Spouse Visa Applications and the Accommodation Requirement
Much has been written about the forthcoming changes to the financial requirement for the Family Visa. However, Spouse Visa applicants often focus on the minimum salary threshold and do not always pay enough attention to whether their Family Visa application shows that they meet the accommodation requirement.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors take a closer look at the immigration rules surrounding the accommodation requirement and how to show that you meet it in your Family Visa application.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For Family Visa immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
The accommodation requirement
When you apply for a Family Visa (including a Spouse Visa, Unmarried Partner Visa or Civil Partner Visa), when you apply to extend your Family Visa or when you apply for indefinite leave to remain to settle in the UK after entry on a Family Visa you need to show that you meet an ‘accommodation requirement.’
The accommodation requirement is set out in Appendix FM of the immigration rules.
Spouse Visa Solicitors say that when applying for any type of Family Visa the emphasis and concern of a visa applicant and their sponsoring partner is normally either on proving that the relationship is genuine and subsisting (especially where the couple is unmarried or the marriage was an arranged one) or that the Family Visa financial requirement is met.
With the significant increases in the Family Visa financial requirement, it is a concern that Family Visa applicants will focus on that issue and will not devote as much attention to proving that they also meet the accommodation requirement.
How can a Family Visa applicant meet the accommodation requirement?
The immigration rules say that a Family Visa applicant needs to show that there will be ‘’adequate’’ accommodation for them. The rules say the accommodation requirement should be met without the need to rely on public funds. The accommodation should be in a property the family owns or has ‘’exclusive occupation’’ of.
The immigration rules say that the accommodation requirement is not met if:
- The property is deemed to be overcrowded under UK overcrowding regulations or
- If the property is not compliant with public health regulations and not deemed fit for human habitation
Ownership or exclusive occupation
As London Immigration Solicitors with a team of Landlord and Tenant Solicitors, we know just how hard it is to buy or rent property in London or the South East. Many sponsoring partners assume they won't be able to meet the accommodation requirement because they are not homeowners and have little chance of buying a property any time soon, especially when they are focused on paying visa application fees and the increased immigration health surcharge.
The immigration rules do not require either the visa applicant or their sponsoring partner to be a homeowner or even to rent a property in their sole name.
Whilst it is helpful to be able to show property ownership or rental of a house or flat through the production of a tenancy agreement, you can still meet the accommodation requirement if you are living with extended family (such as parents or siblings or in a house share or house in multiple occupation) provided you can show that you are or will be legally and exclusively occupying the property.
Exclusively occupying a property does not mean that you cannot share a property and meet the accommodation requirement. The immigration rules say that to meet the accommodation requirement part of the property must be for your exclusive use. In the case of living with family or in shared accommodation, this could be a bedroom. A bedroom will only suffice to meet the exclusive occupation rule if the property is not deemed overcrowded.
Evidence of how you met the accommodation requirement
A Spouse Visa applicant needs to provide evidence of how they meet the accommodation requirement. This evidence requirement cannot be ignored even if it is self-evident from a sponsoring partner’s job and salary that they can afford to buy a lovely London property or to rent luxury accommodation.
Evidence that the accommodation requirement is met can be:
- Office copy entries of the land registry title to the property and letter, if relevant, from the mortgage company
- Copy of a tenancy agreement in the name of the visa applicant or sponsoring partner together with a letter from the landlord or letting agent that the rent is being paid on time
- Evidence from the local authority or housing association that a sponsoring partner is a tenant
- Letter from the member of the family who owns the property or who rents saying that the visa applicant and sponsoring partner have accommodation at their property that meets the exclusive occupation test and that the family member either owns or legally rents the property and can legally offer the visa applicant and their sponsoring partner accommodation
Overcrowding and the accommodation requirement
When a Home Office official assesses if the accommodation requirement is met, they will need to consider if the property will be overcrowded if the visa applicant and sponsoring partner move in there. This is normally only an issue if a visa applicant is relying on living with their extended family, living with the extended family of their sponsoring partner, living in shared accommodation or the visa applicant will be living in very modest size accommodation and bringing several children to the UK with them.
What amounts to overcrowding is defined in the Housing Act 1985. This Act says that a couple can share a bedroom but each couple and children over 10 should have a bedroom each. Children under 10 can share bedrooms and children under the age of 1 are not counted when factoring in whether a property is classed as overcrowded. Whilst an extra living room can count as a bedroom, rooms such as kitchens cannot. In addition, there are minimum size rules for what counts as a bedroom. Only rooms of 50 square feet or over can be counted as bedrooms.
Spouse Visa Solicitors
At OTS Solicitors we have a team of specialist Spouse Visa Lawyers who are experts in Family Visa applications. We know the Appendix FM immigration rules inside out, pay attention to detail, and will help and guide you through the Spouse Visa application process from start to finish. We are always happy to explore how we can help you if you are interested in making a Family Visa application or if you need guidance on your options if you have submitted a Spouse Visa application and it has been refused.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For Family Visa immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
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