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A Complete Guide to Indefinite Leave to Remain

Indefinite Leave to Remain or UK settlement may be your goal if you are planning to move to the UK or are already in the UK and working towards being eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

In this guide, our UK immigration lawyers explain what Indefinite Leave to Remain means and answer some frequently asked questions on applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

The guide covers:

What is Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)?

Indefinite Leave to Remain is an immigration status. ILR enables the holder to live and work in the UK without the immigration restrictions and conditions associated with living in the UK on a work visa, family visa, or other types of UK visa.

Most people who come to the UK hoping to make the country their home want to apply for ILR as soon as possible due to the financial and other benefits it provides. Your choice of visa and other decisions can influence how long it takes to secure ILR and how easily you can obtain it.

Benefits of Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

The benefits of applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain are:

  1. Once you have ILR, you no longer need to make visa applications to stay in the UK.
  2. With ILR, you are classed as settled in the UK. You can enjoy the benefits of settlement without losing your home country citizenship, unless you decide to apply for British citizenship.
  3. Most non-British people need ILR to be able to apply for British citizenship or dual nationality.
  4. You do not need to report to the Home Office. There is no requirement to notify the Home Office if you change your address, employer, or if other circumstances change.
  5. You can work in the UK and do not need an employer with a sponsor licence to sponsor your employment.
  6. You can apply for any job, as you are no longer restricted to applying for specific jobs or to jobs with a minimum skill set or minimum salary threshold. You are not limited in your hours of work, as you can choose to work part-time, take on overtime, or hold a second job.
  7. You can set up a business in the UK without requiring an endorsing body to approve your business and to monitor its growth, so that you can secure another visa.
  8. You can remain in the UK if you entered the UK on a Spouse Visa or Family Visa with the support of your sponsoring partner, but you split up from your partner after securing ILR.
  9. You can sponsor some family members to join you in the UK if they meet the eligibility criteria to apply for a Family Visa.
  10. You are entitled to access medical treatment from the NHS without having to pay the immigration health surcharge.
  11. If you meet the benefits eligibility criteria, you can claim state benefits in the UK.
  12. You are entitled to access public services and have the same rights to do so as someone born in the UK. This includes access to schools, colleges, and universities, as well as entitlement to apply for educational grants.
  13. You can vote in local elections.
  14. If you are the parent of a child born in the UK whilst you hold ILR, the child will qualify for British citizenship.

Visas that lead to settlement in the UK

There are many different types of UK visas. Time spent on some visas counts towards meeting the residence requirement for an ILR application, but others do not. This is why your choice of visa and whether to switch to a different visa is important.

The most well-used visas and routes that can lead to UK settlement are:

  1. Work and business visas
  2. Family visas
  3. Nationality-based routes and visas

If you did not enter the UK on a visa that leads to settlement, you may be entitled to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain through:

  1. Switching to a different visa, or
  2. The long residence route

If you are an EU national, you may have questions about settled status Indefinite Leave to Remain. Settled status is a different status to ILR. EU nationals could apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme until the route was closed. If you are an EU national living in the UK without settled status, you will need legal advice on your immigration status and the application process for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

must meet the indefinite leave to remain requirements and submit a settlement application to the Home Office to obtain ILR.

There are two types of requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain. They are:

  1. General ILR eligibility criteria that all applicants must meet, and
  2. Visa-specific eligibility criteria that relate to how you entered the UK and your immigration status

When moving to the UK from overseas and when planning a settlement application, it's important to be aware of five things:

  1. You need to meet both the general and the relevant visa-specific eligibility criteria to secure ILR.
  2. All applicants for ILR must have resided in the UK for a minimum period before they can qualify for ILR – this is called the residence requirement. The length of the residence requirement you must meet to qualify for ILR depends on the type of visa you hold. Most applicants can apply for indefinite leave to remain after 5 years.
  3. Time spent in the UK on some types of visas does not count towards meeting your residence requirement.
  4. Your immigration records and actions whilst in the UK may affect the timing of your settlement application or the prospects of settling in the UK.
  5. Family members in the UK on Dependant Visas must make a separate application, as the Home Office does not allow you to make a family settlement application to cover your partner and children.

ILR for child born outside the UK is also possible if the child has a settled parent living in the UK or if the child meets a ten-year continuous residence criterion under the long residence route.

