UK Immigration · Settlement & ILR
Indefinite Leave to Remain
You can usually apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years in the UK, once you meet the continuous residence, English language and Life in the UK requirements. Some work routes settle in two to three years, and the long residence route after ten.
This guide provides an overview of the routes, requirements, documents and process for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
Family route
Read the family ILR guideWork route
Read the work ILR guide10-year route
Read the long residence guide- ILR is permanent settlement. It ends the conditions attached to a visa and gives the right to live in the UK without a time limit.
- The route depends on the visa held. Family, work and long residence each have their own qualifying period and application form.
- Five years is the common qualifying period. Some work routes settle in two to three years; long residence takes ten.
- Continuous residence is central. Absences above 180 days in any rolling 12 months can break the qualifying period.
- Most applicants sit two tests. The Life in the UK Test and an English language requirement apply across the main routes.
- ILR can lead to citizenship. Naturalisation usually follows 12 months after settlement, subject to the residence and good character rules.
What is Indefinite Leave to Remain?
Indefinite Leave to Remain is the immigration status that lets a person stay in the UK permanently, with no time limit on their leave. It is also called settlement. A person with ILR can work in any job, study, and access public funds on the same basis as a settled resident, without holding a separate visa.
ILR is not the same as British citizenship. Settlement removes the immigration time limit, but it does not grant a British passport or the right to vote in general elections. Citizenship is a later, separate step that most people reach through naturalisation after holding ILR.
Settlement can also lapse. ILR is lost where the holder stays outside the UK for two or more continuous years, or five years for those who held settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. A person in that position may need to apply for a Returning Resident visa to recover their status.
Who can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?
Most people apply for ILR after completing a qualifying period on a single visa route, or on a combination of routes that the rules allow to be added together. The route a person settles under is set by the visa they hold, and it determines the qualifying period, the application form and the evidence required.
The family route is for partners and spouses of British or settled people, and for certain children and family members. Settlement on this route usually follows five years on a family visa under Appendix FM.
The work route is for people who settle through employment, including the Skilled Worker, Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes. The qualifying period is usually five years, though Global Talent and some investor and business routes can settle in two or three years.
The long residence route is for people who have lived in the UK lawfully for ten continuous years, across any combination of visas. It is the route of last resort where no shorter qualifying route applies.
The visas that most commonly lead to settlement fall under these routes:
- Work routes: Skilled Worker (formerly Tier 2 General), Global Talent, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, and certain legacy work categories.
- Nationality and ancestry routes: UK Ancestry, and Hong Kong British National (Overseas).
- Family routes: partner and spouse visas under Appendix FM, and dependent children.
Which settlement route applies?
| If the applicant holds | The route is | The form |
|---|---|---|
| A spouse, partner or family visa under Appendix FM | Family | SET(M) |
| A Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder or other work visa | Work | SET(O) |
| Ten years of continuous lawful residence on any visas | Long residence | SET(LR) |
The common requirements for settlement
Most ILR routes share a core set of requirements, even though the qualifying period and the application form differ. An applicant who understands these common requirements can see early whether they are on track to settle.
The continuous residence requirement asks the applicant to have spent the qualifying period in the UK without excessive absences. The absence limit and how it is counted are set out in the section below.
The knowledge of life requirement asks most applicants aged 18 to 65 to pass the Life in the UK Test. The test covers British traditions, history and government, and the pass is valid for life once achieved.
The English language requirement asks most applicants to show English at level B1 of the Common European Framework, through an approved test or a degree taught in English. Some nationalities and age groups are exempt. The required level is set to rise from 2027, so applicants planning to settle should check the standard that will apply to them before they reach the qualifying date.
The suitability requirement asks the applicant to be of good character and free of serious immigration breaches or criminal history that would make settlement refusable. The specific route guide sets out how suitability is assessed for that category.
The qualifying period: how long before you can apply
The qualifying period is the unbroken stretch of time an applicant must complete before applying for settlement, and it depends on the route. Counting it correctly is the single most important planning step, because an early application can be refused and a late one wastes visa time.
Five years is the qualifying period for the family route and for most work routes, including the Skilled Worker visa. The five years must usually be spent on the same route, or on routes the rules permit to be combined.
Two to three years applies to a small number of accelerated routes. Global Talent and the investor and business routes can settle in three years, and in some cases two, where the higher conditions are met.
Ten years applies to the long residence route, which adds together lawful residence on any visas across a continuous decade in the UK.
A person who has not yet completed the qualifying period continues on their current visa, extending it where needed, until they reach the settlement point. An application can usually be made up to 28 days before the qualifying period is complete, and not before, and it should always be submitted before the applicant's current leave expires. Applying too early risks a refusal and the loss of the fee.
