Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work, and study in the UK for as long as you like, and to apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can also use it to apply for British citizenship.
There are different ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain depending on your circumstances.
If you or your family member is an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen, you may be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme instead.
If you work in the UK
You may be able to apply if you have a work visa.
You must usually have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years. If you have a Tier 1 visa, the qualifying period can be 2 or 3 years. If you have an Innovator Founder or Global Talent visa, it can be 3 years.
You may also need to meet certain salary or financial requirements — this depends on your visa.
How you apply depends on whether you:
- have a Tier 2, T2, International Sportsperson or Skilled Worker visa
- have a Scale-up Worker visa
- have a Global Talent, Tier 1 Entrepreneur, or Investor visa
- have an Innovator Founder visa
- represent an overseas business
- have a Turkish Worker or Businessperson visa
- are a private servant in a diplomatic household with an International Agreement visa, or a domestic worker
If you have family in the UK
You may be able to apply if you have a partner, parent, child, or other relative settled in the UK — either as a British citizen or a person with indefinite leave to remain.
How you apply depends on which visa you have and how your family member settled.
There are other ways to apply if:
- your partner has died
- your relationship ended because of domestic violence
If you’ve lived in the UK for 10 years
You may be able to apply if you’ve been living in the UK for 10 years or more.
There is a different way to apply if you have a visa that is based on your private life.
If you’re a Commonwealth citizen
You can apply if you’ve been living in the UK for 5 years on a UK Ancestry visa.
Some Commonwealth citizens have the ‘right of abode’ in the UK. This means you can live or work in the UK without immigration restrictions. Check if you can apply to prove you have the right of abode in the UK.
You may also be eligible for citizenship instead — for example, by applying under the Windrush scheme.
Other ways to apply
You may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you:
- are a refugee, or have humanitarian protection or Discretionary Leave
- are returning to the UK having previously had indefinite leave to remain
- have served in the armed forces
- have permission to stay in the UK as a stateless person
Otherwise, you can get advice about staying in the UK on the Citizens Advice website.