Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
Do you need to apply for a Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)?
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Would you like to secure your permanent residency in the UK? If you are eligible, apply for Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK. Please don't risk your application, take professional advice from our experts today. We can help you with a hassle-free and seamless application process for Indefinite leave to remain. The Indefinite Leave to Remain application is the last application and after this you are not under immigration control, unless you leave the UK for more than 2 years continuously, Indefinite Leave to Remain is considered a privilege and not a right. Generally Indefinite Leave to Remain is granted either after completing 5 years or completing 10 years, the length of time depends on the category you are on. For an ILR application you cannot be granted a fee waiver and is a paid application.
Indefinite Leave to Remain gives you permission to live and work in the UK permanently. An Indefinite Leave to Remain visa - also known as ILR or Settlement - is the last step for any non-UK national or citizen to fulfill if they want to become eligible to apply for British citizenship or stay permanently in the UK without immigration restrictions.
When applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain on your current leave or visa, there might be the option of obtaining ILR or Indefinite Leave to Remain status on the fast track or priority service To check whether you’re eligible for the same day, premium process, and the next available date you can submit an Indefinite Leave to Remain application, contact us today.
There isn’t a limit on how long Indefinite Leave to Remain is valid for. However, Indefinite Leave to Remain can lapse if you break the conditions. For example, if you spend periods of more than two years outside of the UK, this can lead to the loss/lapse of Indefinite Leave to Remain or ILR status. ILR can also become invalidated for other reasons, such as if you commit a criminal offence.
In order to apply for an ILR visa, the main general requirements applicable to almost all the routes for ILR after you have spent 5 years or 10 years (if applying under the long residency route) lawfully in the UK.
During the previous five years or ten years, the applicant should not have spent 180 days or more outside the UK. The days out requirements have different clauses, so please check with our advisers if you have been out of the UK for more than 180 days. Depending on the circumstances, you may still be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain on compassionate and compelling grounds for example you were unable to travel due to COVID 19.
When you apply for indefinite leave to remain, you need to show that you satisfy the necessary requirements by providing supporting documents. These documents should be originals, and corroborate the information your provided in your application.
You’ll need to provide:
The application for a long term residency visa can be filed by applicants who have spent an extended period of time in the UK, i.e. 10 years. If an applicant has been living in the UK for 10 years lawfully (legally), they become eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
The days out requirement under this category is 18 months (540 days). If you have been out of the UK for more than 18 months and are applying for ILR under the long residency route, please speak to our advisers for further information.
This is now under Appendix Long Residence of the Immigration Rules and the applicant must spend 12 months under this the visa they have been granted, this requirement will apply from April 2025.
The spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner of a British citizen - or partners of a present and settled person - will be able to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain visa after living as a married couple or as part of a civil partnership; in order words, if you have a spouse visa, fiance visa or defacto visa. The relevant period of time is 2 years if you were given such a visa before 9th July 2012, or 5 years if given the visa after this date. You will also need to provide proof of cohabitation and meet the financial requirement rules if your initial leave to enter was granted after 9th July 2012.
For applicant on 10 year parent or partner route they must apply for Indefinite Leave to remain once they have completed 10 years in the UK. The application for such applicant needs to be made under Appendix Settlement Family Life under the Immigration Rules.
The dependents of a point based system migrant can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain once they have completed 5 years in the UK and the main applicant has been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK after 5 years of residence. If the Point Based System Migrant applies for Indefinite Leave to Remain on the basis that you have completed 10 years long residence, then the PBS dependents must apply for an application for Leave to remain under Appendix FM of the Immigration rules.
If you are on a parent and partner 10 year route, then you can apply for ILR under Appendix Family Settlement. You will still need to meet the general requirements for ILR.
You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain visa on the basis of domestic violence, although you would need to provide the necessary evidence. If granted, you would not need to pass the Life in the UK test or the Level B1 test. Note: that you cannot apply on a same day basis for this ILR visa category. You may not be required to pay teh fee if you are destitute or unable to afford the application fee.
In order to apply for an Indefinite Leave To Remain visa in this category, the applicant will need to have a salary which exceeds £38,700 or £29,000 or £23,200 or the going rate of Skilled Occupations Code. The applicants who hold skilled worker visa before 4 April 2024 have a different salary requirement compared to the ones who hold skilled worker visa after 4 April 2024.
If you have been granted a visa under this category main requirements are to provide the latest pay slips, letter from your employer and also meet the current requirements under the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes. You must be required and be paid the salary for foreseeable future, as required by the settlement rules for skilled worker visas. You can apply for this visa under the same day service.
Once you have completed 5 years in the UK as a sole representative and the parent company still requires you in the UK, you can apply for ILR once you meet the general requirements for ILR.
