Divorce or separation does not, by itself, take away indefinite leave to remain that you have already been granted and still hold. The answer is different if you only have a temporary partner visa, are waiting for an ILR decision, or face a separate issue such as an allegation that settlement was obtained through deception. Start with your own grant decision and immigration record, then check anyone whose permission depends on you.
This is independent general information for planning, not a determination of your status or legal advice. A disputed relationship history, an active application or a Home Office notice needs advice based on your documents.
Check whether you actually hold ILR
“Eligible for ILR”, “applied for settlement” and “granted ILR” describe different positions. Finishing the qualifying period or attending a biometric appointment does not prove that settlement has been granted. Nor does your partner having a British passport or ILR establish your own status.
Find the decision that granted your latest permission. Compare the name, grant date and type of permission with your eVisa. If an old document has an expiry date, do not use that date alone to decide whether your underlying permission is temporary. Keep a copy of the decision separately from the account display.
The GOV.UK explanation of ILR rights and status confirms that ILR removes the time limit on your stay. It also explains separate ways indefinite leave can end, including deception-related revocation, deportation and lapse after a sufficiently long absence. Relationship breakdown should not be confused with those grounds.
Make a short chronology containing the settlement application, grant, actual relationship breakdown and any divorce documents. Record uncertain dates as uncertain. This makes it easier to distinguish a genuine later change from questions about what was represented before the grant.
Match the next step to each person's permission
| Position you can verify | What to check next |
|---|---|
| You already hold valid ILR | Keep evidence of the grant and deal with any separate account, family or official-notice issue. Divorce alone is not a new settlement application. |
| You have limited permission based on the relationship | Check the reporting requirement and your options to remain promptly. Do not use the ILR-holder answer. |
| Your partner-based ILR application is pending | Get advice on the effect of the changed facts and how to update the application accurately. A pending claim is not a grant. |
| You hold ILR but your partner has temporary permission linked to you | Assess their permission separately; your settlement does not automatically settle them. |
| You have pre-settled status or a BN(O) route grant | Use the rules for that route. Ordinary family-visa assumptions can be wrong. |
The official separation and divorce notification guide describes the usual reporting duty for relationship-based limited permission and also addresses the sponsoring partner. Its scope matters: it is not a blanket instruction that every person with ILR must apply again after divorce. It identifies different treatment for the BN(O) route and flags EU Settlement Scheme cases separately.
If your permission still depends on the relationship, read the GOV.UK options for applying to stay after separation. The guidance says to act when the relationship breaks down rather than wait for the visa to expire. Work, parent, private-life and other possibilities each have their own conditions; settlement following domestic abuse is also a distinct, conditional route. None is an automatic transfer from your old visa.
Do not postpone dealing with an actual breakdown simply because the legal divorce is unfinished. Equally, do not calculate a departure deadline from the date a partner announces the separation. An official decision and the particular permission matter. If abuse or coercion is involved, seek specialist support and advice; do not assume remaining in the relationship is necessary to preserve an immigration option.
A partner's allegation is different from a Home Office decision
A former partner cannot cancel your ILR themselves. They can send information to the Home Office, but that is not the same as an official decision about your permission. Keep any correspondence you receive and distinguish statements made by your partner from communications issued by the authorities.
There is a real exception to broad reassurance: questions about how ILR was obtained. A relationship genuinely ending after settlement is different from an allegation that material facts were concealed or false information was supplied in the application. Do not destroy records, backdate documents or try to make the chronology fit a preferred account. If the facts are disputed, let an appropriately regulated adviser review the original material.
The Immigration Rules on settlement cancellation and suitability expressly limit cancellation of settlement while a person is in the UK, excluding the border, to the statutory grounds in section 76. That restriction is why ordinary rules about cancelling temporary relationship-based permission should not be applied indiscriminately to ILR. It is not a promise that settlement can never be revoked or that border and overseas cases follow an identical process.
