Under the family Immigration Rules people with leave to remain as a partner are usually on a five or ten-year route to settlement. However there are provisions for a partner to apply for settlement early if their partner dies. As of 31 January 2024, the Immigration rules, Appendix Bereaved Partner contains the Rules relating to applications for settlement following the death of a partner. The Appendix is in simplified format. This route provides for an applicant partner to make an application for settlement at any time after the death of the sponsoring partner. They do not have to wait until their current leave is due to expire or to complete the requisite probationary period, provided the relationship was subsisting at the time of the sponsoring partner’s death. Note that it is important to check the eligibility relationship requirements carefully, because the bereaved partner Rules do not map directly onto the Appendix FM partner routes, eg these Rules do not cover those with leave to enter or remain as a fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner. If an application under

The Parent of a Child Student route permits a parent to accompany or join their child who has, or is at the same time applying for, permission as a Child Student under the Immigration Rules, Appendix Child Student. The child must be aged between four and 11, and undertaking study at an independent fee-paying school in the UK (which must not be a state school or academy). Only one of the child’s parents can be in the UK under this route. The Parent of a Child Student was formerly known as ‘Parent of a Tier 4 (Child)’ and was introduced on 24 April 2015 which replaced the ‘parent of a child at school’ route. From 5 October 2020, the route was renamed Parent of a Child Student, in line with the replacement of the Tier 4 (Child) category. Key resources at a glance Resource type Link Immigration Rules Immigration Rules, Appendix Parent of a Child Student Immigration Rules, Appendix Finance Home Office guidance Parent of a Child

When does indefinite leave lapse by operation of law? People with indefinite leave in the UK: • have no limit on the amount of time they can spend in the UK, and • cannot have conditions attached to their stay, eg their ability to work or claim social security benefits in the UK cannot be restricted for immigration reasons. For information about conditions of leave, see Practice Note: Conditions of permission to enter or stay in the UK However, people with indefinite leave still enter and stay in the UK by permission and therefore remain subject to immigration control. Indefinite leave is frequently referred to as settlement, or having settled status or permanent residence in the UK. In this Practice Note, the term 'indefinite leave' will be used to mean leave with no limit on its duration as defined in Immigration Act 1971 (IA 1971). The term ‘settled’, which appears in various places in immigration and nationality law, has two elements in IA 1971. These are: that a settled person is not subject to any restriction

Under the family Immigration Rules people with leave to remain as a partner are usually on a five or ten-year route to settlement. This can also apply to some child dependents. However there are provisions for a partner or child to apply for settlement early if their relationship breaks down due to domestic abuse. As of 31 January 2024, the Immigration rules, Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse contain the Rules relating to applications for settlement following a breakdown of a relationship as a result of domestic abuse during the probationary period. The new Appendix is in simplified format and also now includes provisions for applications from overseas where a victim of domestic abuse has been abandoned outside of the UK. Note that it is important to check the eligibility relationship requirements carefully, because the domestic abuse provisions do not map directly onto the Appendix FM partner routes, eg these Rules do not cover those with leave to enter or remain as a fiancé(e)/proposed civil partner. If an application under these Rules is successful,

This route is for people who have been accepted as a victim of modern slavery in the UK’s modern slavery identification process, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and who require permission to remain in the UK to promote their recovery needs, to pursue compensation or to support a trafficking prosecution. Obtaining a grant of permission due to recovery needs usually requires a high standard of medical evidence. Even then this route only provides time-limited permission without a clear route to settlement, so it is usually utilised by people who either intend to then leave the UK or who intend to try and switch into a different immigration route. It is most common for people to switch into/also to pursue a protection or human rights claim, but it is possible to switch into other routes, such as Skilled Worker. Victims of modern slavery may approach legal representatives once they are already in the NRM for specific legal assistance on making an Appendix Temporary Permission to Stay for Victims of Human Trafficking or Slavery or ‘VTS’ permission

This Practice Note discusses the immigration route for internationally adopted or prospective adopted children. It provides background information about the different types of adoptions recognised in the Immigration Rules. It outlines the procedures set out in family law that parents or prospective parents have to undergo if they are intending to adopt from abroad and live in the UK, including the restrictions on bringing children into the UK who are involved with intercountry adoptions and the related criminal offence. It then turns to consider the validity, eligibility and suitability requirements imposed by the Immigration Rules for bringing children with intercountry adoptions to the UK and how Article 8 ECHR issues in relation to these adoption cases are dealt with within the Immigration Rules. It also looks at the limited application of when a case may be granted outside the Immigration Rules and what the different periods and conditions of the permission granted to the child under these routes are. Key resources at a glance Resource type Link Immigration

