Marriage between ILR holder and PBS dependant, unmarried partner

William the Conker wrote: ↑

Thu May 12, 2022 9:36 pm

Hello,

My partner and I wish to get married in August 2022, but we are concerned that doing so may cause problems for her upcoming ILR application. We would very much appreciate some reassurance from the experts here before we finalise our wedding plans.

My status: Canadian citizen with ILR (I last held leave in the category PBS Tier 2 – General).

Her status: Canadian citizen with leave to remain as my PBS dependant – unmarried partner. She has held leave in this category, as my dependant, since 31/10/2017. We are planning to submit her ILR application this autumn, in October 2022, though her current BRP is valid until 22/11/23.
Our main question: If she is currently here as my unmarried partner, would getting married before she applies for ILR risk ‘resetting the clock’ in terms of the requirement for her to be here as my dependant, in the same dependant category, for a minimum of five years prior to the ILR application? In other words, does the Home Office consider an unmarried partner to belong to a different category than a married partner, or can she switch to becoming my married partner without any ramifications? Marriage will not affect her current status.
A secondary question: Assuming that there is no problem for us to marry in August, are we required to formally notify the Home Office once we have done so? (We will need to file notice with the HO prior to the civil ceremony, so they will already be aware of our intentions.) No requirement to notify the HO after marrying.

Many thanks in advance.