UK Bereaved Partner Settlement: Eligibility and Application Guide

If your UK immigration permission was based on a partner who has died, Appendix Bereaved Partner may provide a direct route to settlement. It is a separate immigration application, not a continuation of the ordinary partner-visa extension and not the same as Bereavement Support Payment. The rules depend on the permission you have or last had, your relationship and where you are applying from. This guide helps you organise the questions and official steps; it cannot decide whether the route applies to you.

First check whether this is the relevant route

The GOV.UK service describes people whose permission to be in the UK was based on a relationship with a partner who died. Its published eligibility page focuses on a Family visa as a spouse, civil partner or qualifying unmarried partner, and says the couple must have been living together in the UK and intended to live together permanently when the partner died. The sponsor must not have been living permanently in another country.

The Immigration Rules set the formal status boundary. An applicant in the UK must have, or have last been granted, a specified partner permission, including qualifying Appendix FM, Part 8 and Armed Forces cases. A fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner permission is excluded. A person whose permission was solely as a dependant on a partner’s Skilled Worker, Student or other work/study route should not assume that Appendix Bereaved Partner covers them: the relevant rule lists particular partner routes, not every dependant category.

There are special provisions for some Armed Forces partners, including different application-location and form rules. The Rules also point to a separate route for certain Gurkha and Hong Kong military-unit veterans discharged before 1 July 1997. If either applies, use the specific Home Office guidance before selecting a form or applying from outside the UK.

This is not the same as the ordinary settlement application for a couple whose relationship continues. If your partner is alive and you are extending a Family visa, use the UK partner visa extension guide. If a relationship ended because of domestic abuse, the separate UK domestic-abuse immigration guide explains MVDAC and Appendix VDA; do not treat bereavement as a VDA application.

The relationship test and the evidence it points to

The Rules require that the person who was your partner when you received your last partner permission has died, and that the relationship was genuine and subsisting immediately before their death. The public GOV.UK service also describes living together in the UK and intending to live together permanently. These requirements are not a new five-year qualifying period. GOV.UK says you can apply at any time after the death and do not need to wait for your current permission to expire.

The current public document list asks for:

• your current passport or other valid travel identification, and previous passports held while living in the UK;
• your partner’s death certificate;
• evidence of the relationship, such as a marriage or civil-partnership certificate;
• evidence that you lived together, starting from when you first received permission as your partner; and
• your BRP, if you have one, or online proof of your eVisa status using a share code.

For the shared-address evidence, GOV.UK asks for two official documents addressed to both of you, or to each of you individually, at the same address. It gives examples such as utility or phone bills, Council Tax, bank or government letters, tenancy or mortgage records, and letters from a GP, hospital or health service. Make a dated list of the documents you can provide and check that the addresses cover the relevant period. If a document is unavailable because of the death or related circumstances, explain that clearly and check the current service instructions rather than inventing substitute evidence.

Applying and what to expect

For the main public route, you apply online from inside the UK. Appendix Bereaved Partner currently specifies SET(O) for most applicants, SET(F) for a child applying separately from a parent, and SET(AF) for the relevant Armed Forces cases. The online service and Rules can change; follow the form shown for your exact route and do not rely on a saved form name alone.

The application must satisfy identity, biometrics and fee requirements, unless a fee waiver applies. The public process asks you to book a UKVCAS appointment for fingerprints and a photograph, and to upload evidence or have it scanned at the appointment. GOV.UK currently says a decision usually takes up to six months, with longer processing possible if documents need verification, an interview is required or personal circumstances make the case more complex.

Do not travel while the application is pending. The GOV.UK application page says leaving the Common Travel Area—outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man—before a decision withdraws the application. Check the live instruction again before booking travel.

If approved in the UK, the outcome is settlement (indefinite leave to remain), which allows the holder to live, work and study in the UK and access public services and public funds subject to the relevant rules. Settlement is not automatically British citizenship; citizenship is a later, separate application with its own requirements.

If the application is refused, Appendix Bereaved Partner says an applicant can apply for Administrative Review. Read the decision notice immediately: it explains whether review is available and the applicable process and deadline. An Administrative Review challenges an eligible caseworking error; it is not the same as a new partner-visa application or a general appeal.

Fees and the bereaved-partner fee waiver

The GOV.UK overview lists an application fee of £3,226 as checked on 28 October 2026; confirm the amount on the live service before applying. The published process says biometric enrolment itself has no separate fee. A fee is normally due for each family member applying, even if they apply together.

The Home Office settlement guidance says a bereaved partner who is destitute can be exempt from the settlement application fee. For this purpose, the guidance describes destitution as either lacking adequate accommodation and any means of obtaining it, or having accommodation but being unable to meet essential living needs. It expects the applicant to make the settlement application without paying the fee and explain, with current evidence, why they cannot pay. Examples include housing costs, income, savings, essential outgoings and support from family, friends or local authorities. The caseworker guidance specifically says applicants are not expected to borrow the fee or require a third party to pay it for them.

This route-specific settlement waiver is distinct from the standard in-country Family/Private Life fee-waiver service, which has its own eligible routes and application sequence. Read the current bereaved-partner instructions carefully before using another waiver form. A request for a waiver does not guarantee that it will be granted.

Children, benefits and next steps are separate decisions

Children may be included if they meet the current dependant conditions, including having permission as the deceased partner’s dependant, being granted that permission before age 18, living with and being supported by the applicant in the UK, and not being married or in a civil partnership. If a child does not meet the “apply together” conditions, the GOV.UK service says they may still be able to apply separately. Their own form and evidence requirements can differ; check the current children page and Appendix Children.

Immigration settlement and Bereavement Support Payment answer different questions. The settlement route depends on immigration permission, relationship evidence and the partner’s death. BSP is a separate DWP benefit with its own age, relationship, residence, National Insurance and claim-timing conditions. A settlement application does not make a BSP claim, and a BSP decision does not decide immigration status. See the UK Bereavement Support Payment guide for the benefit rules and claim windows.

FAQs

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies — overview and fees
• GOV.UK: Eligibility
• GOV.UK: Documents you must provide
• GOV.UK: Applying for your children
• GOV.UK: How to apply
• Home Office: Immigration Rules Appendix Bereaved Partner
• Home Office: Settlement — family life, private life and bereaved partners caseworker guidance
• GOV.UK: Bereavement Support Payment eligibility