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Spousal visas for partners of EUSS status holders: changes to settlement

In brief

Under current rules, your partner can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR - called settlement) after 5 years. Under the government's "earned settlement" plans, confirmed on 2 November 2026, this will normally rise to 10 years. That is because only partners of British citizens keep the 5-year route. Partners of EUSS status holders, whether you have settled or pre-settled status, are not included.

Your partner will also have to meet stricter conditions when they apply for ILR. These include B2 English, a minimum level of earnings, no criminal record, and no use of public funds in the previous 5 years.

The new rules are not law yet. The Home Office is expected to publish them in December 2026, with changes coming in during 2027. As things stand, there is no transitional protection for people who are already on the spousal visa route.

What are the current rules?

Appendix FM is part of the Immigration Rules and permits sponsorship of family members of British citizens, people settled in the UK and some pre-settled status holders. EUSS status holders can sponsor a partner (husband, wife or civil partner, or someone they were in a relationship with akin to marriage for at least two years) under it in two ways:

  • Settled status: this counts as being "settled", in the same way as Indefinite Leave to Remain.
  • Pre-settled status: you can also sponsor a partner, as long as you are an EU/EEA/Swiss national living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and got pre-settled status on that basis (Free Movement).

EUSS status holders must use Appendix FM if their partner is ineligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, for example because the relationship started after 31 December 2020 (see our FAQ on sponsoring family outside the EUSS).

Under the current rules, your partner:

  1. Gets an initial visa of 33 months (if applying from outside the UK) or 30 months (if applying inside the UK).
  2. Applies to extend for a further 30 months.
  3. Can apply for ILR / settlement after 5 years on the route.

At each stage, the couple must meet:

  • The financial requirement: £29,000 a year gross income for most people who first applied on or after 11 April 2024 (£18,600 if your partner was already on the route before then), or the equivalent in savings (Free Movement).
  • Adequate accommodation, without relying on public funds.
  • The English language requirement, tested in speaking and listening: A1 for the first application, A2 at extension, and B1 for ILR. For ILR applications made on or after 26 March 2027 this rises to B2, under rules already made in March 2026 (Statement of Changes HC 1691).
  • The relationship requirement: a genuine and subsisting relationship.

If these requirements cannot be met, a partner may be able to stay on a separate, longer 10-year route based on exceptional circumstances.

Each application costs a fee plus the Immigration Health Surcharge. Unlike EUSS applications, these routes are not free.

What is changing?

On 2 November 2026 the Home Secretary published the government's response to its "earned settlement" consultation (A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, CP 1707). It confirms that the standard wait for ILR will double from 5 to 10 years.

Some groups keep a 5-year route to ILR because they have what the government calls a "British connection". This covers partners, parents and children of British citizens, and people on the UK Ancestry route. Partners sponsored by EUSS status holders are not on that list, so they appear to fall into the 10-year route by default.

The government's own figures confirm this. It expects 39,000 people who came on a family visa not sponsored by a British citizen to move onto a longer route to settlement (some of these 39,000 will be family members sponsored by EUSS status holders).

Why doesn't the EUSS protect your partner? The EU Settlement Scheme itself is outside the earned settlement reforms, so your own status is not affected. Any family members sponsored under the EUSS are also not affected and still qualify for settled status after 5 years in most cases. But if your partner holds a visa under Appendix FM rather than EUSS status, the new rules apply to them.

This is a major break with past policy. Since 1985, the UK has treated British citizens and other settled people the same when they sponsor a partner (ILPA). Under these plans, a person with settled status would be treated less favourably than a British citizen when bringing their partner to live with them in the UK.

Can your partner still settle after 5 years? Possibly, but only through one of the other faster routes in the new framework. One example is earning at least £50,271 a year in 3 of the last 5 years. Another is working in an eligible health or education occupation. It is not yet clear whether partners on the spousal visa route will be able to use these. We will update this page when the rules are published.

What conditions will your partner need to meet for ILR?

Under earned settlement, everyone applying for ILR must meet a set of mandatory requirements. A longer wait does not let your partner off any of them. Children, people aged 65 and over, and people with a relevant physical or mental condition are exempt from some of them.

  • English language: B2 level (similar to A level in a foreign language). This is not new: B2 already applies to all ILR applications made on or after 26 March 2027.
  • Life in the UK test: Must be passed, as now.
  • No criminal record: Any UK criminal record leads to refusal. This includes cautions, fines and absolute or conditional discharges.
  • Earnings: At least £12,571 a year in 5 of the 7 years before applying. The government says some couples can combine earnings instead (£25,142 a year between them), but it is not clear whether this applies to partners on Appendix FM.
  • No public funds: No use of specified public funds in the 5 years before applying. Otherwise the wait becomes 20 years. Note initially the Government will follow the existing definition of public funds as set out in the Immigration Rules, but this will change once the Home Office has set out what is included before the earned settlement changes are implemented.
  • No government debt: No unpaid NHS, tax, National Insurance or Home Office litigation debt.
  • No immigration breaches: Overstaying, breaching visa conditions or using deception puts a person on a 20-year route.

The earnings rule uses a "best years" approach. Years with lower earnings, for example because of maternity leave or caring for children, need not count against your partner, as long as the threshold is met in enough other years.

Your partner will still need to meet the spousal visa requirements at each extension, including the £29,000 financial requirement. The government has not said how these will interact with the new framework. A 10-year route may well mean more 30-month extensions, each with its own fee and Immigration Health Surcharge.

When will this happen, and does it affect partners already on the route?

The changes are government policy but are not yet in the Immigration Rules. A Statement of Changes is expected in December 2026, with the new rules coming into force during 2027 (Free Movement).

The government says the new framework will apply to people already in the UK who do not yet have ILR. Its transitional protections are limited to specific groups, such as some care workers and public service workers. They do not include family members. If your partner is already on the 5-year spousal route, they are therefore likely to move to the 10-year route unless they get ILR before the new rules start (unless they can show they are eligible for a shorter settlement period e.g. because their earnings meet the threshold).

This would be a departure from past practice. When the 5-year route and the income requirement were introduced in 2012, and when the income threshold rose to £29,000 in 2024, people already on the route were protected.

What should you do now?

  • If your partner is close to 5 years on the route, check when they can apply for ILR. Applying before the new rules start may protect them, but this depends if the new rules are disapplied from persons who have already made an ILR application under the current rules.
  • If your relationship started before 31 December 2020, your partner may be able to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme instead. The EUSS is outside earned settlement. Seek advice on whether this route is open to you.
  • Consider whether you could become a British citizen. Partners of British citizens keep the 5-year route. It is not yet clear how the rules will treat someone whose sponsor becomes British part-way through their partner’s time on the route, so seek advice on timing.
  • Get advice from a regulated immigration adviser before making decisions. The detailed rules are not yet available.

Sources

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