Which ILR form for the 10-year family or private life route: SET(LR), SET(M) or settlement-adult-relative?
If you are settling on a 10-year route, the form you need depends on exactly which route you qualify under, and the answer is genuinely counterintuitive. For the 10-year partner or parent route under Appendix FM, GOV.UK directs you to an online form called “Settle in the UK as an adult relative” (the settlement-adult-relative product) — not SET(M), and not SET(LR). SET(M) is only for the 5-year (or transitional 2-year) family route. SET(LR) is the long residence form, used by people settling after 10 years of continuous lawful residence rather than on the basis of a relationship. And the private life route under Appendix Private Life uses its own separate online application. So if you applied on the partner route using SET(LR), that may be the wrong form — but it is usually fixable, and getting the right form is about the route you qualify under, not the form name alone.
- 10-year partner or parent route (Appendix FM): apply with the “settle in the UK as an adult relative” online form (settlement-adult-relative) — not SET(M).
- 5-year / 2-year family route: this is the route that uses SET(M).
- Private life route (Appendix Private Life): uses a separate private life settlement form, not the family form.
- 10-year long residence: uses SET(LR) — a different route entirely from the family route.
- If you used the wrong form, the application may still be processed or you can contact UKVI; do not panic, but act quickly.
The right form for each 10-year route
The confusion is understandable, because “10-year route” describes several different legal routes that share a timeframe but use different forms.
10-year partner route (Appendix FM). If your permission to be in the UK is based on your relationship with a British or settled partner and you are reaching settlement after 10 years, GOV.UK's “apply as a partner” page splits the choice by route: the 5 or 2 year route uses SET(M), while the 10-year route sends you to the settlement-adult-relative online form. This is the single most common point people get wrong.
10-year parent route. The parent settlement page mirrors this exactly: 5-year route uses SET(M); 10-year route uses the settlement-adult-relative form.
Private life route (Appendix Private Life). If your leave is on the basis of your private life rather than your relationship, you settle through the private life application instead — a distinct online form from the family route, even though it can also be a 10-year qualifying period.
10-year long residence (for contrast). Long residence is a separate route for people who have lived in the UK lawfully for 10 continuous years on any combination of visas. That route uses SET(LR). It is easy to assume “10 years + SET(LR)” is the family-route answer, but it is not — SET(LR) is the long residence form.
So is SET(LR) correct for the partner route?
In most cases, no. If you are settling as a partner under Appendix FM on the 10-year route, the GOV.UK family settlement journey points to the settlement-adult-relative form, not SET(LR). SET(LR) is for the long residence route. They are different legal bases with different requirements, so using SET(LR) for a partner-route application is the kind of mismatch you want to correct early. The exception is if you actually qualify under long residence (10 years lawful residence on any visas) and are applying on that basis — then SET(LR) can be right. The deciding factor is always the route you genuinely qualify under, confirmed against GOV.UK's “check if you can get indefinite leave to remain” tool.
What to do if you used the wrong form
First, breathe. Submitting on the wrong form does not automatically forfeit your fee or your case. The Home Office can contact applicants where it looks like the wrong form was used. If an application is rejected as invalid, GOV.UK's refunds policy says a fee over £30 is refunded minus a £30 administrative charge, so the bulk of the money is not lost. The real risk is the opposite scenario: once an application is validly processed and decided, the fee is not refundable, regardless of outcome.
That is why timing matters. If you have just submitted (as reader B did, two days ago), contact UKVI straight away to flag the form you used and ask how to correct it before a decision is made. Keep your reference number, do not submit a duplicate application without advice, and where the stakes are high, take regulated immigration advice from an OISC-registered adviser or solicitor. For evidence that supports your real route, see evidencing your continuous lawful residence and any visa gaps, and if you were unsure which family form applied, read our guide to the wrong ILR form on the 10-year partner route.
GOV.UK's form pages and the routes they map to are updated periodically, and individual cases turn on details we cannot see. Always confirm the current correct form using GOV.UK's official “apply to settle in the UK” journey for your specific route, and take regulated advice (OISC or a solicitor) before relying on any settlement form choice. A refused settlement application is generally non-refundable.
Bottom line
The route, not the timeframe, decides the form. 10-year partner or parent (Appendix FM) → settlement-adult-relative form. 5/2-year family → SET(M). Private life → private life form. Long residence → SET(LR). If you used the wrong one, contact UKVI quickly and get advice — it is far more often fixable than fatal.