How many years do you need to live in the UK to apply for ILR?

Yes. Some UK immigration routes allow ILR after 3 years. Innovator Founder visa holders can qualify after 3 years, while Global Talent visa holders may qualify after 3 or 5 years depending on how they qualified under the route. Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visa holders normally need 5 years of qualifying residence.

Yes. Many UK visa holders can apply for ILR after completing 5 years of qualifying residence. This includes Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visa holders. Applicants must also maintain continuous residence, stay within the permitted absence limits and meet the English language and Life in the UK Test requirements, unless an exemption applies.

Several UK immigration routes can lead to ILR after 5 years, including Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Scale-up Worker, UK Ancestry and Hong Kong BN(O). Partner and parent family routes can also provide a 5-year route to settlement. The residence counted towards the 5 years must meet the rules for the specific ILR route.

The Innovator Founder route allows eligible applicants to apply for ILR after 3 years. Some Global Talent visa holders can also qualify after 3 years, while others need 5 years depending on how they qualified for Global Talent. These are among the main UK immigration routes that provide settlement earlier than the standard 5-year period.

People who complete 10 years of lawful continuous residence in the UK may qualify for ILR under the Long Residence route. The 10 years can include time spent on different UK immigration routes, so applicants do not need to spend the entire period on one visa. Certain categories of stay are excluded from the Long Residence calculation.

The 5-year ILR period is based on the qualifying residence allowed under the settlement route. For Skilled Worker ILR, time previously spent on certain routes, including Global Talent, Innovator Founder and Scale-up Worker, can be included in the 5 years. This means the qualifying period does not always begin on the date the current Skilled Worker visa started.

Yes. Time on different UK visas can be combined when the settlement rules allow those routes to count together. Skilled Worker applicants can include qualifying time previously spent on routes such as Global Talent, Innovator Founder and Scale-up Worker. Student and Graduate visa time does not count towards the 5-year Skilled Worker period but can count towards 10-year Long Residence.

Yes. Switching visas can affect how much previous residence counts towards ILR. If the previous visa can be combined with the new settlement route, that qualifying residence can continue to count. If it cannot be combined, the time spent on the previous visa will not count towards the qualifying period required under the new ILR route.

No. Time spent on a Student visa does not count towards the 5-year Skilled Worker ILR qualifying period. After switching from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa, the Student years cannot be added to the Skilled Worker qualifying period. However, lawful residence on a Student visa can count towards the 10-year Long Residence route.

A Graduate visa does not provide a direct route to ILR. Time spent on a Graduate visa also does not count towards the 5-year Skilled Worker qualifying period after switching to Skilled Worker. However, lawful residence under the Graduate route can count towards the 10 years required for ILR under the Long Residence route.

Yes. Lawful residence on a Student visa can count towards the 10-year Long Residence qualifying period. Student visa years can be combined with qualifying residence on other UK immigration routes to reach the required 10 years. The combined period must meet the Long Residence rules, including the requirements for continuous residence and absences from the UK.

Time spent as a dependant does not count towards the 5-year qualifying period if you later apply for ILR in your own right as a Skilled Worker. Dependant partners generally complete their own qualifying residence period for settlement. Lawful time spent as a dependant can also count towards the 10-year Long Residence route.

For many ILR routes, including Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker, applicants must normally spend no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period during the qualifying period. Staying within this limit helps maintain continuous residence. Some absences can be disregarded under specific circumstances set out in the continuous residence rules.

Yes. Spending time outside the UK does not automatically prevent you from getting ILR. For many work routes, including Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker, applicants must normally spend no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. Absences within the permitted limits allow continuous residence to be maintained.

Yes. You can usually apply for ILR up to 28 days before completing the required qualifying period. If your settlement route requires 5 years, you can normally submit the application during the final 28 days of that period. This allows eligible applicants to apply shortly before completing the full 5 years of qualifying residence.

The ILR rules allow the qualifying period to be considered up to 28 days after the application date on routes where this provision applies. As a result, applicants approaching the end of a 5-year qualifying period can normally submit their ILR application during the final 28 days instead of waiting until the exact 5-year completion date.

If your visa expires before you qualify for ILR, you will need valid immigration permission to remain in the UK until you become eligible. This may require extending your current visa or switching to another suitable visa before it expires. When switching, check whether the time already completed will continue to count towards your ILR qualifying period.

No. You do not need to spend all 10 years on the same UK visa to qualify under the Long Residence route. Time spent on different qualifying immigration routes can be combined to complete the 10-year period. This can include lawful residence on Student, Graduate and work visas, provided the residence meets the Long Residence rules.

No. Not every period of lawful stay in the UK counts towards 10-year Long Residence. Time spent in certain categories, including as a Visitor, Short-term Student or Seasonal Worker, is excluded. Residence under immigration routes that qualify for Long Residence can be combined to complete the required 10 years of lawful continuous residence.

It depends on the immigration route. A dependant partner must complete the qualifying residence period required for their own settlement application and meet the dependant ILR requirements. On work routes, dependant partners generally need 5 years of qualifying residence. Whether they can settle before the main visa holder depends on the settlement rules for that route.