General eligibility requirements for ILR

When applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain, there are four general eligibility requirements:

  1. Meeting the residence requirement
  2. Meeting the English language requirement
  3. Passing the Life in the UK test
  4. Meeting the general eligibility criteria to settle under the immigration rules

In addition to these general criteria, you must meet the relevant visa-specific requirements.

Qualifying periods for ILR

The qualifying period for ILR or the residence requirement applicable to your settlement application depends on your visa category.

There are three types of qualifying periods for ILR:

  1. Accelerated – two or three years
  2. Standard – five years
  3. Long – ten plus years

Accelerated settlement may be available if you entered the UK on a specific type of entrepreneurial visa, such as the Innovator Founder Visa or the Global Talent Visa.

The standard qualifying period of five years applies if you entered the UK on a work visa, such as the Skilled Worker Visa. Indefinite Leave to Remain Spouse Visa criteria also require a five-year qualifying period unless the spouse qualifies for a concession. The concessions include a partner passing away or a sponsored spouse leaving a relationship due to domestic violence.

The long residence route to ILR may apply to you if you have lived in the UK lawfully for at least ten years and you can demonstrate strong ties to the UK.

How to apply for ILR can be complicated if you entered the UK where time spent on the visa did not count towards your qualifying period to meet the residence requirement, or where you have switched visa or made late visa applications.

Absence from the UK and ILR eligibility

The qualifying period rules for ILR permit applicants to be absent from the UK and meet the required residence requirement, provided their absence is within the 180-day rule. This rule says ILR applicants must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 months during their qualifying period.

If an applicant has been absent for over 180 days within a 12-month period, immigration legal advice should be sought to determine if they can be argued to fall within an exception to the rules.

English language and Life in the UK Test

When applicants for ILR need to pass two tests to qualify:

  1. The English language test to demonstrate knowledge of the English language, and
  2. The Life in the UK test, where the applicant answers multiple-choice questions to show their knowledge of life in the UK

An applicant may be exempt from sitting the tests if they are:

  • Age under 18 or over 65, or
  • Have evidence of a long-term physical or mental condition that affects their ability to sit the test/s

An applicant can also be exempt from sitting the English language test if:

  1. They come from a majority English-speaking country on a list provided by the Home Office, or
  2. They have a recognised qualification taught in English

Documents required for ILR application

The documents required when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain depend on the applicant’s visa route, but all ILR applicants need to provide:

  1. Valid passports and travel documents
  2. English language test certificate or evidence of exemption
  3. Life in the UK test evidence or evidence of exemption
  4. Evidence that the relevant residence requirement is met

Depending on the route to ILR, the required Indefinite Leave to Remain documents an applicant may need to produce may include evidence:

  1. Of their relationship with their sponsoring partner under a Spouse Visa, such as a marriage certificate
  2. That they meet the financial requirement that applies to their settlement application
  3. That they are in employment if applying through the Skilled Worker Visa or other work visa routes

How to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain

The steps to apply for ILR are:

  1. Check with an immigration lawyer to see if you meet all the eligibility requirements for the application and the evidence required in support of your application
  2. Obtain the evidence identified by the immigration lawyer
  3. Where necessary, sit the English language test and the Life in the UK test
  4. Apply online, addressing any potential problem areas, such as your immigration record, complexities with the visa-specific financial requirement or the absence threshold
  5. Attend a biometrics appointment for biometrics to be provided
  6. Send the application fee and supporting evidence
  7. Await the Home Office decision

Application fees and processing times

The Home Office sets and reviews the cost of indefinite leave to remain fees. The fees must be paid when the application is submitted to the Home Office. Additional fees may be charged for sitting the English language test and Life in the UK test, as well as for biometric appointments and premium processing.

The Home Office may take several months to process an application for ILR. The processing time can vary depending on the workload of Home Office officials. You can check out average Home Office processing times here.

You may be able to speed up the processing time by paying the Home Office an additional fee for priority processing.

If an applicant’s visa expires while their application is pending, then this does not affect their right to remain in the UK until their settlement application has been decided.

Common reasons for ILR refusal

Common reasons for ILR refusal include:

  1. Not submitting the documents required to support the application
  2. Paying an incorrect application fee
  3. Not explaining why Home Office officials should exercise discretion if there is a risk that the application may be refused because of exceeding the absence threshold or because of an aspect in the applicant’s immigration record, or in explaining and clarifying complexities relating to how the relevant financial threshold is met

Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitors can help by reviewing the reasons for the refusal and explaining your options.

