You can apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route 28 days before completing 5 years under an unmarried partner visa (5-year route). An application for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route is made online using the application form SET (M). The application will be considered by the Home Office UKVI in accordance with the requirements of the Immigration Rules as set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. You can apply for ILR as an unmarried partner through Super Priority Service to get a decision on your ILR application within 24 hours.
Free Immigration Advice For ILR As An Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)
Our specialist team of family visa solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online concerning your application for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route. Ask a question to our specialist team of family visa solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice with our specialist family visa solicitors for your application for ILR as an unmarried partner.
Specialist Solicitors For ILR As An Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)
Our specialist team of family visa solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis for your ILR application as an unmarried partner. Our team of specialist partner visa solicitors have successfully helped thousands of clients with their ILR applications as unmarried partners under the 5-year route. We can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed-fee immigration services concerning your application for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route. Our family visa lawyers can prepare and submit your ILR application to the Home Office UKVI through Super Priority Service for a decision on your application within 24 hours.
Premium Solicitors are specialist UK immigration solicitors and the high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of fully qualified and experienced immigration solicitors is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
How Much Does ILR As An Unmarried Partner Cost?
The costs associated with your ILR application are outlined below:
Our Fixed Fees for Your ILR Application
Our fixed fee for processing your ILR application ranges from £1,000 + VAT to £1,500 + VAT. Our fixed fee will cover all our work on your application including advising on documents, checking your documents, completing the application form and submitting the application online, booking an appointment for biometrics enrolment, preparing a cover letter in support of the application, uploading all supporting documents to be considered in support of the application, and carrying out all other follow up work until decision by the Home Office UKVI on your application.
Our agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of your case and the volume of work involved in your ILR application. You will make an initial payment of half our fee when we start working on your matter, and the remaining half is due once we have fully prepared the ILR application and it is ready for submission.
Unable to afford the cost of the full service? You have the option to book an appointment online for our one-off immigration advice and consultation service for a fixed fee of £100 (including VAT) or our immigration document checking service for a fixed fee of £300 (including VAT).
UKVI Fees for Your ILR Application
In addition to our fixed fee for assisting you with your ILR application, you are also required to pay the Home Office UKVI fees for your ILR application. The UKVI fee for your ILR application is £2,885.
Additionally, you can pay an additional fee of £1,000 for Super Priority Service to get a decision on your ILR application within 24 hours.
Can I Super Priority Service For ILR As an Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)?
As specialist family visa solicitors based in London, we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and its commercial partners UKVCAS Sopra Steria to provide Super Priority Service for ILR as an unmarried partner whereby decision on your ILR application will be made within 24 hours if you submit your ILR application through Super Priority Service.
Our family visa Solicitors can prepare and submit your ILR application faster and get you a decision faster through Super Priority Service. This way, you will not have to wait for the decision on your ILR application for months (sometimes years).
One-Off Service For Submission Of Your ILR Application Through Super Priority Service
Our specialist team of fast-track immigration solicitors can provide a one-off service to submit your completed ILR application through Super Priority Service so that you get a decision on your ILR application within 24 hours. We will submit your ILR application through Super Priority Service based on no submission, no fee, which means if we fail to submit your ILR application through Super Priority Service within 48 hours of fees being paid to us, we will issue the full refund of the fees paid to us, without any deductions.
We will act for you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), under which we will issue a full refund of the fees paid to us, without any deductions if we fail to submit your ILR application through Super Priority Service within 48 hours of payment being made.
If we successfully submit your ILR application through Super Priority Service within 48 hours of receiving payment, we will charge a fixed fee of £250 + VAT (£300 including VAT) based on the conditional fee agreement (CFA) signed between you and us.
How To Apply For ILR As An Unmarried Partner Under 5 Years Route?
To apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under 5 years route, you should take the following steps:
- Complete the online application form SET (M) on the UKVI website;
- Submit the completed ILR application online by paying the Home Office UKVI fees for the ILR application;
- Book your biometrics appointments with the UKVCAS by creating an account on the UKVCAS web portal;
- Upload all the supporting documents online before the biometrics enrolment appointment date;
- Attend your biometrics enrolment appointment. You should take your BRP card, your passport and your biometrics appointment letter with you when you attend your biometrics appointment;
- Wait for a decision on your ILR application, which will be made normally within 3 to 6 months if the application is made through standard service and within 24 hours if your ILR application is made through Super Priority Service.
What Are The Requirements For ILR As An Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)?
The requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as an unmarried partner under 5 years route from inside the UK include the following:
Valid application: The applicant must submit a valid application for ILR as an unmarried partner in accordance requirements for a valid application as set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules;
5 Years Residence: The applicant can apply for Indefinite Leave to remain 28 days before completing 5 years in the UK under an unmarried partner visa (5 years route). The applicant must have completed the required qualifying period of 4 years 11 months and 2 days at the time of online submission of the application for ILR as an unmarried partner;
Immigration status requirement: The applicant must be currently in the UK under an unmarried partner visa and should apply for ILR prior to the expiry of his/her leave.
Relationship requirement: The applicant must be the unmarried partner of a person who is either a British Citizen, a person with ILR / settled status, an EU national with pre-settled status, a refugee / humanitarian protection status holder, a Turkish Businessperson visa holder or a Turkish Worker visa holder. The relationship of the applicant with the UK sponsor must be genuine and subsisting and the appropriate evidence of the genuineness and subsistence of the relationship should be provided in support of the application for ILR as an unmarried partner;
Suitability Requirement: The applicant should meet the suitability requirements as set out in Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules;
Financial requirement: The applicant should meet the financial requirement for an extension of an unmarried partner visa (5-year route). The financial requirement can be met through
- income of the applicant and/or UK sponsor from employment or self-employment; and/or
- savings of the applicant and/or the sponsor; or
- through the rental income of the applicant and/or the sponsor.
Accommodation Requirement: The applicant must provide evidence that there will be adequate accommodation, without recourse to public funds, for the family, including other family members who are not included in the application but who live in the same household, which the family owns or occupy exclusively;
English Language Requirement: The applicant must meet the English language requirement to show that the applicant has English proficiency at CEFR level B1 as required by the UK Immigration Rules.
Life In The UK Test Requirement: The applicant must meet the Life in the UK test requirement.
Transitional Financial Requirement For ILR As an Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)
The Home Office UKVI has introduced the transitional financial requirements for an applicant who made their first application as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner, or as a partner before 11 April 2024 and who was granted permission as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or as a partner on the five-year route to settlement as a result of that application. According to paragraph E-LTRP.3.5 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, a person who has permission as a partner on the five-year route to settlement, or as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, at the date of application, must meet the transitional financial requirement of income which is £18,600 gross per year if they made an application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or partner under Appendix FM before 11 April 2024, which was successful. Under the new rules, where the financial requirement exceeds £29,000 due to the number of children in the family, the applicant will only need to provide evidence of a gross annual income of £29,000.
The applicant must provide evidence that the UK sponsor's gross annual income is at least equivalent to the income as given in the table below:
| Applicant | Income Required |
| Applicant applying with no children | £18,600 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 1 non-settled/non-British child | £22,400 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 2 non-settled/non-British children | £24,800 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 3 non-settled/non-British children | £27,200 gross per annum |
| Applicant applying with 4 or more non-settled/non-British children | £29,000 gross per annum |
What Are Various Sources Of Meeting Financial Requirements?
Where the applicant has to meet the minimum income threshold, the financial requirement can generally be met in the following 5 ways:
- Income from salaried or non-salaried employment of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category A or Category B, depending on the employment history.
- Non-employment income, e.g. income from property rental or dividends from shares. This is referred to as Category C.
- Cash savings of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant, above £16,000, held by the partner and/or the applicant for at least 6 months and under their control. This is referred to as Category D.
- State (UK or foreign), occupational or private pension of the applicant’s partner and/or the applicant. This is referred to as Category E.
- Income from self-employment, and income as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK, of the partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work). This is referred to as Category F or Category G, depending on which financial year(s) is or are being relied upon.
