Changes to the definition of partner: We’ve never lived together; can they join me in the UK? 

If you are looking to have your foreign partner join you in the UK, but worried that you may face barriers because you have never lived together, there is good news for you in recent changes to the Immigration Rules. 

The Home Office recently updated the requirements of the Immigration Rules for unmarried partners of British citizens, making it somewhat easier for some individuals to come to the UK legally to live with their British partners. 

In this article we will consider the new Rules and other requirements unmarried partners need to meet. Read along to find out if these changes benefit you. 

The Immigration Rules deals with applications for entry clearance or leave to remain by the foreign partners of British citizens. Until earlier this year, the introductory section to the Immigration Rules (which includes the definitions of lots of important terms) defined a “partner” as:

• a) spouse; or     
• b) civil partner; or
• c) unmarried partner, where the couple have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or a civil partnership for at least two years.

Appendix FM, the section of the Immigration Rules which deals with applications for entry clearance or leave to remain by the partners of British citizens, defined a partner separately as: 

• (i) the applicant’s spouse;          
• (ii) the applicant’s civil partner;
• (iii) the applicant’s fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner; or 
• (iv) a person who has been living together with the applicant in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years prior to the date of application, unless a different meaning of partner applies elsewhere in this Appendix.

Couples who were already married or civilly partnered, providing they could meet the Home Office requirement that their relationship was “genuine and subsisting”, would not be required to demonstrate prior cohabitation as a couple. 

However, for unmarried couples, the requirement for two years of cohabitation often presented an insurmountable barrier. Many unmarried couples may have been unable to cohabit as a result of living in different countries or other barriers such as financial issues. 

On 31 January 2024, the UK Government introduced changes to the Immigration Rules which changed the definition of a “partner”.

The Introduction to the Immigration Rules now defines a partner as follows: 

• a) spouse; or     
• b) civil partner; or
• c) unmarried partner, where the couple have been in a relationship similar to marriage or a civil partnership for at least two years.

The definition under Appendix FM has also been changed to remove any reference to cohabitation. 

To gauge how this could benefit couples we must explore what is meant by ‘a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership’. 

The Home Office doesn’t define, within the Immigration Rules, what it means to be in a relationship which is “similar to marriage or civil partnership”. However, the guidance does differentiate between “a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership” and “boyfriend/girlfriend-type relationships”, describing the former as a “durable relationship”. 

The Home Office’s expectations around evidence of a relationship are set out in their caseworker guidance, which is publicly available. This guidance sets out that cohabitation will normally be expected. 

However, the Home Office understands that some categories of couple may not be able to meet this requirement. The guidance specifically acknowledges, as examples:

• where the laws of the foreign country do not allow unmarried couples to live together;
• couples who established their same-sex relationship in a country where such relationships are not accepted; or
• couples whose desire to cohabit has been impacted by other, particular issues

In such cases, caseworkers are to consider the justification for why the couple have not cohabited, and to look for other evidence that the relationship is genuine, ongoing and is of a sufficiently “durable” nature to satisfy the requirement.

Home Office caseworkers will look for evidence of the qualitative nature of your relationship. They will seek to be convinced of the commitment between you and your partner as a couple; the blending of your lives together (wherever possible) and of plans for the future. The Home Office will look at various evidence when making this assessment, including:

• Communication between the partners during periods apart;
• Evidence of shared finances, or financial support of one partner by the other;       
• Evidence of trips and visits to see one another; 
• Evidence of joint care of a child.

If you are seeking to rely on this change to the Rules, we recommend that you provide as much evidence as possible, including detailed witness statements made by yourselves and by family and friends, to support your claim that you are in a “durable” partnership.

Overall, these changes to the Rules are positive and may open the door a crack wider for unmarried couples seeking to reside together in the UK. There are, of course, lots of other requirements to be met by individuals coming to the UK as a partner, which were recently covered by our Alex Young.