{"id":4585,"date":"2016-05-24T13:05:23","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T13:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplylaw.waydevelopers.com\/england-wales\/wiki\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/"},"modified":"2023-11-04T13:12:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T13:12:00","slug":"indefinite-leave-to-remain","status":"publish","type":"guides","link":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/","title":{"rendered":"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Immigration rules in the UK define indefinite leave to remain (ILR) as being granted permanent residency in the UK. This is not the same as naturalisation. ILR can only be given after the migrant has demonstrated a commitment to the UK under a temporary visa. Eligibility depends upon which visa the applicant was originally travelling on and how long they have held it. They must have lived in the UK for a certain period of time before they can apply for ILR.<\/p>\n<h2>Applying for ILR through Simply.Law<\/h2>\n<p>If you are looking to settle in the UK, taking early legal advice about your eligibility and which process you need to follow is essential. Any mistakes, or applying via the wrong means, could delay your entitlement to receive indefinite leave to remain. Simply.Law has a number of member lawyers who will be able to give you clear, specific visa legal advice regarding your application.<\/p>\n<p>Simply.Law has been developed as an online method of choosing and making contact with the right lawyer for your circumstances. You can choose an immigration solicitor yourself from the list or send your details to Simply.Law and we can pair you with a lawyer through our Match function.<\/p>\n<h2>Length of time you must have been in the UK to apply for ILR<\/h2>\n<p>The length of time depends on your immigration status:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Work permit holder \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>Ancestry visa holder \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>Being married \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>Being an unmarried partner \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>Holding a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>Holding a Tier 1 (Investor) visa \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>Writers, musicians and artists \u2013 five years<\/li>\n<li>After a legal stay \u2013 ten years<\/li>\n<li>After an illegal stay \u2013 fourteen years<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As part of your application to settle permanently in the UK, applicants will need to demonstrate a sufficient knowledge and understanding of the English language and about living in Great Britain. This is done through a \u2018Life in the UK&#8217; test. The only exceptions to this immigration rule exist if you are over 65 or under 18.<\/p>\n<p>Once indefinite leave to remain has been granted, you should not spend two years or more outside the UK because this could lead to revocation of the ILR. If this does happen then you would need to apply for a Returning Resident visa before you try to re-enter the UK. It&#8217;s very important to do so or you could be declined entry.<\/p>\n<h2>Waiting times<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Postal applications.<\/b> Approximately 95% of these receive a decision within six months<\/li>\n<li><b>Applications in person.<\/b> In approximately 90% of cases there will be a same day decision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For further information on ILR, and the conditions for settling in the UK, or to apply, contact an Simply.Law member immigration solicitor today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you have been in the UK on a visa for a certain amount of time then you may be eligible to settle permanently through being granted indefinite leave to remain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7969,"parent":4554,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[12332],"tags":[10282,10278,10187,10279,8466,10281,8468,10280],"guides-category":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4585","1":"guides","2":"type-guides","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-immigration-law","8":"tag-ilr","9":"tag-immigration-rules-uk","10":"tag-immigration-solicitor","11":"tag-indefinite-leave-to-remain","12":"tag-lawyer","13":"tag-settle-in-the-uk","14":"tag-solicitor","15":"tag-visa-legal-advice"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Settling permanently in the UK through ILR - Simply Law England Wales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore our comprehensive collection of legal guides covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. Stay informed and empowered with expert advice and detailed explanations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore our comprehensive collection of legal guides covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. Stay informed and empowered with expert advice and detailed explanations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Simply Law England Wales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/orattolaw\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-04T13:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/guides_placeholder.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"685\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OrattoLaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/\",\"name\":\"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR - Simply Law England Wales\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/guides_placeholder.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-24T13:05:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-04T13:12:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore our comprehensive collection of legal guides covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. Stay informed and empowered with expert advice and detailed explanations.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/guides_placeholder.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/guides_placeholder.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":685,\"caption\":\"divorce in Scotland\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guides\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Coming to work in the UK under a business or student visa\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/guides\\\/immigration-lawyers\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/\",\"name\":\"Simply Law England Wales\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Simply Law England Wales\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Simply.Law-Logo_small.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Simply.Law-Logo_small.png\",\"width\":460,\"height\":330,\"caption\":\"Simply Law England Wales\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/simply.law\\\/england-wales\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/orattolaw\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/OrattoLaw\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/oratto\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/OrattoLaw\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@oratto6392\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR - Simply Law England Wales","description":"Explore our comprehensive collection of legal guides covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. Stay informed and empowered with expert advice and detailed explanations.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR","og_description":"Explore our comprehensive collection of legal guides covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. Stay informed and empowered with expert advice and detailed explanations.","og_url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/","og_site_name":"Simply Law England Wales","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/orattolaw\/","article_modified_time":"2023-11-04T13:12:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":685,"url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/guides_placeholder.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@OrattoLaw","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/","url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/","name":"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR - Simply Law England Wales","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/guides_placeholder.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-24T13:05:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-04T13:12:00+00:00","description":"Explore our comprehensive collection of legal guides covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. Stay informed and empowered with expert advice and detailed explanations.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/guides_placeholder.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/guides_placeholder.jpg","width":1200,"height":685,"caption":"divorce in Scotland"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/indefinite-leave-to-remain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Coming to work in the UK under a business or student visa","item":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/guides\/immigration-lawyers\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Settling permanently in the UK through ILR"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/#website","url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/","name":"Simply Law England Wales","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/#organization","name":"Simply Law England Wales","url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/01\/Simply.Law-Logo_small.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/01\/Simply.Law-Logo_small.png","width":460,"height":330,"caption":"Simply Law England Wales"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/orattolaw\/","https:\/\/x.com\/OrattoLaw","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/oratto\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/OrattoLaw\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@oratto6392"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guides\/4585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guides"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/guides"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guides\/4585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5528,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guides\/4585\/revisions\/5528"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guides\/4554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4585"},{"taxonomy":"guides-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guides-category?post=4585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}