or failing to prove the your means of subsistence)
• Inadequate accommodation
• Lack of required knowledge of English (or failing to prove so)
• Incomplete application form
• Failure to submit required documents supporting your case, especially even after a request from the Home Office
• Fraudulent supporting documents
• Existing criminal records
• Previous incidents of immigration rule violations

Financial and Accommodation Requirements

Minimum income requirement (MIR) has become the most crucial factor these days in determining the outcome of a spouse visa application otherwise above board (i.e., no evidence of marriage fraud, criminal activities, or immigration violations).

The previous Conservative government increased the MIR for a UK spouse visa from £18,600 to £29,000 per year, with a plan to gradually increase the same further up to £38,700 by early 2025. Following backlash from different sections, the current Labour government sent the plan for a Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) review. While they did not proffer a particular figure, the MAC advised the government to keep the MIR between £23,000 and £25,000 annually. As of today, the MIR for a spouse visa remains £29,000.

Likewise, you must be able to satisfy the Home Office that your residence meets the housing standards for spouse visa, such as:

• Your proposed living arrangements are available and adequate
• You have the rights to occupy the accommodation for your family’s exclusive use
• The house/apartment/building is suitable for human habitation from public health and safety perspectives
• The residence is not overcrowded according to UK standards
• You don’t need public funds to sponsor your spouse’s or partner’s UK accommodation

How to Appeal a Spouse Visa UK Refusal

If your spouse visa is refused, you may be able to seek an administrative review, appeal the refusal decision, or ask for a judicial review. The Home Office decision letter will explain the reason(s) behind your visa refusal, and will clarify whether you are eligible to ask for a review of the refusal decision. This is called an ‘administrative review’.  You will have 14 days to apply.

In certain scenarios, the Home Office may provide you with an opportunity to appeal the spouse visa refusal decision. Having a right to appeal means you may have a chance to overturn the visa refusal decision. Appeals are heard by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). You have 14 days if you are in the UK, or 28 days from outside, to lodge your appeal.

Alternatively, you may also seek a judicial review of the Home Office decision if you do not have the right to appeal. However, note that a judicial review looks only at how the Home Office arrived at a decision on your case, and does not review your original visa application.

If none of these work, you may reapply or apply through a different visa category, provided you fulfil the conditions.

Do I Need Legal Help to Apply for a Spouse Visa UK?

Technically ‘no’ but realistically ‘yes’. While you can apply for a UK spouse visa yourself, it is strongly recommended that you consult a spouse visa lawyer, especially given the stricter UK immigration policies these days.

An experienced spouse visa lawyer will:

• Go through your case with you in detail and advise whether or not you are eligible to apply for a spouse visa (they will also explore other UK visa routes for you if required)
• Help you with completing your spouse visa application and arrange for supporting documents
• Provide legal services to deal with any visa refusals, administrative or judicial reviews, and appeals

In short, getting expert legal advice from ‘day zero’ of your spouse visa application journey may increase your chances of receiving a positive decision by avoiding the common errors, or appeal a refusal decision through the proper channels if it comes to that.