Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
There are different ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain based on your circumstances.
You may be able to apply if you have a work visa.
You must usually have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years. If you have a tier 1 visa, it can be 2 or 3 years. If you have an Innovator Founder or Global Talent visa, it can be 3 years.
You may also need to meet the salary or financial requirements – this depends on your visa.
How you apply depends on whether you:
- have a tier 2, T2, International Sportsperson or Skilled Worker visa
- have a Scale-up Worker visa
- have a Global Talent, Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Investor visa
- have an Innovator Founder visa
- represent an overseas business
- have a Turkish Worker or Businessperson visa
- are a private servant in a diplomatic household with an International Agreement visa, or a domestic worker
Skilled Worker/Health and Care Worker/Tier 2 (General) Migrant visa route
You may be able to apply if you have a work visa. You must usually have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years.
You may also need to meet the salary or financial requirements – this depends on your visa.
You may be able to settle permanently in the UK if you have one of the following visas:
- Skilled Worker or Tier 2 (General)
- T2 Minister of Religion or Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)
- International Sportsperson, T2 Sportsperson or Tier 2 (Sportsperson)
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Eligibility
You must:
- have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years – there are rules for what counts towards your time in the UK
- meet the salary requirements
- continue to be needed for your job and meet the salary requirements after you get indefinite leave to remain – you’ll need a document from your employer (sponsor) to confirm this
If you’re not eligible using your T2 or Skilled worker visa, there are other ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
Knowledge of language and life in the UK
If you’re 18 to 64 you’ll need to book and pass the Life in the UK Test.
You do not need to prove you meet the English language requirements when you apply to settle using your Skilled Worker, T2 or Tier 2 visa. This is because you did this when you applied for your visa.
When to apply
The earliest you can apply is 28 days before you’ve been in the UK for 5 years on a qualifying visa. Check which visas count towards your time in the UK. Your application may be refused if you apply earlier.
Do not wait until your current visa expires. If your visa expires before you can apply for indefinite leave to remain, you’ll need to renew it first.
Partner or Parent route
Partner or Parent (5 / 10 years) route
You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you have a family member settled in the UK – either as a British citizen or a person with indefinite leave to remain.
You can apply as:
- a partner – with your family visa
- a partner – as a dependant on your partner’s work visa
- a parent – with your family visa
- a child – with your family visa
- a child – as a dependant on your parent’s work visa
- an adult dependent relative on a family visa
- a dependant on your parent or partner’s innovator founder visa
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
You’ll need to apply the same way as your partner or parent who is settled or is applying to settle.
If you’re not eligible through family in the UK, there are other ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
When to apply
You can apply once you’re eligible.
If you’re applying as a parent or a partner with a family visa, the earliest you can apply is 28 days before you meet the requirements for time spent in the UK. Your application may be refused if you apply earlier.
Do not wait until your current visa expires. If your visa expires before you can apply for indefinite leave to remain, you’ll need to renew it first.
Indefinite leave to remain if your partner dies
You may be eligible to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain in the UK) if your partner has died. Your partner must have either:
- been a British citizen
- had indefinite leave to remain in the UK
- been from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and had pre-settled status
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Your permission to be in the UK must have been based on being their partner as part of a family visa. A ‘partner’ is one of the following:
- your spouse (husband or wife)
- your civil partner
- someone you were living with in a relationship that’s like a marriage or civil partnership
When to apply
You can apply any time after your partner’s death. You do not have to wait until your current visa expires.
You must be in the UK when you apply.
Indefinite leave to remain or enter (domestic violence or abuse)
You may be able to apply for permission to settle in the UK permanently if your relationship has broken down because of domestic violence or abuse.
Domestic violence and abuse can be emotional, psychological, physical, sexual or financial. It includes threatening or controlling behaviour to try to harm, isolate or frighten someone.
Permission to settle in the UK is sometimes called ‘settlement’, ‘indefinite leave to remain’ or ‘indefinite leave to enter’.
Permission to settle gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Check if you’re eligible.
You must tell the Home Office if you separate from your partner and your visa is based on that relationship.
When to apply
Apply for permission to settle in the UK as soon as possible after the relationship breaks down.
If you have a current visa, do not wait for it to expire.
You can apply to settle from inside the UK or apply to settle from outside the UK.
EU/EEA Settlement
If you’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you and your family might be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK. You might also be able to apply if you’re the family member of an eligible person of Northern Ireland.
The deadline for most people to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme was 30 June 2021. This deadline does not apply if you already have pre-settled status and you’re applying for settled status.
If you or your family are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you can still apply if you or a family member were living in the UK by 31 December 2020. You must also either:
- meet one of the criteria for a later deadline to apply
- have ‘reasonable grounds’ for why you’re applying now, and not by the deadline or in the time since the deadline passed
You may be able to stay in the UK without applying – for example, if you’re an Irish citizen, or you already have indefinite leave to enter or remain.
