Spouse and partner visa ILR calculator

The route you are on controls the qualifying period. Do not combine time casually across partner routes or with another route. If you were moved between routes, get route-specific advice before relying on a calculator result.

• A genuine and subsisting relationship, with the UK as your permanent home.
• Compliance with the applicable financial requirement.
• English language and Life in the UK evidence unless exempt.
• Suitability and identity documents, plus evidence of cohabitation where relevant.

See GOV.UK: settle as a partner. Last reviewed: 18 August 2026. This page is not legal advice.

Priya entered the five-year partner route with permission beginning on 10 February 2022 and later received a further grant on the same route. Her likely five-year point is based on the qualifying route history, not simply the date of her most recent extension. Before using the usual 28-day window, she should assemble relationship and cohabitation evidence covering the required period, financial evidence in the format required by the rules, and English and Life in the UK evidence where required.

• Passports, eVisa status and all relevant grant letters.
• Relationship and cohabitation evidence from reliable, appropriately dated sources.
• Financial documents matching the category relied on, such as employment, self-employment, savings or permitted benefits.
• Evidence the UK is the couple's permanent home where travel history may raise questions.

Bank statements, payslips and letters should cover the specified period and match each other. A document that proves an address is not automatically proof of a subsisting relationship; use a balanced evidence bundle.

For the five-year route, GOV.UK distinguishes applicants whose first successful family-visa application was before 11 April 2024 from later applicants. Do not use a headline income figure without checking the category and transitional position that applies to you. The ten-year route has different financial provisions, so a calculation based on the wrong route can lead to the wrong evidence request.

• Time as a fiancé(e): this is not automatically qualifying partner-route time.
• Living apart: explain work, caring or other temporary reasons with evidence; silence creates avoidable uncertainty.
• Changing from ten to five years: do not assume the earlier time becomes five-year-route time.
• Children: their eligibility and application route can differ by age and immigration history.
• Expiring leave: if ILR cannot be applied for in time, an extension may be needed first.

1. Identify the route from the most recent Home Office grant letter.
2. Calculate the earliest date, then check whether you can apply up to 28 days before meeting the residence requirement.
3. Build a dated evidence bundle instead of collecting a large number of undated screenshots.
4. Check the GOV.UK partner-settlement page and application form immediately before submission.
5. Take regulated advice if the relationship has ended, there has been domestic abuse, a route switch or a complex immigration gap.

Alex relies on salaried employment under the five-year route. Six months before applying, they download payslips and bank statements and notice one salary credit is missing from the selected account because it was paid into an older account. Rather than upload incomplete evidence, Alex obtains the matching statement and a payroll explanation. The lesson is not that every application needs the same documents: it is that the evidence must satisfy the exact financial category and specified period relied on.

The GOV.UK partner settlement page explains the route distinctions, current financial arrangements and application process. Read it close to submission because requirements and forms can change. Save a copy of the submitted form and uploads. This guide is general information, not legal advice; use regulated advice where the route or relationship facts are not straightforward.

Must we have every bill jointly addressed? No single document proves a relationship, but the bundle should be credible, dated and balanced. Can I apply before my current leave expires? Yes only when the settlement requirements and permitted timing are met. Does a work-visa dependant use this route? No: their settlement route is different, so use the relevant work-dependant guidance.

Chris and Morgan have moved twice during the qualifying period. Their evidence includes joint tenancy records, council tax letters, shared financial correspondence and an explanation for four months when Chris cared for a parent abroad. The evidence is arranged by date and addresses the time apart directly. A clear timeline is stronger than uploading many duplicative documents from only one recent address, especially where the form asks about living together since the last grant.

Confirm the current visa is based on the relationship relied on, the selected form matches the route, and the residence period is complete. Reconcile names, addresses and income figures across the form and uploads. If a bank statement, tenancy or payslip is missing, identify the gap plainly and use an alternative contemporary record where appropriate. Keep copies of the submitted form and payment confirmation after applying.

Five-, two- and ten-year family routes are not merely different waiting periods. They can have different residence, finance and child-application rules. The latest grant letter is therefore an evidence document, not just an administrative email. Check it before using a calculator date or gathering documents, particularly after a previous refusal, extension, route switch or change in family circumstances.

A spouse or partner applying for ILR must first establish which route their current and historic permission is on. The common five-year route is governed by Appendix FM requirements for a partner, while a ten-year family route is not simply a longer version of the same application. The latest grant letter, any extension decision and the online form should be read together. Time as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner does not automatically count, and time on a different immigration route should not be casually added to five-year partner-route residence.

