Settling in the UK with indefinite leave to remain — who qualifies, the residence and English requirements, the Life in the UK test, costs, and how ILR leads to British citizenship.
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR), also called settlement, lets you live and work in the UK without any time limit on your stay. Unlike a visa, it does not need renewing, and it is the usual stepping stone to British citizenship. Most people qualify after a set period of lawful residence on a qualifying visa.
ILR is recorded digitally as an eVisa linked to your UKVI account. Keep that account up to date, especially your current passport, so you can prove your status and travel.
Most people reach ILR after five years on a qualifying route: the Skilled Worker visa, a partner or spouse visa under Appendix FM, Global Talent, and several others. Some routes have different qualifying periods — for example, ten years' long residence, or shorter periods for certain Global Talent holders.
Each route has its own form. Work and most other routes use SET(O); the partner route uses SET(M).
The central requirement is continuous residence: on most routes you must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period across your qualifying years. Exceeding that can break your continuous residence and push your ILR date back.
The rolling calculation catches people out, because the Home Office can check every possible 12-month window, not just calendar years.
Most applicants aged 18 to 64 must meet the Knowledge of Language and Life (KoLL) requirement for settlement: pass the Life in the UK test and prove English at level B1 or above. This applies to adult dependants too, even when the online form does not specifically ask for the certificates.
A typical ILR application needs your passport and eVisa or BRP, evidence of your time in the UK and your absences, and route-specific proof — payslips and an employer letter for Skilled Worker, or cohabitation and financial evidence for the partner route. Build a clear, dated record of your absences before you apply.
The ILR application fee is substantial — over £3,000 per person — so check the current figure on GOV.UK before you apply. On the standard service you usually get a decision within six months; the super priority service aims for a decision by the end of the next working day after your biometrics.
ILR is usually not the final step. After holding it for 12 months (or immediately, if you are married to a British citizen) you can apply to naturalise as a British citizen. The Life in the UK test pass you used for ILR normally counts again, so keep your reference number safe.
The government has proposed adding up to 20 years to the settlement qualifying period for people who entered the UK illegally or overstayed. It is a proposal, not law. Here is what is on the table and what the current rules still say.
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Statement of Changes HC 259 confirmed that a suspended sentence of 12 months or more can now trigger the deportation framework, not just a custodial sentence. Here is what that means if you hold indefinite leave to remain.
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Earned settlement is the government's proposed overhaul of indefinite leave to remain, built around a 10-year baseline qualifying period. Here is what is confirmed, what is still only a proposal, and what to do if you are close to qualifying.
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Settled status is legally a form of indefinite leave to remain, but the two statuses are obtained under different rules and, crucially, survive different lengths of absence from the UK. Here is a clear side-by-side comparison.
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Getting "Sorry, there is a problem with the service" when generating an eVisa share code? Here's what causes it and how to fix or work around it.
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The SET forms are the Home Office's ILR application forms. A plain-English decision guide to SET(M), SET(O), SET(F) and SET(LR) so you pick the right one.
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On the 10-year partner or parent route and filed SET(M), or about to? That is the wrong form. The 10-year route uses a separate online product. Here is how to check and put it right.
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Short on your ILR fee with a deadline looming? Here are honest, accurate payment options under UK rules, why applying in time protects your status, and free help.
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Running your own business on a Skilled Worker visa is tightly restricted. Here's what GOV.UK actually allows, the 20-hour rule, and the risks to your ILR.
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ILR costs over £3,000 per person in Home Office fees, plus optional and hidden extras. Here's a clear breakdown, with a worked family example.
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Your bank only issues statements when there is activity, so you cannot supply six monthly ones. Here is how to evidence held cash savings for partner ILR.
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Your child completing 5 years in the UK isn't enough for ILR on the Skilled Worker route. What matters is whether both parents are settling. Here's the rule.
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EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can often verify their identity for ILR using the UK Immigration ID Check app, here's when the app applies and when you need an in-person biometric appointment instead.
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Free biometric appointments are available at UKVCAS core service points, and you upload your evidence through your UKVCAS online account. Here's how the process works.
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If the Home Office emails asking why your children weren't on your SET(O) ILR application, it's a request for clarification, not a refusal. Here's how to respond and what happens next.
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Yes, ILR lets you travel abroad freely, but stay out 2 continuous years and it lapses, and leaving while your application is pending can cancel it. The absence limits and pending-application rules explained.
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Self-employment income does not count towards the Skilled Worker ILR salary requirement, only guaranteed PAYE pay from your sponsor does. Here's what the Home Office actually assesses, what supplementary work is allowed, and the salary evidence you really need.
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Applying for settlement on a Skilled Worker visa? The form is SET(O), the online ILR application for work and points-based routes. Here's how SET(O) compares to SET(M), SET(F) and SET(LR), and how to apply.
