People who are dependent on visa holders (like Skilled Worker/Tier 2 and Global Talent) can be added to the same ILR application as the visa holder if they meet the requirements.

These fees are the same for everyone, whether they are the main application or a dependent.

As was already said, anyone over the age of 18 who wants to apply for ILR must meet the English language standards and pass the “Life in the UK” test.

Partners

Certain requirements must be met for partners, including:

• They must have lived in the UK with the main applicant on a dependent visa for five years, be in a relationship with the main applicant, and plan to stay together.
• Have not spent more than 180 days outside of the UK in any 12-month period while their visa was valid. This is true for any visa granted after January 11, 2018, when the “continuous residence” requirement was expanded to include partners.
• The new rule says that research stays outside of the UK won’t count against the maximum number of absences for people with a Global Talent, Tier 1 Exceptional, or Tier 2 visa who work as a lecturer or do research. This also applies to partners with a Dependent visa who have been with them during these stays.

There is a chance that some partners have not lived in the UK on a Dependant visa for five years, so they will not be able to apply when the main candidate does for ILR. For example, they might have come to the UK after the main applicant or have been here on a different visa and just moved to a Dependant visa.

One partner can stay on their Dependant visa and get longer until they can apply for ILR, but only after the main applicant has been given ILR. Children must have both parents settled in order to be qualified. This means that if a partner can’t apply for ILR until later, any children will have to wait and apply with them.

Visa holders for dependents whose visas are extended after the main applicant (MA) gets ILR
Please keep in mind that a person with a Dependent visa can only apply for and be granted a three-year extension of their visa after the main applicant has been given ILR (the standard five-year route).

To get to the point where they can apply for ILR, they will need to ask for another extension of their dependent visa if they need more than three years. Even if they don’t need all three years to get to the point where they can apply for ILR, they will still have to do so and pay for three years.

If a partner doesn’t have a Dependent visa before the main applicant gets ILR, they will need to apply as the spouse or partner of a settled person. After getting that partner /spouse visa, they would have to stay in UK lawfyully for five years before they could apply for ILR.

Children

For children younger than 18 years old, the specific requirements are that they:

• Have a Dependent visa (they don’t have to have lived in the UK for a certain amount of time);
• Are trying to get ILR at the same time that either both of their parents (or the only parent left alive and responsible for them) have already been given settlement;
• They are not married or in a civil union, and they plan to stay with and be supported by the main applicant.
• To be qualified, both parents must have settled down before the child can come. If one partner can’t apply until later, the child will have to wait and apply with them.

If they are over 16, kids who are applying must also show proof that they are:

• still depend on the main applicant for money; still live with the main applicant (unless they are in school, college, or university); and are not living on their own.
• Children over 18 years old at the time of application cannot be added to the main applicant’s ILR application. Instead, they must make their own application based on five years in the UK on a Dependent visa. They must also be able to speak and write English well and have passed the “Life in the UK” test.

Don Magsino, LLM is a consultant solicitor and you can reach him via email at don@mbmsolicitors.com or attydonmagsino@gmail.com