Spouse Visa for Romanian Nationals: UK Partner Visa 2026

EUSS or Appendix FM: which route applies to you?

Before any Spouse Visa application is prepared, a Romanian national and their British or settled partner need to answer one question: is the EUSS route available? Many Romanian nationals who were living in the UK before 31 December 2020 applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and already hold pre-settled or settled status. If the Romanian partner holds settled status, they are already fully settled in the UK and do not need a Spouse Visa. If they hold pre-settled status, they continue to build their residence under the EUSS rules without switching to Appendix FM.

The Appendix FM partner route described on this page is for Romanian nationals who are not covered by the EUSS: those who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020, those who are still in Romania and applying to join a British or settled partner for the first time, and those who did not apply to the EUSS in time and are now applying under a different immigration basis. It is also the route for the British partner in Glasgow who is sponsoring a Romanian national who never had EUSS status.

If you are unsure which situation applies to you, our Glasgow advisers confirm this at the first consultation. Our EU Settlement Scheme guide for Romanian citizens covers the EUSS route in full, including late applications, pre-settled status extensions, and the EUSS Family Permit for joining family members. Read that page first if the EUSS might be an option.

What is the UK Spouse Visa for Romanian nationals?

The UK Spouse Visa, granted under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, allows the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen or settled person to live in the UK. For Romanian nationals not covered by the EUSS, it is the standard route for joining a British or settled partner already living in the UK, most often in cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh, London or Birmingham.

A successful entry-clearance application grants 33 months of leave to remain. You can work without restriction, study, and travel. After five continuous years on the partner route you apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The full partner-route rules are explained in our Spouse Visa guide; this page covers the Romania-specific layer on top of those rules.

Glasgow has a sizeable and growing Romanian community, spread across the city and its surrounding towns. Many British partners with Romanian spouses or Romanian-origin families approach us after their marriage in Romania, or when a Romanian partner based in Romania wants to join them in Glasgow for the first time after the EUSS route has closed to them. The process under Appendix FM is consistent and predictable when the preparation is thorough.

Who can apply

You can apply for the UK Spouse Visa under Appendix FM if you are a Romanian citizen aged 18 or over, you are legally married to or in a civil partnership with your UK sponsor, and your sponsor is a British citizen, has Indefinite Leave to Remain, or holds another form of settled status. Both parties must be at least 18. You must both intend to live together permanently in the UK, and you must meet the financial, English and accommodation requirements.

If you are engaged but not yet married, the Fiance Visa is the route to apply for. If you have lived together for at least two years without marrying, the unmarried partner route applies. If you or your partner may already be covered by the EU Settlement Scheme, read our EUSS guide for Romanian citizens before considering this application. We confirm which route fits your situation at the first consultation.

No TB test required: a clear advantage for Romanian applicants

Romania is not on the Home Office tuberculosis testing list. This means Romanian nationals do not need to arrange a TB test certificate as part of their Spouse Visa application, regardless of how long they have been living in Romania. This is a practical advantage over applicants from many other countries, where obtaining a TB test from a Home Office approved clinic can add time and cost to the process.

There is nothing to arrange, no clinic to find, and no certificate to obtain before applying. For Glasgow-based sponsors whose Romanian partners are preparing their application from Romania, this removes one logistical step entirely. The requirements that do apply for Romanian nationals are the relationship requirement, the financial requirement, the English language requirement, and the accommodation requirement, all of which we cover in detail below.

Requirements at a glance for Romanian applicants

Four requirements govern a partner-route application from Romania under Appendix FM:

• Relationship: a genuine and subsisting marriage, legally registered in Romania, with evidence of the relationship built over time.
• Financial: a minimum income of £29,000 a year, or qualifying savings of £88,500, or a combination.
• English language: CEFR level A1 in speaking and listening, typically met via an approved Secure English Language Test or a degree taught in English, verified by Ecctis. Romanian nationals are not exempt from the English requirement.
• Accommodation: adequate housing in the UK without overcrowding or recourse to public funds.

There is no TB test requirement for Romanian applicants. Every other requirement must be met in full. A file that is strong on three requirements and weak on one is still refused. Our Glasgow advisers review all four before submission.

Applying from Romania or switching in-country

Romanian nationals who are outside the UK, or who are in the UK without a status that allows switching, apply for entry clearance. The application is made online through the Home Office portal, after which biometrics are provided at a visa application facility. The application is then assessed by UK Visas and Immigration. As EU nationals, Romanians do not go through a country-specific VFS Global centre in the same way that non-EU nationals do; the online application system handles the process.

