Spouse Visa to ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) in UK

Marrying a British citizen or a UK settled person grants you the right to live in the UK with your British settled partner. However, you must first apply to the Home Office for a visa. If your application is approved, you’ll be granted a Spouse Visa.

The Spouse Visa permits you to live in the UK with your partner for an initial 2 years and 6 months. After this initial permit, you can apply to extend your Spouse Visa for another two and a half years, provided you continue to meet the requirements.

After this extended stay, you may be eligible to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain. You must apply for ILR before your extended Spouse Visa expires.

Page Contents

• Applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain From a UK Spouse Visa
• Spouse Visa to ILR Eligibility Criteria
• ILR Residence Requirement for Spouse
• ILR Financial Requirement for Spouse
• ILR Accommodation Requirement for Spouse
• English Language & Life in the UK Test Requirements
• ILR From Spouse Visa Application Process
• Required Documents for Spouse Visa to ILR Application
• Application Cost and Processing Time for ILR from Spouse Visa
• How Can IAS Help
• Frequently Asked Questions

The specific requirements for ILR from a Spouse Visa depend on whether you’re on the 5-year or the 10-year route. However, the general requirements are similar.

To qualify for an indefinite leave to remain via the 5-year Spouse Visa route, you must:

• Still be in a genuine and subsisting relationship with your British settled partner
• Demonstrate that you and your partner have suitable accommodation for your family in the UK
• Meet the financial requirements
• Have lived on a Spouse Visa for at least 5 years
• Have lived with your partner since your last visa renewal and intend to continue to do so.
• Meet the English language requirement
• Pass the Life in the UK test
• You and your partner must be in the UK when you apply

You must have had permission to remain in the UK as a spouse/partner of a British citizen or settled person for at least 60 months to qualify for an Indefinite Leave to Remain. This is known as the 5-year route to settlement.

Any previous leave to remain as fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner cannot be included when calculating the residence requirement for ILR. Also, you cannot combine time spent in the UK in a previous relationship when applying for ILR. The five years of continuous residence must be based on a leave granted as the spouse of one partner.

Unlike other immigration categories that prohibit absences of more than 180 days in 12 months, no specific maximum absence disqualifies Spouse Visa holders from getting ILR. However, extended absences may make it difficult to prove that you intend to live permanently with your partner in the UK.

If you must spend extended time outside the UK, it should be for good reasons consistent with your intention to settle in the UK. You should have evidence of good reasons for long absences in case the Home Office asks for it.

The financial requirement to be eligible for ILR depends on when you got your first Spouse Visa and whether your partner is getting a disability benefit.

If you got your Spouse Visa before 11 April 2024, you and your partner must earn a combined income of £18,600 to qualify for ILR. However, if you got your Spouse Visa after 11 April 2024, the minimum income requirement is £29,000.

You can prove you meet the financial requirement using:

• Income from employment and self-employment
• Cash savings above £16,000 and up to £88,500, which you’ve had for at least 6 months, depending on your circumstances
• Maternity Allowance, Bereavement Allowance, or other UK government benefits received
• Non-employment income, including rental income, interest earned on savings, dividends from stocks, shares, bonds, trusts, or other investments

If your partner gets a disability benefit, you must only meet the adequate maintenance requirement. You only need to prove that you have enough resources to house and support your family without further reliance on public funds.

Just like when you first applied for a Spouse Visa, you must show that you have adequate accommodation for you and your family members when applying for ILR. It must be an accommodation owned or solely occupied by the family without relying on public funds.
The accommodation must not be overcrowded or contravene any public health regulation.

You’re required to have sufficient knowledge of English and life in the UK when applying for ILR. This is known as the KoLL requirement. Citizens of a majority English-speaking country are exempted from the English language requirement. As a US citizen, you are exempt from having to prove your proficiency in English. If you are a national of another country but a resident of the

United States, you will have to prove your knowledge of the English language.
To prove your knowledge of English, you must pass a language test administered by a Home Office-approved provider or have a bachelor’s degree or higher taught in English. You must prove that your degree is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree.

If you’re using an accredited English test, you must score at least level B1 in listening and speaking. In addition to passing an English test, you must also take the Life in the UK Test to demonstrate your commitment to the UK’s laws, values, and traditions. If you pass the test, you’ll be issued a certificate which you’ll use for your ILR application.

The KoLL requirement is compulsory for all applicants except those:

• Under the age of 18
• Aged 65 and above
• Unable to take the test due to a mental or physical disability

An application for ILR must be made online on the Gov.uk website. You should not wait for your visa to expire before applying for ILR. If your visa expires before you submit your ILR application, you must renew it to remain eligible to apply for ILR.

To apply for ILR, you must complete the appropriate online application form (Set M), upload all required supporting evidence, and pay the ILR fee. You’ll also be required to submit your biometric information at no additional cost.

If you have any dependent children, you can include them on your application provided they live with you, are not married or in a civil partnership, or are living an independent life.

If your child is over 18 but got their permission to stay in the UK as your dependent when they were under 18, you can also include them in your application, provided they still do not live independently. However, they must also meet the English language requirement and pass the Life in the UK test.

You can apply for ILR up to 28 days before you complete the 60-month Spouse Visa required residence. The Home Office may refuse your application if you apply too early.
Once you submit your ILR application, you cannot travel out of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. If you do so, your application will be considered abandoned and discarded.

When applying for ILR, you must provide evidence demonstrating that you meet all the requirements. You must provide the following supporting documents along with your application:

• Your current passport and all other previous passports or travel documents you held during your stay in the UK
• Your partner’s passport to prove they’re present in the UK as a citizen or settled person
• Completed Form Set M (indefinite leave to remain application form for spouse)
• Accommodation details showing that you and your partner live together
• Proof of financial requirement, including bank statements, pay slips, and other financial records
• Your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) if you were issued one
• Evidence of knowledge of English
• Life in the UK Test pass certificate
• Proof of a genuine and subsisting relationship, such as a Marriage or Civil Partnership certificate
• Information explaining any absences from the UK
• Details of any previous criminal convictions

You must provide original copies of all these documents and certified translations of documents that are not in English or Welsh. The Home Office can also request further evidence if needed.

The standard ILR application fee is £3,029 per applicant. The Life in the UK test costs an additional £50. Both payments are non-refundable even if your ILR application is rejected or you fail the Life in the UK test.

You’ll typically get a decision on your ILR application within 6 months using the standard service. However, there can be further delays if there’s a need to verify your documents or you’re required to submit additional evidence. You’ll be allowed to stay in the UK even if your visa expires before you get a decision, provided you applied before your visa expiration.

You can use the priority or super-priority to speed up decision time. The priority service costs an additional £500, and you’ll get a decision within a week. While an additional fee of £1000 will get you a decision within two working days on the super-priority service.