BEREAVED PARTNER VISA

The Bereaved Partner Visa route offers settlement to persons who have, or were last granted, permission as a spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner and whose partner has died.

The Bereaved Partner route leads to a grant of indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Dependent children of a Bereaved Partner can also apply for ILR on this route.

Requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain as a Bereaved Partner 

In order to qualify for settlement on the Bereaved Partner route, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that you meet the following requirements:

• You are in the UK (unless you were last granted permission as a partner under Appendix Armed Forces);
• Your partner at the time of your last grant of permission as a partner has died;
• Before your partner died, you were granted a family visa as their partner (but not as their fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner);
• You and your partner were in a genuine and subsisting relationship immediately before your partner’s death;
• Your application does not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal;
• If applying from outside the UK (i.e. because your partner who died served as a member of HM Forces), you have provided a valid TB certificate, if required.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy in order to qualify for a UK Bereaved Partner Settlement Visa may vary depending on your personal circumstances.  You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice. 

To discuss your Bereaved Partner Visa application with one of our immigration barristers, contact our UK Bereaved Partner ILR lawyers on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.

Bereaved Partner Visa Immigration Status Requirements

In order to qualify for a Bereaved Partner Settlement Visa, your partner must, at the time of their death, have either:

• Been a British citizen;
• Had indefinite leave to remain in the UK; or
• Been from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and have held pre-settled status;

Your permission to be in the UK must be, or have last been, based on you being their partner holding one of the following types of family visas: 

• A spouse visa (husband or wife);
• A civil partner visa; 
• An unmarried partner visa;

If you hold, or last held, permission as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner then you will not qualify for indefinite leave to remain as a Bereaved Partner.  

The Bereaved Partner route is not available to those who are in the UK under the points based system or as an EEA national.  Different rules and regulations apply in these circumstances.  

Timing of a Bereaved Partner ILR Application

You can apply for ILR as a Bereaved Partner at any point in time after your partner’s death. It is not necessary to wait until your current visa expires. Equally, there is no requirement for an applicant for ILR as a Bereaved Partner to have leave at the time of applying.  An application for ILR as a Bereaved Partner can be made any time after a partner dies.

That said, it is important to apply for indefinite leave to remain as a Bereaved Partner as soon as possible.  This is because, once the relationship on which your immigration status relied is no longer in existence, there is a risk that any existing leave you have could be cancelled by the Home Office.

Evidence Required for a Bereaved Partner ILR application

Partner Is Deceased

You will need to prove the death of your partner.  A death certificate will need to be provided.

Genuine and Subsisting Relationship

In addition, if applying for indefinite leave to remain as a Bereaved Partner, you will need to show that immediately before your partner’s death your relationship was genuine and subsisting.  

Decisions on whether a relationship is genuine and subsisting are made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all available evidence and individual circumstances.

Factors which may be considered by the Home Office when determining whether your relationship was genuine and subsisting include:

• Whether you and your partner were in a current, long-term relationship; 
• Whether you and your partner were living together;
• Whether you and your partner had children together (biological, adopted or step-children) and shared responsibility for them; 
• Whether you and your partner had shared financial responsibilities;
• Whether you and your partner had visited the other’s home country and family;
• Whether you and your partner had made definite plans concerning the practicalities of living together in the UK;

The Home Office will expect to see significant evidence of regular contact, signs of affection and companionship, emotional support, and an abiding interest in each other’s welfare and wellbeing.

In addition to a marriage of civil partnership certificate (unless you were in an unmarried partnership), the Home Office will expect to see evidence of cohabitation. Documents should ideally be in the name of you and your deceased partner jointly. Alternatively, it is possible to rely on documents addressed to you both individually at the same address. Documents should be dated within the last few years and originate from a range of sources. Official documents are preferred, but if it is not possible to provide exclusively official documents then other documents proving cohabitation may also be submitted.

If you and your partner had not lived together for very long, it is also possible to provide unofficial evidence of a relationship.  

As mentioned above, the Home Office will expect to see significant evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship.  If it has reasonable grounds to doubt that your relationship was genuine or subsisting then your Bereaved Partner Visa application will be refused.

