Spouse Visa 10-Year Route to Settlement: Complete Guide

Not everyone can meet the standard spouse visa requirements, but that does not always mean the application will be refused. The 10-year route provides a pathway for couples who can demonstrate that refusal would breach their human rights. This guide explains when it applies and what it involves.

Checked 19 March 202611 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: Spouse & Partner Visa
Reading time: 11 min
Last checked: 19 March 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

The 10-year period applies to permission granted under Appendix FM paragraphs D-ECP.1.2 or D-LTRP.1.2.
Those paragraphs are reached through paragraph EX.1, or through the exceptional circumstances rules GEN.3.1 and GEN.3.2, which turn on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The rules require a continuous period of at least 120 months, and permission comes in 30-month grants.
Fees run to £19,204 for one adult over the ten years, against £12,389.50 on the 5-year route.
Settlement at the end of the 10-year period is applied for under Appendix Settlement Family Life, not Appendix FM.

Appendix FM sets two settlement periods for a partner. Someone granted permission under paragraphs D-ECP.1.1 or D-LTRP.1.1, having met every requirement, can apply for settlement after 60 months. Someone granted under D-ECP.1.2 or D-LTRP.1.2, because paragraph EX.1 or the exceptional circumstances rules applied instead, can apply after 120 months. Both are granted in the same 30-month blocks, so the longer period means four grants before settlement rather than two.

When the 10-Year Route Applies

The 10-year period is not a separate visa. It is the settlement period attached to a different decision paragraph in the same appendix. Two routes lead to it.

Paragraph EX.1. This applies to an application made from inside the UK. Under paragraph R-LTRP.1.1(d), an applicant who meets the relationship and immigration status requirements, and to whom EX.1 applies, is granted under D-LTRP.1.2 even though the financial requirement in E-LTRP.3 and the English requirement in E-LTRP.4 are not met. EX.1 itself applies in two situations: a genuine and subsisting parental relationship with a child in the UK who is British or has lived here continuously for the 7 years before the application, where it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave; or a genuine and subsisting relationship with a partner where there are insurmountable obstacles to family life continuing outside the UK. Paragraph EX.2 defines insurmountable obstacles as very significant difficulties that could not be overcome or would entail very serious hardship.
Exceptional circumstances, GEN.3.1 and GEN.3.2. GEN.3.1 applies where the minimum income requirement is not met from the ordinary sources, and requires the decision-maker to look at the wider sources listed in paragraph 21A of Appendix FM-SE. GEN.3.2 applies where the application does not meet the requirements at all. Both turn on whether there are exceptional circumstances that would make refusal a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, because it would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant, their partner, a relevant child or another affected family member. GEN.3.3 requires the best interests of any relevant child to be treated as a primary consideration.

Unlike EX.1, the exceptional circumstances rules reach applications made from outside the UK as well. GEN.3.1(2) and GEN.3.2(3) lead to a grant of entry clearance under paragraph D-ECP.1.2, which carries the same 120-month period.

The rules are set out in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

How the 10-Year Period Works

Paragraph D-LTRP.1.2 grants permission for a period not exceeding 30 months. Four grants make up the 120 months:

First grant: up to 30 months
Second grant: another 30 months, at 2 years and 6 months
Third grant: another 30 months, at 5 years
Fourth grant: another 30 months, at 7 years and 6 months
Settlement: at 10 years, applied for under Appendix Settlement Family Life. Paragraph GEN.1.17 of Appendix FM says an application for settlement on the basis of a 10-year qualifying period must meet the requirements of that appendix, and will not be considered under Appendix FM.

Each application is decided on its own. The decision-maker considers whether EX.1 or the exceptional circumstances rules still apply.

One detail affects the dates. Paragraph GEN.1.13 says that where you still hold permission as a partner when you apply, up to 28 days of the remaining period is added to the new grant, so a grant can run slightly longer than 30 months.

The Article 8 Assessment

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to respect for private and family life. These are the terms the rules themselves use.

Qualifying child, EX.1(a). A child under 18 who is in the UK and is either a British citizen or has lived in the UK continuously for at least the 7 years immediately before the date of application, where the applicant has a genuine and subsisting parental relationship with them and, taking their best interests as a primary consideration, it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the UK.
Insurmountable obstacles, EX.1(b) and EX.2. Very significant difficulties which the applicant or their partner would face in continuing family life together outside the UK, and which could not be overcome or would entail very serious hardship.
Unjustifiably harsh consequences, GEN.3.1 and GEN.3.2. The test for exceptional circumstances, applied to the applicant, their partner, a relevant child, or another family member whose Article 8 rights would be affected.
Relevant child, GEN.3.3. Someone under 18 at the date of application whom the information provided shows would be affected by a refusal. Their best interests are a primary consideration.

Whether any of these apply to a set of facts is a matter for the decision-maker, and for a tribunal on appeal. Rowan does not assess it. You can find a regulated immigration adviser on GOV.UK. Advisers are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, which replaced the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner on 16 January 2025. See our Appendix FM exceptional circumstances guide for more detail.

