When can I apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?

Indefinite Leave to Remain, often called ILR or settlement, lets you live and work in the UK without a time limit on your stay. When you can apply depends on your visa route, how long you have held permission on it, and how much time you have spent outside the UK. This guide explains the usual qualifying periods and the main things that can affect your date.

Qualifying periods by route

Your qualifying period is the length of time you must spend on a route before you can apply. Under the Immigration Rules at the time of writing, the usual periods are:

• Spouse or partner (five-year route): 5 years with permission as a partner
• Spouse or partner (ten-year route): 10 years, which applies to some people who did not meet all the requirements of the five-year route
• Skilled Worker: 5 years, which can sometimes include time on certain other work routes
• Global Talent: 3 or 5 years, depending on your field and how you were endorsed
• Innovator Founder: 3 years
• UK Ancestry: 5 years
• Long residence: 10 years of continuous lawful residence, meaning you lived in the UK with valid permission throughout, which can combine time on different visas

Partners and children who came as dependants usually follow the same timescale as the main applicant, although some of their requirements differ.

Time on some visas does not count towards every route. For example, time as a Student does not count towards the five-year Skilled Worker route, but it can count towards long residence.

Applying up to 28 days early

On most routes, the rules let you apply up to 28 days before you reach the end of your qualifying period. If you apply earlier than that, your application is likely to be refused, and the fee is not normally refunded. It is worth working out your date carefully.

Make sure your current permission does not run out before you apply. If you apply in time, your existing permission continues while the Home Office makes its decision. Gaps in your permission can cause serious problems, especially on the long residence route.

Absences from the UK

Most routes require continuous residence, meaning you have lived in the UK without long breaks during your qualifying period.

• On most work routes, such as Skilled Worker, and on the long residence route, you must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period.
• Some absences can be excused, for example because of serious illness or a natural disaster, if you have evidence.
• Other routes, including the partner route, treat absences differently. On the partner route, long periods abroad can raise questions about whether you and your partner live together in the UK.

If your absences go over the limit, your continuous residence may be broken and your qualifying period may restart.

Keep a record of your trips, with dates. Your passport may not show every journey, so travel bookings and boarding passes are useful evidence.

Other requirements

Reaching your date is only part of the test. Most applicants also need to:

• pass the Life in the UK Test, a test on British history, culture, and traditions
• meet the English language requirement
• meet the suitability rules, which look at criminal records and immigration history
• keep meeting the requirements of their route

For example, Skilled Worker applicants usually need their employer to confirm they still need them, and their pay must meet the salary rules at the time. Check the current salary rules on GOV.UK.

People under 18 or aged 65 and over are usually exempt from the Life in the UK Test and the English language requirement.

Settlement rules are under review

The government has proposed changes to how settlement works, including longer qualifying periods for some routes. Some changes may affect people who are already in the UK and have not yet settled.

This guide reflects the rules at the time of writing. If you are approaching your date, check the latest position on GOV.UK before you apply. If the rules change before you are ready to apply, take advice on how the new rules apply to you.

Working out your date

For a rough idea of your earliest application date, try our ILR date checker. It is a starting point only, because absences, gaps in permission, and changes to your circumstances can all affect the answer.

Once you have ILR, you may later be able to apply for British citizenship.