UK Civil Partner Visa

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A UK civil partner visa is the entry clearance which must be applied for by a Filipino applicant who intends to permanently live in the UK with his or her same-sex British partner.

Under the rules of the UKBA, a civil partner is defined as a person who has legally registered his or her partnership with a person of the same sex.

Thus, if the Filipino same-sex partner of a British citizen plans to file an application for a UK civil partner visa, the most essential requirement which must be filed is evidence that the relationship of the partners is registered in a country which allows same sex marriage.

Since same-sex relationships are not allowed to be officially registered in any Civil Registry Office within the Philippines, a Filipino applicant for a UK civil partner visa should register the civil partnership in a country recognized by the UK to register such a partnership.

As a general rule, same-sex partnerships registered abroad shall be recognized and considered as valid and binding in the UK, and will be treated as if the civil partnership was formed in the said country only if such relationship has been registered in a country listed under Schedule 20 as provided under the Civil Partnership Act 2004.

WHAT IF APPLICANT COULD NOT COMPLY WITH THE CIVIL PARTNERSHIP ACT?
But what if the civil partnership of the Filipino applicant with the British sponsor has not been registered and they are merely living together without the benefit of such registration? In this case, the partners must comply with the requirements on “general conditions.”

According to the rules, if the same-sex partnership is not registered as provided under the Civil Partnership Act, the following elements must be present in order for the unregistered relationship to be considered as valid and binding in the UK. The “general conditions” are:

1. that the overseas relationship is exclusive in nature, which means that the law of the country where the partners reside makes it unlawful for the partners to concurrently have the same relationship with a third party while the present relationship is ongoing
2. that said relationship be indeterminate in nature, meaning the partners did not limit their relationship for a specific period of time and terminate it at the lapse of said period
3. that the law of the country where the relationship exist considers the partnership, legally, as a couple or as married to each other

BUT WHAT IF STILL, THE APPLICANT COULD NOT COMPLY WITH THESE TWO ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS
No need to despair.
If the applicant does not comply with either the rule provided under Civil Partnership Act or the “general conditions” test, the final recourse would be to file for an application as the Same-sex partner of the British sponsor.

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