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Leave to Remain

After you have lived legally in the United Kingdom for a certain length of time (usually between two and five years), you may be able to apply to live here permanently, depending on the category of visa you have.

In order to apply for permanent residence, you will normally first need to show that you have enough knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom. You will be required to take a test called ‘Life in the UK’ before an application can be made for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Leave to Remain

Leave to remain is permission to stay in the United Kingdom, either temporarily (limited leave to remain) or permanently (indefinite leave to remain).

Limited Leave or Further Leave to Remain is given to people of various types of visa, but they do not all lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) (often known as PR Permanent Residency or Settlement) is permission to stay permanently (settle) in the United Kingdom, free from immigration control.

In order to apply for ILR you must meet specific criteria in order to qualify. There are several routes to settlement and each will come under its own section of immigration law:

Section 1

Married or unmarried partners:

• husband
• wife
• civil partner
• unmarried or same-sex partner.

Section 2

• work permit holder
• bereaved partner
• highly skilled migrant
• representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation
• private servant in a diplomatic household
• overseas government employee
• minister of religion, missionary or member of a religious order
• airport-based operational staff of an overseas-owned airline
• person with United Kingdom ancestry
• writer, composer or artist
• person with long residence in the United Kingdom
• former member of HM Forces; or
• person who is in the United Kingdom for other purposes or reasons not covered under other sections (this does not include asylum).

Section 3

Section 3 is for a:

• business person
• sole representative
• retired person of independent means
• investor
• innovator

Section 4

Domestic Violence

If you have been living in the United Kingdom with temporary permission to stay as the:

• husband
• wife
• civil partner
• unmarried or same-sex partner

of a permanent resident and the relationship has broken down because you have suffered domestic violence.

Section 5

Family Members:

• a child aged under 18 of a parent, parents or relative who is a permanent resident of the United Kingdom and currently living here
• the adopted child aged under 18 of a parent or parents who are permanent resident of the United Kingdom and currently living here; or
• the parent, grandparent or other dependant relative aged 18 or over of a person who is a permanent resident of the United Kingdom and currently living here;

Section 6

• if you were given exceptional leave to enter (ELE) or exceptional leave to remain (ELR) and it was given for a period of four years or more before 1 April 2003, and you have a continuing fear of return to your country of origin, you can apply for ILR.

Section 7

• a citizen of Turkey who is in the United Kingdom under the rules of the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) with Turkey for establishing in business in the United Kingdom.

Section 8

• applying separately as the dependant of a citizen of Turkey who is in the United Kingdom under the rules of the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) with Turkey for establishing in business in the United Kingdom.

Section 9

• if you are a citizen of Bulgaria or Romania who is established in business in the United Kingdom under the terms of the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA)

When an application can be made

We will make your application no more than 28 days before the end of your qualifying period, otherwise the UKBA is likely to refuse the application with no refund of the fee. However, you must make sure the application is made before your current permission to stay in the United Kingdom expires, otherwise you will be in the UK illegally.

Your immigration status while your application is being decided

If you make an application before your authorised stay ends (i.e., before your current visa/leave to remain expires, your existing immigration status will continue until your application is decided, even if the decision is not made before your current visa expires. If your existing visa or other permission to stay here allows you to work, you can continue to do so until your case is decided.