UK Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR): Qualifying and Applying

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), also called settlement, lets you live, work and study in the UK without a time limit. You qualify through a particular immigration route, which determines the qualifying period, residence test and evidence required. Start by identifying your route, then check your permission history, absences and any requirements for your family.

Figures last verified October 2026 against the official sources linked below.

What does ILR allow you to do?

The GOV.UK settlement overview describes ILR as permission to live, work and study in the UK indefinitely. In practice, you no longer need a sponsor, no longer renew a visa and are no longer bound by the conditions of a temporary route. You prove the status through an eVisa in your UKVI account and share codes or, if you do not yet have an eVisa, through the stamp, vignette or residence permit that first recorded it, as the GOV.UK returning resident page explains.

ILR has no expiry date, but it is not unconditional. It can lapse after a long absence from the UK, as explained below, and it is different from two statuses that people often confuse with it.

ILR does not automatically make you a British citizen. Naturalisation is a separate application with residence, absence, language and good-character requirements; the rules differ for spouses of British citizens. Check the applicable citizenship route separately from settlement.

The EU Settlement Scheme has its own eligibility and residence rules for eligible EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members. Settled status under that scheme is a form of indefinite leave, but its application and absence rules differ from settlement on a work or family visa.

Which immigration route can lead to ILR?

You do not apply for ILR in the abstract. The GOV.UK overview lists separate settlement routes for work visas, family members, ten years' long residence, Commonwealth citizens on the UK Ancestry route, BN(O) visa holders, refugees and people with humanitarian protection, armed forces service, stateless people and returning residents. Each route sets its own qualifying period and conditions, so there is no universal five-year entitlement. The Home Office continuous residence guidance sets out the qualifying period for the routes it covers.

Two points matter most when comparing routes: which past time counts, and which extra requirements come with each route.

Skilled Worker. Under Appendix Skilled Worker, the five years can combine time with permission as a Skilled Worker (including Health and Care Worker), Global Talent, Innovator Founder, T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business, Scale-up, or Tier 1 other than Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur). Time as a dependant does not count, and neither does time on routes outside that list, such as Student or Graduate permission. Your sponsor must still be approved when the decision is made and must confirm that it still needs you and that you are, and will be, paid at least the settlement salary. That salary is generally the higher of a general threshold set in the rules and the going rate for your occupation, with different rules for some health, education and Immigration Salary List roles. The GOV.UK Skilled Worker settlement guide gives the current figures.

Long Residence. Appendix Long Residence is for people who have lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years. Most kinds of permission count, but time with permission under the Ukraine Scheme or as a Visitor, Short-term Student (English language) or Seasonal Worker does not, and neither does time on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release, or periods of overstaying. If your current permission was granted on or after 11 April 2024, you normally need to have held permission on your current route for at least 12 months on the date you apply.

A route-selection example

• A former student who is now sponsored. Someone with four years as a Student, two on the Graduate route and three as a Skilled Worker has nine years of lawful residence. On the Skilled Worker route they still need two more years, because Student and Graduate time does not count there. Long Residence could be reached a year earlier, provided absences, gaps and the 12-month current-route condition are all in order. The trade-off: Long Residence carries an English requirement (B1 now, B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027), while Skilled Worker main applicants currently have no English requirement at settlement but need a sponsor and a salary that still qualify.

When does the 180-day absence rule apply?

For many routes, residence is tested under Appendix Continuous Residence. That appendix lists the routes it covers: Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business, UK Ancestry, Domestic Worker in a Private Household, Temporary Work – International Agreement, Hong Kong BN(O), Long Residence, Settlement Family Life, Private Life (settlement), ECAA settlement for Turkish workers and businesspersons, certain Armed Forces partner and child applications, and Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Investor). The five-year partner route on a family visa, the EU Settlement Scheme and the protection routes are not on that list and apply their own residence rules. This is why one "180-day rule" cannot simply be applied to everyone.

On the covered routes, the core rule is that you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. For permission granted on or after 11 January 2018, the guidance tells caseworkers to look at absences on a rolling basis in any 12-month period in which they fall, not only in fixed or calendar years. For absences during permission granted before 11 January 2018, the 180 days are counted in consecutive 12-month periods ending on the date of the current application. Long Residence also has a transitional rule: more than 548 days abroad in total breaks residence only where that total was reached before 11 April 2024, and a single absence of more than 184 days does so only where it started before that date.

The qualifying period is counted back from whichever of these dates is most favourable to you: the date of application, any date up to 28 days after it, or the date of decision (Appendix Continuous Residence, CR 1.1(a) to (c)). On the UK Ancestry route there is a further date: if the last grant of permission was not as a person with UK Ancestry, the count can run back from the date that most recent UK Ancestry permission expired (CR 1.1(d)). Separately, for every route this appendix covers, time spent lawfully in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man on an equivalent route is treated as time in the UK, provided the most recent grant of permission was in the UK (CR 3.5).

