ILR for Dependants: Partners and Children
Reviewed against official sources on 29 August 2026. A dependant partner or child does not always qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain on the same date as the main applicant. The rules depend on the route, the family member’s permission and their own residence. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
The most important first step is to distinguish a dependant on a work or talent route from a partner or child applying under the family rules. The labels sound similar, but the qualifying requirements are not interchangeable.
Does the main applicant’s ILR automatically settle dependants?
No. The main applicant receiving ILR does not itself grant ILR to a partner or child. Each family member needs an appropriate application and must meet the requirements that apply to them. Some can apply at the same time, while others may need to extend their permission and apply later.
Identify the dependant route
| Family situation | Starting point | Key question |
|---|---|---|
| Partner dependant on a work route | Work-route dependant settlement rules | Has the partner completed the required period as an eligible dependant? |
| Child dependant on a work route | Child dependant settlement rules | Are the parents settled or applying, and does the child meet age and dependency rules? |
| Partner on a family visa | Appendix FM partner settlement | Is the partner on the five-year or ten-year family route? |
| Child on a family route | Family settlement rules | What are the parents’ status, care and responsibility arrangements? |
Check the current grant shown in the dependant’s decision or UKVI account. Do not infer the route only from the main applicant’s present status.
Dependant partners on work routes
A partner who holds dependant permission connected with a work route may have their own qualifying-period requirement. The main applicant may already be settled or may be applying at the same time, depending on the route and current rules.
Review the official partner dependant work-visa settlement guidance. Check how long the partner has held eligible dependant permission, whether the relationship remains genuine and subsisting, continuous residence, English and Life in the UK requirements, and the main applicant’s status.
A dependant’s qualifying clock can differ from the main applicant’s if they arrived later, switched into dependant status later, or had a gap. Use the qualifying-period start-date guide for the dependant’s own timeline.
Children on work-route dependant permission
Children have route-specific requirements involving the status of their parents, age, dependency and living arrangements. A child aged 18 or over may need to show that they are not leading an independent life and may face additional requirements.
The official child dependant work-visa guidance explains the current framework. The rule that both parents should be settled or applying can have exceptions, so family structure and responsibility need careful review.
Skilled Worker family members
For families connected with the Skilled Worker route, use the current GOV.UK Skilled Worker family-member guidance. Do not assume that the worker’s five-year date is automatically the partner’s or child’s settlement date.
Our Skilled Worker ILR guide focuses on the main route. Each dependant should have a separate residence and travel timeline.
Partners and children on family visas
A spouse or partner on the standard five-year family route normally qualifies under the partner settlement rules, not as a work-route dependant. Time on unrelated visas is not simply added to the five-year partner period. The ten-year family route differs.
Read the official partner family-visa settlement page and our spouse ILR guide. For children, eligibility can depend on whether both parents are settled or applying, sole responsibility, serious and compelling considerations, the child’s UK residence, and whether the child is leading an independent life.
Can dependants apply later?
In some routes, a dependant who has not completed their own qualifying period may be able to extend and apply for settlement later. The correct extension route, timing and conditions must be checked before current permission expires. The main applicant becoming settled can change the context but does not remove the dependant’s requirements.
Separate checks for every family member
- Exact current and previous immigration categories.
- Individual qualifying-period start and end dates.
- Each person’s absences and continuous residence.
- Relationship, dependency and living arrangements.
- English and Life in the UK requirements where applicable.
- Parents’ or main applicant’s status at the application date.
Check relevant travel with the absence calculator. A family member’s travel record should not be copied from the main applicant unless the trips were genuinely identical.
Documents to organise
- Identity and immigration-status evidence for each applicant.
- Marriage, civil partnership or birth records as relevant.
- Evidence of cohabitation, dependency and parental responsibility.
- Travel histories and previous passports.
- Evidence required by the specific dependant or family route.
See the ILR document checklist and the official checklist generated by the chosen online application.
When regulated advice may be valuable
Family settlement can become complex where parents have different statuses, one parent is absent, a child has turned 18, there are custody or consent issues, a dependant changed routes, or the main applicant has already settled. Consider a regulated immigration adviser before a deadline or submission.
Last reviewed: 29 August 2026. Editor: Howard Wilson. Read our editorial standards.