Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
The settlement application: qualifying periods by route, the tests you need, the fee and the timeline.
Rules and fees checked against gov.uk on 8 November 2026. Page updated 8 November 2026. How we check our guides.
- What it is
- Permission to live in the UK permanently, with no visa conditions
- Usual qualifying period
- 5 years on most work and family routes (3 on some; 10 on long residence)
- Fee
- £3,029 per person
- Decision time
- Up to 6 months standard; next working day with super priority
Indefinite leave to remain, ILR, is the UK's name for permanent residence. Once you have it you can live, work and study without restriction, claim benefits on the same basis as a British citizen, and stop paying visa fees and the health surcharge. It is also the gateway to British citizenship. It is not a passport and it can be lost, mainly by living abroad, which is why most people take the final step to citizenship.
The qualifying periods
| Route | Years before ILR | Extra conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Scale-up, Representative of an Overseas Business | 5 | Still sponsored at the salary threshold on the date of application |
| Partner (five-year route) | 5 | Relationship still subsisting; income requirement met again; B1 English |
| Partner (ten-year route) | 10 | Four grants of 30 months |
| Global Talent, Innovator Founder | 3 (talent / founder success criteria) or 5 | Endorsement-related evidence |
| UK Ancestry | 5 | Worked or sought work throughout |
| EU Settlement Scheme (pre-settled to settled) | 5 years' continuous residence | Automatic conversion is being rolled out |
| Refugee, humanitarian protection | 5 | Safe-return review |
| Long residence, any lawful visas | 10 | Not on a visitor or short-term route at the time |
Time on Student, Graduate, Youth Mobility and visitor visas does not count towards the five-year routes. The May 2025 white paper proposed a ten-year standard with a faster "earned" route; see what is changing. Until rules are made, the periods above apply.
The requirements common to every route
- Continuous residence. No more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period during the qualifying years. This is the rule that catches people out; our 180-day guide explains how it is counted.
- Knowledge of language and life. A pass in the Life in the UK test and English at level B1, unless you are under 18, over 65 or exempt on medical grounds. Your Life in the UK pass never expires; a B1 SELT certificate is valid for two years but a pass used for an earlier visa can be relied on again.
- No general grounds for refusal. Criminal convictions, unpaid NHS debts over £500, deception in a previous application and breaches of visa conditions can all lead to refusal.
- Lawful status when you apply. Apply before your current visa runs out. You can apply up to 28 days before you complete the qualifying period; applying earlier than that is a refusal.
How to apply
- Check your dates (our ILR calculator does the arithmetic). Work out the day you complete the qualifying period from the date your first visa in the route was granted or the date you entered the UK on it, whichever the rules for your route use. Make sure the absence rule is met in every rolling 12 months.
- Take the tests. Book the Life in the UK test and, if needed, a B1 SELT. Allow several weeks for test dates and results.
- Apply online using the form for your route (SET(O) for work routes, SET(M) for partners, SET(LR) for long residence) and pay £3,029 per person. Children apply at the same time as a parent.
- Prove your identity with the ID Check app or at a UKVCAS centre, and upload your documents: passport, pass certificates, employer letter and payslips for work routes, relationship and income evidence for partners, and a list of your absences with the reasons.
- Wait. The standard is six months. The super priority service (£1,000) gives a next-working-day decision and is popular for ILR because of the cost of waiting. Your existing conditions continue while the application is pending; you can keep working.
What ILR gives you
- No time limit and no conditions: work for anyone, study, or not work at all.
- Access to public funds, including Universal Credit and social housing, on the same terms as citizens.
- Home fee status for university after three years' ordinary residence.
- The right to sponsor a partner or children under the family rules.
- Eligibility to apply for citizenship after 12 months (immediately if married to a British citizen).
How you can lose it
ILR lapses automatically if you are outside the UK for more than two years in a row (five years for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme). It can be revoked for serious criminality or if it was obtained by deception. There is no absence limit once you have ILR other than the two-year rule, but long absences soon after settlement will affect a later citizenship application, which has its own limits.