Romanian nationals who are already in the UK on a visa that permits switching, such as a Skilled Worker or Student visa, can apply to switch onto the partner route without leaving the UK. The in-country grant is 30 months rather than 33. Switching from a visit visa is not permitted. If the Romanian partner has no current UK status or is on a non-switchable visa, they apply for entry clearance from Romania or their current country of residence.

Glasgow sponsors and Romanian applicants typically do most of their document preparation remotely, and our office works by phone, video and secure file transfer. Distance between Glasgow and Romania is not a barrier to preparing a thorough application.

The relationship requirement

The Home Office must be satisfied that your marriage is genuine and subsisting. The Romanian civil marriage certificate is the starting point, not the end of it. For Romanian marriages, the relevant document is the certificat de casatorie, issued by the local civil registry office (starea civila). This is the official Romanian civil record of the marriage and is the document the Home Office recognises. Religious ceremonies alone, without a corresponding civil registration, are not sufficient.

Beyond the certificate, caseworkers look for a documented history of the relationship: when you met, time spent together in Romania and in the UK or other countries, communication during any periods apart, joint financial commitments or shared plans, and the accounts of people who know you both. Romanian couples where one partner has been based in Glasgow and the other in Romania for a period because of visa restrictions can still meet this requirement, but the evidence of a genuine ongoing relationship needs to be specific and well-documented rather than generic.

For Glasgow-based sponsors, the relationship timeline is often the least-prepared part of the file. People submit photographs without a chronological narrative. We work with the couple to build a clear, dated account that a caseworker can follow, drawing on WhatsApp records, travel history, shared correspondence and witness statements where appropriate.

Civil documents for Romanian applicants

Romanian civil documents are generally well-organised and straightforward to obtain compared to the civil registry systems of some other countries. The core document requirements for a Romanian applicant are:

• Certificat de casatorie (marriage certificate): the official Romanian civil marriage certificate, issued by the local civil registry (starea civila) where the marriage was registered. If you were married in Romania, this is the record held by the registry of the town or commune where the ceremony took place. It should bear the official stamp and signature of the registrar.
• Certified English translation: the certificat de casatorie is in Romanian, so a certified English translation prepared by a qualified translator is required. The translator must be competent and the translation must certify that it is accurate. We advise on acceptable translators at the assessment stage.
• Passport: a current Romanian biometric passport. Previous passports showing relevant travel history to the UK are also useful for establishing the relationship timeline.
• Sponsor’s documents: the Glasgow-based sponsor provides proof of British citizenship or settled status, proof of address, financial evidence and accommodation evidence.

Romanian documents generally do not require an apostille for Home Office purposes, but we confirm the exact requirements for your specific certificate at the assessment. We issue a tailored document checklist to every Romanian client.

The financial requirement in 2026

The minimum income requirement is £29,000 a year. For most Glasgow sponsors, this means demonstrating employment income over the preceding six months through payslips and corresponding bank statements. The rules specify which months count, how payslips must be formatted, and what happens if the sponsor changed jobs recently.

The requirement can also be met in other ways:

• Cash savings of £88,500, held in the sponsor’s account for at least six consecutive months before the application date.
• Self-employment or directorship income, evidenced through tax returns and company accounts covering the most recent full tax year.
• Certain non-employment income such as rental income or pension, where the source is ongoing and documented.
• A combination of income and savings, where income falls short of £29,000 but a savings top-up bridges the gap under the prescribed formula.

Romanian-origin sponsors in Glasgow work across a wide range of sectors, from skilled trades and construction to healthcare and professional services. The most common complication we see is a sponsor who recently changed employers, which affects whether the six-month payslip history is met in the standard way. We map the exact financial category before any application is prepared.

The English language requirement for Romanian applicants

Romania is not a majority English-speaking country for the purposes of the Immigration Rules, so Romanian nationals are not automatically exempt from the English language requirement. For the initial application you must demonstrate English at CEFR level A1 in speaking and listening.

There are two common routes for Romanian applicants:

• A degree taught in English: if you hold a bachelor’s or higher degree that was taught and assessed in English, Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) can verify this and issue a letter confirming the degree is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and was taught in English. This letter satisfies the English requirement without the need for a language test. Romanian universities that teach in English, and Romanian graduates who studied their degree through English, commonly use this route.
• An approved Secure English Language Test: IELTS Life Skills (A1) is the most widely taken. Trinity College London’s GESE Grade 2 is another approved test. The test must be taken at an approved test centre and the certificate must not be expired at the time of application.

