Family, Spouse and Partner Visa: Requirements and How to Apply
Family, Spouse and Partner Visa
Also called: Family reunification, marriage visa, dependant visa, CR-1 and IR-1 (United States), EU family member
Family routes are usually the most generous immigration category a country offers and simultaneously the most document-intensive. There is normally no income test on the applicant, no labour market test and no quota, and the status often carries full work rights and a fast path to permanent residence. In exchange the state examines the relationship closely, and every document that establishes it, birth, marriage, divorce, must be certified, authenticated and often translated. This is the category where an apostille order runs to a dozen documents rather than two.
Who needs this
- Spouses and registered partners of a citizen or legal resident of another country.
- Dependent children joining a parent.
- Dependent parents, where the country permits it, which many increasingly do not.
- Fiancés, where a dedicated fiancé visa exists.
- Americans married to an EU citizen, who have far stronger rights under EU free movement rules than under ordinary national immigration law.
When this is the wrong category
The relationship is not yet formalised and the destination has no fiancé or unmarried-partner route. Several countries recognise durable unmarried partnerships with evidence of cohabitation; many still do not.
What every application in this category needs
- Proof of the relationship
- A certified civil marriage certificate, apostilled. A religious or celebrant certificate is not a civil record. For unmarried partners, evidence of cohabitation and a shared life over a defined period, commonly two years.
- Proof of the sponsor status
- The sponsor citizenship or residence document, and evidence they actually live in the country.
- A financial requirement on the sponsor
- Most countries set a minimum income the sponsor must earn, sometimes with a savings alternative. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands are strict; EU free movement cases are far more permissive.
- Adequate accommodation
- Several countries require the sponsor to show suitable housing, occasionally with a municipal inspection certificate.
- Evidence the relationship is genuine
- Photographs over time, correspondence, joint finances, travel together, statements from family. This is where applications are actually won or lost.
- Police certificates and often a medical
- From every country of extended residence.
- 1 Establish the relationship in law If you are marrying abroad, expect to need an apostilled single-status affidavit or certificate of no impediment, plus apostilled birth certificates and any divorce decrees. Getting married is itself a document exercise.
- 2 Order every civil record in the chain Birth certificates for both parties and any children, the marriage certificate, and divorce decrees or death certificates ending any previous marriage. Certified copies, not photocopies.
- 3 Authenticate the whole set Each record goes to the Secretary of State of the state that issued it, which is often several different states. Federal records such as an FBI check go to the U.S. Department of State. This is where a family file becomes a large apostille order.
- 4 Translate after authentication Into the destination language, by a translator that country recognises. Doing this before the apostille is attached is the classic and expensive mistake.
- 5 Sponsor files, or the applicant files, depending on the system Some countries have the sponsor petition from inside; others have the applicant apply at a consulate abroad. The United States uses a petition-then-consular-process model.
- 6 Interview Frequently required and frequently about the relationship rather than the paperwork. Both parties should be able to describe the shared life consistently.
- 7 Arrive, register, and transcribe the marriage where required Several countries require a foreign marriage to be transcribed into their own civil registry, which needs another apostilled and translated copy of the certificate.
Your action Documents and authentication Government processing
Timing, cost and what the status gives you
- How far ahead to start
- Three months to three years. EU free movement cases are the fastest, often weeks. U.S. immigrant visa cases and several European national routes routinely run twelve to twenty-four months.
- What it costs
- Government fees from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Document costs are unusually high in this category because of the number of records: certified copies, an apostille per document across possibly several states, and translation per page.
- Validity and duration of stay
- Usually a renewable residence permit tied to the relationship, converting to permanent residence after two to five years. Most systems have protections that preserve status if the relationship ends because of the sponsor death or domestic abuse, and those protections are worth knowing about in advance.
- Work rights
- Usually full and unrestricted, which is one of the strongest features of the category.
- Family members
- Children are normally included, with their own apostilled birth certificates, and where one parent is not travelling, a notarised and apostilled consent.
Where applications go wrong
- Using a religious or celebrant marriage certificate instead of the civil record.
- Name mismatches across documents. A maiden name on a birth certificate and a married name on a passport needs the marriage certificate to bridge it, and any other discrepancy needs correcting at the source before filing.
- Ordering apostilles from the wrong state. Each record goes to the state that issued it, not the state you live in.
- Translating before authenticating.
- Thin relationship evidence. Consulates want a documented history, not a stack of paperwork from the last month.
- For Americans married to EU citizens: applying under ordinary national immigration rules when the far more favourable EU free movement route was available.
Common refusal grounds
- Doubt that the relationship is genuine and subsisting.
- Sponsor income below the required threshold.
- Missing, uncertified or improperly authenticated civil records.
- Inconsistencies between the two parties accounts at interview.
- A previous immigration breach by either party.
