The eligibility requirements for those who have been resident in the UK for at least 10 years who wish to apply for ILR are outlined below.
Residence in the UK
You must have held any combination of UK visas (except visitor visa, visitor status conferred at the border or permission under one of the Ukraine schemes) continuously and lawfully for a period of at least ten years. This is defined as you:
- having held any combination of UK visa types (except visitor visa, visitor status conferred at the border or permission under one of the Ukraine schemes) for at least 10 continuous years at the point you apply for ILR (this can be across any number of visas); and
- not having overstayed beyond the expiry date of any of these visas; and
- having spent at least 12 months holding your current visa/permission; and
- your absences from the UK meeting the maximum durations noted below.
Continuous residence is not considered broken if:
- during the ten year period, you left the UK with a valid visa which expired while you were abroad, but you re-entered the UK within 6 months of leaving, with a new visa type (this can be any visa type except visitor visa/visitor status conferred at the border).
- some of your residence was when you were employed, and you have gaps between employment/employers.
Please see Home Office guidance for examples of how these rules work in practice.
Absences from the UK
Within a ten year period:
- Absences which started before 11 April 2024 must not have exceeded 548 days in total, and there must have been no single absence of more than 184 days; and
- Absences which started on or after 11 April 2024 are not subject to the above rule, and instead must not have exceeded a combined total of 180 days in any 12 month rolling period.
You should include all personal and business-related travel unless there are compelling compassionate reasons for travel (reasons outwith your control, such as illness of a family member). The Home Office is highly unlikely to give discretion for absences for work or business purposes (e.g. conferences, meetings, overseas research trips) which have led to excessive absences and a breach of continuous residence. If in doubt, please contact the HR Compliance team for guidance.
Life in the UK
Before applying for ILR, you must have passed the Life in the UK test. The test has no expiry date and can be taken at any time before you apply for ILR.
English language requirement
The English language requirement is very strict and you must meet it in one of the following ways:
1) Being a national of a majority English speaking country
You will automatically meet the English language requirement if you are a citizen of one of the following countries:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- A British Overseas Territory
- Canada
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Jamaica
- Malta
- New Zealand
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United States of America
2) Currently holding a Tier 2 or Skilled Worker Visa
If you currently hold a Tier 2/Skilled Worker visa, you will in most cases automatically meet the English language requirements. However if, for your Tier 2 or Skilled Worker visa application, you proved your knowledge of English by sitting an English language test, please check that the test is still acceptable. Most English language tests expire after 2 years, but you can still use it even after that date as long as it remains on the list of recognised tests when you apply for ILR. This list changes regularly, so please do check. If you cannot use the English Language test because it is no longer listed, you must prove your knowledge of English in another of the ways listed here.
3) Holding an academic degree in any discipline
If you have a Batchelors, Masters or Doctorate (PhD) qualification which was taught or researched wholly in English, you may be able to use this to prove your knowledge of English. How you can do so depends on where it was awarded:
- Awarded by an institution in the UK: you may use your certificate, a transcript or an official letter from the awarding institution.
- Awarded by an overseas institution: you must use the Ecctis English Proficiency and Qualification Comparison service to verify the degree was taught in English and is equivalent at least a UK bachelors degree.
If your qualification was not taught or researched wholly in English, you will need to prove your knowledge of English in another of the ways listed.
4) Passing an English language test
You may show that you meet the required level of English by passing a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider. The test must assess your speaking and listening abilities (2-facet test) - reading and writing are not required for ILR purposes - and you must pass at level B1 or above (A1 is the lowest pass mark, C2 is the highest). You should normally have passed the test in the 2 years before you apply for your visa, though there are exceptions.
The English language requirement applies to all applicants and cannot be met in any other way.
When can I apply?
As stated above, you must have held a combination of UK visas types for a continuous period of at least ten years. The ten year period starts from the date you first entered the UK, not the date your first qualifying visa was issued.
You can apply for ILR up to 28 days before you reach the end of the ten year qualifying period. For example, if you entered the UK on 1 July 2015, you could submit an application for ILR on or after 3 June 2025. You must not apply more than 28 days before you reach the ten year qualifying period, or your application may be refused.
Important: once you have applied for ILR, you must not leave the Common Travel Area (the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) until you receive a decision on your application. If you do, the Home Office will consider your application withdrawn, which may result in you having no right to re-enter/live in the UK.
How do I apply?
You can only apply online, using immigration form SET(LR).
How much does it cost?
Please see gov.uk for the current cost of an ILR application (“Other applications in the UK” > “Indefinite leave to remain – main applicants and dependants”).
There are two service level options:
- Standard, where the application can take up to 6 months to be decided. However, in practice, it rarely takes more than 2-3 months for a decision.
- Super Priority, where a decision can be received within 2 working days of attending an appointment at a UK Visas and immigration service and support centre to submit your biometric information and supporting paperwork. Please see gov.uk for the current cost of the Super Priority service (“Optional premium services in the UK” > “Super Priority service”). Note: if you are required to use the Home Office 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app to submit your biometrics and supporting documents, you will not be eligible for the Super Priority service.
What documents do I need?
- Your current, valid passport
- All previous passports you hold - if you do not hold current/expired passports going back at least ten years, you will need to prove residence in the UK for the ten year period. This can be by submitting a combination of any of the following documents:
- Letter from employer
- Payslips/P60/P45
- Bank statements
- Tenancy agreements/mortgage statements
- Letters from an official source (local council, NHS, DWP, other government departments)
The above are not required if you hold current and expired passports going back at least ten years
- Your current Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) if you have one
- The Life in the UK test certificate
- If applicable, for English language requirements: a UK degree certificate, or overseas degree certificate and UK Ecctis certificate, or English language test certificate
What will I get?
The Home Office has discontinued production of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), so your permission will be granted as an eVisa which you will be able to access online.
Dependants
Your family members cannot join your application for ILR via the ten year route. They must each have lived in the UK for ten years before being able to apply, and therefore qualify in their own right for ILR under this route.