Key Takeaways
- Yes. A previous divorce doesn’t stop you sponsoring a new spouse, and having been a sponsored partner yourself in the past isn’t a bar either.
- Your earlier marriage must have legally ended, with a final order or decree absolute, and you must be free to marry before you can sponsor a new partner.
- You still have to meet the standard spouse visa requirements, including the £29,000 minimum income requirement, a genuine relationship and suitable accommodation.
- Expect closer scrutiny if little time has passed since your divorce, so strong evidence that the new relationship is genuine really matters.
Starting again after a divorce is hard enough. If your new partner lives abroad and you want to bring them to the UK, you may be wondering whether your history rules it out. The short answer is that it usually doesn’t.
There’s no rule that stops you sponsoring a new spouse simply because you have been married before, or even because you were once the sponsored partner yourself. What matters is your situation at the date of the new application.
This guide explains when you can sponsor a new spouse after divorce, the conditions you have to meet and where the Home Office tends to look more closely, so you can put together an application that holds up rather than one that invites a refusal.
If you’re weighing up a new application, our UK spouse visa solicitors offer a free 30-minute consultation to talk through your options.
So can you sponsor a new spouse after divorce?
Yes. Being divorced doesn’t disqualify you, and neither does having sponsored a partner before or having been sponsored yourself. A fresh application is judged on the facts as they stand now, which means whether your previous marriage is legally over, whether the new relationship is genuine, and whether you meet the requirements.
It’s worth understanding the flip side too, because a sponsored partner’s own visa ends when the relationship does. We cover that in our guide on whether you lose your spouse visa if you get divorced.
Your previous marriage must have legally ended
Before you can sponsor a new spouse, you have to be free to marry. The earlier marriage must be legally dissolved, which in England and Wales means a final order, previously called the decree absolute. You can’t sponsor a new partner while still legally married to someone else, because the rules don’t allow sponsorship where either of you is still married to a third person.
If your divorce was obtained abroad, you will need a document recognised as the equivalent of a final order, and recognition under UK law isn’t automatic. If the divorce is still going through, a spouse visa isn’t yet open to you, though an unmarried partner application may be possible if you’ve lived together long enough.
You also have to be eligible to sponsor
The sponsor must be a British citizen or settled in the UK with indefinite leave to remain. If you originally came here as a sponsored spouse and later divorced, you can sponsor a new partner once you hold settled status or citizenship, and a later divorce doesn’t normally take away indefinite leave that’s already been granted.
You still have to meet the financial requirement
This is the requirement that catches most people out. For a new partner application, the minimum income requirement is currently £29,000 a year gross, and it’s the same whether or not there are children involved. The previously announced increases to £34,500 and then £38,700 were paused pending a review, so £29,000 is the figure that applies for now.
You can meet it through employment, self-employment, certain other income such as pensions or dividends, or through savings using the set formula, or a combination of these. For an application made from outside the UK, only your income as the sponsor counts, not your partner’s overseas earnings. If you’re relying on savings alone, the figure is substantial, currently £88,500 held for at least six months.
If you genuinely can’t meet the financial requirement, the ten-year route based on family life may be an option. It’s slower and more expensive over time, and we explain how it works in our guide to the ten-year spouse visa route.
The relationship has to be genuine and subsisting
You both need to be over 18, intend to live together permanently in the UK, and be able to show the relationship is genuine and subsisting. The usual evidence applies, such as proof of living together, joint finances, communication and time spent together. Photographs at different events, messages over time and records of visits all help to build the picture, and the longer and better documented the relationship, the stronger the application.
On a second application, particularly one made soon after a divorce, expect the Home Office to look harder. A short gap between the end of one marriage and the start of a new sponsorship can prompt questions about whether the new relationship is genuine. There’s no fixed waiting period in the rules, but the less time that has passed, the more evidence you will want to put forward. The safest approach is to be upfront about your history rather than glossing over it.
What else do you need to show?
Alongside the income test, you need suitable accommodation that won’t be overcrowded, and your partner must meet the English language requirement unless an exemption applies. The full list of relationship and document requirements is set out on the GOV.UK family visa pages.
If either of you has children from a previous relationship, their welfare and care arrangements come into the picture. And if your former sponsored partner had any immigration problems, an overstay for example, that history can attract attention, so it’s best dealt with openly. Where your ex-partner was in the UK on a visa based on your relationship, remember that you may also need to tell the Home Office about the separation or divorce.
What if you’re not yet married?
If you haven’t married your new partner yet, the fiancé route lets them come to the UK to marry within six months and then switch to a spouse visa, while the unmarried partner route is an option if you’ve lived together for at least two years. We compare the first two in our guide to the UK fiancé visa and spouse visa, which can help you choose the right starting point.
Speak to a UK spouse visa solicitor about sponsoring your new partner
Sponsoring a new spouse after divorce is often perfectly possible, but a second application tends to attract more scrutiny, and the financial and evidential requirements leave little room for error. Getting it right first time saves money and avoids long delays.
At Osbourne Pinner, our UK spouse visa solicitors help people sponsor partners after divorce, from confirming you’re free to marry to meeting the financial requirement and putting together strong relationship evidence. As experienced immigration solicitors, we can also advise where your circumstances are more complex.
Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We always recommend speaking to a qualified solicitor for advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
We offer a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your situation. You can speak with us via video call or visit our offices in Harrow, Canary Wharf, Piccadilly Circus or Manchester. To arrange your consultation, call 0203 983 5080, email [email protected] or complete the form below.
