When Can You Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK?

* The qualifying period for ILR is subject to meeting certain criteria under that visa category

What are the other ways you can obtain ILR?

Some of the other ways, you can qualify for ILR are:

The 10 Year Family Member Route

In some cases, an applicant will be granted a 10 year route for their respective family member visa (spouse/partner, parent or child).  This simply means that instead of the standard 5 years required to qualify for ILR under the same visa category, you will need to spend 10 years to qualify for ILR.

This usually occurs where the applicant (or sponsor) does not currently meet one or more requirements e.g. the financial requirement for the visa at the time of making their application but the UKVI has made an exception to grant the applicant leave to enter/remain due to exceptional circumstances.

Note that if you are on the 10 year route, if your circumstances change and you are now able to meet all of the requirements for the same or a different visa category, you are allowed to apply and switch to the 5 year route of that visa (and immediately i.e. you do not have to wait for your current visa to expire).

10 Years Long Residency

Where an applicant has not met the relevant qualifying period under the same visa category, they can still qualify for ILR if they have had at least 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK.  This means that during the 10 years (or more) that they have been in the UK, they have always had valid leave to remain in the UK.  This would usually apply to individuals who have switched between different visa categories during their stay in the UK.

For Example:

Anna originally came to the UK on a Tier 4 visa to study a degree in the UK and she held the visa for a total period of 3 years. After graduating she then switched  to a Tier 1 Graduate visa which she had for a further 3 years. She then got married to a British citizen and switched to a Spouse Visa on the 10 year route (the 10yr route has been covered earlier above).

ILR Rule on Absences and Breaks in Continuous Residence

It is important to note that the 'qualifying period' for ILR includes a continuous residence requirement where applicants must not exceed an acceptable level of absences from the UK.

Earlier we covered how one can obtain ILR via '10 years of long residency' in the UK.  What must be emphasised with such applications, is the requirement to be lawfully resident in the UK throughout the 10 year qualifying period. This means that during the 10 years, you have always had valid leave to enter/remain i.e. you did not overstay at any time between extending or switching your visas, or violate any of the other conditions of your leave in the UK.

Also important to note, is that once you have obtained ILR, if you are absent from the UK for a continuous period exceeding 2 years, your ILR will lapse.  There are exceptions to this which will be covered in another article, and this rule also does not apply to those with Settled status under the EU Settlement scheme).

Is ILR the same as having British Citizenship?

If you have indefinite Leave to Remain (including Settled Status if you are an EU Nationals or Non-EU family member), you cannot apply for a British Passport.  You would need to naturalise as a British Citizen first, which is a separate application.  

It is however a requirement to have ILR first in order to apply for naturalisation, and In most cases, you must wait at least 12 months before you can apply.  - If you have settled status under the EU settlement scheme, or you qualified for ILR as a spouse of a British citizen, you can apply for naturalisation immediately.