Family visa applications carry the highest stakes in immigration — being together — and some of its most unforgiving rules. Connaught Law's family visa solicitors act for couples and families worldwide on spouse, partner, child and parent applications: building evidence that satisfies caseworkers first time, and fighting refusals when they're wrong.
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How We Can Help
Spouse & Partner Visas
Applications for spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners and fiancé(e)s of British citizens and settled persons, under the family visa rules. Beyond the checklists, these applications are won on relationship evidence — a genuine and subsisting relationship, documented the way caseworkers actually assess it. We build that file with you, because "we know it's genuine" has never persuaded the Home Office.
The Financial Requirement
Most partner applications must meet the minimum income requirement — £29,000 at the time of writing, held at this level while further changes remain under review — through salary, self-employment, cash savings or a combination, each with its own evidential rules and traps. Some routes use adequate maintenance instead. Our maintenance calculator and requirements guide shows how the arithmetic works, and we plan the evidence before you apply — most financial refusals are documentation failures, not income failures.
Children & Parents
Child visas to join parents in the UK, sole responsibility cases where one parent is overseas, and the parent route for those with British or settled children — applications where family life has to be evidenced, not asserted. These cases turn on detail and honesty about weaknesses early, which is exactly how we run them.
Extensions & the Route to Settlement
Partner visas run in stages to settlement — the five-year route where requirements are met throughout, or the ten-year route where they can't be. Staying on the right route, extending on time and avoiding gaps all decide when you settle. With settlement rules themselves under active reform, timing has real value: our settlement and citizenship service covers the endgame.
Refusals & Appeals
Family visa refusals carry a right of appeal on human rights grounds — and family cases win appeals more often than any other category, because caseworkers routinely undervalue relationship evidence and Article 8 family life. Whether the answer is a fresh application or a tribunal appeal depends on the refusal's reasons; our visa refusal service and immigration appeals service take it from there.
Complex Cases
Previous refusals or overstaying, criminal records, third-party support, disability cases using adequate maintenance, and applications where the sponsor's income is genuinely complicated — self-employment, dividends, overseas earnings. Complexity isn't a bar; undisclosed or badly presented complexity is. These are the cases where representation changes outcomes most.
How We Work
Every application starts with an eligibility and evidence review: the requirement you must meet, the documents that prove it under the Appendix FM rules, and the weaknesses to fix before submission rather than explain after refusal. Then we prepare the application as if it will be refused — full evidence, representations addressing the likely concerns — which is precisely why most of them aren't.
Rules in this area shift frequently. We advise on the law as it stands on the day you apply, and where changes are pending — as they currently are for settlement — we tell you what that means for your timing.
Why Connaught Law
01Evidence-first preparationFinancial and relationship evidence assembled to caseworker standards — the file does the persuading.
02Honest eligibility adviceIf the requirement isn't met yet, we say so and plan the route — not submit and hope.
03Senior attention throughoutYour application is run by our experienced immigration team, not passed down — with direct access to the person handling it.
04Strong on refusalsAppeals and fresh applications run by the same team that prepares applications — we know both sides of a refusal letter.
Fee structures are set out on our fees page — fixed fees for most family applications, agreed before we start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to earn for a UK spouse visa?
The minimum income requirement is £29,000 at the time of writing — a planned rise was shelved and the level remains under government review, so check the current figure when you apply. Cash savings can substitute for or top up income, and some routes use adequate maintenance instead. The evidential rules matter as much as the number: most financial refusals are paperwork failures.
Can I work in the UK on a family visa?
Yes — spouse and partner visa holders can work and study without restriction. Fiancé(e) visa holders cannot work until they marry and switch to the partner route from inside the UK.
What happens if my family visa is refused?
Family refusals normally carry a right of appeal on human rights grounds, and these appeals succeed comparatively often — but an appeal takes months, so sometimes a corrected fresh application is faster. The right answer depends on the refusal reasons; have the letter reviewed before choosing either.
What's the difference between the 5-year and 10-year routes?
The five-year route applies where all requirements are met and leads to settlement sooner and cheaper. The ten-year route exists for cases succeeding on human rights grounds where requirements can't be met — longer, with more renewals. Moving from the ten to the five-year route when circumstances improve is often possible and usually worth it; settlement rules are also under reform, so route planning matters more than ever.
Applying to bring family to the UK?
Tell us your circumstances — income, relationship, any history. We'll tell you honestly whether you qualify, what evidence wins, and when to apply.
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