If your application is successful, you’ll get either settled or pre-settled status.
If you already have pre-settled status
You can usually apply for settled status once you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row. It’s free to apply.
You’ll need to make a new application to the scheme to switch from pre-settled status to settled status. If you do not do this, the Home Office will extend your pre-settled status by 2 years just before it’s due to expire.
They may cancel the extension if they think you no longer meet the requirements for it, for example because you’ve been outside the UK for more than 6 months in a 12 month period. There are some exceptions. Check how long you can spend outside the UK without losing your continuous residence.
Settled status gives you proof that you have the right to live in the UK permanently.
You can usually apply for British citizenship once you’ve had settled status for 12 months.
UK Ancestry visa route
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You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you’ve spent 5 years in the UK on a UK Ancestry visa.
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Eligibility
You can apply for indefinite leave to remain if you’ve spent 5 continuous years in the UK on an Ancestry visa.
In most cases you must have spent no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 month period.
If you think you’re affected by this rule, find out how to calculate your time in the UK (‘continuous residence’).
You must also prove you:
- have enough money to support yourself and your dependants
- can, and plan to, work in the UK
- are still a Commonwealth citizen
If you’re not eligible with an Ancestry visa, there are other ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
Indefinite Leave to Remain based on Private life
You may be eligible for or have rights in any of the following categories depending on your visa status or circumstances.
7 years child (born in the UK) route
You may be eligible for indefinite leave to remain if either:
- you have a visa on the basis of your private life
- you were born in the UK and have lived here continuously up to the age of at least 7
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Eligibility
The eligibility criteria you have to meet are different depending on whether you’re applying as an adult or a child.
Children and young adults
If you were born in the UK and have lived here for 7 continuous years since your birth, you can apply immediately for indefinite leave to remain on the basis of your private life.
Otherwise you can apply for indefinite leave to remain on the basis of your private life if all of the following are true:
- you were given a visa on the basis of your private life when you were aged between 18 and 24
- you arrived in the UK as a child
- you have lived in the UK for 5 continuous years with a visa
You can include time you’ve spent on any other visas which lead to indefinite leave to remain. You must have had a visa based on your private life for at least one year on the day you apply.
10 years’ long residence route
You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you’ve been in the UK legally for 10 continuous years (known as ‘long residence’).
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Eligibility
You must have permission to stay (‘leave to remain’).
You must also have been in the UK legally for 10 years without gaps (known as your ‘continuous residence’). This can include time on most immigration categories, or a combination of different immigration categories.
You’ll usually need to have held your current permission for one year.
If you have a family visa and your partner is British or settled in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave as a partner instead.
Family members
Your family members (‘dependants’) can apply separately if they’re eligible for indefinite leave to remain with long residence.
A dependant is your:
- partner
- child
You cannot include your family members (‘dependants’) in your application.
Dependants who are not eligible
If your dependants are not eligible to apply separately and your application for settlement is successful, they can apply to:
- remain in the UK as the partner of a settled person (they may be able to include their children in their application)
- remain in the UK as the child of a settled person
Outside the rule route: Indefinite Leave to Remain (permission to stay as a refugee, humanitarian protection, Discretionary)
You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) if you have:
- protection status (permission to stay as a refugee or person with humanitarian protection)
- Discretionary Leave
Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.
Return to the UK if you had Indefinite Leave to Remain
You may be able to come to live permanently in the UK as a ‘returning resident’ if you were previously settled here.
What you need to do depends on how long you were away.
If you were away for less than 2 years
You still have your indefinite leave to remain if you were away for less than 2 years.
You can re-enter the UK as long as you:
- had indefinite leave to remain in the UK when you last left
- did not receive financial support from the Home Office to leave the UK
When you travel to the UK, show the stamp, vignette or biometric residence permit that originally gave you permission to settle here.
If it’s in an old passport, carry both your old passport and your new passport when you travel.
If you were away for more than 2 years (Returning Resident visa)
You lose your indefinite leave to remain if you’ve been outside the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for more than:
- 5 continuous years, if you have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (unless you’re a Swiss citizen or their family member)
- 4 continuous years, if you have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and you’re a Swiss citizen or their family member
- 2 continuous years for anyone else
You may be able to re-enter the UK and get indefinite leave to remain by applying for a Returning Resident visa.
Eligibility
You must provide enough evidence to show:
- your strong ties to the UK – for example you or your family have lived here most of your life
- your current circumstances and why you’ve lived outside the UK
How long it takes to get a decision
You’ll usually get a decision within 6 months if you apply using the standard service.
You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.
You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.
Priority service to get a decision within 5 working days.
Super priority service to get a decision:
- by the end of the next working day after providing your fingerprints and photo (known as ‘biometric information’) if your appointment is on a weekday
- 2 working days after providing your biometric information if your appointment is at the weekend
Working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays.
You may be eligible for or have rights in any of the above categories depending on your visa status or circumstances.
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