Absences that do not count towards the limit

The appendix disregards absences only for specific reasons:

• assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, with your sponsor's agreement if you are on a sponsored route;
• travel disruption caused by a natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic;
• compelling and compassionate personal circumstances, such as your own life-threatening illness or the life-threatening illness or death of a close family member;
• sponsor-approved research by Skilled Workers in listed science, research and higher-education occupations, and certain research by Global Talent holders;
• for Settlement Family Life applicants, absences for work, study or supporting family overseas, as long as the family kept its family life and permanent home in the UK;
• accompanying a partner abroad on Crown service, for example in HM Armed Forces or as an employee of the UK Government or the British Council.

Where a partner or child accompanied the person they depend on during an absence for one of these reasons, that absence does not count towards their own 180 days either. On most routes, ordinary business trips, holidays and family visits count in full.

What else breaks continuous residence

Absence is not the only risk. Continuous residence is also broken by a prison sentence (other than a suspended sentence), a deportation order, exclusion order or exclusion direction, removal directions or removal, and by leaving the UK voluntarily after a refusal once any permission you held has expired. Periods without permission break it too, subject to narrow exceptions: for example, where a late application was later granted under the exceptions for overstayers, or, outside Long Residence, where you left the UK with permission, applied for entry clearance before it expired or within 14 days afterwards, and that application succeeded. Settlement Family Life and Private Life applicants have a separate rule for sentences of 12 months or less.

How do you prepare your residence worksheet?

A written worksheet is the most practical way to test your position before you pay a fee. The Home Office guidance explains that applicants list absences on the application form, that caseworkers compare them with passport pages and travel documents, and that not every absence is recorded in a passport. The dates you declare therefore need to be accurate and consistent with your evidence.

1. Fix the route and the start date. Identify the route you will apply on and the date your qualifying period began, on that route or on a route that can be combined with it.
2. List every trip. Record the date you left and the date you returned, using passport stamps, boarding passes, e-tickets, employer travel records and calendar entries.
3. Count whole days. The guidance says to count only whole days; part-day absences of less than 24 hours are not counted.
4. Test every 12-month window. For each return date, add up all whole days abroad in the 12 months ending on that date. A calendar-year total is not enough.
5. Flag and gather evidence. If any window exceeds 180 days, check whether a permitted reason covers the excess and collect the evidence now; for compelling circumstances, the guidance expects, for example, a letter setting out what happened.
6. Check permission gaps. Line up the start and end dates of every grant of permission and note any days without permission.
7. Choose the calculation date. The period can be counted back from the application date, any date up to 28 days after it, or the decision date.

In this illustration, which assumes no earlier travel, departure and return days are treated as part days. Counted by calendar year, neither 2025 (120 days) nor 2026 so far (71 days) exceeds 180. In the 12 months ending on 15 April 2026, however, the total is 191 days. Unless some of those days fall within a permitted reason, continuous residence on a route that uses the 180-day rule would be broken. If your own figures come close to any limit, ask an adviser to check them rather than relying on a margin of a few days.

Which tests and English evidence are required?

Settlement on many routes requires the Life in the UK test under Appendix KOL UK; some other routes still use the older Appendix KOLL. You are exempt if, on the date of application, you are under 18 or aged 65 or over, or have a physical or mental condition that prevents you from meeting the requirement; GOV.UK says an exemption for a long-term condition needs an exemption form or a doctor's letter. The official test page explains that you book online at least three days in advance through the only official booking service, answer 24 questions in 45 minutes and need to score 75% or more to pass. You receive a unique reference number, which you use in your settlement or citizenship application.

The English requirement depends on the route, and a change is already written into the current rules:

• Skilled Worker main applicants: no English requirement at settlement for applications made before 26 March 2027. For applications made on or after that date, the current text of Appendix Skilled Worker requires B2 in speaking and listening unless an exemption applies.
• Skilled Worker partners, Long Residence and Settlement Family Life: B1 in speaking and listening for applications made before 26 March 2027 and B2 for applications made on or after that date, unless an exemption applies.
• Partners on the five-year family route: GOV.UK currently states at least B1 in speaking and listening, or a degree taught or researched in English.

Under Appendix English Language, you can usually show English through nationality of a listed majority English-speaking country (such as Australia, Canada, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand or the United States); a degree that meets the standard of a UK bachelor's degree, master's degree or doctorate and was taught or researched in English, with confirmation where it was awarded outside the UK; an approved English test passed at the required level in the two years before the application; certain English qualifications from UK schooling; or having already met the requirement, at the level now required, in a previous successful application. That last point matters for 2027: a B1 result used for an earlier visa does not by itself show B2. Exemptions cover applicants under 18, those aged 65 or over, people whose disability prevents them from meeting the requirement, and a narrow group of partners, parents and adult dependent children with 15 years' continuous residence with permission who meet specific study conditions.