To apply for indefinite leave to remain as an investor or entrepreneur visa holder, you have different time periods depending upon how much money you have available. The restriction of days out does apply to this category. Under these categories, you should have invested £50,000, £200,000, one or two million GBP. The Entrepreneur route will end 6 April 2025 for Indefinite Leave to Remain unless you helf Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur), which will end for ILR applications on 5 April 2027. For Investor Routes the must apply for ILR on or before 05 April 2025.
In order to apply under this category, you should have been granted discretionary leave to remain in the UK initially and should have spent 6 or 10 years lawfully in the UK. The grounds under which discretion was exercised by the Home Office should still persist and you will need to meet the general requirements indicated above. You cannot apply for this category using the same day service. The 10-year discretionary leave is granted to people who have made an application before 9th July 2012.
If you have been discharged or medically discharged from the HM Forces and have served for at least 4 years, you will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. You don’t need to meet any mandatory requirements for this category.
If you have been medically discharged you may still be able to apply for ILR even if you have not completed 4 years period in the army. You will need to complete the life in the UK test. Family members of HM forces can also apply for Indefinite Leave To Remain (ILR) after completing 5 years in the UK.
If you wish to apply for indefinite leave to remain under the Appendix EU, then the EEA National present in the UK for the last 5 years and must have registered for pre-settled status after being present in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 at 2300 hrs.
EU Settled Status Scheme and you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain as an EEA National familt member after completing 5 years in the UK or on the basis of Retained Right of Residence.
If you have a pre-settled status then you can apply for Indefinite leave to Remain after completing the 5 years after holding pre-settled status.
If you have been granted entry clearance as a domestic worker before 6th April 2012, then you will be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. You will need to meet the mandatory requirements and additional requirements, which involves proving that your employer still requires you as a domestic worker.
Generally, Indefinite Leave to Enter is granted to children under the age of 18 years or Adult Dependent Relative. The parents applying for children need to meet the sole responsibility requirement.
Generally, for all other categories of Indefinite Leave To Remain, the applicant needs to meet the extension requirements and pass the life in the UK test. In addition, they will need to show that they have not been absent from the UK for more than 180 days during any of the last 5 years.
You need to follow the below steps for Indefinite Leave To Remain Application process:
The ILR fee has been revised effective from 9 April 2025. The new standard indefinite leave to remain application fee is £3,029 for main applicants and dependents. The route to settlement, i.e., ILR, when applied from outside the UK, is £1,938, and for other dependent relatives, it is £3,413. ?
If you wish to choose a faster decision on your indefinite leave to remain application, you can select ‘priority’ service or ‘super priority’ service, subject to their availability. If you choose priority service, you need to pay £500 in addition to the application fee. By choosing this service, you get the decision within 5 working days.
If you choose super priority service, you need to pay £1,000 in addition to the application fee. By choosing this service, you get the decision at the end of the next working day.
We assess your circumstances and provide you a quote for our services. If you choose to move ahead with your fiance visa application, you pay a 50% deposit of our fee and 50% on submission. Once the process is started, we provide you with a comprehensive checklist of the documents you'll need to provide. We advise you on the evidence and submission process, in relation to the country you are applying from. We review all the evidence and suggest any amendments you may require, or we can draft letters and templates for you were necessary, as well as preparing your application forms and booking you an appointment in the country where you provide your biometrics. Finally, we prepare detailed representations for the Home Office or UKV&I.
We do not leave any scope for refusal of your application - if there is anything which is of concern, we point this out to you and help you to remedy the issues. Should there be a delay in your ILR visa processing times, we will chase the application for you.
Q. What does it mean if you have indefinite leave to remain?
Once you hold Indefinite Leave to Remain you are considered to be free from immigration control and you can live without any restrictions.
Q. What is the 5 year rule for indefinite leave to remain visa?
Generally, some of the routes lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years so you need to meet the continuous residence of 5 years before you can apply for ILR
Q. Can I apply for ILR after 3 years.?
This is only available under the innovator route
Q. How long does indefinite leave to remain expire?
Indefinite Leave to Remain lapses if you have left from the UK for 2 years or more.
Q. What is the continuous residence requirement for ILR?
You must meet the contionuous residence requirement for ILR that means you must not be out of the UK for 180 days or more in any of the years
Q. When I don't have to meet the Life in the UK test requirment
If you are below 18 years or over 65 years of age then you do not need to meet the life in the UK test requirement
Q. If I have been away for 180 days can I apply for ILR?
In some cases yes, you can apply if there are reasons beyond your control like COVID 19 or other compassionate and compelling reasons beyond your control
Q. Can I combine different visas to apply for ILR?
Yes, you can combine certain categories for 5 years and for 10 years visas, however, please check before combining the visas
Do you need to apply for a Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)?
Speak to our experts to find out about our fast, friendly and affordable service
