Indefinite Leave to Remain: Settling in the UK

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to the United Kingdom and want to understand how permanent settlement works. After reading it, you will be able to identify the main routes to indefinite leave to remain, the qualifying periods each one involves and the steps that come before an application.

• What indefinite leave to remain gives you
• Settling through a work visa
• Settling through family
• Long residence and other routes
• Preparing the application
• FAQ

What indefinite leave to remain gives you

Indefinite leave to remain is how a person settles in the UK. It is also called “settlement”. The GOV.UK page Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain says 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 are eligible. You can also use it to apply for British citizenship.

Most people who move to the UK arrive on a visa with a time limit. Settlement removes that limit. No single application fits everyone. The government sets out different ways to apply depending on your circumstances, and the visa you hold now usually decides which route is open to you later.

One group follows a separate path. If you or a family member are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, GOV.UK says you may be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme instead.

Settling through a work visa

People who come to the UK for a job usually reach settlement through work. GOV.UK states that you may be able to apply if you have a work visa, and that you must usually have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years. Some visas have shorter periods:

• Tier 1 visa: the period can be 2 or 3 years.
• Innovator Founder or Global Talent visa: the period can be 3 years.

You may also need to meet salary or financial requirements, depending on your visa. The overview page does not give these figures. The detailed rules are on the page for each route.

How you apply depends on which work visa you have. GOV.UK groups the routes like this:

• tier 2, T2, International Sportsperson or Skilled Worker visa
• Scale-up Worker visa
• Global Talent, Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Investor visa
• Innovator Founder visa
• a visa to represent an overseas business
• Turkish Worker or Businessperson visa
• private servant in a diplomatic household with an International Agreement visa
• domestic worker

Each group has its own application. That means the exact visa category on a person’s current permission decides which guidance applies, so a general description such as “work visa” is not enough.

Settling through family

You may be able to apply if you have a partner, parent, child or other relative who is settled in the UK, either as a British citizen or as a person with indefinite leave to remain. How you apply depends on which visa you have and how your family member settled.

The overview page does not give a qualifying period, an income threshold or a document list for family routes. Those are set out in the guidance for each specific route.

GOV.UK also lists separate ways to apply in two situations:

• your partner has died
• your relationship ended because of domestic violence

Both routes are listed on the same GOV.UK page. A regulated adviser can explain how the rules apply when a relationship or personal safety situation has changed.

Long residence and other routes

Living in the UK for 10 years

You may be able to apply if you have been living in the UK for 10 years or more. There is a different way to apply if your visa is based on your private life. The overview page does not explain how absences or gaps in residence are treated. That is covered in the route guidance.

Commonwealth citizens

You can apply if you have been living in the UK for 5 years on a UK Ancestry visa. Some Commonwealth citizens have “right of abode”, which means they can live or work in the UK without immigration restrictions. GOV.UK lets you check whether you can apply to prove you have right of abode. Some people may be eligible for citizenship instead, for example under the Windrush scheme.

British National (Overseas) visa

You can apply if you have a British National (Overseas) visa and have been living in the UK for 5 years.

Protection, return and service

GOV.UK lists further routes for people who:

• are refugees or have humanitarian protection or Discretionary Leave
• are returning to the UK after previously having indefinite leave to remain
• have served in the armed forces
• have permission to stay in the UK as a stateless person

Preparing the application

The overview page is a starting point, not the application itself. It shows which route may fit and links to a separate page for each one. The process usually runs in this order:

1. Identify the current visa or status. The route to settlement follows from the visa held now, or from family or protection status.
2. Compare time spent in the UK with the route’s period. On the overview page, the usual period is 5 years for work visas, 2 or 3 years for Tier 1, 3 years for Innovator Founder or Global Talent, 5 years for UK Ancestry and British National (Overseas), and 10 years for long residence.
3. Read the route-specific guidance. The overview page does not give fees, document requirements or salary and financial thresholds. The page for each route sets these out.
4. Check timing. The overview page does not say how early you can apply before your current visa expires. The route guidance covers this.
5. Check whether another scheme applies. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members may be able to use the EU Settlement Scheme, and some Commonwealth citizens may already have right of abode.

For a question about your own immigration history, you can get advice from a regulated immigration adviser registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). For people who do not fit any of the listed routes, GOV.UK points to the Citizens Advice website for advice about staying in the UK.

FAQ

Is indefinite leave to remain the same as British citizenship?

No. Indefinite leave to remain, also called settlement, 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 are eligible. It is a separate status from citizenship, but GOV.UK states that you can use it to apply for British citizenship.

How long do I need to live in the UK before applying?

It depends on the route. Work visa holders usually need 5 years of living and working in the UK. For Tier 1 visas it can be 2 or 3 years, and for Innovator Founder or Global Talent visas it can be 3 years. UK Ancestry and British National (Overseas) visa holders need 5 years, and the long residence route needs 10 years or more. The overview page does not give a period for family routes.

How much does an application cost?

The GOV.UK overview page does not give a fee. Fees, document requirements and any salary or financial thresholds appear in the guidance for each specific route, which the overview page links to.

Does this apply to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens?

GOV.UK states that if you or your family member are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you may be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme instead of indefinite leave to remain. Whether that scheme or another route applies depends on individual circumstances, which a regulated adviser or solicitor can assess.

Official sources: gov.uk

Last verified: 21 October 2026 against the official pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the official page always wins.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Immigration advice in the UK may only be given by advisers regulated by the OISC or by solicitors regulated by the SRA.