How do partners and children qualify?

Family members often apply on the same form as the main applicant, but each person must meet their own requirements. GOV.UK confirms that a partner or child who is not yet eligible can apply separately at a later date.

For a Skilled Worker's partner, the five years must be spent in the UK with permission as the dependent partner of that worker, and the partner's own absences are tested under Appendix Continuous Residence. A partner who spends long periods abroad without the main applicant, for instance with family in their home country, can therefore fail the absence test even when the main applicant passes it. Keep a separate worksheet for every family member.

Partners of British citizens or settled people on a family visa follow different rules. On the five-year route, only time on a family visa as a partner counts, and time as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner does not. On the 10-year route, governed by Appendix Settlement Family Life, time on other visas leading to settlement can count, and absences for work, study or supporting family overseas may be disregarded where the family kept its permanent home in the UK. The GOV.UK family settlement guide covers partners, parents, children and adult dependent relatives.

When and how should you apply for ILR?

On the Skilled Worker and family routes, the earliest you can apply is 28 days before you complete the required time in the UK; for Long Residence, GOV.UK says you can apply as soon as you meet all the requirements. In each case, GOV.UK advises not to wait until your current visa expires. Applications are made online and followed by biometrics, with supporting documents uploaded or scanned at your appointment.

A typical file includes:

• current and previous passports or other identity documents, and a full immigration history;
• your absence worksheet with travel evidence, plus evidence of any permitted reason for an absence;
• your Life in the UK test reference number and English evidence, or proof of an exemption;
• route-specific evidence: for a Skilled Worker, the sponsor's confirmation that you are still needed and evidence of your salary; for a partner, evidence that the relationship is genuine and that you can maintain yourselves without public funds;
• full information about any criminal record or immigration breach, because every route applies suitability requirements.

After you apply, GOV.UK warns that you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you receive a decision; if you do, your application will be withdrawn. Fees are charged for each person applying, and paid faster-decision services are offered in some cases. Check the current fee and processing information on your route's GOV.UK page and the faster decision page on the day you apply, rather than relying on figures you read elsewhere.

How can you keep ILR after it is granted?

According to Appendix Returning Resident, ILR lapses by operation of law under the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 after a continuous absence of more than two years. GOV.UK counts that time outside the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The limit is five years for EUSS settled status, or four years for Swiss citizens and their family members. GOV.UK lists limited exceptions for members of HM Armed Forces posted overseas and their partners, and for certain Diplomatic Service, FCDO, Home Office and British Council staff and their partners.

If you have been away for less than two years, you still have your ILR; to come back on it, you must have held ILR when you last left and must not have received Home Office financial support to leave. If it has lapsed, you may be able to apply from abroad for a Returning Resident visa. Under Appendix Returning Resident, the decision-maker must be satisfied that you have kept strong ties to the UK during your absence and genuinely intend to return for settlement. Each person must qualify in their own right; partners and children cannot be included in the same application.

For many people, ILR is also the step before British citizenship. The citizenship absence limits (450 days in five years and 90 days in the last 12 months) differ from the ILR absence rules, so keep your travel log going after settlement if you intend to naturalise.

Are proposed settlement reforms already in force?

The Home Office earned settlement consultation proposed a longer standard qualifying period and possible adjustments. As checked on 26 October 2026, those proposals had not replaced the route-specific periods described here. Recheck the Immigration Rules before applying. The B2 English requirement for applications made on or after 26 March 2027 is different: that change already appears in the current rules.

Official sources checked

Each page below was read in full on 26 October 2026. On the GOV.UK Immigration Rules updates list, checked on 27 October 2026, Appendix Continuous Residence was last changed on 11 November 2025 (Statement of Changes HC 1333). Appendix Global Talent and Appendix Settlement Family Life were last changed on 3 August 2026 (HC 259). Appendix Skilled Worker and Appendix Long Residence were changed on 8 October 2026 (HC 584). The continuous residence caseworker guidance page states that it was updated on 8 October 2026.

• GOV.UK: Indefinite leave to remain (settlement routes)
• GOV.UK: Settlement on a Skilled Worker, T2 or Tier 2 visa
• GOV.UK: Settlement as a family member and GOV.UK: Long residence
• Immigration Rules: Appendix Continuous Residence and Home Office continuous residence guidance
• Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix Long Residence and Appendix Settlement Family Life

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Small differences in dates, absences, permission gaps or the route you choose can change the outcome, and the rules are amended several times a year. Before you apply, have your full history reviewed by a qualified UK immigration solicitor or another regulated adviser; GOV.UK has a tool to find an immigration adviser, and you can also find an immigration lawyer for your settlement application.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Rules, fees and thresholds change. Confirm anything in this guide with the official source before you act.

• GOV.UKgovernment portal
• Solicitors Regulation Authoritybar association — verify a lawyer
• HM Land Registryland registry

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