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. STOP PRESS: On 30 April 2026, the European Commission adopted a revised Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER) and accompanying Guidelines, replacing the 2014 regime. The revised TTBER entered into force on 1 May 2026. This Practice Note refers to the TTBER and Guidelines and is currently being updated to reflect these changes. Intellectual property (IP) agreements relating to, for example, licensing of technology and for the joint development of new technology, may have a restrictive effect on competition. However the pro-competitive benefits are recognised in block exemptions that provide a ‘safe harbour’ from the application of Article 101, TFEU. For agreements falling neatly within a block exemption, only a very cursory examination of Article 101, TFEU issues is needed. Unfortunately, several block exemptions may be potentially applicable and also identifying whether an agreement is definitely within a safe harbour can be difficult—a more practical approach to most commercial arrangements may be necessary. All block exemptions have a broadly similar

The table in this Practice Note identifies and briefly summarises the principal exemptions available under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). This Practice Note should be read together with Practice Note: Exemptions under the DPA 1998. The main exemptions are contained in Part IV and Schedule 7 of the DPA 1998. Data or processing that comes within a Part IV (Exemptions) exemption is not treated as personal data or processing of personal data for the purposes of the data protection principles (DPA 1998, Sch 1) and Parts II (Rights of data subjects) and III (Notification). The Information Commission’s Office (ICO) has issued general guidance on the application of the main exemptions under the DPA 1998, including on how the exemptions work and when these apply. Specific guidance is also available from the ICO on particular exemptions or scenarios, as detailed below. For a comprehensive introduction to the GDPR, collating key practical guidance, see: UK data protection law collection. Guidance from the Information Commissioner As part of the general duties set out

ARCHIVED: this Practice Note is no longer maintained as it covers the implementation of EU free movement law in the UK prior to IP completion day, on which date domestic legislation implementing EU free movement law was revoked, subject to certain savings and modifications. For further details, including of the relevant savings and the position of CJEU case law, see Practice Note: Brexit and the end of EU free movement law in the UK. The Practice Note has been retained in archived form for historical interest, because EU law as previously implemented in the UK remains relevant in certain limited situations. For historical versions of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/1052, including immediately prior to revocation, see Legislation.gov.uk. For the ongoing development of EU free movement law in EU Member States, see: Immigration, employment & share incentives (EU Law)—overview. This Practice Note outlines the application process for European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their family members who are applying in the UK to confirm rights of residence

This Practice Note details the roles, responsibilities and requirements for the Authorising Officer, Key Contact, Level 1 users and Level 2 users (key personnel) of a sponsor in the Workers and Temporary Workers routes. It also looks at aspects relating to legal representatives. The Worker routes are: • Skilled Worker • Global Business Mobility (GBM)—Senior or Specialist Worker • T2 Minister of Religion, and • International Sportsperson The Temporary Worker routes are: • Charity Worker • Creative Worker • GBM—Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier, Secondment Worker and UK Expansion Worker • Scale-up • Government Authorised Exchange • International Agreement • Religious Worker, and • Seasonal Worker Certain sponsorship aspects looked at in this Practice Note are different for the UK Expansion Worker route. These are highlighted briefly below. For further information, see Practice Note: Sponsoring a UK Expansion Worker—The GBM: UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence aspects. When applying for a sponsor licence, an organisation must decide who will act as its ‘Key Personnel’ for the purposes

When applying for a sponsor licence under Workers and Temporary Workers routes, an organisation must go through the following process: • step 1: decide which routes it wishes to include on its licence • step 2: assess its eligibility and suitability for each route and make any relevant changes to its HR systems • step 3: decide who will be the ‘key personnel’ • step 4: get together the appropriate documents for submission with the application • step 5: decide how many undefined Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) it wishes to request for the first year of the licence—this does not apply for defined CoS under the Skilled Worker route • step 6: submit the online application and supporting documents • step 7: where relevant, prepare for and attend the Home Office site visit to the organisation's offices or digital compliance visit • step 8: receive the decision Steps 2 and 4 are dealt with in Applying for a Workers and Temporary Workers sponsor licence: eligibility and suitability,

Affidavit in support of sponsor licence application for [insert full name of the applicant UK organisation] I, [insert full name of deponent (who must be a senior executive or senior partner in the applicant UK organisation)] of [insert address at which they work] Make oath and say as follows: 1 I am the [position title] of [full name of applicant UK organisation],