Many Romanian nationals have a working knowledge of English from education or work experience, but this familiarity with the language does not satisfy the formal requirement unless it is demonstrated through one of these two channels. The level a Romanian speaker already has in practice often means the A1 test is straightforward, but it still has to be done formally. We confirm which route fits your qualifications before you book or pay for anything.

The English level rises at each stage of the route: A2 is required at the FLR(M) extension, and B1 at settlement. From 26 March 2027 the settlement level rises from B1 to B2. Anyone starting the five-year route now should plan their English progression with that 2027 date in mind. We confirm which test level applies at each stage.

The accommodation requirement

The couple must show adequate housing in the UK that the sponsor owns or occupies, which will not be overcrowded under the Housing Act definitions and does not rely on public funds. For Glasgow-based sponsors this typically means a tenancy agreement or mortgage statement, council tax evidence, and confirmation that the property is large enough for the family unit.

Where the sponsor lives with family, a letter from the property owner giving permission for the couple to live there is needed, along with proof of the owner’s entitlement to the property. Accommodation is a quietly common cause of avoidable refusals, usually because the evidence is incomplete rather than because the housing is genuinely inadequate. We help Glasgow clients put together the accommodation bundle correctly.

Spouse Visa fees and costs for Romanian applicants in 2026

The full cost of a UK Spouse Visa application for a Romanian national in 2026 includes several components:

• Home Office entry-clearance fee: from £2,064, following the April 2026 increase.
• Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): £1,035 per year of leave. For a 33-month grant, this is approximately £3,105, paid at the time of application.
• No TB test fee: Romania is not on the TB testing list, so this cost does not apply.
• Ecctis verification: if you are meeting the English requirement via a degree taught in English, Ecctis charges a fee for the statement of comparability. This varies by service level.
• English language test: if you are taking an approved Secure English Language Test rather than the Ecctis route, the test fee varies by provider and test centre location in Romania.
• Certified translation: the Romanian marriage certificate and any other documents not in English require a certified English translation. Costs vary by document length and provider.

We give every client a full written cost estimate at the initial assessment, so there are no surprises. The Home Office fee and IHS are non-refundable if the application is refused, which is why we review the file before submission rather than after.

How long it takes

For an out-of-country application from Romania, the standard service is around 12 weeks from the biometrics appointment. A priority service is available at additional cost and reduces processing time. For in-country applications the standard service takes up to eight weeks, with super-priority available. Processing times vary by season and by the volume of applications being handled by UK Visas and Immigration at the time. We advise whether paying for priority processing makes sense for your timeline, and we track the application once it has been submitted.

The total timeline from starting document preparation to receiving a decision is typically longer than 12 weeks, because obtaining the certificat de casatorie from the Romanian registry if it is not already to hand, arranging a certified English translation, confirming the English route and completing the financial evidence all take time. We recommend starting preparation at least two to three months before your intended travel date.

Extending the Spouse Visa: the FLR(M) route

The partner route to settlement is a five-year path in two grants. Before the first 33-month visa expires, the Romanian national applies for Further Leave to Remain in the Marriage or Civil Partnership category (FLR(M)), which gives a further 33 months. The requirements are broadly the same as the initial application: a genuine and subsisting relationship, £29,000 income, English at A2, and adequate accommodation. No TB test is required at the extension stage, just as at the initial stage.

We start extension preparation around three months before the current visa expires, which keeps the applicant in status throughout and avoids any gap in leave. The financial and relationship evidence needs refreshing, and the English test or Ecctis verification must be at A2 level. The A2 level is higher than A1, so anyone who met the initial requirement via a borderline test score should plan to retest or arrange their Ecctis verification at the appropriate level well in advance.

From Spouse Visa to ILR and British citizenship

After five continuous years on the partner route, having passed the Life in the UK Test and met the B1 English requirement (or B2 from March 2027), the Romanian national applies for Indefinite Leave to Remain. ILR is full UK settlement with no time limit on staying in the UK. It opens the door to most public benefits and employment without immigration restriction.