Continuous residence and the 180-day absence rule
Continuous residence means the applicant has remained in the UK throughout the qualifying period without absences above the permitted limit. The limit is 180 days in any rolling 12-month period, and it applies across most settlement routes.
The 180 days are counted on a rolling basis, not by calendar year or visa year. The Home Office looks back over any 12-month window during the qualifying period, so a long trip that straddles two years can still breach the limit. Whole days of absence are counted.
Absences for work, study or family reasons all count towards the limit, with limited exceptions for serious or compelling circumstances. Serious or compelling circumstances can include serious illness of the applicant or a close relative, a conflict, or a natural disaster, supported by evidence such as a medical certificate or a record of disrupted travel. Time spent outside the UK on Crown service or certain overseas postings can be treated differently, and the position should be checked against the applicant's route.
An applicant who has been absent close to the limit should keep a clear travel record, with dates of departure and return, so the qualifying period can be evidenced. Where absences exceed the limit, the continuous residence clock may reset, and the qualifying period may need to be recounted from a later date.
How to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain
An ILR application is made online through the relevant SET form, followed by a biometric enrolment appointment. The form a person uses is set by their route, and choosing the wrong form delays the application.
SET(M) is the form for the family route, used by partners, spouses and family members settling under Appendix FM. SET(O) is the form for the work route and most other categories, including the Skilled Worker visa. SET(LR) is the form for settlement on the basis of ten years of long residence.
After submitting the online form and paying the fee, the applicant books an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services centre to provide biometrics and upload documents. A standard decision usually follows within six months, with priority and super priority services available at extra cost for a faster decision.
A grant of ILR is now issued as an eVisa, the digital immigration status that replaced the biometric residence permit for new grants from the end of 2024. The applicant accesses and proves their status through their UKVI account rather than a physical card.
Documents needed for a settlement application
An ILR application is decided on the documents submitted, so a complete and well-ordered evidence bundle is central to a successful application. The exact list depends on the route, but a common core applies across most settlement applications.
The common core of an ILR evidence bundle includes:
- a current passport, and any previous passports covering the qualifying period;
- the applicant's eVisa or biometric residence permit details, and a short immigration history;
- the Life in the UK Test pass notification, and evidence of the English language requirement unless an exemption applies;
- a record of every absence from the UK during the qualifying period, with dates of departure and return.
Route-specific evidence is then added on top. The family route adds proof of the continuing relationship and the financial requirement. The work route adds the certificate of sponsorship details, salary evidence and, where relevant, the employer's confirmation of continued employment. Where dependants are included, each person's evidence is provided alongside the main applicant's.
ILR fees and processing times
The Home Office charges a fixed application fee for settlement, payable per person at the point of application. The fee is £3,226 per applicant (as of April 2026), and it is not refunded if the application is refused. Each dependant included pays the same fee.
Priority and super priority services can speed up the decision for an additional charge, where the service is available for the route. A standard application is usually decided within six months, a priority application within around five working days, and a super priority application by the next working day.
The fee and the service options change periodically, usually when the Home Office updates its fee schedule each April.
After Indefinite Leave to Remain is granted
A grant of ILR gives the holder the right to live in the UK permanently, with access to work, study and public funds on a settled basis. The status is held through the applicant's UKVI account as an eVisa, which is used to prove the right to work and rent.
ILR continues for as long as the holder does not spend too long outside the UK. Settlement lapses after two continuous years abroad, or five years for those who held EU Settlement Scheme status, after which a Returning Resident application may be needed to recover it.
Settled status also opens the path to British citizenship. Most people become eligible to naturalise 12 months after the grant of ILR, subject to the residence and good character requirements, and partners of British citizens may apply without the 12-month wait.
From settlement to British citizenship
British citizenship is the status most settled people move to after ILR, and it is reached through naturalisation. Citizenship adds the rights ILR does not carry, including a British passport and the right to vote, and it cannot lapse through absence.
The naturalisation requirements build on settlement. The applicant must usually have held ILR for 12 months, have completed five years of residence in the UK, meet the good character requirement, and have passed the Life in the UK Test. Partners of British citizens can apply for citizenship as soon as they hold ILR, without the 12-month qualifying hold.
The Life in the UK Test already passed for settlement does not need to be retaken for citizenship. The same pass covers both stages.
What happens if a settlement application is refused
A refused ILR application leaves the applicant on their existing leave, where that leave is still valid, and a fresh application can usually be prepared once the refusal reason is understood. The refusal letter sets out the ground, which is the starting point for the next step.