For a five-year Appendix FM partner application, the core issues generally include the qualifying residence period, a genuine and subsisting relationship, living together since the last grant, an intention to continue the relationship, the UK as the permanent home, the applicable financial requirement, language and Life in the UK requirements unless exempt, and suitability. The facts are assessed on the evidence, not on an assumption that marriage alone proves every condition. A calculator can map a possible earliest date; it cannot decide the relationship, financial or suitability questions.

The five-year Appendix FM spouse or partner route does not have the work-route style rule which automatically caps absences at 180 days in every rolling 12 months. Travel may still matter. Long periods abroad can affect whether the UK is the couple’s permanent home, whether the partners have lived together as required, or whether the relationship evidence tells a coherent story. The answer is not to run every family application through a Skilled Worker calculation and treat the output as a refusal or approval.

The position for the ten-year family route is different. Settlement on the ten-year route under Appendix Settlement Family Life expressly uses Appendix Continuous Residence. That means the relevant continuous-residence framework must be checked for the particular case, rather than importing the five-year Appendix FM analysis. Keep the route labels separate in your notes: “five-year Appendix FM partner” and “ten-year Appendix Settlement Family Life” trigger different questions. If your history crosses routes, obtain advice before deciding which periods count.

There is no universal family financial checklist. The documents depend on whether you rely on salaried employment, non-salaried work, self-employment, cash savings, pension income, permitted benefits or another allowed category. GOV.UK also distinguishes applicants by when they first successfully applied for their current family visa, so a headline income figure on a forum may be wrong for the transitional position. Identify the category first, then obtain the specified documents for the stated period.

A robust bundle aligns the source of income, payslips or accounts, bank statements, employer letter where required and the figures entered in the form. If an income payment lands in a different account, if an employer changed payroll provider, or if the couple use cash savings, write a short explanation supported by records. Do not upload a mixture of documents which shows money exists but does not meet the evidential rules for the selected category. If the sponsor receives a relevant disability or carer’s benefit, the adequate-maintenance framework can be relevant; check the current official guidance.

Five-year route with time apart: Aisha and Tom lived together in Manchester, then Aisha spent three months abroad caring for a parent. Their application includes dated tenancy and bills before and after the trip, messages and travel records, and a concise explanation. The key is not to claim that the trip did not happen, but to demonstrate the continuing relationship and home in the UK.

Route-switch risk: Luis held leave on a ten-year partner route and later received leave on a five-year route. He should not add the first period to the five-year clock without checking the rules. His evidence file includes both grant letters and a timeline, and he seeks advice before selecting an earliest date.

Financial discrepancy: Noor relies on salaried employment, but one payslip was reduced after unpaid leave. Instead of hiding the gap, Noor provides the payslip, matching bank statement and employer explanation, then checks whether the category’s specified requirements remain met.

• Immigration route: every relevant grant letter, eVisa record and passport, with a short route timeline.
• Relationship: marriage or civil-partnership record where relevant, plus credible evidence of a genuine continuing relationship.
• Cohabitation and home: appropriately dated joint or individually addressed records across the required period, and an explanation of moves or time apart.
• Finance: only the specified evidence for the category relied on, reconciled to the application figures.
• Knowledge and suitability: Life in the UK and English evidence unless exempt, plus accurate answers to all form questions.
• Children: separate evidence and eligibility analysis for every child included, particularly where age or independence may matter.

Arrange records by date and question, not by bank or app. A caseworker should be able to see what each document proves without guessing.

Can we apply together? Possibly, but each applicant must meet the conditions that apply to them on the submission date. Does an absence of more than 180 days end a five-year spouse case? There is no general work-route style 180-day cap for that route; assess the family-route facts and evidence instead. Can I use a work-visa dependant form? No: that is a different settlement route. What if the relationship ended through domestic abuse? Do not use this general checklist as a substitute for the relevant domestic-abuse route and advice.

Next, confirm your route from the grant notice, make an address and relationship timeline, select the correct financial category, then read the official GOV.UK partner settlement guidance immediately before applying. This is planning information, not legal advice or a promise of eligibility.

Review the entire application as one narrative: grant history, addresses, relationship, income and travel should not contradict one another. Confirm that the documents satisfy the category actually selected and that any time apart or change of address has a dated explanation. Save the final application, payment confirmation and upload list. If current leave expires before the settlement requirements are met, explore the correct extension route in time rather than submitting early.

Can a long holiday alone prevent ILR? There is no blanket spouse-route 180-day formula. The facts may still matter to continuous residence and the UK as permanent home.

Can time on a ten-year route be treated as five-year-route time? Do not assume so. Check the route history and applicable rules.

Can we apply together? Possibly, if each applicant independently meets the relevant requirements on the application date.