UK Unmarried Partner Visa: Does Cohabitation Still Matter?
In This Article
1. Navigating the Cohabitation Expectation
2. Is Cohabitation Still an Unwritten Requirement for Unmarried Partner Visas?
3. Immigration Barriers: When Visa Status Prevents Living Together
4. Work and Study Commitments: How Employment Obligations Can Prevent Cohabitation
5. Cultural and Religious Factors: How Customs and Traditions Can Affect Cohabitation
6. Challenges for LGBTQIA+ Couples: Legal and Social Barriers to Living Together
7. Conclusion: Demonstrating a Durable Relationship Without Cohabitation
8. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
9. Frequently Asked Questions
10. Glossary
1. Navigating the Cohabitation Expectation
Following changes to the Immigration Rules on unmarried partner visas, couples may now qualify as unmarried partners even if they have not lived together for at least two years.
But these changes to the law do not mean that living together (or cohabitation) is irrelevant to an unmarried partner visa application. Home Office guidance states that “the couple must usually have lived together” to qualify on this visa route.
Given the Home Office’s position that unmarried partners should usually have lived together, how can an unmarried couple make a successful application in circumstances where they have not lived together or currently do not live together?
This article explains the continued relevance of cohabitation to the definition of an unmarried partner. It proceeds to consider various sets of circumstances which may prevent unmarried partners from living together (such as study or work reasons or cultural considerations).
Given that the Home Office continues to regard cohabitation as the norm for unmarried couples, this article offers suggestions to applicants who are seeking to explain and evidence why they and their unmarried partner live separately from one another.
2. Is Cohabitation Still an Unwritten Requirement for Unmarried Partner Visas?
Prior to 31 January 2024, Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules required unmarried couples to “have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or a civil partnership for at least two years”.
Since 31 January 2024, Appendix FM requires unmarried couples to “have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years”.
Though the reference to “living together” has been dropped from the definition of an unmarried partner, the Home Office still considers living together to be an important touchstone in determining whether a couple is in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership (otherwise referred to as a ‘durable relationship’).
Home Office guidance states:
“For a relationship to be similar to marriage or civil partnership the couple must usually have lived together as a couple (not just as friends) and shown an ongoing commitment to one another. However, in some circumstances there may be evidence of a durable relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership where the couple have not, or currently do not, live together.”
In short, the Home Office still expects that an unmarried couple in a durable relationship will usually have lived together before making an application for an unmarried partner visa.
But this will not always be the case. Due to the changes in the rules, it is possible to make a successful unmarried partner application even if the couple have not lived together (or currently do not live together). Nevertheless, such an application requires careful consideration of the couple’s particular circumstances.
The Home Office will expect applicants to provide a convincing explanation and accompanying evidence, setting out why the couple have not lived together despite being in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership. It is critical to the success of an unmarried partner visa application that the couple proves that they meet the legal definition of “[having] been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years”.
Further, the presence (or absence) of cohabitation is relevant not only to the question of whether a couple meets the legal definition of an unmarried partner. It is also relevant to other requirements set out in Appendix FM, in particular the ‘genuine and subsisting’ relationship requirement. The impact of living together on the ‘genuine and subsisting’ relationship requirement is considered in a previous article Navigating the New UK Unmarried Partner Visa Rules.
The remainder of this article considers examples of circumstances which may prevent a couple from living together. The examples provided are not exhaustive and there may be other explanations which the Home Office would accept, in an appropriate case. However, they are illustrative of the general approach which would-be applicants for unmarried partner visas should take to explaining and evidencing their personal circumstances.
3. Immigration Barriers: When Visa Status Prevents Living Together
An obvious circumstance which may prevent an unmarried couple from living together is that they lack the immigration permissions necessary to do so. Many couples maintain long-distance relationships due to immigration considerations.
Indeed, a person living outside the UK may be seeking entry clearance as an unmarried partner precisely because they do not have immigration status in the UK, and this currently prevents them from living with their British or settled partner in the UK.
However, immigration permissions will not always explain why a couple has not lived together. Where a person is already living in the UK with some other form of immigration status, but is seeking to switch to an unmarried partner visa, it will not be the case that a lack of immigration permissions prevents the couple living together. As such, this explanation concerning immigration permissions will likely operate only in applications for entry clearance to the UK, as opposed to applications for leave to remain.
