Living together means sharing the same home as your partner. This does not include:
- Spending time in each other’s homes while you each maintain your own home
- Sharing accommodation while on holiday
- Living as flatmates in the same house
Evidence showing you are living together can include:
- Joint ownership of, or home loan for, residential property
- A joint rental agreement or rental receipts
- Joint utility accounts, like power or phone bills
- Joint or individual mail sent to your shared address
Immigration also likes to see that you are in a genuine and stable partnership. A partnership is genuine if it has been entered into on a long-term and exclusive basis. A partnership is stable if it is likely to continue for a long time.
If your partnership/marriage is already stable and you also have a family:
This may mean you have been married or are in a relationship for a long time – for some, it may mean they have children as well.
You must provide evidence that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.
Your evidence should show:
- How long you have been together
- How long you have been living together
- That you share finances and other responsibilities
- That you spend time together, for example, photos together, emails, and social media conversations between you
- That other people recognize your relationship
- That your parent or guardian supports your partnership, if you are 16 or 17
- Anything else you think shows you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship
You must be living together when you apply.