What Is The Adequate Maintenance Requirement?
Where the applicant’s partner is in receipt of any of the following benefits or allowances in the UK, the applicant will be able to meet the financial requirement at that application stage by providing evidence of “adequate maintenance” rather than meeting an income threshold of £18,600 or above:
- Carer’s Allowance.
- Disability Living Allowance.
- Severe Disablement Allowance.
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
- Attendance Allowance.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
- Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
- Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme.
- Police Injury Pension.
If the applicant’s partner is receiving one of the above benefits or allowances on behalf of their child, the applicant will be able to qualify by meeting the financial requirement through “adequate maintenance.” The evidence required to demonstrate that the applicant’s partner is in receipt of a specified benefit or allowance is specified in Appendix FM-SE.
What Is The Formula For Calculating The Adequate Maintenance?
The Homme Office UKVI will use the following formula to determine whether you meet the adequate maintenance requirement for ILR as an unmarried partner under 5 years route:
A – B ≥ C (A minus B is greater than or equal to C)
Where:
A is the net income (after deduction of income tax and National Insurance contributions);
B is housing costs (Rent and Council Tax); and
C is the amount of Income Support an equivalent British family of that size can receive.
Do I Have To Meet The Life In The UK Test and English Language Requirement?
The applicant must meet the Life in the UK test requirement and English language requirement unless the applicant is over the age of 65 or exempt from meeting such requirements due to health reasons.
To meet the English language requirement, the applicant must provide specified evidence that he/she:
- is a national of a majority English-speaking country; or
- has passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages with a provider approved by the Home Office, UKVI; or
- has an academic qualification recognised by UK Ecctis to be equivalent to the standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD in the UK, which was taught in English; or
- is exempt from the English language requirement because at the date of application:
- the applicant is aged 65 or over;
- the applicant has a disability (physical or mental condition) which prevents the applicant from meeting the requirement; or
- there are exceptional circumstances which prevent the applicant from being able to meet the requirements prior to entry to the UK.
Can I Re-Apply For ILR As An Unmarried Partner After The Refusal?
If your application for ILR as an unmarried partner under 5 years has been refused by the Home Office UKVI and you do not believe you can successfully challenge the refusal, you may be able to re-apply for ILR as an unmarried partner. Any such fresh ILR application should meet the requirements as set out in paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules. Also, any such fresh application should be made ideally through Super Priority Service for a decision on the ILR application within 24 hours.
Can I Appeal Against the Refusal Of ILR As An Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)?
If your application for ILR as an unmarried partner has been refused by the Home Office UKVI and you have been given the right to appeal against the refusal decision, you should file an appeal with the First Tier Tribunal within 14 days of the refusal decision. The appeal against the refusal decision can be successful on the grounds that the decision to refuse is not in accordance with rules or in contravention of your right to private and family life as envisaged under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). An Immigration Judge at the First Tier Tribunal will hear and determine the appeal. Our specialist family visa solicitors can provide the required legal services to represent you in your immigration appeal to challenge the refusal decision.
When Can I Apply For Naturalisation As An Unmarried Partner Of A British Citizen?
You can apply for naturalisation as a British citizen as an unmarried partner of a British Citizen 12 months after you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as an unmarried partner if you have been lawfully resident in the UK for at least 5 years preceding the date of application. Your absences from the UK during the last 5 years before the date of application for naturalisation should not exceed 450 days. Also, you must not have been absent from the UK for more than 90 days in the last 12 months before the date of your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen. Our specialist team of family visa solicitors can provide immigration advice and legal services for your application for naturalisation as an unmarried partner of a British Citizen after the grant of ILR as an unmarried partner. Read More
How Can We Help?
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis in relation to your application for ILR as an unmarried partner. Our fixed fee for your application for ILR as an unmarried partner will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your application for ILR as an unmarried partner until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your application for ILR as an unmarried partner. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your application for ILR as an unmarried partner will entail the following:
Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your application for ILR as an unmarried partner to succeed.