4. Work and Study Commitments: How Employment Obligations Can Prevent Cohabitation
It is relatively commonplace that study or work commitments may prevent an unmarried couple from living together. For example, the British or settled partner acting as the sponsor of the application may study or work in the UK, whereas their partner is studying or working in another country. Similarly, both partners may be living in the UK but have study or work commitments in different locations.
In order to substantiate this explanation for living apart, applicants may consider providing evidence which shows the address at which each partner works or studies. This could include proof of enrolment or employment, alongside official correspondence from an educational establishment or employer showing the address at which each partner studies or works. An applicant may consider asking their educational establishment or employer to write a letter confirming these details.
Alternatively, some jobs may entail obligations or conditions which make living together impractical or impossible. This is a fact-sensitive inquiry which will depend on the nature of the employment in question. Such situations may involve, for instance, working hours which conflict with a partner’s work or personal schedule (as with night or shift workers), or jobs entailing mandatory security vetting which makes it difficult to live with a foreign-national partner.
For this purpose, it may be beneficial to provide the Home Office with evidence such as a contract of employment or workplace policy documents. Evidence of this type is helpful in setting out the aspects of a partner’s employment which prevent a couple from living together.
5. Cultural and Religious Factors: How Customs and Traditions Can Affect Cohabitation
There are a wide variety of cultural and religious considerations which may prevent unmarried couples from living together. It may not be socially acceptable for unmarried couples to live together. In some countries, living together as an unmarried couple may even be against the law.
Home Office guidance instructs decision makers to exercise cultural awareness when considering partner visa applications, stating:
“You must not presume that relationships always start, develop and subsist in the same way relationships commonly do in the UK. Every relationship is unique, and its start, development and continuation are usually influenced by local customs and traditions. Cultural awareness therefore is an important element in the decision making process. It ensures understanding, impartiality and provides context for circumstances and practices that are not common in the UK.
For example, in some cultures, religious or cultural customs may affect the evidence an applicant can provide, for example if … they only permit co-habitation of partners if marriage has taken place”.
Our team of immigration barristers at Richmond Chambers can assist couples who have not lived together for cultural or religious reasons, by providing advice on how best to explain and evidence these matters in a visa application. As each case must be considered in light of the individual circumstances, our barristers provide a tailored approach to each couple.
This may include the preparation of witness statements explaining that an individual belongs to a particular cultural or religious community, and how this affects their decision to live apart from their unmarried partner. It may also involve researching and presenting objective country evidence concerning cultural or religious norms and expectations, or foreign laws.
6. Challenges for LGBTQIA+ Couples: Legal and Social Barriers to Living Together
In some countries, same-sex relationships are not recognised or accepted by society, and LGBTQIA+ people face social or legal discrimination. This may make it difficult for same-sex couples to live together.
Similarly, in countries where it is prohibited for couples to live together before marriage, but which do not allow or recognise same-sex marriage, it may be impossible for an unmarried couple to live together.
Home Office guidance states that, where an applicant explains living apart from their partner based upon considerations like these, a decision maker should check the relevant Country Policy and Information Note to confirm whether the applicant’s claims are consistent with the information available on the treatment of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
As discussed above, it is important to provide appropriate evidence to support an unmarried partner visa application. This may include witness statements or objective country evidence (including from reliable media sources or non-governmental organisations) explaining the situation for LGBTQIA+ couples in a given country and how this affects a couple’s ability to live together.
7. Conclusion: Demonstrating a Durable Relationship Without Cohabitation
The Home Office takes the view that, to meet the definition of an unmarried partner as a person “in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership”, unmarried couples will usually have lived together.
However, there are a wide range of circumstances in which unmarried couples do not live together. To bring themselves within the legal definition of an unmarried partner for the purposes of the Immigration Rules, such applicants should carefully explain their individual circumstances and provide relevant supporting evidence.
Regardless of one’s individual circumstances, the key takeaway for applicants is that a couple’s reasons for not living together as an unmarried couple should be explained in their application and supported by evidence. By doing so, applicants can maximise their chances of satisfying the Home Office decision maker that the couple is in a durable relationship, despite the fact that they do not live together.
8. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
For expert advice regarding unmarried partner visa applications and other immigration options for partners or family members, contact our immigration barristers on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.
