Route to ILR
Spouse & partner visa to ILR.
The family route for partners of British citizens and settled people. Two clocks, five years or ten, and the difference is usually the financial requirement.
60 months of continuous residence on the 5-year partner route (typically 2 years 9 months entry + 2 years 6 months extension). A separate 10-year route exists for those granted leave on exceptional grounds.
For applications in the route from 11 April 2024, with no child additions. Couples who first applied before that date stay on the transitional £18,600 (+ child amounts, capped at £29,000). Cash savings can substitute.
Unlike work routes, there is no 180-day rule. Absences must have good reasons consistent with living together in the UK permanently. Spending most of the period abroad invites refusal.
Per person, applying in the UK, from the current official Home Office fee table.
What ILR actually requires on this route
A relationship that's still real on paper
At every stage (extension and ILR) the relationship must be genuine and subsisting: you've lived together since the last grant and intend to stay together. Keep joint evidence (tenancy, bills, accounts) as you go, not in a panic at application time.
The financial requirement, met again
The 5-year route tests income at entry, extension AND settlement, with strict specified-evidence rules (Appendix FM-SE). The right income with the wrong documents is a refusal.
The English ladder
A1 at entry, A2 at extension, B1 (speaking and listening) at ILR, or a degree taught in English. Plus the Life in the UK test. A test passed at B1 or higher can be reused.
Partners and children
Children's permission usually follows the parent's route and timeline. Each family member's clock is their own. SettleWell tracks them side by side so nobody's date is a surprise.
What breaks it
- Failing the income requirement at extension drops you to the 10-year route, and time already served on the 5-year route doesn't shorten it unless you re-qualify.
- Evidence-format failures under Appendix FM-SE: exact document types, exact periods, exact formats.
- Long stretches abroad, even with permission: the test is whether your life is genuinely in the UK.
- Relationship breakdown ends the route (separate protection exists for victims of domestic abuse).
This is one page. Your case is a moving picture.
SettleWell computes your dates from your actual trips and visa history, tracks your family's clocks beside yours, and tells you when a rule on this page changes.
Common questions
Is the income requirement going up to £38,700?
No, that planned rise was never implemented. The figure is £29,000 for people who joined the route from 11 April 2024, and the transitional £18,600 regime for earlier joiners. A review recommended lowering it, but as of July 2026 no rule change has been made.
Does the 180-day absence rule apply to the spouse route?
No. Appendix FM has no numeric absence limit. The Home Office instead asks whether time abroad had good reasons consistent with the couple living permanently in the UK. Long or unexplained absences can still sink an application; they're just judged case-by-case.
What's the difference between the 5-year and 10-year routes?
The 5-year route is for applicants who meet all requirements (income, English, relationship). The 10-year route is for those granted leave on human-rights grounds when they couldn't. It has no financial requirement, but settlement takes twice as long.
Can I count time on other visas towards the 5 years?
Not on the 5-year partner route: the 60 months must be as a partner in this route. (The separate 10-year route can combine time across ILR-leading categories.)
Official sources
Checked against gov.uk and the Immigration Rules, July 2026. Rules change; SettleWell watches them daily.
This page is guidance only, not immigration advice. For advice on your case, consult an IAA-regulated adviser.