Twelve months after ILR, or immediately if the partner is a British citizen rather than settled, the applicant can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation. Romania permits dual citizenship, so a Romanian national who naturalises as British does not have to give up Romanian citizenship and keeps the Romanian passport. We flag this early so Glasgow clients on the partner route understand their position before they reach the citizenship stage. Our ILR service picks up the same file, so nothing is rebuilt from scratch when the time comes.

If your application is refused

A refusal is not the end of the route, and for Romanian applicants there are usually clear options. Where the decision contains a case-working error, there may be a right of administrative review. Some partner-route refusals carry a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal on human rights grounds. In many cases a carefully rebuilt fresh application is faster and stronger than an appeal, particularly where the refusal turned on a missing certified translation, an English certificate that had expired, or financial evidence that did not cover the required period in the required format.

The most common refusal reasons we see for Romanian applicants are: English evidence that does not satisfy the rules (for example an expired language test certificate or a degree that Ecctis could not verify as taught in English), financial evidence that does not cover the required period, relationship evidence that lacks a specific documented timeline, and accommodation evidence that is incomplete rather than genuinely inadequate.

We review every refusal letter against Appendix FM, tell you honestly which route gives the best prospect, and where an appeal is the right path we refer you to a representative for the tribunal hearing while we support the rebuilding of the underlying evidence file.

The Romanian community in Glasgow and the Spouse Visa

Glasgow’s Romanian community is sizeable and has grown significantly over recent years, with Romanian-born residents working across skilled trades, construction, healthcare, hospitality and professional roles throughout the city and surrounding areas. The community includes people who came to the UK before the end of freedom of movement in December 2020 and hold settled or pre-settled status under the EUSS, as well as newer arrivals on work and study routes.

The Spouse Visa caseload for Romanian nationals reflects this variety. Some of the Glasgow-based Romanian community married after December 2020 and now have British or settled partners joining them; in other cases a British sponsor in Glasgow married a Romanian partner who has never lived in the UK and needs the Appendix FM entry clearance route. Both patterns are common in the cases that come to our Glasgow office.

One complexity specific to the Romanian community is the question of EUSS eligibility, which still catches some couples out. A Romanian national who arrived in the UK before 31 December 2020 but did not apply to the EUSS by the original deadline may face different hurdles, including the need to demonstrate reasonable grounds for a late application. We advise on EUSS late applications as well as the Appendix FM route, and we identify from the outset which path is available to each client.

Our Glasgow advisers have prepared partner-route applications for Romanian nationals applying from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Brasov and other Romanian cities and towns. We work by phone, video and secure document exchange, so the Romanian partner applying from Romania and the Glasgow-based sponsor can both be advised without either needing to travel unnecessarily.

2026 rule changes affecting the partner route

The partner route has seen several significant changes in recent years. The minimum income requirement stands at £29,000. Home Office fees rose by 6-7% on 8 April 2026. The settlement English requirement rises from B1 to B2 on 26 March 2027, which means Romanian nationals who apply now and are on the five-year route will need to meet B2 English by the time they reach the ILR stage if they are not already at that level. The transition from B1 to B2 affects how to plan English progression from the outset of the route.

The suitability rules, which can affect applicants with any immigration history including previous refusals or overstays, continue to be applied rigorously. We check suitability at the earliest stage for every client so that any potential issue is identified before fees are committed.

Other diaspora Spouse Visa guides

If you are looking for country-specific guidance for another nationality, we have a similar guide for Polish nationals, which covers the EU Settlement Scheme fork and the Appendix FM route in a related context. For full EU Settlement Scheme guidance for Romanian nationals specifically, see our EU Settled Status guide for Romanian citizens.

How UK Visa Assistance helps Romanian nationals

UK Visa Assistance is a Glasgow immigration practice. We prepare partner-route applications for Romanian nationals end to end: confirming which route applies (EUSS or Appendix FM), assembling the Romanian civil marriage certificate and certified English translation, confirming whether an Ecctis verification or a language test is the better English route, building the financial evidence for the Glasgow-based sponsor, preparing the relationship bundle, and submitting on your behalf. There is no TB test to arrange, which removes one step from the process entirely.

Our Glasgow office serves British and settled sponsors across the West End, Southside, Paisley, Renfrew and the wider west of Scotland. We work remotely with Romanian nationals applying from anywhere in Romania. Most case preparation happens by phone, video and secure document exchange, so being in different countries does not slow the work down.

Fees are fixed and agreed before any work begins. To start, call 0141 496 0321 or request a callback for a free initial assessment of your Spouse Visa situation.