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The UK uses different absence limits for ILR and for citizenship. Here is what the 180-day, 90-day, 450-day and 270-day rules actually mean, and what to do if the Home Office miscounts your days.
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Skilled Worker dependants apply for ILR in their own right after their own 5 years in the UK. You can apply together if everyone qualifies, or separately if a partner or child joined you later.
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You can apply for ILR up to 28 days before your qualifying period ends, but applying even one day too early means refusal and a lost fee. Here's how to find your earliest valid date and avoid the trap.
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If your employer loses their sponsor licence, the Home Office normally shortens your visa to 60 days. Here are your real options and timescales to find a new sponsor, switch routes, or protect your path to settlement.
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Enrolled your biometrics but never uploaded your passport? In most cases you do not need to start a new application. Here is the correct, calm way to fix it.
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The super priority service aims for a decision by the end of the next working day. Weekends and bank holidays do not count, so a Friday or Saturday biometrics appointment usually means a decision the following working day, not over the weekend.
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A B1 SELT pass counts for ILR only if your application is made before 26 March 2027. From that date the Immigration Rules require B2, and the carry-over rule for previous grants changes too. Here is exactly what Appendix KoLL says and how to time your application.
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From 26 March 2027, the English language requirement for UK settlement rises from B1 to B2 across around 14 routes. Here is who it affects, what B2 actually means, and why many applicants should aim to apply before the deadline.
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A council parking ticket is a civil penalty, not a criminal conviction, and a London Tribunals appeal is not a pending prosecution. Here is what the ILR suitability rules actually ask about, and when a parking matter can become a problem.
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Applying for ILR as a Skilled Worker dependant partner on SET(O)? You do not need a house deed or register of title. Here is what the Home Office caseworker guidance actually accepts as evidence of living together, and how to organise it.
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Holding valid pre-settled status while your settled status application is pending? You can normally travel abroad and return to the UK. Here is what GOV.UK actually says, and the absence rules that can quietly derail your settled status.
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Your Skilled Worker ILR clock starts when your permission started, not when you submitted your visa application and not when your CoS was assigned. Here is how to find the right date and what to do about a small shortfall.
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Leaving the UK while your ILR application is pending means it is automatically treated as withdrawn under paragraph 34K of the Immigration Rules. Here is how the rule works, what happens to your fee, and the safe way to plan travel around your application.
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Once you hold ILR you have recourse to public funds. What you can claim, how the habitual residence test works, and what it means for citizenship.
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Global Talent visa holders can settle after 3 years with an exceptional talent endorsement or prestigious prize, or 5 years under exceptional promise. Here is who qualifies for which.
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Your UK State Pension depends on National Insurance qualifying years, not your immigration status. Here is what counts, what ILR changes, and how to check your record.
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ILR holders and British citizens can sponsor parents under the Adult Dependent Relative route, but the care test is so strict most applications are refused.
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How Health and Care Worker visa holders qualify for ILR after 5 years: sponsorship and salary at settlement, absence limits, dependants, and the 2026 position for care workers.
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If your relationship ends before spouse-visa ILR, you cannot apply on SET(M). Here is who you must tell, and the routes that can keep you in the UK.
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ILR can lapse after 2 years abroad, be revoked for deception, or end with a deportation order. Here is exactly when settled status ends, and when it does not.
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An ILR fee waiver removes the £3,226 settlement fee, but only on human-rights routes like the 10-year family or private life route. Here is who qualifies, the affordability test, and how to apply.
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If you stay under the rolling 180-day limit, a single 50–90 day trip does not break continuous residence, but long absences can draw questions, so evidence them well.
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Once you have ILR you are normally free of 'no recourse to public funds', so you can apply for council housing. Lawful use does not harm naturalisation.
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A criminal driving conviction can engage the suitability rules and block ILR on the 5-year route, while still leaving the 10-year route open. Here is why, and how to respond.
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Ticked the wrong Yes/No on your submitted ILR application? A genuine, innocent error can usually be corrected without a whole new application. Here is how.
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ILR lapses automatically after 2 continuous years outside the UK, and brief visits back won't reliably save it. Here's how the rule works, what the £726 Returning Resident visa involves, and whether it's still worth getting ILR before you move abroad.
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Time spent on a Charity Worker (Temporary Work) visa does not count toward Skilled Worker settlement. Your 5-year ILR clock starts from your Skilled Worker grant.
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On the standard (non-priority) service, UKVI usually decides ILR within 6 months of your biometrics. Here's why the automated 'still processing' emails are normal, and when it's fair to chase.
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When the main Skilled Worker applicant settles, the dependant partner keeps extending on the same route until their own 5-year ILR, not a spouse visa.
