What a UK spouse visa really costs in 2026

If you're planning to bring your husband, wife or partner to the UK, the cost is probably what's keeping you up at night. The headline visa fee is only part of it, and a couple of costs catch almost everyone out. Here's the honest, all-in picture for 2026, with every figure laid bare.

The short answer

A spouse visa applied for from outside the UK costs around £5,000 for one person once you add the Home Office fee and the NHS surcharge — before any adviser is involved. The full journey to settlement over five years comes to roughly £12,400 per person in government fees alone.

The Home Office application fee

This is what you pay the government to consider your application: £2,064 for entry clearance from outside the UK, and £1,407 for the in-country extension (FLR-M) later. These rose by around 6–7% in April 2026, so always check the current figure. Crucially, this is the Home Office's fee, paid to them — it isn't our fee, and we never add a margin to it.

The NHS surcharge — the big one people forget

The Immigration Health Surcharge gives your partner access to the NHS, and it's the cost that surprises people most because you pay it upfront for the whole visa: £1,035 per adult, per year. A spouse visa is granted for 33 months, so the surcharge works out at about £3,105 in one payment. For children it's lower, at £776 per year.

Watch out: the surcharge is paid in full at the point of application, not spread out. Budget for it as a single lump sum.

The costs nobody mentions

Beyond the fee and surcharge: an English test (usually £150–£180, unless you're exempt); the Life in the UK test (£50, needed later at settlement); document translations if anything isn't in English; and optional priority service (£500, or £1,000 super-priority) if you want a faster decision. You don't have to pay for priority.

The full five-year cost to settlement

Most couples pay across three stages: entry clearance (£2,064 + £3,105 surcharge), extension (£1,407 + £2,587.50 surcharge) and settlement/ILR (£3,226, no surcharge). That totals about £12,389.50 per person in Home Office fees over five years. Add tests and extras and most people spend £13,000–£14,000 each before any help.

Our fee — shown separately, on purpose

For the casework, we charge a fixed £800–£1,200 depending on complexity, always shown separately from the government fees. Mixing the two is how some firms hide a markup; with us, the Home Office costs are the Home Office's, and our fee is for our work.

Five honest ways to keep the cost down

• Get it right first time — a refusal means paying the fee again.
• Skip priority if you're not in a rush.
• Gather your own evidence to reduce adviser time.
• Check whether a fee waiver applies in limited circumstances.
• Plan the surcharge as an upfront lump sum so it isn't a shock.