British permanent residence: Can spouse and children get ILR together with the main applicant?
Lao Wang works in IT in Manchester City and just got his permanent residence (ILR) in May this year. The whole family thought they could celebrate together. As a result, after checking, I found that my wife’s dependent visa did not take effect on the same day as his, but almost half a year later. My eldest daughter, who is in high school, had just turned 18, and the conditions for independent application did not meet the requirements. One permanent residence was abruptly split into three accounts with different progress.
This is a true portrayal of many Chinese families in the UK. If the main applicant of gets permanent residence, it does not mean that his spouse and children will automatically get it together. Who can accompany , who needs to go alone, and which days will be stuck for you - let’s explain it all once and for all today.
British permanent residence: How can the spouse get ILR together with the main applicant?
If the spouse/partner has been holding dependent visa (Partner/Dependant visa) to accompany the main applicant to live in the UK, he can usually take the "work visa dependent person" route and apply for ILR together with the main applicant or subsequently. The core thresholds are as follows:
📍 years of residence : Generally, it is required to legally reside in the UK for 5 consecutive years with a dependent visa status (corresponding to the main applicant’s path). Note that it is "the dependent's own 5 years", not the time borrowed from the main applicant.
📍 days of departure : No more than 180 days will be left in the UK within any rolling 12-month period. Many spouses who accompany students, return to China to take care of their children, or take care of their parents fall into this trap - returning to China to visit relatives two or three times a year is stacked up, and it is easy to step on the line.
📍 two hard exams : pass Life in the UK Test and reach English B1 level (those with English-taught degree are exempted). These two items are the same as the main applicant, and there is no "family discount".
📍 relationship is genuine : The marriage or partnership must be genuine and subsisting (real and ongoing), and both parties must live together in the UK.
Important reminder: The spouse's 5 years are calculated from the "date of first effective date of the dependent visa". If you come to the UK half a year later than your partner, or if you stop applying for a visa midway, your permanent residence time will fall behind. Be sure to check each individually.
How can children get permanent residence in the UK with their parents?
For children under 18, the rules are actually much looser than for adults:
✔️ and parents apply for at the same time: The child holds a dependent visa and submits ILR with both parents (or the only surviving/single guardian) at the same time as , or the parents have obtained permanent residence/British citizenship first, and the child can apply along with him.
✔️ does not have a 180-day travel restriction : Underage children are usually not subject to the strict restrictions on the number of days for leaving the country as adults. This is often ignored by parents - children do not need to be as worried as adults when they return to China to go to school for one semester.
✔️ cannot "live independently" : The child needs to live with and be raised by his parents, and cannot have a family or be financially independent; living on campus because he is studying full-time can still be regarded as living with his parents.
⚠️ The watershed moment when reaches 18 years old : Children who have reached the age of 18 when submitting the application can no longer have in their parents’ names and must apply separately if they meet the conditions (usually based on 5 years in the UK). This is the reason why the eldest daughter of Lao Wang's family is stuck. It is recommended to plan the application pace in advance when the child is close to 18 years old.
The permanent residence time is not aligned? Alternatives for spouse and children
In reality, not many family timelines are "perfectly synchronized." If the spouse has not been there for 5 years, or the main applicant has already received ILR first, the common approach is:
After the main applicant obtains permanent residence and becomes a "settled person", the spouse can continue to live in a dependent status and accumulate his own qualifying years before applying; or when the conditions are met, he can transfer to the "settled person's partner" route to apply for permanent residence. The same applies to children, who can accompany either parent after being settled. It is strongly recommended to check with a licensed lawyer first as to which route to take and whether to change visa categories. Don’t take it for granted.
Don’t underestimate the cost: the current ILR application fee is about £3,226 per person, and the spouse and each child must each pay a full share. There is no family package price; plus Life in the UK Test (£50/person) and English test fees. The permanent residence bill for a family of four can easily reach tens of thousands of pounds - please refer to the latest announcement of GOV.UK and prepare a budget in advance.
2026 Permanent Residence Reform Early Warning: Dependent Persons May "Each One Gets His Own"
This part must be reminded: the British government is promoting the "earned settlement" (earning permanent residence) reform. The policy direction was released in November 2025, and the public consultation ended on February 12, 2026. Currently, the Ministry of Interior is still reviewing about 130,000 responses. has not announced the final result , and the implementation time is pointed to around the autumn of 2026.
One of the core ideas of the reform is to allow adult dependents to accumulate permanent residence qualifications independently according to their own conditions. They will no longer settle with the main applicant by default. The qualifying period may be longer or shorter than the main applicant, but it is generally expected that it will not be earlier than the main applicant. In other words, the matter of "your spouse automatically accompanying you" may no longer be taken for granted in the future.
As of June 26, 2026, the above reforms have not been officially implemented , and the current rules are still in effect. But now that the direction has been made clear, the closer families are to the threshold, the more they need to pay close attention to official announcements, and if necessary, take advantage of the current rule window to plan in advance.
The length of permanent residence of spouses and children is often different, and it is easy to make mistakes by remembering in your head. You can use 永居计算器APP to create a countdown timer for each person in your family. The continuous residence and 180 days of departure can be calculated to the day. If you are not sure which route to take, you can also add our lawyer on WeChat to ask.
This article is for reference only. Please consult a licensed attorney for specific questions.
Let’s chat in the comment area: Are your permanent residence dates aligned?
Is your family getting permanent residence together as a family, or are your spouse/children’s timelines different? What troubles you most is the number of days to leave the country, the 18-year-old card point, or the cost? Feel free to tell us about your situation in the comment area, it may help other families who are stuck in the same situation.
📌 If you find it useful, collect this article , and when your family members are about to reach the threshold of permanent residence, you can read it out and compare it one by one, so as to avoid getting into trouble at the last minute.
[Data source] GOV.UK: gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to-remain-family; GOV.UK Earned Settlement consultation: gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement