UK Visas and Immigration has reissued its caseworker guidance on settlement for family life, private life and bereaved partners as version 5.0, updated on 19 August 2026.
Key facts
- Who: Applicants for settlement on the 5-year family route (Appendix FM), the 10-year family route (Appendix Settlement Family Life), the private life route (Appendix Private Life) and the bereaved partner route (Appendix Bereaved Partner)
- From: 19 August 2026 (the guidance states that version 5.0 was published for Home Office staff on 17 August 2026)
- Source: Settlement – family life, private life and bereaved partners: caseworker guidance
Replaces versions 1 to 4 of the Settlement family and private life guidance.
The guidance tells Home Office caseworkers how to decide settlement applications on these routes. Version 5.0 introduces guidance for paragraph 297 and paragraph 298 within Part 8 of the Immigration Rules. It also updates references to Part Suitability and, in the Home Office's words, improves the accuracy of the information. The source does not say the Immigration Rules themselves have been amended.
The contents list includes a section headed "Joining a parent or close relative for settlement under Part 8". The text available to us does not set out what that section says about paragraphs 297 and 298, so this item does not describe their detail.
The parts of the guidance we can see restate existing rules for the 5-year family route under Appendix FM:
- Partners and parents need a continuous period of 60 months in the UK. Partners must have leave as a partner. Parents must have leave as a parent.
- Applicants must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of language and life in the UK under Appendix KoLL.
- Where a partner relies on a combination of income and cash savings, paragraph E-ILRP.1.3.(1A) means the savings need only cover the difference between gross annual income and the financial requirement.
- Suitability is assessed under Part Suitability. Some grounds are mandatory refusals, such as deportation orders (SUI 2.1 and 2.2). Others are discretionary, such as NHS debt (SUI 16.1).
- Where an applicant also has a pending EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) application, caseworkers must contact the relevant EUSS casework team. If both applications are granted, the applicant is informed in writing and asked to confirm within 14 days which one they want decided and which treated as withdrawn. A caseworker may allow longer where, following consultation with their senior caseworker, they are satisfied there is good reason. If the applicant does not confirm, or does not say they need more time, the latest application is decided and the other is treated as withdrawn.
What this means for applicants
Caseworkers now have guidance on paragraphs 297 and 298 of Part 8 when deciding relevant settlement applications. The source does not state that any requirement for applicants has changed.
An applicant with both an EUSS application and a settlement application pending, where both are to be granted, will be asked in writing to confirm which one they want decided. The request sets a 14-day period. A longer period may be allowed where, following consultation with the senior caseworker, the caseworker is satisfied there is good reason in the particular circumstances of the case. An applicant who needs more time, for example to seek immigration advice, can contact the caseworker within that period. If they neither confirm nor make contact, the latest application is decided and the other is treated as withdrawn.
Related guide: ukvisa.blog guide on settlement on the family life 10-year route
Sources
- Settlement – family life, private life and bereaved partners: caseworker guidance, UK Visas and Immigration, version 5.0, 19 August 2026