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ILR as a Bereaved Partner - Settlement After Partner's Death

: Written by: Arshad Mahmood; Last Updated: 11 July 2026

You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as a bereaved partner if your British citizen / settled partner dies whilst you are in the UK on a spouse/partner visa. You can apply for ILR as a bereaved partner any time after your partner’s death, and you do not have to wait until your current spouse/partner visa is about to expire. You must be in the UK when you apply for ILR as a bereaved partner. An application for ILR 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, and same-sex partners who are bereaved during the probationary period to be granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK, provided that the relationship was subsisting and that they intended to live together permanently in the UK at the time of the sponsor's death.

Premium Solicitors are specialist UK immigration solicitors, open 7 days a week, providing expert SRA-regulated visa and immigration services with 5-star Google Reviews from 99% of clients. Contact us for 5 minutes of Free Immigration Advice.

Losing a husband, wife, or partner is an extremely difficult and distressing experience. Where your immigration status in the UK depends on your relationship with a partner who has died, you may also be concerned about your right to remain in the UK.

Our specialist immigration solicitors can provide sensitive, confidential and practical legal assistance with an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain as a Bereaved Partner. We can assess your eligibility, advise you about the supporting evidence and prepare a comprehensive settlement application on your behalf.

The Bereaved Partner route can allow an eligible applicant to obtain ILR without completing the usual five-year or ten-year qualifying residence period. You can normally apply at any time after your partner’s death and do not have to wait until your existing visa is due to expire.

Free Immigration Advice For ILR As A Bereaved Partner

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide a one-off, 5-minute free immigration advice session regarding your ILR application as a bereaved partner. Ask our specialist team of immigration solicitors a question online for free immigration advice, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and a consultation with one of our immigration solicitors regarding your ILR application as a bereaved partner.

How to Apply for ILR as a Bereaved Partner?

To apply for ILR as a bereaved partner, you should take the following steps:

Complete the online application form SET (O) on the UKVI website;
Submit the completed ILR application online by paying the Home Office UKVI fees for the ILR application unless you have been granted a fee waiver for your ILR application as a bereaved partner;
Book your biometrics appointments with TLSContact by creating an account on the TLSContact web portal;
Upload all the supporting documents online before the biometrics enrolment appointment date;
Attend your biometrics enrolment appointment. You should take 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 normally be made within 3 to 6 months from the biometrics enrolment date.

What are the Requirements for ILR as a Bereaved Partner?

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

Applicant in the UK: The applicant must be in the UK at the time of submission of an application for ILR as a bereaved partner;

Valid application: The applicant must have made a valid application for indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner;

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

Immigration status requirement: An applicant who is in the UK at the date of application must have, or have last been granted, permission as one of the following:

(a) a partner under Appendix FM (except for permission as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) of a person who is a British citizen, settled in the UK or an EEA national in the UK with limited leave to enter or remain granted under paragraph EU3 of Appendix EU on the basis of meeting condition 1 in paragraph EU14 of Appendix EU; or

(b) a partner of a person present and settled in the UK under paragraph 285 or 295E of Part 8 of these rules; or

(c) a Bereaved Partner under Appendix FM; or

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

(i) a person who is a British citizen; or

(ii) a foreign and commonwealth citizen who was a serving member of HM forces; or

(iii) a member of HM Armed Forces who has applied for or been granted permission 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

What Documents Must You Provide?

The documents required to apply for ILR as a bereaved partner may vary depending on the applicant's circumstances. To apply for ILR 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

Grant of Limited Leave to Remain Instead of ILR

If the applicant does not meet the requirements for indefinite leave to remain as a bereaved partner on suitability grounds, the applicant will be granted further limited leave to remain for a period not exceeding 30 months, subject to a condition of no recourse to public funds.

Can I Re-Apply For ILR As A Bereaved Partner After The Refusal?

You may be able to re-apply for ILR as a bereaved partner if your application for ILR 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 ILR application. Any such fresh ILR application should meet the requirements as set out in paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules.

Administrative Review of the ILR Refusal Decision

If your application for ILR as a bereaved partner has been refused by the UKVI Home Office and you have been granted the right to an Administrative Review of the refusal, you should file an Administrative Review within 14 days of the refusal decision. The Administrative Review of the refusal decision can succeed on the grounds that the decision-maker made a caseworker error in deciding your application for ILR 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.

Naturalisation as a British Citizen After ILR as a Bereaved Partner

You can apply for naturalisation as a British citizen 12 months after you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), provided you have been lawfully resident in the UK for the 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 ILR as a bereaved partner. Read More

How We Can Help

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representation on a fixed-fee basis for your ILR application as a bereaved partner. Our fixed fee for your ILR application as a bereaved partner will cover all work by our immigration solicitors until the Home Office UKVI makes a decision on your application. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your application for ILR as a bereaved partner will entail the following:

Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the requirements you must meet for your ILR application 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 ILR as a bereaved partner;

Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to ensure that all documents you provide in support of your ILR application as a bereaved partner comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Completing the application form and submitting your application: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant form for your ILR application as a bereaved partner and submit it online.

Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your ILR application 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 ILR application as a bereaved partner, explaining how all legal requirements are met for approval.

Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our immigration lawyers will upload all supporting documents to be considered in support of your ILR application as a bereaved partner.

Follow-up work: Our immigration lawyers will handle all follow-up until the UKVI Home Office makes a decision on your ILR application as a bereaved partner.

Why Choose Us for ILR as a Bereaved Partner?

There are a number of reasons to choose our family visa solicitors and lawyers in London to handle your ILR application as a bereaved partner from within 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 an ILR 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 evident in the 5-star Google Reviews rating from 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 London offices. Using modern technology, our specialist family visa solicitors and lawyers can handle your ILR application as a bereaved partner remotely, without you needing 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 offer our legal services for an ILR application remotely to save them 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 ILR applications to bereaved partners.

All Work Carried Out By Qualified Specialist Immigration Solicitors: Our specialist team of fully qualified and experienced family visa solicitors, with extensive experience in ILR applications, will handle all casework for your ILR application 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 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 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 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.

Our Team of Specialist Immigration Solicitors for ILR as a Bereaved Partner

Our immigration solicitors are specialists in applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) on behalf of a bereaved partner. As one of the best immigration solicitors, we have an excellent track record of helping bereaved partners successfully obtain ILR. Our highly experienced and fully qualified immigration solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration advice and legal representation for your Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) application as a bereaved partner.

The high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of immigration lawyers is evident in the 5-star Google Reviews rating from 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.

Meet Our Team of immigration solicitors in London

At Premium Solicitors, our strength lies in the expertise, dedication, and unwavering commitment of our immigration solicitors in London. We understand that immigration matters are life-changing events, and our team is here to guide you through every step of the ILR application process with professionalism and care.

Our team comprises a diverse group of immigration solicitors, each bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table. We are united by a shared goal: to deliver the highest level of legal support and advocacy tailored to your immigration needs.