You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) as a bereaved partner after your partner dies, without waiting to complete the usual five-year partner route. Your current or last UK permission must have been granted as their partner on a qualifying route, and the relationship must have been genuine and continuing immediately before their death. You will normally need to apply from inside the UK. A death certificate alone does not establish eligibility: check the immigration grant, the relationship and the evidence together.
This is independent general information from ILR Calculator UK, not Home Office guidance or a prediction of an individual decision.
Start with the permission you were last granted
Find the decision letter, eVisa record or other notice for your latest grant. What matters is the permission recorded there, not just the fact that you were married or lived together. The Immigration Rules for bereaved partners list the partner grants that can lead to this settlement route. For a typical in-country family case, this means permission as the partner of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK; the rules also cover specified EEA and older partner grants and certain Armed Forces cases.
Make three checks before collecting a large file of documents:
- Your grant: was it a qualifying partner permission, or was it a different status such as a work-visa dependant grant? A work-visa dependant grant is not, on its own, one of the listed in-country grants. A fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner grant is expressly excluded.
- Your late partner: was the person who died the partner on whom that grant was based, with the qualifying status required for that grant?
- Your relationship: was it genuine and continuing immediately before their death? If you had already separated permanently, take advice before assuming it meets this test.
The standard application is made from inside the UK. The Rules have a specific overseas exception for certain partners last granted permission under the HM Armed Forces provisions; do not assume it applies to a family visa. If your last grant, your partner's status or your location does not fit the usual case, get regulated immigration advice before choosing a form. The normal five-year partner-settlement calculator is not a substitute for this route check.
Build evidence around the points the route actually tests
The GOV.UK bereaved partner document list asks for your current passport or other valid travel identification, previous passports used while living in the UK, your partner's death certificate, proof of the relationship, and proof that you lived together. It also asks for your BRP if you have one, even if expired, or an eVisa share code as online status evidence.
Put the documents in an order that lets someone follow the story without guessing: your partner-route grant, the identity and death records, the relationship record, then official letters showing your shared address from the grant through your partner's death. GOV.UK asks for two official documents addressed to both of you, or to each of you at the same address, and gives bills, council tax, bank, tenancy and health-service correspondence as examples. Use different types of records where available. Check names, dates and addresses against the application form before upload.
If an address changed, a period of living apart needs explaining, or you cannot obtain a document, make the gap visible and provide the evidence you do have. Do not invent a continuous cohabitation record or assume a particular replacement document must be accepted. The live form and any request from UKVI govern what else your case needs.
Apply when the route fits, then protect the pending application
The official overview of bereaved partner ILR says you may apply any time after your partner's death; you do not have to wait for your current visa to expire or for the ordinary five-year partner period. It currently lists an application fee of £3,226 per person and no separate biometric fee. If paying would leave you without adequate accommodation or essential living costs, or would harm your child's wellbeing in the way described by GOV.UK, check its fee-waiver conditions and prepare financial evidence. A waiver is assessed on your circumstances; it is not automatic.
Use the GOV.UK application instructions and the form they direct you to when you are ready. In the usual in-country case, Appendix Bereaved Partner specifies SET(O). The online process leads to a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) biometric appointment; you can upload supporting documents or have them scanned at the appointment. GOV.UK says a decision usually arrives within six months, with longer waits possible in complex cases. Treat that as a service guide, not a deadline or guarantee.
A child may be able to apply with you, but the child's own immigration status, relationship, care, age, accommodation and, where applicable, English and knowledge requirements need separate checks. The adult applicant's English and Life in the UK exemptions do not automatically settle the child's position. Do not add a child to the application solely because they live in your household.
After submitting an in-country application, do not leave the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while waiting for a decision: GOV.UK says departure beyond that Common Travel Area withdraws the application. Our guide to what travel does to a pending ILR application explains when the risk begins and what to check if a trip becomes unavoidable. The relevant moment is submission, not the biometric appointment.
Where a straightforward application needs a closer look
The most consequential uncertainty is often the last grant. A surviving spouse may have been a family-route partner, a work-route dependant, or someone with their own visa; those are different starting points despite the same bereavement. An old grant letter, a change of sponsor status, time spent apart near the death, or a child with separate permission can also change the questions the application must answer.
Check those records before paying or relying on a fee waiver. If they do not agree, a regulated adviser can help identify the correct route and address a genuine evidence gap. This site can help organise the questions, but the current Immigration Rules, the live form and your individual facts determine the application.
Frequently asked questions
Must I complete five years on a spouse or partner visa first?
No. The Bereaved Partner route is separate from the ordinary five-year partner settlement route. GOV.UK says a qualifying applicant can apply after their partner's death without waiting for the current visa to expire. That does not remove the route's other conditions: your current or last grant must be a listed partner permission, and the relationship must have been genuine and continuing immediately before the death. Check those records before assuming the usual settlement date applies.
Does a fiancé or proposed civil partner visa qualify?
A grant as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner is excluded from the relevant partner permissions in Appendix Bereaved Partner. Being engaged to the person who died does not, by itself, change the category recorded on the immigration grant. Read your decision notice rather than the name you used for the relationship. If the grant was in this excluded category, seek regulated advice about any other way to remain; do not submit a bereaved partner settlement form on the assumption that the death certificate overrides the route rule.
What if I was a dependant on my partner's work visa?
A work-visa dependant grant on its own is not one of the in-country partner permissions listed in Appendix Bereaved Partner. The fact that you were a spouse or partner does not convert that work-route grant into an Appendix FM family-route grant. Check your most recent decision letter and any later grant before selecting a settlement application. The right next step may depend on your own immigration history and circumstances, so take regulated advice rather than relying on a generic spouse-visa checklist.
Do I need an English test or the Life in the UK Test?
GOV.UK says a bereaved adult partner applying under this route does not have to prove English language ability or take the Life in the UK Test. That is different from the ordinary five-year partner settlement route and should not be copied across to every family member. A dependent child may face separate age, English and knowledge rules under Appendix Bereaved Partner. Confirm which person is applying under which provision before removing test documents from the child's file.
Can the application fee be waived?
Possibly. GOV.UK lists a current fee per applicant but also describes a waiver for people who cannot meet accommodation or essential living costs, or where payment would harm a child's wellbeing. You need to explain the financial position and provide the evidence available, such as income, housing costs, bills and bank records. The Home Office assesses the request; lack of savings alone is not an automatic grant. Check the current fee and waiver instructions before submitting, especially if family members apply too.
Can my child apply with me as a bereaved partner?
Some children can be included in, or make a separate application linked to, a bereaved parent's settlement case. Their route is not established merely by the parent's eligibility. Check the child's existing permission, relationship and care arrangements, age and independent-life position, and whether accommodation, financial or test requirements apply to that child. Bring the child's own identity and status records to the assessment. If their situation differs from the usual dependant case, seek advice before selecting the form or paying a fee.
May I travel abroad after I submit the application?
Travel within the Common Travel Area is treated differently from leaving it. GOV.UK says that if you leave the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man before a decision on an in-country bereaved partner application, the application is withdrawn. The warning starts once you submit, even if your UKVCAS appointment has not happened. Check whether a decision has actually been made before changing plans; an urgent reason for travel does not, by itself, cancel the withdrawal rule.