If a Home Office letter alleges deception or proposes action against your permission, identify what it asks you to do and any deadline it gives. Arrange advice promptly rather than replying with a generic statement that divorce never affects immigration status.
Put your evidence and account access in order
Use this as a practical document check, not a requirement to submit a new bundle to the Home Office:
- Keep your own status evidence. Save the relevant grant decision, application reference and a record of the eVisa status you can access.
- Record the chronology honestly. Keep existing relationship and separation documents together with any official correspondence. Do not manufacture evidence to fill gaps.
- Check your contact details. If your address, email, phone, name or passport changes, review the applicable UKVI account update process. Make sure you can receive messages yourself.
- List each family member separately. Note whether they are British, settled, hold limited permission or have an application outstanding. A shared household does not mean shared immigration status.
- Separate urgent questions. Put a pending application, a permission expiry, an official response deadline or an inability to access your records at the top of the advice appointment.
Changing your account details is an administrative task; it does not decide the legal effect of separation. Avoid assuming there is a universal marital-status field in the eVisa service or that updating an address replaces a notification required for a temporary visa or an ongoing application. Follow the instructions applicable to the record you are changing.
What changes if your next plan is citizenship or a new family application?
Retaining ILR does not settle every later application question. Naturalisation has its own application bases, and a plan relying on being married to a British citizen may need reassessment after divorce. Use the British citizenship after ILR guide to check which basis and evidence you were planning to use, then verify the current official requirements before submitting anything.
A future application involving a child or new partner also deserves its own review. Your continuing settlement answers one question about you; it does not determine another person's eligibility or resolve arrangements for children, property or finances. The useful next step is to take the status list and chronology to an adviser with a specific question about the application you actually intend to make.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose ILR if I divorce the partner who sponsored me?
Divorce alone does not remove valid ILR already granted to you. Check that your latest decision really granted settlement, rather than a temporary extension or confirmation that an application is being considered. Separate matters, including an allegation of deception in obtaining permission, can still require attention. Keep your decision and respond promptly to any official notice instead of relying on a former partner's description of your status.
Do I have to tell the Home Office about divorce after ILR?
Do not read the relationship-breakdown notification guide as a universal rule for every ILR holder. It describes the usual duty where permission is limited and based on the relationship, including situations involving a sponsored partner. You may separately need to update changed account details or information in an ongoing application. Check whose permission is involved and follow the instructions for that record; seek advice if the scope is unclear.
What if we separate while my ILR application is pending?
You should not use the reassurance for someone already granted ILR. An outstanding application still needs to be assessed against its applicable requirements, and a changed relationship can be material to a partner-based case. Gather the application, current permission and accurate chronology, then obtain advice about notification and available options. Do not assume completing the qualifying period or delaying the divorce makes the original application unaffected.
Can my former partner ask the Home Office to cancel my ILR?
A former partner may provide information, but they cannot personally cancel your settlement. An allegation and an official immigration decision are different things. If the Home Office contacts you about the basis on which permission was granted, preserve the original records and get advice before responding. The concern to assess is the actual allegation and applicable legal ground, not merely the fact that the relationship has ended.
Does my ILR protect my partner's temporary visa after separation?
Your grant and your partner's grant must be checked separately. Someone with temporary permission connected to the relationship does not acquire settlement simply because you have it. The official reporting guidance also covers the sponsoring partner's position. Record both people's current permission and any pending applications, then check the appropriate route rules. Special routes can operate differently, so a general family-visa answer may not fit the documents.
Can I still apply for British citizenship after divorce?
You may still have a route to naturalisation, but retained ILR does not establish that you meet every citizenship requirement. Divorce can change a plan that relied on applying as the spouse of a British citizen. Recheck the application basis, residence evidence and other conditions before paying or submitting. Treat citizenship eligibility as a fresh assessment rather than assuming the timetable you planned during the marriage remains correct.
