Indefinite Leave to Remain 5 and 10-year routes – Frequently Asked Questions. We have been accredited by the Immigration Advice Authority since 2008. Contact us now for affordable fees, expert advice and same-day response.
This is for you if your spouse or partner is a British citizen or has ILR, or has a pre-settled status under EU Settlement Scheme – and you have had a Spouse/Partner visa in that capacity for 5 or 10 years.
5-year is a standard route to settlement, meaning you can qualify for permanent residency after 5 years in the UK. It is made up of 2 visas x 2.5 years. Following the announcement in November 2025, the UK Government so far confirmed it would remain 5 years as the standard route to Settlement and won’t change to 10 years.
10-year route is used when you have serious, exceptional circumstances why you cannot meet the requirements of the standard route. Usually financial or being in the UK without a valid visa. It takes twice longer to settlement, 4 visas x 2.5 years. You can also switch from 10 to 5-year route to qualify for it sooner. Each case is considered on an individual basis, but having a British child tends to be sufficient.
SET(M) is for spouses, partners and parents in the standard 5-year route. SET(O) form is used for many ILR routes, including for partners and families of workers, such as family of a Skilled Worker migrant applying for ILR separately from the main Skilled Worker. Partners and parents in the 10-year route need to use a form called Settlement Adult Relative.
I know I can apply 28 days before I qualify for ILR, but from when? Date of visa issue (date of vignette) or date of entry?
From the date of first entry. For example, your visa was issued from 1 July 2021 and you entered 15 August 2021, “your” 5 years will be on 15 August 2026 and you can apply for ILR from 18 July 2026.
Is it safe to submit exactly 28 days before I am eligible? I read it’s better to wait a couple of days to be safe.
It is perfectly safe to submit exactly 28 days before you are eligible. This is the policy, the law, it is not about what’s safer, it’s about following the procedure.
Do I have to wait until closer to the visa expiry date or can I apply as soon as I am eligible?
Can apply as soon as you are eligible, even if your visa is still valid for some time.
What if my visa expires before I am eligible for ILR?
This situation happens if you delayed your entry to the UK, usually beyond 3 months. You would need an extension to plug the gap, which is a full-on Spouse/Partner visa for another 2.5 years (30 months). You don’t have to wait for that time, you can apply for ILR as soon as you’re eligible, but you will have to pay for a full-on extension, including IHS. However, if your “gap” is 1-2 months, it might be possible to buy time by submitting an application and then varying it when you are eligible. Please contact us for a personalised legal advice.
Can I travel abroad while my Spouse/Partner visa application is pending?
No, you cannot travel abroad while waiting, even though you’ll have your passport. You can only travel within Common Travel Area, the UK, the whole of Ireland and the islands. It’s the law: if you leave CTA, your pending case gets cancelled, without a refund. The Home Office does not provide any interim updates and does not speed up or fast-track a case, unless for a very compassionate reason, like a family emergency.
How long does ILR take?
Applications in Partner 5-year route can take 6 months on standard service (standard Home Office fee); or by next working day on Super-Priority service. Timing starts from biometrics. Applications in 10-year route take 12-18 months. Applications for parents can take 12 months, or even 18 months, in both 5 and 10-year routes.
How can I track it? Can I contact the UKVI to check the progress?
No and No. UK Visas and Immigration doesn’t offer a tracking facility. You can call the contact centre but they won’t provide any update “because of data protection”. There are email addresses (if you find them) but they won’t provide any update until the above timing has passed, such as 6 or 12 months.
Is there Priority service £500 or only Super-Priority £1,000?
Only Super-Priority for extra £1,000 and only in the 5-year route on SET(M) form. Unlike ILR for workers or their dependants, there is no middle £500 option in this route. Applications in 10-year route aren’t eligible for Super-Priority, this is why you wouldn’t normally see that option on the portal.
I cannot see a Super-Priority option for SET(M), when is the best time to look and check the portal?
In our experience, SET(M) form has no problem with a Super-Priority option any time of the day. If you don’t see it, it’s likely to be a different category, such as 10-year route (which isn’t eligible) or you answered “No” to the question “Can you meet the Financial Requirement?” It is also possible you are using the wrong form.
Can I change to Super Priority after submitting on standard because it is taking too long?
No, once submitted and paid, you cannot change.
Can I withdraw (cancel) my pending application and submit on Super Priority to speed it up?
