United Kingdom — Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR): The Complete Guide

Step 1: Which route and qualifying period

Indefinite leave to remain is not one route but the end point of many. The first question is which visa you hold, because that sets the qualifying period you must complete before you can apply.

• 5 years — most work and family routes, including Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, partner and parent visas. The BN(O) route for Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) also settles after 5 years — see BN(O) route settlement.
• 3 years — the accelerated Innovator Founder and Global Talent routes.
• 2 years — the legacy Tier 1 Investor route, for people who still hold that leave.
• 10 years — long residence, which counts any lawful residence in the UK rather than time on a single visa. See 10-year long residence ILR.
• EU Settlement Scheme — EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members do not apply for ILR; settled status under the scheme is the equivalent, usually after 5 years of continuous residence. See how to qualify for settled status.

Whatever the length, the period must be continuous: time on the route (or on routes that combine with it) without a gap in permission and without breaking the absence limit in Step 2. Time spent on a route that does not lead to settlement, such as a Visitor or Student visa, does not usually count.

Step 2: Counting the 180-day absence rule

Completing the years is not enough; you must also have been in the UK for enough of them. Under Appendix Continuous Residence (CR 3.1) you must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period of your qualifying period. The test runs across the whole period and adds up every trip in each window.

1. 1List every trip outside the UK with its departure and return dates.
2. 2For each trip, count only the whole days you were away — the day you leave and the day you arrive back do not count as absences.
3. 3Test every possible 12-month window: the combined total in any window must be 180 days or fewer.
4. 4If a window is over 180, check whether a permitted reason applies; otherwise continuous residence is broken and the qualifying clock is affected.

Absences can be disregarded for a limited set of permitted reasons: serious illness of the applicant or a close family member, conflict, natural disaster, travel disruption, and other compelling compassionate reasons — each must be evidenced. Applicants on the long residence route benefit from a transitional rule: absences before 11 April 2024 are tested under the older limits of 184 days per absence and 548 days in total, and only later absences fall under the 180-day rolling test. See what counts as an absence for ILR.

The full rule, with worked examples, is on the ILR 180-day absence rule page, and the Skilled Worker specifics are in Skilled Worker settlement. To check your own position, use the free UK ILR absence calculator: enter your trips; it finds your worst 12-month window and your earliest application date. The Bounded app records the days automatically as you travel and produces the absence history the application asks for.

Step 3: When to apply and how long it takes

You can submit your ILR application up to 28 days before your qualifying period is complete. The date that matters is the end of the qualifying period on your route, not the expiry of your current visa, so work it out precisely: the ILR absence calculator shows the earliest date once your trips are in, and when can I apply for ILR? walks through the common start-date questions.

Do not apply earlier than 28 days before. An application made too early is refused, the fee is not refunded, and you must apply again — which can also leave you scrambling if your current permission is close to expiry. Applying on time, by contrast, extends your existing permission automatically while the Home Office decides, so you stay lawfully in the UK even if your visa date passes.

Processing times depend on the service you choose. The standard service is measured in months; the paid priority service aims for a decision within working days; and super priority aims for the next working day after your biometric appointment. GOV.UK publishes the current figures and availability, which change, so check them when you book. Our pages how long does ILR take? and the ILR priority service explain what each option involves.

One practical rule: do not travel outside the UK while the application is pending. Leaving the common travel area is treated as withdrawing the application, and you would have to start again.

Step 4: Fees, documents, English and Life in the UK

ILR is charged per applicant, including each dependant applying with you. GOV.UK lists the current fee. Unlike a visa extension there is no Immigration Health Surcharge on an ILR application, because settlement carries its own access to the NHS. Priority and super priority decisions are optional paid add-ons on top of the application fee. Full details are in how much does ILR cost?

The core document set is the same on most routes:

• Your current passport and proof of status — a BRP if you still hold one, or your eVisa share code.
• A complete record of absences from the UK during the qualifying period, with dates and reasons — the form asks for every trip.
• On the Skilled Worker route, a letter from your sponsoring employer confirming your ongoing employment and that you are still needed and paid at the required level.
• Your Life in the UK test pass notification.
• Proof of English at level B1 or above: a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider, a degree taught or researched in English, or evidence that you are exempt — for example as a national of a majority-English-speaking country, or on grounds of age or a long-term condition.

The complete checklist by route is in what documents do I need for ILR?, and the language options are set out in the English test for ILR. Both the English and Life in the UK requirements carry forward: you will not need to pass them again for citizenship.

Step 5: After ILR: eVisa, travel and the 2-year rule

When ILR is granted you receive an eVisa — an online record of your immigration status linked to your passport. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued and expired at the end of 2024, so there is no card to carry; you prove your status with a share code and, when you travel, by making sure the passport linked to your UKVI account is the one you fly on. Where an ILR holder can travel without a visa depends on nationality, not on ILR itself — see travelling on UK residence status.

There is no time limit on your stay. You can work for any employer or be self-employed without sponsorship, study without a Student visa, and claim public funds on the same basis as a British resident. Your status does not need renewing. What happens after ILR? covers the practical changes in the first months.

The one condition that continues is the 2-year rule. If you stay outside the UK and Islands for a continuous period of more than 2 years, ILR lapses automatically by operation of law; the only way back is a Returning Resident visa. Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme has a longer limit of 5 continuous years. Any genuine return to the UK ends the absence and restarts the count, so the test is a single long stay away, not your total days abroad. Details and edge cases are on the ILR 2-year absence lapse rule and keeping settled status; the other ways settlement can end are in can you lose ILR?

Step 6: From ILR to British citizenship

For most people ILR is the last step before naturalisation as a British citizen. You must normally have held ILR (or settled status) for 12 months before you apply; if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you can apply as soon as ILR is granted. The full sequence is set out in the ILR to citizenship timeline.

Naturalisation has its own residence test, measured backwards from the day you apply, and it is different from the 180-day rule you have just satisfied:

• No more than 450 days outside the UK across the 5 years before the application (270 days over 3 years on the spouse route).
• No more than 90 days outside the UK in the final 12 months.
• You must have been physically in the UK on the date exactly 5 years before your application (3 years on the spouse route).

Both caps must be met at the same time, and the Home Office has only limited discretion to overlook excess absences, so many applicants time the application to the day. The naturalisation residence requirement page explains the counting, and the free UK naturalisation absence calculator checks both caps from your trip dates and lets you try different application dates.

The Life in the UK test and English language requirement you met for ILR are accepted again for naturalisation, so the remaining requirements are residence and good character. Once naturalised you are no longer subject to lapsing leave at all — the 2-year rule stops mattering — and you can apply for a British passport.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Indefinite leave to remain
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence
• GOV.UK — Long residence: caseworker guidance (Appendix Long Residence)
• GOV.UK — Earned settlement consultation
• GOV.UK — British citizenship
• GOV.UK — eVisa: online immigration status