Common grounds include absences above the continuous residence limit, a gap in lawful leave during the qualifying period, an unmet Life in the UK or English requirement, or a suitability concern. Many of these are answered by a corrected and better-evidenced fresh application.
Where the qualifying period is not yet complete, the applicant may need to extend their current visa and apply for settlement later, once the requirement is met. Where the refusal turned on a document or test that can be supplied, the fresh application addresses the specific gap.
Cost and timeline in practice
The examples below show how the settlement stage tends to come together. They are anonymised and indicative, given as ranges, and are not a quote for any individual application.
A single Skilled Worker applicant settling after five years sat the Life in the UK Test once, met the English requirement through an earlier test taken for the original visa, and applied on SET(O). The Home Office fee was £3,226 (as of April 2026), and the standard decision arrived within roughly two to three months, inside the six-month service standard.
A family on the spouse route settled together, with a main applicant and one dependent child. Each person paid the settlement fee, the main applicant evidenced the continuing relationship and the financial requirement on SET(M), and the family used the super priority service to receive the decision by the next working day for an added charge per person.
A long residence applicant who had lived in the UK for ten years across a student visa, a work visa and a family visa applied on SET(LR). The absence record across the decade was the central piece of evidence, and the qualifying period was counted from the first day of continuous lawful residence.
Glossary
- ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain): permanent settlement in the UK, with no time limit on the holder's stay. Also called settlement.
- Qualifying period: the unbroken stretch of time on a route an applicant must complete before applying for settlement, usually five years.
- Continuous residence: residence in the UK throughout the qualifying period without absences above 180 days in any rolling 12 months.
- SET(M) / SET(O) / SET(LR): the online settlement application forms for the family route, the work route, and the long residence route.
- Life in the UK Test: the knowledge of life test most applicants aged 18 to 65 must pass for settlement and citizenship.
- eVisa: the digital immigration status that replaced the biometric residence permit for new grants, accessed through a UKVI account.
- Returning Resident visa: the application used to recover ILR that has lapsed after a long absence abroad.
Frequently asked questions about Indefinite Leave to Remain
What is the difference between ILR and British citizenship?
ILR is permanent settlement, which removes the time limit on a person's stay but does not grant a passport or the right to vote. British citizenship adds those rights and cannot lapse through absence. Most people hold ILR first and naturalise as a citizen later.
How long do you have to live in the UK to get ILR?
Most applicants qualify after five years on a family or work route. Some work routes, including Global Talent, can settle in two or three years, and the long residence route requires ten continuous years in the UK.
How many days can you spend outside the UK before ILR?
Most routes allow up to 180 days of absence in any rolling 12-month period during the qualifying period. Absences above that limit can break continuous residence and reset the qualifying clock.
When is the earliest you can apply for ILR?
An application can usually be submitted up to 28 days before the qualifying period is complete, and not before. It should always be made before the applicant's current leave expires, so that lawful status is held while the application is decided.
Do you have to pass the Life in the UK Test for ILR?
Most applicants aged 18 to 65 must pass the Life in the UK Test before settlement. The pass is valid for life and also counts towards a later citizenship application, so it is not retaken.
Which SET form is used for ILR?
The family route uses SET(M), the work route and most other categories use SET(O), and the ten-year long residence route uses SET(LR). The form is set by the applicant's visa route.
Can dependants be included in an ILR application?
Dependent partners and children can apply for settlement alongside the main applicant where they meet the requirements for their route. Each dependant pays the application fee and provides their own evidence.
Does ILR expire?
ILR does not expire while the holder remains in the UK, but it lapses after two continuous years spent outside the UK, or five years for those who held EU Settlement Scheme status. A Returning Resident application may then be needed.
How long does an ILR application take to decide?
A standard settlement application is usually decided within six months, and often sooner. Priority and super priority services can return a decision within about five working days or by the next working day, where the service is available for the route.
What happens if an ILR application is refused?
A refusal leaves the applicant on their existing leave where it is still valid, and a corrected fresh application can usually be prepared once the refusal reason is clear. Many refusals turn on absences, a leave gap or a missing test, each of which a better-evidenced application can address.
How Whytecroft Ford can help
The Whytecroft Ford immigration team advises on settlement across the family, work and long residence routes. The firm helps applicants confirm the right route and qualifying date, build the continuous residence and document evidence, and submit the correct SET application. This is the work that suits a long-haul applicant who has lived in the UK for years and wants the settlement step handled correctly the first time.
To discuss your settlement application with our team, call 0208 757 5751 or use the contact form.
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