Yes, you can in theory, but you have to be careful not to lose continuity. You will lose your Section 3C leave (if applicable), although you won’t become an overstayer in most cases, i.e. will be under Part Suitability, “Exception for overstayers”. Please contact us for a personalised legal advice.
Is Super-Priority timing guaranteed?
No, the Home Office will never guarantee any timing or take responsibility for a delay. If they deem your case “complex”, they will keep it for as long as they need, without a refund.
What can delay it?
Many things, mostly income miscalculations or the wrong or incomplete documents. Very often we see people trying to combine employment with past self-employment and vice versa, which isn’t allowed. Or using savings that dipped below the balance even for 1 day.
Do I have to pay IHS for ILR?
No.
Do I get IHS refund if my ILR is approved before my last visa expired and my visa was still valid for some time?
No.
You submitted your application, and what happens next? You may imagine that someone at the Home Office immediately springs to action and looks at your files, maybe runs a few checks, so what could they possibly be doing for 6 months?
The HO does make quick automatics checks with HMRC, police etc, but they do not do them in steps. More likely all at once. It doesn’t take 6 months for someone to look at one case. It takes long because of the queue of cases before yours. Because 100s of other applicants had the same idea at the same time. Therefore, the HO may not even open your case for 5.5 months and then quickly approve it.
For those wishing for a tracking system, like Check 1 done. Check 2 pending etc, a tracking system would probably look like this:
Month 1 – Not even looked yet.
Month 2 – Nothing done.
Month 3 – Not your turn yet.
Month 5 and 30 days – all checks run together and approved.
So, the end result would be the same: worrying for 6 months and then getting an approval. Or a refusal in some cases.
If you submitted your application before your previous visa expired (even on its last day), your status automatically extends in the same category as before, all the way until decision.
This is known as a Section 3C leave. For as long as it takes, doesn’t matter if the decision comes after your visa expiry date.
Example #1: you had a 2nd Spouse visa, before it expired you applied for ILR. It can take 6 months, so your status would continue as “2nd Spouse visa” during that time. Meaning you can work legally, rent, use the NHS etc.
Same goes for an appeal, if you are refused but appealed on time, your 3C leave continues and your legal status extends.
Example #2: you had a 2nd Spouse visa, before it expired you applied for ILR. It took 6 months and was refused, during that time your status remained as “2nd Spouse visa” on a 3C Leave. Now you have 14 days to re-apply, addressing the problem, usually financial. You re-applied on day 10, from then and until the decision your status is “permitted overstaying” under what used to be p.39E of the Immigration Rules. It’s overstaying that is disregarded for the purpose of ILR, basically means you are OK to remain in the UK.
You can prove your Right to Work: https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work/get-a-share-code-online. For a pending application, sometimes the system still shows an old expiry date (ie in the past), so your Employer can use the dedicated Employer’s Checking Service for pending cases and appeals: https://www.gov.uk/employee-immigration-employment-status
You can prove your Right to Rent: https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent/get-a-share-code-online
Do I have to meet £18,600 or £29,000 threshold?
In short, it’s the same as you had to meet previously, in your last applications. The rule is: if you started in the 5-year route before 11 April 2024, your income threshold was £18,600 and remains the same now. If you started in the 5-year route on or after 11 April 2024, your income threshold was £29,000 and will remain until ILR (subject to any changes if and when the happen). At the moment it is £18,600 for all applicants, because the first ILR in the £29k rule will be in April 2029. “First started” means the date of application for the first Partner-type visa, which could have been Spouse/Partner or even Fiancée. Date of application is when you submitted, not when the visa was granted.
What about savings?
Also based on the Rules in place when you started in this category. For £18,600 threshold, you need savings of £62,600 held for 6 months. For £29,000 threshold (from April 2029) it will be £88,500. It is Not £16,000 as many people think and get a refusal.
What if my circumstances changed since the last visa and I do not earn enough now?
If the Sponsor is on eligible disability benefits, you will be exempt from the threshold and would need Adequate Maintenance instead, which is lower and could continue in the standard 5-year route. Otherwise, you’ll be moved into 10-year route and would need more time to qualify for ILR.
We are experts in the Financial Requirement, send us a message or WhatsApp now!
What tests do I need?
Life in the UK test. Separately, you need English test (or degree taught in English), the level is B1 in Speaking and Listening if you are applying before 26 March 2027. After that – B2.
Do I really need a Life I the UK test? I heard it’s only for Citizenship.
Yes, you need it for ILR but don’t need again for Citizenship. Exemptions are for those aged 65 or over, learning disability or a medical reason.
Do I need English language test again if I already provided it in my last application?
