What is the bereaved partner route to settlement?

The Bereaved Partner route is a part of the Immigration Rules that lets a person settle in the UK when their partner has died. The applicant must have, or have last been granted, permission as a partner on a specified route. It leads to indefinite leave to remain, and dependent children can apply too.

How the bereaved partner route works

The Bereaved Partner route is in the Immigration Rules as Appendix Bereaved Partner. It allows settlement where a person has, or was last granted, permission as a partner on a specified route and their partner has died. The applicant must be in the UK, unless they were last granted permission as a partner under Appendix HM Armed Forces. Dependent children can also apply.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner}

Settlement means indefinite leave to remain. GOV.UK explains that it gives the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as you like, and that it can be used to apply for British citizenship.^{[2]Home Office, Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies}

The sections headed Bereaved partner in Appendix FM now read as deleted.^{[3]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members} Home Office caseworker guidance groups bereaved partners with family life and private life settlement.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Settlement - family life, private life and bereaved partners: caseworker guidance}

Who qualifies

GOV.UK says a person may be eligible if their partner was a British citizen, had indefinite leave to remain in the UK, or was from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and had pre-settled status. Their permission to be in the UK must have been based on being their partner as part of a family visa. A partner is a spouse, a civil partner or someone living in a relationship like a marriage or civil partnership.^{[2]Home Office, Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies}

The Immigration Rules set the detail for a person in the UK.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner}

There is a separate rule for some people outside the UK. An applicant overseas can apply for entry clearance in limited cases, such as where their last permission was as a partner under Appendix HM Armed Forces or Part 7 of a person who was a British citizen at the time of death.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner}

Children and the application

A dependent child can apply on this route. The child must meet the relationship, care and age and independent life requirements for a dependent child in Appendix Children. They must also show English language ability and meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement unless an exemption applies, and there must be adequate maintenance and accommodation without recourse to public funds.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner}

Bereaved partners in the UK apply online on form SET(O), unless their last permission was under Appendix HM Armed Forces, when form SET(AF) is used. Children who are not applying at the same time as their parent use form SET(F). The application must meet the validity requirements. The fee must be paid unless a fee waiver is granted, biometrics must be provided when required and the applicant must provide a passport or other document showing identity and nationality.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner}

GOV.UK says the application fee is £3,226 and family members applying at the same time pay the fee for each person. You do not have to pay the fee if each of you can provide evidence of one of these: you have no place to live and cannot afford one, you have a place to live but cannot afford essential living costs, or you have a very low income and paying the fee would harm your child’s wellbeing. See fee waiver.^{[2]Home Office, Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies}

If the application meets the requirements, it is granted and the person receives settlement. If it is refused, the person can apply for an administrative review.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner}

Example

Rosa came to the UK on a partner visa. Her husband, David, was a British citizen. David died while Rosa still had permission as his partner. Rosa has not yet reached the end of her visa.

GOV.UK says she can apply for settlement at any time after David’s death and does not have to wait for her visa to expire. She must be in the UK when she applies. If she has no place to live and cannot afford one, she can ask for the fee to be waived.^{[2]Home Office, Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies} The rules require that she and David were in a genuine and subsisting relationship immediately before he died.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner} Whether she qualifies depends on her evidence.

What people get wrong

Many people think they must wait until their current visa runs out, or until they have completed a set number of years, before applying. GOV.UK says you can apply any time after your partner dies and you do not have to wait until your current visa expires.

The second mistake is to leave the UK after the death. The route requires the applicant to be in the UK at the date of application in the standard case.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner} Once settled, GOV.UK also warns that you can lose indefinite leave to remain if you stay outside the UK for more than 2 years at a time.^{[2]Home Office, Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies}

The bottom line

The bereaved partner route lets a partner on a family visa settle in the UK without waiting for their visa to expire. The person who was the partner must have died, and the couple must have been in a genuine and subsisting relationship immediately before the death. A fee applies, with a waiver available in defined hardship cases. A refusal can be challenged by administrative review.