What happens after ILR application is approved?

If your settlement application is approved, you have the right to stay in the UK. Your Indefinite Leave to Remain solicitor can advise on applying for British citizenship or dual citizenship if your country of origin allows dual citizenship. If you did not apply under the Spouse Visa route, you will need to hold ILR for at least 12 months before you are eligible to apply for naturalisation and obtain a British passport.

What to do if your ILR application is refused

What you should do if your settlement application is refused depends on the reasons for the ILR refusal. You may be able to:

  1. Apply for an administrative review of the decision to refuse the Indefinite Leave to Remain, or
  2. Appeal the ILR refusal, or
  3. Submit a new settlement application, or
  4. Apply for a further visa while you wait until you meet the eligibility requirements to reapply for ILR

Changes to ILR

The UK government plans to change the requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The proposed changes are in the 2025 Immigration White Paper.

If the proposed changes become law, it will mean:

  1. The qualifying period for most ILR applicants will be extended from the current five years to ten years, and
  2. It will be harder to qualify for ILR because applicants will have to demonstrate their contribution and commitment to the UK in a points and merits-based application process, and
  3. The English language requirement may be enhanced, so applicants will need to pass a test at a higher standard

These are proposals, and they may not become law. However, UK immigration solicitors recommend that those who qualify for ILR apply now, in case the government's proposed changes extend their qualifying period or make the process more complicated by requiring additional evidence in support of the application.

FAQs on Indefinite Leave to Remain

Do I need a biometric card if I have ILR?

The UK government is phasing out biometric cards and replacing them with digital records of immigration status, known as E-visas. An E-visa can be accessed online by UKVI account holders.

How long can I stay outside the UK with ILR?

If you are absent from the UK for two or more years, you will need a Returning Resident Visa before you can re-enter the UK. You will need to show that you intend to live in the UK if the permission is granted.

How long does ILR last?

ILR status is indefinite. You will only lose your ILR if:

  1. You successfully apply for British citizenship or dual citizenship, or
  2. You leave the UK for more than two years and do not apply for a Returning Resident visa, or
  3. You are deported from the UK, and your ILR is revoked

Can I lose my ILR if I divorce?

You do not lose your ILR if you get divorced because your status as a settled person is not dependent on your relationship status.

How long do you need to live in the UK to get ILR?

The length of time you need to live in the UK to obtain ILR depends on your visa status. Most applicants need to have continuously and lawfully lived in the UK for at least five years before applying to settle in the UK.

Can I travel outside the UK while my ILR application is being considered?

You should not travel outside the UK while you are waiting for the Home Office to process your ILR application.

Can I bring my family to the UK if I have IRL?

Your family can apply to come to the UK once you have ILR status. They will need to meet the eligibility criteria for a Dependant Visa or an Adult Dependent Relative Visa, and you, as their sponsor, will need to meet any visa-specific financial threshold.

Do I need legal advice on IRL?

Obtaining legal advice on the ILR eligibility requirements and your settlement application can be important. It may help you secure ILR on your first application by understanding the eligibility requirements, the necessary documents to support your application, and your immigration solicitor presenting an excellent case for why the Home Office should grant your Indefinite Leave to Remain application.

About OTS Solicitors

OTS Solicitors is a multi-award-winning law firm based in central London, ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession.

The ILR lawyers at OTS Solicitors are accredited by the Law Society for their immigration work.

If you choose OTS Solicitors as your UK immigration lawyers, we will support and guide you through your Indefinite Leave to Remain application and ensure you get the specialist immigration legal advice you need, tailored to your circumstances and delivered at a fair price.

OTS Solicitors are experts in:

  • Complex applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain involving issues over continuous or lawful residence, absence thresholds or the good character requirement
  • Securing Indefinite Leave to Remain after a previous refusal
  • Urgent time-critical applications
  • Applications using concessions such as the domestic violence concession for Spouse Visa Indefinite Leave to Remain, or in successfully making the case that Home Office officials should exercise discretion in applying its guidance to an application

Contact our UK immigration lawyers for expert Indefinite Leave to Remain advice.

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