Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is permanent settlement in the UK, granting the right to live, work, and study without time limit. An ILR application is decided largely on documents, so the supporting evidence determines the outcome more often than eligibility does. The documents fall into a common core required of every applicant, plus a route-specific set depending on them application form used. This checklist sets out both, current as of May 2026.
What documents does every ILR applicant need?
Every ILR applicant provides a core set of documents covering identity, status, residence, and the knowledge requirements. These are required regardless of the route and the SET form used. The typically documents include:
- A current passport or travel document, and previous passports covering the qualifying period
- Proof of immigration status, normally your eVisa accessed through a UKVI account
- Evidence of continuous residence across the qualifying period, such as employment, study, or residence records
- Proof you meet the English language requirement, unless exempt
- Confirmation you have passed the Life in the UK Test
- A passport-style photograph, and biometric enrolment as part of the application
You generate a share code from your UKVI account to prove your immigration status, valid for 90 days.
How do you evidence continuous residence?
Continuous residence is evidenced by showing lawful presence in the UK across the qualifying period within the permitted absence limit. For most work based five-year routes, the limit is no more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period, assessed under Appendix Continuous Residence. The aim is to show, year by year, that you were in the UK and within the absence limit.
Useful evidence includes employer letters confirming employment and any periods of overseas work, payslips, P60s, tenancy agreements, council tax records, and bank statements. Aim for at least two sources for each year of the qualifying period, so the record does not depend on a single document. Where you have spent time abroad, a clear schedule of absences with dates and reasons helps present the position. Our guide to continuous residence for UK settlement and ILR explains how the limit is calculated.
What English and Life in the UK evidence is needed?
You must show knowledge of English at B1 and a pass in the Life in the UK Test, unless an exemption applies. The English requirement is met at CEFR level B1 in speaking and listening through an approved Secure English Language Test, a degree taught in English, or your nationality. The Life in the UK Test is a computer-based test of 24 questions, with 18 correct answers needed to pass, and the test fee is £50 per attempt.
Applicants aged 65 or over, and those with a qualifying long-term medical condition, may be exempt from one or both requirements with the right supporting evidence. To check which knowledge requirements apply to you, contact our friendly team on 0208 757 5751 or use our contact form.
SET(M): documents for partners and parents
The SET(M) route is for those settling as the partner or parent of a British citizen or settled person, and adds relationship, financial, and accommodation evidence to the core. The relationship evidence shows that the relationship remains genuine and subsisting and that you have lived together through the qualifying period, through cohabitation documents addressed to both partners across the five years.
The financial evidence shows that the income or savings requirement is met, currently a gross annual income of £29,000 for those on the standard route, or the transitional £18,600 for applicants who first applied before 11 April 2024 and remain with the same partner. Accommodation evidence shows suitable housing that is not overcrowded within the meaning of the Housing Act 1985. The partner route to settlement is set out on our ILR spouse and partner route hub.
SET(O): documents for work and other routes
The SET(O) route covers work and several other categories, including Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, and UK Ancestry, each with its own evidence. A Skilled Worker applicant provides a current Certificate of Sponsorship, evidence that the salary meets the relevant threshold, and a letter from the sponsoring employer confirming the role continues and is needed for the foreseeable future.
Other SET(O) categories provide the evidence specific to that route: a Global Talent applicant relies on the continuing endorsement, an Innovator Founder on the business and endorsement criteria, and a UK Ancestry applicant on the ancestral link and the work condition. The qualifying period is five years for most of these routes, and continuous residence is evidenced as above. Settlement on the Skilled Worker route is covered on our Skilled Worker Visa hub.
SET(LR): documents for long residence
The SET(LR) route is for those settling on the basis of long residence, and turns on a continuous lawful residence record. The qualifying period and the way continuous residence is calculated for long residence changed in April 2024, so the evidence must establish lawful residence across the full qualifying period. A detailed residence history, supported by documents for each year and a complete schedule of absences, is central to a long residence application.
What does ILR cost and how long does it take in 2026?
The ILR application fee is £3,226 per person for applications made on or after 8 April 2026, and ILR is exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge. A standard application is normally decided within six months, although many are decided sooner. Faster decisions are available where the route allows: the Priority Service costs £500 and aims for a decision within five working days, and the Super Priority Service costs £1,000 and aims for a decision by the end of the next working day. These services are not available for every route or every applicant, so eligibility should be confirmed before relying on them.
Are the ILR rules changing?
The government has proposed significant changes to settlement, but they are not in force as of May 2026. Under the earned settlement proposals consulted on between November 2025 and February 2026, the standard qualifying period for settlement would increase from five years toward ten years, with a longer period proposed for some routes, and a No Recourse to Public Funds condition considered at settlement. These are proposals, and any change would take effect only through a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules. Applicants should confirm the qualifying period in force on their application date, because the proposals, if implemented, are intended to apply broadly to those who do not already hold settled status.
Frequently asked questions
Every applicant provides identity and status documents, evidence of continuous residence across the qualifying period, proof of English at B1, and a Life in the UK Test pass. A route-specific set is added on top, depending on whether you use SET(M), SET(O), or SET(LR). Aim for at least two sources of residence evidence for each year.
The ILR fee is £3,226 per person for applications made on or after 8 April 2026. ILR is exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge. Optional faster decisions cost £500 for the Priority Service or £1,000 for the Super Priority Service where available.
Most people now prove their status through an eVisa accessed in a UKVI account rather than a physical Biometric Residence Permit. You generate a share code from your account to prove your status, valid for 90 days. Where you still hold a BRP, include it, but the eVisa is the primary status record.
You prove it by showing lawful presence in the UK across the qualifying period within the absence limit, normally no more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period for five-year routes. Employer letters, payslips, tenancy and council tax records, and bank statements are the usual evidence. A clear schedule of absences with dates supports the application.
Travelling while an ILR application is pending can lead to the application being treated as withdrawn, depending on the route and the timing. As a general position, you should not travel after submitting until a decision is made, unless you have confirmed it is safe to do so. This is a point worth checking before booking any travel.
How Whytecroft Ford can help
For most ILR applicants, this is the culmination of years of lawful residence, and the anxiety is rarely about whether they qualify. It is about whether the evidence proves it: whether the absences are within the limit, whether each year of residence is documented, and whether a single missing record could put the whole period at risk. A refusal at this stage is not just a fee lost; it can disrupt years of settled life.
Whytecroft Ford advises applicants across the SET(M), SET(O), and SET(LR) routes, including the continuous residence calculation, the route-specific evidence, and the assembly of a document pack that leaves no year of residence unsupported. For the long-haul applicant who has used the firm at earlier stages of a five-year journey, the role at settlement is to confirm eligibility with confidence and prepare the evidence meticulously. To discuss your ILR application with an experienced immigration adviser, call 0208 757 5751 or use our contact form.
Sources
- Settle in the UK (indefinite leave to remain), GOV.UK
- Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence, GOV.UK
- Life in the UK Test, GOV.UK
Written and reviewed by Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team, authorised and regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, registration number F201900075. All guidance is researched against primary sources, including the Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance at GOV.UK. Reviewed every six months, or sooner following a relevant rule change. Last reviewed: 20 May 2026.