Our immigration barristers regularly advise Bereaved Partner settlement visa applicants as to the documentary evidence that the Home Office will expect to see in order to be satisfied that their relationship was a real one, based on genuine affection and shared values, and that it was ongoing at the time of the partner’s death.  We do not rely on templated lists of documents and only ever advise our clients on the documents needed to prove a genuine and subsisting relationship on the basis of their own personal circumstances.  

Intention to Live Together Permanently in the UK

You will need to satisfy the Home Office that you were living with your partner in the UK and that you intended to live together permanently in the UK.  Documents should start from when you got your permission to be in the UK as their partner.

The Home Office will expect any periods of time spent outside the UK to be limited, for good reason and consistent with an intention to live together permanently in the UK. Good reasons could include time spent overseas in connection with work, holidays, training or study.

When you apply for indefinite leave to remain as a Bereaved Partner, if you or your partner spent the majority of your time overseas, this could cause the Home Office to doubt your intention to live together permanently in the UK. The Home Office will consider the reasons for travel, length of absence and whether you and your partner travelled and lived together during the time spent outside the UK. 

Life in the UK and English Language 

Unlike for other types of ILR applications, you do not need to have passed the Life in the UK test or prove English language proficiency in order to qualify for ILR as a Bereaved Partner.

Applying for Bereaved Partner ILR From Outside the UK

The only circumstance in which it is possible to apply for settlement as a Bereaved Partner from outside the UK is if you were last granted permission as a partner under Appendix Armed Forces.

In order to qualify for a Bereaved Partner Settlement Visa from outside the UK, your partner must, at the time of their death,  have either:

• Been a British citizen;
• A foreign and commonwealth citizen who was a serving member of HM forces; or
• A member of HM Armed forces who 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;

Your permission to be in the UK must be, or have last been, based on you being their partner holding one of the following types of family visas: 

• A spouse visa (husband or wife) under Appendix Armed Forces;
• A civil partner visa under Appendix Armed Forces; 
• An unmarried partner visa under Appendix Armed Forces;

If you hold, or last held, permission as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner under Appendix Armed Forces then you will not qualify for indefinite leave to remain as a Bereaved Partner.  

Requirements for ILR as a Dependent Child of a Bereaved Partner

Your child / children may qualify for ILR as a Dependent Child of a Bereaved Partner if the following requirements are met:  

• They have permission to be in the UK based on being your partner’s dependant;
• They were under 18 when this permission was given;
• They will live with you in the UK;
• They will have somewhere to live and be financially supported without using public funds;
• They are not married or in a civil partnership.

If your child is over 18 at the date of application then they will need to pass the Life in the UK test and demonstrate English language proficiency to at least CEFR Level B1 (speaking and listening).

Bereaved Partner Visa Application Fee

The Home Office application fee for a Bereaved Partner settlement visa application submitted from inside or outside the UK is currently £2,885.  

If any dependent children apply at the same time then they will each need to pay a separate application fee.

Bereaved Partner Visa Processing & Decision Waiting Times

Bereaved Partner ILR applications are typically decided within 6 months.

Duration of a Bereaved Partner Visa

If your application for a Bereaved Partner Visa is successful, you will be granted indefinite leave to remain (also known as settlement) in the UK.

You will typically only lose your indefinite leave to remain status if you stay outside the UK for more than 2 years at any time.

You may be eligible to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen after having held ILR as a Bereaved Partner for 12 months. In order to be naturalised as a British citizen, you will also need to meet certain statutory criteria with regard to your length of residence in the UK, future intentions, knowledge of the English language and life in the UK, and good character.

Working in the UK on a Bereaved Partner Visa

Bereaved Partner Visa holders have a full right to work in the UK.

How Our Immigration Barristers Can Help

Our immigration barristers regularly assist bereaved spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners to secure indefinite leave to remain in the UK.  

Whether you require expert advice on the requirements of the Immigration Rules for a Bereaved Partner Visa, an independent assessment of your prospects of qualifying for ILR as a Bereaved Partner Visa or professional assistance with preparing a Bereaved Partner settlement application, our immigration barristers can help.

We pride ourselves on being approachable and proactive in understanding and meeting our clients’ needs. We are a highly driven team of immigration barristers, dedicated to providing clear and reliable immigration advice to individuals applying for a UK Bereaved Partner Visa as part of a professional and friendly service.