Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) | Permanent Residence
Indefinite Leave to Remain (otherwise know as Settlement or Permanent Residence) will allow you to live in the United Kingdom (UK) indefinitely. It will allow you to leave and return to the UK as you wish, and engage in any type of employment or business. You will no longer have any immigration restrictions.
A UK permanent residency stamp can be granted once you have been living in the UK for the required time, as indicated below. Eventually you may then apply for British Nationality.
You must spend a number of years in the UK, depending on your immigration status, before you can apply for Permanent Residence.
| Current Visa | Time Required |
|---|---|
| Ancestry | 5 years |
| Work permit, HSMP, Tier 1 General, Investors, Tier 1 Invester, Artists, composers, Writers, Sole representatives, Business Person, Tier 1 Entrepreneur | 5 years |
| Retired person of independent means | 5 years |
| Unmarried partner of a UK national or a person settled in the UK, Marriage to a UK national or a person settled in the UK | 2 years |
| Marriage to an EEA national, EEA national and family members | 5 years |
| Any combination of unlawful or lawful stay | 14 years |
| Any combination of lawful stay | 10 years |
You 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 or Tier 1 General, you may combine the time spent on each to meet the five year requirement.
You will need to show that you will continue to meet the requirements of your current visa to be eligible for ILR. You need to have stayed in the UK for during the period you have held your visa. You are allowed to have travelled abroad during your this period. If you have spent large periods of time outside of the UK, it may be difficult to obtain ILR approval.
You must also plan to remain present and settled in the UK.
As of 2nd April 2007, you will be required to take the Life in the UK test before appying for Permanent Residence.
You will need to provide a range of documentation, including passports and evidence to demonstrate your eligibility as part of your ILR application.
If you do not meet the requirements for ILR at the expiry of your visa, you may be eligible for an extension instead.
Life in the UK Test
You will also need to pass the UK government's Life in the UK test before you are eligible to apply for ILR.
Duration
There is no time restriction on your stay in the UK once ILR is approved.
Keeping ILR
Once you have been granted ILR you should not spend more than two years outside of the UK at a time. Living outside of the UK for an extended period may result in your ILR being cancelled.
When you are away from the UK, you should maintain personal and financial ties to the UK. Staying in the UK for a short period of time each year for a number of years may also lead to ILR being withdrawn.
UK Citizenship
After a year with ILR, you may qualify for Citizenship. There are further eligibility requirements for Citizenship.
Do I need a lawyer?
Applications for ILR/Settlement must be thought out and well prepared. The government fee for this application is very high, and an application that needs to be resubmitted a second time will need to be accompanied with a second payment of the government charge.
Our lawyers will assist you in ensuring this does not happen to you. 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.
