Divorce or separation before spouse-visa ILR: what happens to your status
If you divorce or separate before applying for ILR on a spouse or partner visa, you can no longer settle under that route, because the Immigration Rules require your relationship to be genuine and subsisting when you apply, and you must usually tell the Home Office that the relationship has ended. That is not the end of your UK journey, though: depending on your circumstances you may switch to another visa, apply as a parent, use the private life route, count your lawful years towards the 10-year long residence route, or, if the relationship broke down because of domestic abuse, apply for immediate settlement under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse.
- ILR as a partner requires a relationship that is genuine and subsisting at the date you apply, plus an intention to live together permanently (Appendix FM, E-LTRP.1.7 and 1.10, applied by E-ILRP.1.1A)
- GOV.UK says you must usually tell the Home Office when you divorce or separate if your visa is based on the relationship, then either apply to stay in the UK or leave
- The 5-year partner qualifying period only counts time with the same partner (E-ILRP.1.4), so a new relationship starts a new clock
- Victims of domestic abuse can apply for immediate settlement on form SET(DV) under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse, with no Life in the UK test or English requirement
- Lawful time already spent on your partner visa can still count towards the 10-year long residence route to ILR
Why separation ends the SET(M) route
Settlement as a partner is not a reward for surviving five years on the visa. Under Appendix FM, an ILR application as a partner must meet the same core relationship requirements as leave to remain: the relationship must be genuine and subsisting (E-LTRP.1.7) and you and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK (E-LTRP.1.10). If you have separated or divorced, you cannot honestly meet either requirement, so a SET(M) application would be refused, and misrepresenting the relationship would be far more damaging than the refusal itself.
The Life in the UK test is one ILR requirement you can tick off early — try a free mock test to see how close you are.
The rules also make clear that the 60-month qualifying period only counts periods when your partner is the same person (E-ILRP.1.4). Remarrying or repartnering means starting a fresh 5-year route with the new partner, not resuming the old clock. Caseworkers actively test whether couples still live together, which is why cohabitation evidence matters so much at the SET(M) stage.
Telling the Home Office, and what happens next
GOV.UK is direct about the duty: you must usually tell the Home Office when you divorce or separate from your partner if your visa is based on that relationship. You can report the change using the online service or by post to the Status Review Unit in Liverpool, giving both parties' names, dates of birth, addresses and Home Office references. After that, GOV.UK says you will have to either apply to stay in the UK or leave.
In practice the Home Office may then shorten (curtail) your existing permission, so the priority is working out your next application before that happens, ideally with regulated immigration advice.
Do not simply let your visa run and apply for SET(M) as if nothing changed. The relationship requirement is tested at the date of application, and concealing a breakdown risks refusal on deception grounds, which can poison future ILR and citizenship applications. Reporting the change and switching route is always the safer path.
Routes that can keep you in the UK
Which option fits depends on your situation:
- Domestic abuse (SET(DV)): if your relationship broke down permanently as a result of domestic abuse, Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse allows an application for settlement now, without waiting out the 5 years. It covers partners under Appendix FM (except fiancé(e)s) and certain other partner categories, and there is no English or Life in the UK test requirement. This route is for abuse cases only. Separation or divorce on its own does not qualify.
- Bereaved partner: a separate route applies if your partner died. It is not for divorce or separation.
- Parent route: if you have a British or settled child in the UK, you may be able to apply to stay as a parent, on a 5-year or 10-year route depending on your circumstances.
- Private life: long residence in the UK, or a child's length of residence, can support a private life application.
- Switching to another visa: qualifying for a Skilled Worker, Student or other route in your own right replaces the partner route entirely, with that route's own path to settlement.
Your years on the spouse visa are not wasted
Time spent lawfully in the UK on a partner visa still counts towards the 10-year long residence route to ILR. GOV.UK's long residence guidance requires 10 continuous years of lawful residence and excludes categories such as visitor, short-term study and seasonal worker, but partner leave is not excluded. If you switch to another visa without a gap, your partner-visa years plus your new-route years can add up to a long residence ILR application later, subject to the absence limits (broadly 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months for time from 11 April 2024).
Whichever route you end up on, the settlement paperwork changes with it, so check which SET form your new route actually uses before you apply. And any Life in the UK test pass you already hold never expires, so it will still count when you reach settlement on your new route.