Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) from Outside the UK as a Bereaved Partner

: Written by: Arshad Mahmood; Last Updated: 22 February 2026

You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) from outside the UK as a bereaved partner if your British citizen / settled partner who was a member of HM Forces dies whilst you are on a spouse/partner visa. You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) from outside the UK as a bereaved partner of a member of HM Forces any time after your partner’s death and you do not have to wait until your current spouse/partner visa is about to expire. To apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner, you must be outside the UK when you apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner. An application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner is made in accordance with eligibility requirements as set out in Appendix Bereaved Partner of the Immigration Rules.

Appendix Bereaved Partner of the Immigration Rules makes provision for spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners, same-sex partners who are bereaved during the probationary period to be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) if the deceased partner was a member of HM Forces, provided that the relationship was subsisting and that they intended to live together permanently in the UK at the time of the deceased partner's death.

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Free Immigration Advice For Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) As A Bereaved Partner

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online regarding your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner. Ask a question online to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our immigration solicitors concerning your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner.

How To Apply For Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) As A Bereaved Partner?

The step-by-step process to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner from outside the UK is as follows:

Complete the application form online for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner on the UKVI website;
Submit your completed application form for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner online by paying the application fee.
Book an appointment with the UK visa application centre to enrol your biometrics and hand over your passport for the processing of your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner.
Upload all supporting documents online in PDF format before you attend your biometrics enrolment appointment so that they can be considered in support of the Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application.
Attend your biometrics enrolment appointment and wait for a decision on your Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application which will be made within 30 working days if you apply through Priority Service or within 60 working days if you apply through standard service.

What Are The Requirements For Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) As A Bereaved Partner?

To qualify for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner, you should meet the following eligibility requirements:

Applicant outside the UK: The applicant must be outside the UK at the time of submission of an application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner;

Valid application: The applicant must have made a valid application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for the Bereaved Partner route may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability requirement: The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules;

Immigration status requirement: An applicant who is in overseas on the date of application must have, or have last been granted, permission as:

(a) a partner under Appendix HM Armed Forces or Part 7 (except for permission as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner), of one of the following:

(i) a person who at the time of their death was a British citizen; or

(ii) a foreign and commonwealth citizen who was at the time of their death a serving member of HM forces; or

(iii) a member of HM Armed Forces who, at the time of their death, had applied for, and would have been granted if they had not died, or had been granted, permission to stay or settlement as a foreign and commonwealth citizen discharged from HM Armed Forces.

Partner's death: The person who was the applicant’s partner at the time of the applicant’s last grant of permission as a partner, must have died.

Relationship requirement: The applicant and their partner must have been in a genuine and subsisting relationship immediately before the partner’s death.

You do not need to pass the Life in the UK Test or prove your English language skills.

A ‘partner’ is one of the following:

your spouse (husband or wife)
your civil partner
your unmarried or same-sex partner with whom you were living in a relationship that’s like a marriage or civil partnership

Tuberculosis (TB) Test Requirement: Where a person is applying for entry clearance on the Bereaved Partner route they must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

What Are The Documents You Must Provide?

To apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner, you may have to provide the following documents inter-alia:

a current passport or other valid travel identification
any previous passports you’ve had while living in the UK
your partner’s death certificate
proof of your relationship, for example, your certificate of marriage or civil partnership
proof that you and your partner were living together

What Is The Proof That You Were Living Together?

You need documents to show that you lived with your partner until they died, starting from when you got permission to be in the UK as their partner. You should provide 6 official documents addressed to both of you or each of you individually, at the same address. The documents to prove living together can include as many different types of documents as you can, for example:

gas, water or electricity bills
telephone bills
Council Tax bills
bank statements and letters
letters from a government department
letters about your TV Licence
tenancy agreements
mortgage agreement or statements
letters from your GP, a hospital or health service

Can I Re-Apply For Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) As A Bereaved Partner After The Refusal?

You may be able to re-apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner if your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner has been refused by the Home Office UKVI and you do not believe you can successfully challenge the refusal of your Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application.

How Can I Challenge the Refusal of My ILE Application?

If your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner has been refused by the Home Office UKVI and you have been given the right to Administrative Review against the refusal decision, you should file an Administrative review within 14 days of the refusal decision. The Administrative Review against the refusal decision can be successful on the grounds that the decision maker has made a caseworker error in deciding your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner. Our specialist family visa solicitors can provide the required legal services to represent you in your Administrative Review to challenge the refusal decision.

When Can I Naturalise as a British Citizen After Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) As A Bereaved Partner?

You can apply for naturalisation as a British citizen 12 months after you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) if you have been lawfully resident in the UK for the last 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 a British Citizen after the grant of Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner. Our fixed fee for your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner.

Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to make sure that all the documents you provide in support of your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner are in accordance with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Completing the application form and submitting your application: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form for your Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application as a bereaved partner and submit your application online.

Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner, explaining how all the legal requirements are met for the approval of your application.

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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner.

Why Choose Us For Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) As A Bereaved Partner?

There are a number of reasons why you can choose our family visa solicitors and lawyers in London to handle your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) 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 for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) applications as a bereaved partner.

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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) applications, will carry out all the casework on your application for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner.

Free Immigration Advice Online: Our specialist team of family visa solicitors and lawyers can provide one-off free immigration advice online for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) as a bereaved partner with the 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 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application and the remaining half when we have fully prepared the Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) application and it is ready for submission to the Home Office UKVI.

Specialist Immigration Solicitors

Our immigration solicitors are specialists in xxx entry clearance applications from outside the UK. As one of the best immigration solicitors, we have an excellent track record of helping clients obtain ILE as a bereaved partner. Our highly experienced and fully qualified immigration solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration advice and legal representation for your bereaved partner entry clearance application from outside 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. Our London-based immigration solicitors are available 7 days a week, 365 days a year, offering unwavering dedication and exceptional legal support for a wide range of UK visa and immigration cases. Our team of highly regarded immigration solicitors brings together more than 6 decades of collective, specialised expertise in successfully handling UK visa and immigration applications.

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