What a spouse visa costs, from first application to settlement
One adult applying from abroad pays £5,169 up front. Taking the extension and indefinite leave into account, the route to settlement costs £12,439.50 at current rates.
Spouse visa cost calculator: fee and surcharge
Total to pay when you apply
£5,169
Partner or spouse, outside the UK · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026
| Person | Fee | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant | £2,064 | £3,105 |
| Application fees | £2,064 |
| Health surcharge (2 years 9 months) | £3,105 |
| Total | £5,169 |
Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the Home Office.
Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
A spouse visa is paid for three times before you are settled, and each payment combines an application fee with, for the two temporary grants, the immigration health surcharge. From outside the UK the fee is £2,064 and the surcharge for the 33-month grant is £3,105, £5,169 in all. The in-country extension costs £1,407 plus £2,587.50 of surcharge for 30 months, £3,994.50. Indefinite leave to remain is £3,226 with no surcharge, and the Life in the UK test adds £50. One adult therefore pays £12,439.50 over five years in Home Office charges, and £14,278.50 if they go on to naturalise as the spouse of a British citizen. Children pay the same fees and the reduced surcharge of £776 a year. The calculator above prices any mix of stage, length and family.
The bill, stage by stage
The figures below come from the Home Office fee table in force since 8 October 2026 and the surcharge rates on GOV.UK. They assume you join a British or settled partner, apply for your first visa from abroad and extend inside the UK. The partner already living here pays nothing.
| Payment | When | One adult | Adult and two children |
|---|---|---|---|
| First visa (33 months) | year 0, from abroad | £5,169 | £13,953 |
| Extension (30 months) | about year 2¾, in the UK | £3,994.50 | £10,688.50 |
| Life in the UK test | before settlement | £50 | £50 |
| Indefinite leave to remain | year 5 | £3,226 | £9,678 |
| Total to settlement | £12,439.50 | £34,369.50 | |
| Naturalisation and ceremony (optional) | after settlement | £1,839 | children register separately |
The surcharge is worked out in half-years: £1,035 for each full year and half that for a part year of six months or less, so the 33-month grant is charged as three years and the 30-month grant as two and a half. A child under 18 pays £2,328 on the first grant instead of £3,105. Settlement and citizenship carry no surcharge at all.
Paying for speed
The standard service is included in the fee. Applying inside the UK you can add super priority for £1,000, which brings the extension to £4,994.50 for one adult; the same option exists when you apply for indefinite leave to remain. The fee table also lists a £500 priority service for settlement-type visas abroad and a £1,000 super priority, but they are not offered in every country, so check availability where you will give biometrics before you budget for them. Priority fees are charged per application; the calculator adds one fee to the total.
Speed money buys a decision date, not a better chance. If the case needs further checks, such as an interview or document verification, the decision can still take longer. The processing time page compares the standard and fast dates.
Refunds, waivers and timing tricks
If a visa is refused, the surcharge is refunded in full to the card that paid it; the application fee is kept once processing has started. An extension made several months before the first grant expires does not lose you those months: when you extend with the same partner, up to 28 days of remaining permission is added to the new grant, and if the surcharge periods overlap you receive a partial refund rounded down to the nearest six months.
A fee waiver is available on the partner route if you have no home and cannot afford one, cannot afford essentials such as food or heating, or have a very low income and the fee would harm your child's welfare. The waiver request is made online, from inside or outside the UK, with evidence of your income and outgoings.
The cheapest legal sequence for most couples is the one shown: first visa abroad, extension inside the UK, settlement after five years. Switching into the route from a Skilled Worker or Student visa skips the overseas fee and pays the in-country £1,407 instead, but the five-year count only starts on the day of the switch, because time on other visas does not count. Fees have changed 12 times since January 2024, which is why the fee history and the surcharge page are worth checking before you pay.