Spouse Visas, Domestic Violence and Applying to Settle in the UK if Your Relationship Ends
If you are in the UK on a Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa and your partner is subjecting you to domestic abuse you may think you have 2 options; leave your partner and leave the UK or ride it out and separate from your partner after you have managed to settle in the UK.
There is a third option; end your relationship because of domestic abuse and apply early for indefinite leave to remain. The rules on this type of application are contained in Appendix victim of domestic abuse. The Appendix was updated on 16 February 2024.
Our Immigration Solicitors explain how the rules work and how our Spouse Visa Solicitors and Family Lawyers can help you.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For immigration and family law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
5 years residence requirement and counting down the days
The immigration rules say that if you enter the UK on a Family Visa, such as a Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa, you can apply to settle in the UK once you meet the 5-year residence requirement and if you meet the other eligibility criteria for an indefinite leave to remain application.
If your relationship isn’t working out as you hoped then if you separate before meeting the 5-year residence requirement your Family Visa will be curtailed by the Home Office. That means you will have to leave the UK or switch visas.
If your relationship breaks down after you have been in the UK for nearly 5 years and you are about to apply to settle in the UK then you cannot successfully apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) because you need to be in a genuine and subsisting relationship.
The eligibility criteria to apply for a Spouse Visa or Family Visa extension or to apply for ILR after meeting the 5-year residence requirement are all clear-cut but there is one exception to the 5-year residence requirement that is not widely known. If your relationship ends because of domestic abuse, you can apply early to settle in the UK BUT the immigration rules say:
- Your relationship must have ended because of the domestic abuse – not for other reasons such as meeting someone else
- The breakdown of your relationship must be permanent – this rule is designed to prevent a person from using a temporary split as a means to apply to settle in the UK early. For example, without having to pay for a Spouse Visa extension
- You must have evidence of the domestic abuse – BUT domestic violence is rarely witnessed by a third party so we can explain what this means in your circumstances and how you can best evidence the abuse
- You must be in the UK when making your indefinite leave to remain application using the domestic violence concession – unless your partner abandoned you overseas. This means that if you decide to go back to your family for help or the comforts and familiarity of your home country you cannot then use the domestic violence concession to apply from overseas to settle in the UK. If you are no longer in the UK and were not abandoned overseas our Immigration Solicitors can look at alternate visa options, such as the Skilled Worker Visa
What counts as domestic abuse to use the domestic violence concession?
Some people have traditional views about domestic violence, such as:
- Only women experience domestic violence
- Domestic abuse does not count as domestic violence
- If you are in the UK on a Family Visa you cannot do anything about domestic abuse if what you are experiencing would not be treated as domestic violence in your home country or your partner’s home country
- If the abuse you are experiencing is from your in-laws, then it is acceptable as they are your seniors
- Unless the police arrest your partner there is no evidence of domestic abuse
- You would be arrested or deported if you are in the UK on a Spouse Visa and decide to try and leave the relationship
- Your children would have to stay with the person or family members who have been abusing you as you are not a British citizen or you are a woman or are unmarried so have no or few parental rights
These are all misconceptions and wrong.
There are many other misconceptions about domestic violence. It is easy to believe what you are told when the laws in your home country are different to the UK or when you are feeling isolated and your partner is backed up by their family.
Domestic abuse is defined in the Appendix that Home Office caseworkers must follow. The definition in the Appendix is wide as it follows the definition of domestic abuse in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Domestic abuse is ‘’any single incident or pattern of conduct where someone’s behaviour towards another is abusive, and where the people involved are aged 16 or over and are, or have been, personally connected to each other (regardless of gender or sexuality).’’
The Appendix confirms that domestic abuse is not limited to physical violence. The Appendix says that all forms of abuse are treated the same when assessing an ILR application and that domestic abuse can be:
- Psychological
- Sexual
- Financial
- Emotional
- Threats of abuse
- Honour-based violence
- Dowry-related abuse
- Control and coercive behaviour
The definition of ‘’controlling behaviour’’ is being on the receiving end of acts or behaviour designed to make you reliant on your abuser through isolation by depriving you of funds or access to friends or regulating your behaviour. For example, stopping you from leaving the family home.
The Home Office accepts that controlling behaviour can include stopping you from applying for an extension to your Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa so by the time you apply for ILR using the domestic violence concession your Family Visa may already have expired. The Home Office will still accept your ILR application using the domestic violence concession if your last visa was a qualifying Family Visa.
If you have not experienced domestic abuse but your child has then you can make an application for ILR using this concession for yourself and your child or children. Our Family Law Solicitors can also help you secure an injunction order and a child arrangement order to protect your child.
Temporary immigration status if you are leaving a relationship because of domestic abuse
If you are leaving a relationship because of domestic abuse, you are under a duty to report the end of the relationship to the Home Office. This will prompt them to curtail or shorten your Family Visa. If you are not ready to make an application for ILR using the domestic violence concession then our Immigration Solicitors may recommend applying for temporary permission to stay in the UK under the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC). This was formerly known as the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession.
Making an application under this route gives you 3 months stay in the UK and during that 3-month timeframe you will need to either:
- Apply for indefinite leave to remain using the domestic violence concession
- Apply for a different type of visa
- Leave the UK
Our Immigration Solicitors can talk to you about whether you should make this temporary application before applying for indefinite leave to remain and your other alternatives.
One point to note is that you can apply for this temporary immigration status if you are leaving a relationship and you entered the UK on a Family Visa such as a Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa or as the dependant partner of a person who is in the UK with permission to work on a Work Visa or in the UK on an economic, student or graduate route.
The immigration rules say you cannot apply for indefinite leave to remain early through using the domestic violence concession if you are the dependant partner of a person who is in the UK with permission to work on a Work Visa or in the UK on an economic, student or graduate route but the 3 months temporary permission to stay under the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) gives you time to either make a new visa application from within the UK or to leave the UK as you may wish to return to live overseas or to make a fresh visa application from overseas.
Next steps
At OTS Solicitors our Immigration Solicitors and Family Lawyers can help you work out the best solutions for you and your family. We will listen to what you have experienced and what you want and do our best to help you achieve that. We can do that by helping you with your visa or indefinite leave to remain application and with any family law needs, such as an injunction order, divorce, financial settlement or children orders to protect your children or to confirm the future child custody and contact arrangements with a child arrangement order.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers and Spouse Visa Solicitors
For immigration and family law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
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