Advice on documents: Our immigration lawyers will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your application for ILR as an unmarried partner;
Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to ensure that all the documents you provide in support of your application for ILR as an unmarried partner comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
Completing the application form: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form for your ILR application as an unmarried partner.
Submitting an application through Super Priority Service: Where possible, our immigration lawyers will submit your online application for ILR as an unmarried partner through Super Priority Service to get a faster decision on your application for ILR as an unmarried partner.
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your application for ILR as an unmarried partner online, our immigration lawyers will book an appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of your application for ILR as an unmarried partner explaining how all the legal requirements are met for the approval of your application for ILR as an unmarried partner.
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our immigration lawyers will upload online all the supporting documents to be considered in support of your application for ILR as an unmarried partner.
Follow-up work: Our immigration lawyers will carry out all the follow-up work until a decision by the Home Office UKVI on your application for ILR as an unmarried partner.
Why Choose Us For ILR As An Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)?
There are a number of reasons why you can choose our family visa solicitors and lawyers in London to handle your application for ILR as an unmarried partner from inside the UK. The main reasons include the following:
High-Quality Legal Services: Our team of the best family visa solicitors in London provides high-quality legal services for ILR as an unmarried partner from inside the UK. The high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of immigration lawyers is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients.
Remote Legal Services: Our specialist family visa solicitors and lawyers can provide you with expert immigration advice and legal representation remotely from our offices in London. Using modern technology, our specialist family visa solicitors and lawyers can handle your application for ILR as an unmarried partner remotely without the need for you to visit our offices. Whilst we are more than happy to welcome clients into our offices, if this is their preference, we are proud to be able to offer our legal services for ILR application remotely to save your time and travel costs.
Open 7 Days A Week: We are open seven days a week and pride ourselves on providing dedicated immigration advice and legal representation.
All Work Carried Out By Qualified Specialist Immigration Solicitors: Our specialist team of fully qualified and experienced family visa solicitors, who have extensive experience dealing with ILR applications, will carry out all the casework on your application for ILR as an unmarried partner.
Fast Track Visa Service: Our experienced and qualified family visa solicitors will be able to prepare and submit your application for ILR as an unmarried partner in the shortest possible time using the fast track process. Our family visa solicitors will submit your application for ILR as an unmarried partner through the Super Priority Visa Service to get a faster decision on your ILR application within 24 hours.
Free Immigration Advice Online: Our specialist team of family visa solicitors and lawyers can provide one-off free immigration advice online for ILR through our website enquiry form.
Fixed Fees With Payment Plan: Our family visa solicitors and lawyers charge reasonable and affordable fixed fees for an application for ILR as an unmarried partner with an option to pay our fixed fee in two instalments whereby you pay half of the agreed fixed fee when we start our work on your ILR application and the remaining half when we have fully prepared the ILR application and it is ready for submission to the Home Office UKVI.
What Are Our Other Unmarried Partner Visa Related Services?
- Unmarried Partner Visa
- Entry Clearance For Unmarried Partner Visa UK
- Switching Into Unmarried Partner Visa (5 Years Route)
- Switching Into Unmarried Partner Visa (10 Years Route)
- Extension Of Unmarried Partner Visa (5 Years Route)
- Extension Of Unmarried Partner Visa (10 Years Route)
- ILR As Unmarried Partner (10 Years Route)
- Family Visa UK
- In-Country Immigration Appeals
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For ILR As An Unmarried Partner (5 Years Route)
Following are the various Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about ILR as an unmarried partner under 5 years route:
You should complete the application form SET (M) to apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route.
You can apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route by completing the application form SET (M) online.
You can apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route within 28 days before completing 5 years of residence with leave to remain as an unmarried partner under the 5-year route.
No, you cannot apply for ILR as an unmarried partner until you have completed 5 years of residence in the UK under the 5-year route. Before 9 July 2012, it was possible to apply for ILR after 2 years of residence in the UK on an unmarried partner visa, but as a result of changes in the Immigration Rules in 2012, the ILR qualifying period for an unmarried partner visa was changed to 5 years under the 5 years route.
Under the UK immigration Rules, there are no specific provisions regarding absences from the UK to apply for ILR whilst on an unmarried partner visa. However, as the unmarried partner visa category is a settlement category, it is expected that the applicant intends to live permanently in the UK with the UK sponsor in order to settle in the UK. Long absences from the UK may raise a question mark on the applicant's intention to live permanently in the UK with the UK sponsor.
The requirement of not being absent for more than 180 days each year does not apply to ILR application as an unmarried partner.
The immigration rules require that an applicant who is applying for ILR as an unmarried partner under 5 years of age with no dependent children should have a combined salaried income (applicant's and sponsor's) of not less than £18,600 gross per year.
You cannot combine time spent under the unmarried partner visa 10 years route with time under an unmarried partner visa 5 years route to apply for ILR as an unmarried partner under the 5 years route. You will have to complete 5 years continuously in the UK under an unmarried partner visa 5 years route. Therefore, you will have to seek one more extension of the unmarried partner visa under the 5-year route so that you can complete 5 years continuously under the unmarried partner visa 5 years route to qualify for ILR as an unmarried partner.
The applicant will be refused indefinite leave to remain as an unmarried partner on grounds of suitability if any of the paragraphs apply:
- The applicant is currently the subject of a deportation order.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because they have been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment for at least 4 years.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because they have been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment for less than 4 years but at least 12 months, unless a period of 15 years has passed since the end of the sentence.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because they have been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment for less than 12 months, unless a period of 7 years has passed since the end of the sentence.
- The applicant has, within the 24 months prior to the date on which the application is decided, been convicted of or admitted an offence for which they received a non-custodial sentence or other out of court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because, in the view of the Secretary of State, their offending has caused serious harm or they are a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because their conduct (including convictions which do not fall within paragraphs S-ILR.1.3. to 1.6.), character, associations, or other reasons, make it undesirable to allow them to remain in the UK.
- The applicant has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement to-
- attend an interview;
- provide information;
- provide physical data; or
- undergo a medical examination or provide a medical report.
- The presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good because the Secretary of State:
- has made a decision under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention to exclude the person from the Refugee Convention or under paragraph 339D of these Rules to exclude them from humanitarian protection; or
- has previously made a decision that they are a person to whom Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention applies because there are reasonable grounds for regarding them as a danger to the security of the UK; or
- considers that they are a person to whom sub-paragraph (a) or (b) would apply except that (i) the person has not made a protection claim, or (ii) the person made a protection claim which has already been finally determined without reference to Article 1F of the Refugee Convention or paragraph 339D of these Rules; or
- has previously made a decision that they are a person to whom Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention applies because, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, they constitute a danger to the community of the UK.
When considering whether the presence of the applicant in the UK is not conducive to the public good, any legal or practical reasons why the applicant cannot presently be removed from the UK must be ignored.
The applicant will normally be refused ILR as an unmarried partner on grounds of suitability if any of the paragraphs apply:
- Whether or not to the applicant’s knowledge –
- false information, representations or documents have been submitted in relation to the application (including false information submitted to any person to obtain a document used in support of the application); or
- there has been a failure to disclose material facts in relation to the application.
- A maintenance and accommodation undertaking has been requested under paragraph 35 of these Rules and has not been provided.
The applicant may be refused on grounds of suitability if any of paragraphs apply:
- The applicant has made false representations or failed to disclose any material fact in a previous application for entry clearance, leave to enter, leave to remain or a variation of leave, or in a previous human rights claim; or did so in order to obtain from the Secretary of State or a third party a document required to support such an application or claim (whether or not the application or claim was successful).
- The applicant has previously made false representations or failed to disclose material facts for the purpose of obtaining a document from the Secretary of State that indicates that he or she has a right to reside in the United Kingdom.
- The applicant has failed to pay litigation costs awarded to the Home Office.
- One or more relevant NHS bodies has notified the Secretary of State that the applicant has failed to pay charges in accordance with the relevant NHS regulations on charges to overseas visitors and the outstanding charges have a total value of at least £500.
