Spouse Visa ILR: The 5-Year Partner Route to Settlement

Researched and maintained by the ILR Calculator UK editorial team · Reviewed against Appendix FM and the Immigration Rules in force on 24 June 2026 · General information about UK settlement, not regulated immigration advice. For advice on your own case, use an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or a solicitor.

Partners of British citizens and settled people reach Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years of continuous residence on the Appendix FM partner route — usually a 33-month visa followed by a 30-month extension. You must meet the £29,000 minimum income requirement, stay within the 180-day absence limit in any rolling 12-month period, and pass the Life in the UK test and English at CEFR B1. Spouses, civil partners and 2-year unmarried partners all use this route; time on a fiancé(e) visa does not count towards the 5 years.

The partner route to ILR

The partner route under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules lets the spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or fiancé(e) of a British citizen or settled person live in the UK and, ultimately, settle here permanently. On the standard 5-year route you complete 60 months of continuous residence as a partner and then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. ILR removes the time limit on your stay and is the gateway to British citizenship. Use our ILR eligibility calculator to check your dates against the rules.

Who counts as a partner under Appendix FM

“Partner” is defined broadly, but each category has its own relationship test and a different position on whether the time counts towards settlement.

Source: UK Immigration Rules, Appendix FM and the Home Office family-life guidance. A “partner” includes a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, but fiancé(e) leave is a separate pre-marriage stage.

The 5-year partner route timeline

The 5 years are normally made up of two grants of leave. The exact length of the first grant depends on whether you applied from outside or inside the UK.

Source: GOV.UK family visa and Appendix FM. You can apply for ILR up to 28 days before the 5 years complete using the 28-day early-application window.

The £29,000 financial requirement

The minimum income requirement (MIR) is the part of the partner route that catches the most people out. For a first application made on or after 11 April 2024 the threshold is £29,000 a year, with no separate addition for dependent children. Applicants who started the route before that date keep the transitional £18,600 threshold (plus child elements) as long as they keep applying as the partner of the same sponsor. Income can come from employment, self-employment, pensions, certain non-employment income, or cash savings above £16,000, and the evidence rules in Appendix FM-SE are strict.

Source: Appendix FM and Appendix FM-SE, in force June 2026. Read the full breakdown in our ILR financial requirement guide.

Other ILR requirements on the partner route

Meeting the time and money rules is necessary but not sufficient. At the ILR stage you must also satisfy:

• Continuous residence & the 180-day rule. No more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period across the 5 years. Check your travel with the absence calculator.
• English language. The level rises through the route — A1 at entry, A2 at extension, and CEFR B1 for ILR — unless you are exempt (majority English-speaking nationality, qualifying degree, or age 65+).
• Life in the UK test. Required at ILR; the certificate is valid indefinitely and is reused for citizenship.
• Genuine and subsisting relationship and the intention to live together permanently in the UK, evidenced throughout.
• Adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds, and suitability under Part 9.

Fiancé(e) visas and the 10-year route

Two common detours change the timeline. A fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner visa is a 6-month entry-clearance visa granted only so you can marry or form a civil partnership in the UK — you cannot work on it, and the 6 months do not count towards the 5-year qualifying period. Your ILR clock starts when you switch to the partner route after marrying. Separately, applicants who cannot meet the financial or eligibility requirements but who succeed on human-rights grounds (for example where there are insurmountable obstacles to family life abroad) are placed on the 10-year partner route, reaching ILR after 120 months rather than 60.