Completing application form SET(DV)

This page contains general guidance on using application form SET(DV) to apply for permission to settle in the UK (also known as 'indefinite leave to remain') as a victim of domestic violence.

You should also read the detailed Guide SET(DV) before you complete the form. You will need to pay a fee when you make your application (unless you are exempt from paying the fee because you are destitute), and the UK Border Agency will not refund your fee if they refuse your application or if you withdraw it.

Can I apply using this form?

To be able to apply for settlement as the husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried/same-sex partner of a permanent resident, you must normally have lived here legally for two years in this category and still be intending to live together in that relationship. The correct form to use is application form SET(M).

However, you may be able to apply for settlement using application form SET(DV) if:

• you were given permission to come to the UK for up to 27 months or to extend your stay for two years as the husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried partner or same-sex partner of a permanent resident ( even if that permission is no longer valid) ; and
• you were still in that relationship at the time when you came to the UK or extended your stay as their husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried partner or same-sex partner; and
• you can produce evidence that the relationship has broken down permanently since then as a result of domestic violence.

You should make your application as soon as is practicably possible after your relationship has broken down as a result of domestic violence - you should not wait until the end of your current permission to remain. It is in your interests to apply as early as possible, so that the UKBA can deal with contemporary evidence.

You must be in the UK when you apply.

Can I include my dependants in my application?

You can use the same application form for a joint application by you and any children aged under 18, if they are applying as your dependants. Children over 18 must apply separately.

Making an application

You must provide evidence that you are a victim of domestic violence in Section 4 of the application form. You must answer the questions and provide relevant evidence, which must relate to violence committed against you by your partner and/or their family. Where available, evidence should come from the sources listed in Section 3 of the form, but you may also provide evidence from other sources. For more information about sources of evidence, see the Victims of domestic violence page.

Section 10 of the form lists the documents that you must send with your application. You should send the original documents, not copies. In exceptional circumstances, the UKBA may accept a photocopy that is certified as an accurate copy by the body or authority that issued the original, or by a notary, but you must include a letter explaining why you are providing a certified copy rather than the original document.

You will need to include a fee with your application, unless you are exempt from paying that fee because you are destitute. Part 4 of Guide SET(DV) describes the evidence you must provide to prove that you are destitute.

You must post your application to the address given on the form. For this type of application you cannot apply in person at one of our public enquiry offices.

The UKBA cannot tell in advance how long it will take to decide your application, so you should not make non-urgent travel plans until we have returned your passport to you. Their service standards for processing applications show how quickly they aim to make a decision.

You must complete the form in block capitals using a black pen. Please enter all dates as dd-mm-yyyy (for example, 29-04-2000).

 More information

• Application fees for settling in the UK using form SET(DV)

You can ask for the application fee to be waived if you are destitute.

•  How to pay your application fee if you are inside the UK

If you are applying online, you must pay your fee online as part of your application.

If you are applying by post or courier, you can choose how to pay your application fee:

• By cheque in sterling on a UK bank account. The application form will tell you who to make the cheque payable to, you should write your full name and date of birth on the back, and attach the cheque to the front of the completed application form. 
• With a UK postal order. You should write your full name and date of birth on the back, and attach the postal order to the front of the completed application form. 
• With a credit or debit card - American Express, MasterCard, Visa (including Electron), Delta or Maestro (including Solo). For postal and courier payments, the UKBA accepts only Maestro cards issued in the UK. You must include the card number, the amount paid, the payer's name as it appears on the card, the 'valid from' and expiry dates, the card verification value (CVV) code, the cardholder's signature and the date. The issue number is also needed for Maestro cards.

If you are applying and paying in person at a public enquiry office, you can choose how to pay your application fee:

• With a UK postal order (except at our Glasgow and Cardiff offices). You should write your full name and date of birth on the back.
• By banker's draft (except at our Glasgow and Cardiff offices). 
• With a credit or debit card - American Express, MasterCard, Visa (including Electron), Delta or Maestro (including Solo). The UKBA can accept any Maestro card for payments at a public enquiry office. You must include the card number, the amount paid, the payer's name as it appears on the card, the 'valid from' and expiry dates, the card verification value (CVV) code, the cardholder's signature and the date. The issue number is also needed for Maestro cards. The cardholder must be present for the payment to be taken.

Payment by any other method is not accepted.

You must send the full amount to cover the total cost of your application. If you do not do this, your application will be invalid and will not be considered. The UKBA will return your application and part payment to you.

The UKBA starts considering the application when the payment has cleared. Payments are cleared:

• after 5 working days for cheques
• after 1 working day for credit or debit cards
• immediately for postal orders

Please note that, if you are making numerous payments using your credit card, the anti-fraud measures that banks operate sometimes stop payment being taken. This may be because you have exceeded the maximum limit on a single transaction or the number of transactions allowed in a given period of time. You must ensure that you contact your bank in advance, so that the bank will allow the full payment to be taken without any problems when you submit your applications.

Payment information on the application form

It is very important that you complete the payment section of the application form correctly. If this section contains errors, the UKBA will not be able to process your payment. This will mean that your application is invalid. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is my immigration status while my application is being decided?

  If you make an application before your authorised stay ends, your existing immigration status will continue until your application is decided, even if the decision is not made until after the end of your permitted stay. If your existing visa or other permission to stay here allows you to work, you can continue to do so until your case is decided.

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UK Border Agency

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