Documents and authentication for this category
This is the largest routine apostille order most people ever place. A typical spousal file needs: both birth certificates, the marriage certificate, any divorce decrees or death certificates ending previous marriages, an FBI Identity History Summary, and often a single-status affidavit if you are marrying abroad. Each state-issued record goes to the Secretary of State of the issuing state, so a couple born in different states are dealing with two or three different offices. The FBI check is federal and goes to the U.S. Department of State. If the destination is not a Convention country, every one of these then needs embassy legalisation as well.
- 1 Obtain a certified original From the issuing authority. Photocopies, scans and souvenir certificates cannot be authenticated.
- 2 Notarise, if it is a private document Letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk, in some states A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate at the right level State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the ISSUING state. Federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or embassy legalisation Hague Convention destination: the apostille ends the chain. Non-member destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille or legalisation certificate. Doing this first means paying twice.
- 7 File with the right consulate Jurisdiction is by your U.S. state of residence. Bring originals plus a full copy set.
The two expensive mistakes. Sending a federal document such as an FBI Identity History Summary to a Secretary of State, which cannot authenticate it. And translating before authentication, so the apostille certificate is not inside the translation and the whole set has to be paid for twice.
How it differs by country
- United States (inbound)
- The spouse of a U.S. citizen uses form I-130 then consular processing, producing a CR-1 or IR-1 immigrant visa. The K-1 fiancé visa is an alternative that is faster to enter on but slower and more expensive overall because adjustment of status follows. Both require extensive apostilled foreign civil documents.
- European Union free movement
- A non-EU spouse of an EU citizen who has exercised free movement has rights under Directive 2004/38 that are far stronger, faster and cheaper than any national route: no income test on the applicant, a fee-free residence card, and a legal deadline for the decision. Many Americans married to EU citizens never discover this exists.
- United Kingdom
- The spouse route has a specific minimum income requirement for the sponsor, raised substantially in 2024, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge paid up front for the whole visa period.
- Latin America
- Marriage to a citizen usually gives quick permanent residence and a very short naturalisation period, commonly two years in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.
- Gulf states
- Family sponsorship is tied to the sponsor salary and job category, and documents require full attestation including by the destination ministry of foreign affairs after arrival.
This category, country by country
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Australia
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Belgium
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for China
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Egypt
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for France
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Germany
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Greece
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Israel
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Italy
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Japan
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Mexico
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Netherlands
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Philippines
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Portugal
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Spain
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Sweden
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Switzerland
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for United Kingdom
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for United States (inbound)
- Family, Spouse and Partner Visa for Vietnam
Questions
How many documents will I actually need apostilled?
For a spousal application, typically six to twelve: both birth certificates, the marriage certificate, any divorce decrees, police certificates, and children birth certificates. If they were issued in different states, they go to different Secretaries of State. Building that list correctly at the start saves weeks, because discovering a missing one late means restarting the authentication clock.
We are getting married abroad. What do we need?
Almost always an apostilled certificate of no impediment or a single-status affidavit, an apostilled birth certificate, and apostilled divorce decrees if either party was married before, all translated. Requirements vary sharply by country and some also require documents to be issued within the last three or six months, so confirm with the local civil registry before ordering anything.
What evidence proves a relationship is genuine?
Time-stamped and varied: photographs across months or years and in different places, correspondence, evidence of visits with boarding passes and stamps, joint financial commitments, a shared lease, statements from people who know you both. A thick folder assembled in one week reads exactly like a thick folder assembled in one week.
My spouse is an EU citizen. Does that help?
Enormously, if they have exercised free movement by living in an EU country other than their own. Under EU rules you get a residence card with no income test, no fee and a legally binding decision deadline. It is dramatically better than any national family route and it is routinely missed.
Authoritative sources
Where this tool disagrees with one of these, the official source is right. Tell us and we will correct it.
- U.S. Department of State: Learn About Your Destination Entry, exit and visa requirements for U.S. citizens, country by country. The authoritative U.S. government starting point.
- U.S. Department of State: Records and Authentications Federal document authentication, including the Office of Authentications.
- HCCH: Apostille Convention status table The authoritative list of which countries are party to the Apostille Convention, and the entry-into-force date for each.
- Foreign embassies in the United States Directory of every foreign embassy in Washington, which is where legalisation happens for non-Convention destinations.
- U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide For U.S. citizen services abroad and notarials.
- Smart Traveler Enrollment Program Register your trip so the nearest embassy can reach you.
- CDC Travelers Health Vaccination and health entry requirements by destination.
- IATA Travel Centre The database airlines actually check at the boarding gate.
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: travel.state.gov, www.hcch.net
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: travel.state.gov
This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal or immigration advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Visa rules, fees, processing times and entry requirements change frequently and often without notice, and individual circumstances change the answer. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over your place of residence before you book travel or file an application. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