If you provided B1 test during your last application (extension) or during the first application (initial Spouse/Partner visa), you don’t need to take another test, even if it’s now 2 years passed. If you provided A2 level last time, you need B1 now (or B2 from 26 March 2027).
What are the changes from 26 March 2027, will they apply to spouses/partners of British citizens?
English level for ILR goes up from B1 to B2, still only in Speaking and Listening. Yes, it will apply for spouses, partners and parents of British citizens. If you are using a degree taught in English, the new rule won’t affect you because degrees are seen as a higher level than B2 (degree is a C level).
What are the rules on absences? What if I spent more the 180 days outside the UK?
There is no specific rule in this category, like strict 180-day-per-12-months limit for workers and their families. The rule is the UK has been your main home. As a rule of thumb, you have to spend 50% of the “visa time” in the UK, otherwise the UKVI officers may start looking more closely. It is also acceptable, normally, to spend more time abroad for compassionate reasons, like a family or medical emergency, or caring for a relative.
SET(M) form only asks for trips abroad for more than 14 days, is it normal?
Yes, this form doesn’t ask to list all trips outside the UK, only when a trip was for longer than 14 days.
Why is SET (M) the wrong form dependants of Skilled Workers? It is one of the most common mistakes
Dependants of workers (like Skilled Workers) can continue in their category even after the main worker has secured ILR. Dependants should apply on SET(O) form. They don’t need to switch to a Spouse/Partner visa. If you are on a SW Dependant visa and attempt a SET(M) application, it will be rejected as invalid.
When can I apply for British Citizenship as a spouse of UK citizen? Do I have to wait 12 months after ILR?
Can apply immediately after ILR, don’t have to wait 12 months.
When can I apply for British Citizenship as unmarried partner of UK citizen? Do I have to wait 12 months after ILR?
Have to wait 12 months after ILR. Unless you marry your British partner.
When can I apply for British Citizenship as a parent of UK citizen? Do I have to wait 12 months after ILR?
Have to wait 12 months after ILR. Unless you marry a British citizen.
My spouse is Irish, does it make a difference?
Not for your Citizenship, still have to wait 12 months after your ILR.
Do I need Life and English tests again for Citizenship if I provided them for ILR?
No, if the Rules don’t change.
Will my children get ILR at the same time or will they need 5 years in the UK?
Can apply at the same time, don’t need any minimum time. But if your British partner is their father, worth looking how to register your child as British after 3 years in the UK, assuming the child isn’t already British automatically, such as if your partner is British by descent.
Child born in the UK to a parent on a Spouse/Partner visa, are they British?
British if one parent is British or has ILR. If not, the child will need a dependent visa tied to the parent’s visa.
My child is on a Dependant visa, what happens when they turn 18 years of age?
Children can continue applying as your Dependant, as long as their first visa was before they tuned 18. They have to continue being dependent on you, i.e. not have formed an independent life.
My child is 18 ears old now, will he need a separate application form?
Can be included in your form, such as in your SET(M) form.
Will my children qualify for domestic university fees?
You need to check with universities, it is not an immigration law issue.
We provide a tailor-made checklist based on your circumstances and review everything.
Can I combine visas in 5-year route with 10-year route?
Cannot combine if you wish to use SET(M) form after 5 years I the UK. But can combine if you have a total 10 years on Spouse/Partner visas.
What if I started in 10-year route but switched to 5-year one?
You started 5-year route from that switch and need 5 years from then, so the time on 10-year route before that won’t count toward 5 years. There is also a separate category for all (not just families of Brits) to get ILR after 10 years in the UK where you can combine most visa categories, called Long Residence.
What if I started in 5-year route but was switched to 10-year one?
You’ll need a total of 10 years on Partner and/or Parent visas. Unless you switch back to 5-year route, but you will have to restart 5 years.
These are only proposals at the moment, they haven’t been confirmed and no details have been provided. It was proposed to increase the period to ILR from 5 to 10 years for most migrants, like workers. However, it has been confirmed that partners and families of UK citizens will continue to qualify after 5 years.
However, so far these proposals include a minimum level of earnings for the applicants – the foreign partners, even if the British sponsor earns a good income. Currently, a couple has to meet the financial Requirement between them, doesn’t matter which partner works. The proposed income for the foreign partner (even in 10-year route) could be £12,570pa during the 3 years before ILR application. Those who don’t earn enough would qualify for extension (instead of ILR), which would involve paying more in Government fees and Immigration Health Surcharge.