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Your indefinite leave to remain doesn't expire even though your BRP card did. You now prove settled status through your eVisa and a share code, here's how to set up access.
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ILR is settlement, not citizenship. A child born outside the UK can't get a British passport just because a parent gets ILR. Here's the real route.
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For SET(M) you prove you've lived together since your last visa, about 2.5 years on the 5-year route, not the full 5. There's no fixed number of documents, and letters in one name still count.
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On the SET(O) form, "other countries you have lived in" means every country you have lived in over your lifetime, including your country of birth, not just countries since you arrived in the UK.
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Your SET(M) 5-year clock usually runs from the valid-from date on your partner visa, not the day you landed. Here is how UKVI counts it.
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On the 10-year partner or parent route you apply through the “partner and parent applications” service, not SET(M) or SET(LR). Here is the right form for each route.
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Your Skilled Worker visa ends before you complete 5 years' residence. Here's why you usually need to extend first, and why student time doesn't count.
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You sent the documents UKVI asked for, the decision date passed, and emails go nowhere. How to confirm your documents are linked and escalate.
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Being told a writ should be withdrawn is not the same as a judgment being set aside. How to check the official register and decide what to declare on ILR.
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An expired share code from when you booked your Life in the UK test does not invalidate your pass or delay your ILR. Here is what actually matters.
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Planning to travel weeks after applying for ILR? Here's how priority and super priority slots work for Skilled Worker settlement, and the one rule that can sink your trip.
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Had a side limited company on your Skilled Worker visa and now dissolved it? Here is what actually matters for your ILR application.
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Left the UK for around nine months and worried your ILR clock has reset? Here is how a single long absence affects continuous residence for Skilled Worker dependants under the 180-day rule.
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A break in lawful leave usually restarts the 5-year Skilled Worker settlement clock. Here is what counts, what does not, and where the 10-year long residence route fits in.
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Worried a short gap between visas breaks your 10-year long residence ILR? Here's how continuity, absences and a visa switch are actually assessed, and which documents prove it.
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A clear, scannable ILR document checklist: passports, eVisa, continuous residence and absence records, Life in the UK, plus Skilled Worker and partner route documents.
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Changed Skilled Worker jobs but your SET(O) form only asks about your current sponsor? That's normal. Here's why past sponsors don't need re-declaring.
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How long ILR takes on the spouse/partner route: the 6-month standard service guideline, super priority and priority options, fees and what can slow a decision.
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Standard ILR application stuck past the 6-month service standard? Here's how to chase UKVI, complain, ask your MP to help, and what to realistically expect.
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Your auto-generated SET(M) checklist may not list proof of address, but partner ILR rules require evidence you've lived together. Here's what to include.
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Got a Home Office child safeguarding email after your settlement application? Here's what the section 55 enquiry means and how to respond.
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You're an adult dependent child applying for ILR via SET(O). Here's whether occasional university student work breaks the 'leading an independent life' test.
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After a priority Skilled Worker ILR application, the Home Office can email asking to evidence early absences. What it means and how to respond well.
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The Ankara Agreement is one of the lesser-known routes to ILR in the UK. If your visa is expiring and you're ready to apply for settlement, here's what the process involves.
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If you're applying for ILR on the Global Talent route, you may be wondering whether the priority service is available and whether it's worth using. Here's what applicants need to know.
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The super priority service promises a next-day ILR decision, but some applicants wait months with no update. Here's what "extremely complex" means and what you can do about it.
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Planning to submit your ILR application just before new immigration rules take effect? Here's how rule changes work in practice and whether submitting early protects you.
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Completing 5 years on a Skilled Worker visa is a huge milestone, but what happens if redundancy is looming at exactly the same time as your ILR application? Here's what you need to know.
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Not sure you have every entry and exit from the UK recorded for the past 5 years? You're not alone, here's what the Home Office expects and what happens if your travel history has gaps.
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Arrived on a 5-year spouse visa but your eVisa shows "Dependant" and an expiry date more than 5 years away? Here's how to make sense of it and when to apply for ILR.
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Many Skilled Worker dependants are confused about which date starts their 5-year ILR qualifying period, and whether the BRP date can help them avoid a costly visa extension.
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If your salary threshold changed during your time on a skilled worker visa, here's which salary you actually need to meet when applying for ILR in 2026.
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If your family joined you in the UK on a skilled worker visa, their ILR eligibility date might be different from yours. Here's how to work it out.
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An ILR refusal is not the end. Your realistic options, administrative review, reapplying, or appeal, depend on why you were refused and how long you have to act.
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Submitted your ILR application one day before your eligibility date? Here is why a single day early is within the rules, when applying early actually becomes a problem, and what to do if you went too far.
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