Indefinite Leave to Remain (otherwise know as Settlement or Permanent Residence) will allow you to live in the United Kingdom (UK) for an indefinite period, without any immigration based restrictions on your stay. It will allow you to leave and return to the UK freely, and engage in any type of work or business.

A UK permanent residency stamp can be granted once you have been living in the UK for the required time. Eventually you may then apply for British Nationality.

Getting Indefinite Leave to Remain

The periods that an applicant must spend in the UK before being eligible for Permanent Residence are listed in the table below. 

Current immigration status	Time required to gain ILR / Permanent Residence
Ancestry	5 years
Work permit, HSMP	5 years
Investors	5 years
Artists, composers, and writers	5 years
Retired person of independent means	5 years
Sole representatives	5 years
Person establishing themselves in business	5 years
Unmarried partner of a UK national or a person settled in the UK	2 years
Marriage to a UK national or a person settled in the UK	2 years
Marriage to an EEA national	5 years
EEA national and family members	5 years
Any combination of unlawful or lawful stay	14 years
Any combination of lawful stay	10 years

To be eligible for ILR you will generally need to show that:

• you will continue to meet the requirements on which the Home Office initially granted your visa;
• you have remained in the UK for the duration of your visa. You are allowed to have taken trips abroad during your stay, but you must not have spent extended periods outside the UK during the period of your visa; and
  
• you plan to remain present and settled in the UK.

You will need to provide a range of documentation, including passports and evidence to demonstrate your eligibility as part of your permanent residence application. fastUKpermit will assign a qualified lawyer to your ILR case, to ensure that nothing is missed. Complete our ILR query application form now, for an initial assessment.

We can apply for ILR one month prior to the completion of your visa.

If you have spent part of your stay on a Work Permit, and the remainder on HSMP, you may combine the time spent on each to meet the five year requirement.

As of 2nd April 2007, persons requesting permanent residence will be required to take the "Life in the UK" test.

If you do not meet the criteria for ILR at the end of the period above, you may be eligible for an extension of stay on your original visa.

If you would like further information and personal advice on Permanent Residence in the UK, please complete our ILR query form.

Keeping ILR

It may be deemed that a holder of ILR is no longer settled in the UK if that person spends a continuous period of two years or more outside of the UK, at any time. Your status of ILR may then be withdrawn from you. Holders of ILR therefore should not spend continuous periods of two years or more outside the UK as this may lead to the loss of ILR.

Holders should always maintain ties to the UK and should consider the UK as their home. Spending short periods of time in the UK over a number of years may lead to the loss of ILR.

For these reasons it is best to apply for naturalisation as soon as possible.

UK Citizenship

After a further year of ILR, the person may be eligible for UK naturalisation, more commonly known as Citizenship.

There are further eligibility requirements for Citizenship. Once naturalised, you hold full British Citizenship. You may then apply for a British passport.

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