Overview
After 5 years in the UK on the partner route you can apply for indefinite leave to remain using form SET(M). It is the application that ends visa renewals for good, and it is also the Home Office's last full look at your relationship, your finances and your history. Most SET(M) refusals are timing and evidence failures by people who assumed the final step was a formality. It is not, and treating it seriously is precisely how it becomes straightforward.
Have your settlement timing and evidence checked
The Qualifying Period
You need 5 years of continuous residence in the UK with permission as a partner. Two exclusions matter:
- Time as a fiance, fiancee or proposed civil partner does not count
- Time on any other visa does not count, even if you lived with your partner throughout
If part of your history is on another route, the ten-year long residence route may reach settlement using that time, and choosing between the two is a calculation we do regularly.
Your continuous residence must also survive the absence rules. Excess absences, periods without permission or other breaking events can restart the clock. Check the detail: Continuous Residence and Absence Requirements.
If you were granted permission with a non-standard endorsement, meaning you met only some requirements at an earlier stage, your settlement eligibility date can be affected. Check your decision letters before assuming your five years is complete.
The Requirements At Settlement
The relationship, again. Your relationship must remain genuine and subsisting and you must intend to live together permanently. The evidence mirrors the extension stage: cohabitation documents across the period, joint finances, and consistency with everything the Home Office already holds.
The financial requirement, again. The financial requirement applies at settlement as it did at extension, including the transitional £18,600.00 regime for pre-11 April 2024 couples and the benefits-based adequate maintenance alternative. Income evidence must again meet the prescribed format.
English at level B1. If you passed B1 or higher earlier in the route, you can normally rely on the same certificate provided it remains on the approved list and has not been withdrawn. If you relied on A1 and A2 at earlier stages, B1 is now required.
Life in the UK test. A pass is required once and never expires. Exemptions apply for age and medical conditions.
Suitability. Convictions, NHS or litigation debt and deception findings surface here with final-stage consequences. Anything of concern in the 5 years should be assessed before applying.
Timing Your Application
You can apply shortly before completing your qualifying period, and your current permission is extended by law while a valid in-time application is decided. The safe course is a precise day-count of the five years and any absences before choosing the date.
Fees And Decision
The settlement fee is £3,226.00 per person, in force from 9 April 2026. No health surcharge applies to a settlement application. Priority services may be available. A successful application grants indefinite leave to remain with an updated eVisa.
After Settlement
Settlement removes work restrictions and the surcharge, and opens access to public funds on the same basis as other settled residents. It normally lapses after more than 2 years outside the UK. Twelve months later most people qualify to apply for naturalisation, and the spouse of a British citizen can apply for citizenship immediately upon settlement, subject to the other requirements. Because a spouse can apply straight away, the evidence you gather for SET(M) often serves the citizenship application too; we plan the two together.
FAQs
Can I apply before my 5 years is complete?
Applications can be made shortly before the anniversary; the permitted window is precise and getting it wrong invalidates the application. We calculate the earliest safe date from your grant history.
My marriage has run into difficulty. What happens to settlement?
The relationship must be genuine and subsisting at the point of application. Separate provisions protect victims of domestic abuse (SET(DV)) and bereaved partners; they are different applications with different tests, and urgent advice is worthwhile.
Do I need to requalify on income if I now have children?
The financial requirement applies at settlement in the same structure as at extension, including child additions within the transitional regime. Your position depends on when you first applied and your family composition.
What if I fail the Life in the UK test?
You can retake it. Apply only when the pass is in hand; the residence clock is not harmed by waiting a few weeks, but an invalid or premature application wastes the fee.