ILR – Indefinite leave to remain
Indefinite Leave to Remain (also known as settlement or permanent residence) means that you can live and work in the UK without any time limit. It is also a necessary step towards obtaining UK nationality.
Depending on your visa category you could qualify in a number of ways:
- Tier 1 categories: by spending a continuous period of five years in the UK
- Tier 2 General category: by spending a continuous period of five years in the UK
- Marriage/Unmarried Partner/Civil Partner Visa: by spending a continuous period of two years in the UK
- Ancestry Visa: by spending a continuous period of five years in the UK
- EEA citizen: by spending a period of five years exercising EC Treaty rights in the UK
- Lawful stay on any basis: by spending a continuous period of 10 years in the UK
- Unlawful stay or partly unlawful stay: by spending a continous period of 14 years in the UK
To apply for indefinite leave to remain you must submit an application form to the Home Office along with the necessary documents and enclosures to prove that you have been in the UK for the required period of time and fulfilled all necessary conditions. You may qualify to use our same-day processing service.
The rules for acquiring indefinite leave to remain are due to be changed in summer 2011.
