ILR as a Dependant: Settling With Your Partner or Parent
You are usually able to apply for indefinite leave to remain once you have lived together in the UK for five years with a partner who is on a Skilled Worker or another work visa.
The only period that matters is the time you spend as their dependant.
ILR Timeline for a Partner Who Is a Dependant
For most work visas, you must live with your partner for at least 5 years. Only the time as their dependant on that visa counts. When your partner has a visa for a Representative of an Overseas Business or for UK Ancestry, no time requirement applies.
You need to be married, in a civil partnership, or live together for 2 years. You and your partner may send your forms together. The earliest submission date is 28 days before you complete the years.
How the 180-Day Limit Works for Dependants
In any 12-month period, you can be outside the UK for no more than 180 days if your partner holds a Skilled Worker, Scale-up Worker, Global Talent or similar visa. For other work visas, how many days you spend abroad is not limited.
You can use the ILR absences calculator to enter your trips and check your highest total over any 12 months.
The absence rules by route table lists the rule for every route, together with the source of that rule.
Dependant Partner: English and Life in the UK Test
If you apply before 26 March 2027, you need English speaking and listening at B1; on or after that date you need B2. Anyone aged 18 or over also needs to sit and pass the Life in the UK Test ahead of the application.
ILR for Children of a Skilled Worker
A child who lives in the UK with both parents may settle after both parents settle or apply, or when one parent holds sole responsibility. No visa is needed for an initial application when a child was born in the UK.
A child who is 18 or over must have held dependant permission before turning 18, cannot be married or lead an independent life, and has to pass the Life in the UK Test and meet the English requirement.