Costs of the 10-Year Period

Four grants before settlement instead of two is what makes the difference against the 5-year route. The published fees are the same at each stage.

Application fee as a partner inside the UK: £1,407.
Immigration health surcharge: £1,035 a year for an adult. GOV.UK gives £2,587.50 for a 30-month grant. For a child under 18 the rate is £776 a year, which GOV.UK gives as £1,940 for 30 months.
Settlement application: £3,226.
Fingerprints and a photograph at an application centre: no separate fee.

Four grants at £1,407 plus £2,587.50 is £15,978, and £3,226 for settlement takes one adult to £19,204 over the ten years. On the 5-year route, an application from outside the UK at £2,064 plus £3,105 of surcharge for 2 years 9 months, one in-UK extension at £3,994.50, and £3,226 for settlement comes to £12,389.50. Each person on the application pays their own fees. See our total hidden costs guide for the full picture.

Conditions of Leave

Permission granted under D-LTRP.1.2 or D-ECP.1.2 carries a condition of no recourse to public funds, unless the decision-maker decides under paragraph GEN.1.11A that it should not. It means you cannot claim most benefits. You can work and study.

Paying the immigration health surcharge does not make the NHS free. It gives you access on the same basis as someone ordinarily resident here, so you then pay what a resident pays. In England that is £9.90 for a prescription and dental charges of £27.90, £76.60 or £332.10 depending on the band. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Paragraph GEN.1.11A sets out three separate grounds on which the no-recourse condition is not imposed. Any one of them is enough:

you are destitute as defined in section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or at risk of imminent destitution;
there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child which outweigh the considerations for imposing or keeping the condition, treating that child's best interests as a primary consideration; or
you are facing exceptional circumstances affecting your income or expenditure.

Moving to the 5-Year Period

There is no switching application. Each application is decided on its own facts. If a later application meets every requirement of Appendix FM, it is granted under paragraph D-LTRP.1.1 rather than D-LTRP.1.2.

What matters then is which periods count. Paragraph E-ILRP.1.3 requires 60 months of continuous residence with leave granted under D-ECP.1.1 or D-LTRP.1.1, or a combination of the two. Time on permission granted under D-LTRP.1.2 is not on that list, so it does not count towards the 5-year qualifying period, and the 60 months runs from the first grant made under D-LTRP.1.1.

Comparison: 5-Year vs 10-Year Route

Qualifying period: 60 months against 120 months.
Number of applications: 3 (first grant, one extension, settlement) against 5 (first grant, three extensions, settlement).
Fees for one adult: £12,389.50 against £19,204, on the figures above.
Income requirement: Must be met on the 5-year route. Where an application is granted under R-LTRP.1.1(d) because paragraph EX.1 applies, the financial requirement in E-LTRP.3 is not among the requirements that have to be met.
English language: Required on the 5-year route. R-LTRP.1.1(d) does not include E-LTRP.4 either, so an application granted through EX.1 does not have to meet it. It still applies at settlement, through Appendix KoLL.
Decision time inside the UK: GOV.UK gives 8 weeks where the financial and English requirements are met, and about 12 months where they are not.

Next Steps

Whether EX.1 or the exceptional circumstances rules apply to a particular set of facts is not something a guide can answer. You can find a regulated adviser on GOV.UK. The rules set out above name what the decision-maker looks at: the relationship, any child in the UK and their circumstances, and the difficulties of continuing family life outside the UK.

Related guides:

Questions and answers

What is the 10-year route for a spouse visa?

It is the longer settlement period that Appendix FM sets for a partner who is granted permission under paragraphs D-ECP.1.2 or D-LTRP.1.2 rather than D-ECP.1.1 or D-LTRP.1.1. Those paragraphs apply where the applicant does not meet all the ordinary requirements, but paragraph EX.1 or the exceptional circumstances rules in GEN.3.1 and GEN.3.2 apply. The rules give settlement after a continuous period of at least 120 months, instead of the 60 months on the ordinary route.

How is the 10-year route different from the 5-year route?

The 5-year route is for applicants who meet every requirement in Appendix FM. The 10-year route applies where they do not, but refusal would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Permission is granted for the same 30 months at a time on both, so the longer period means four grants before settlement instead of two, and that many more fees.

How much does the 10-year route cost in total?

Each in-UK grant of 30 months costs £1,407 in application fee plus £2,587.50 in immigration health surcharge, which is £3,994.50. Four of those is £15,978, and settlement adds £3,226, giving £19,204 for one person over the ten years. A partner's children pay their own fees, at the lower surcharge rate of £776 a year while they are under 18.

Can I switch from the 10-year route to the 5-year route?

The rules do not treat the two as separate routes you move between. If a later application meets every requirement in Appendix FM, it is granted under D-LTRP.1.1, which counts towards the 60-month period. Time already spent on permission granted under D-LTRP.1.2 does not count towards that 60 months, so the shorter period runs from the first grant made under D-LTRP.1.1.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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