Current settlement rules

You may be able to settle under this route if you have a work visa. Generally, you must have lived and worked in the UK continuously for 5 years (though the Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas may have shorter routes) and passed the English language and life in the UK requirements. How you apply depends on your visa. 

If you are on a Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, or Tier 2 (General) visa, you will need to have spent 5 years working and living in the UK, meet the minimum salary requirements (which vary based on your job), and provide a document from your employer (visa sponsor) to confirm you continue to be needed for your job and meet the salary requirements.

If you have a dependent partner, they will need to complete their own 5 year qualifying period of residence first before applying for ILR. Those who first got their visa as a child (under 18) must wait for both parents to get ILR or at least submit applications for ILR, before they can apply themselves.

Some exceptions exist - for example, for children of single parents or adults with sole responsibility. In such cases the child can apply for ILR after 5 years’ residence. We encourage you to read the government guidance to understand the criteria.

You may be able to apply if you have a family member settled in the UK - either as a British citizen, or a person with ILR. You can apply as:

• A partner, with your family visa

• A partner, as a dependent on your partner’s work visa

• A parent, with your family visa

• A child, with your family visa

• A child, as a dependent on your parent’s work visa

• An adult dependent relative on a family visa

• A dependant on your parent or partner’s innovator founder visa

The number of years you must have spent in the UK before you can settle as a family member can vary based on your and your family member’s circumstances. This could be:

• 5 years in most cases

• 10 years in some cases

You will typically be on the 5 year route if you met all the core requirements of your visa (specifically the financial and English language requirements) at the time of your initial application and subsequent extension applications, and on the 10 year route if you did not meet these criteria (for example, you did not earn enough, but were granted leave based on your human right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights). 

The best way to determine your route is to read the official decision letter you received from the Home Office when your visa was granted.

There are separate routes to apply for ILR as a bereaved partner and victim of domestic abuse. To learn more, read the government guidance on how you can settle as a family, and seek immigration advice.

You may be able to apply for ILR if you’ve been living in the UK legally for 10 continuous years. This is known as ‘long residence’.

This can include time on most immigration categories, or a combination of categories, but not on a: Ukraine scheme visa, Seasonal Worker visa, Standard Visitor visa or Short-term study visa.

To qualify under this route, you need to have had continuous residence in the UK. This means that in any 12 month period, you were not abroad for longer than a total of 180 days. For any time spent abroad before 11 April 2024, it also means you were not abroad for more than 548 days in total. 

To understand how you can settle under the 10-year route, we encourage you to read the government guidance.

A private life visa is an immigration status for people who have lived in the UK for so long, they would have significant difficulties returning to and living in their countries of origin. This includes people who have had to live in the UK without immigration permission. 

This is a complex application and we encourage you to read the government guidance to understand the criteria. Typically, to obtain a private life visa you must be able to prove that you meet at least one of the following criteria:

• You are under 18 and have lived in the UK continuously for at least 7 years, and it would be unreasonable to expect you to leave the UK.

• You are between 18 and 24 and have lived continuously in the UK for more than half your life.

• You are 18 or over, have spent less than 20 years in the UK and you would have very significant obstacles to integration into your country of origin.

• You have been in the UK continuously for 20 years.

• You were born in the UK to a person who has permission to stay in the UK on the basis of their private life, or is applying for it.

Your eligibility to then obtain ILR in the UK on the basis of private life varies, depending on whether you are applying as an adult or a child. Typically, the following conditions apply:

• Children born in the UK who have lived continuously in the UK for at least 7 years since birth can qualify for ILR immediately, at the same time they apply for a private life visa.

• Children (under 18 years of age) and young adults (of ages 18-24) who have lived in the UK for 5 continuous years on a relevant visa, and got their most recent visa on the basis of private life, can apply for ILR after 5 years of lawful residence in the UK.

• Adults (over 18) who have lived in the UK for 10 continuous years with a relevant visa, and have previously been given a visa on the basis of private life, can apply to settle after 10 years of lawful residence in the UK. 

If you are an adult and have only ever lived in the UK illegally, and the private life visa is the first lawful status you obtained in the UK, you can only apply for ILR after you have held a private life visa for 10 years. 

There may be other circumstances where you can apply for settlement based on your private life. To learn more, we encourage you to read the government guidance on ILR private life applications and get accredited immigration advice.

If you have protection status in the UK (either permission to stay as a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection), you can apply to settle in the UK after 5 years.

It is free to apply for ILR, and if you have dependents in the UK, they can also apply with you. This usually refers to partners and children under 18 (or who were under 18 when you got your status), whose immigration status in the UK is tied to yours - this means they do not already have permission in another category, and they are not undocumented.

To understand the criteria and how to apply for ILR in these cases, we encourage you to read the government guidance.

If you or your close family member are an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen who has status, or is eligible for status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), this route could be for you.

If you already have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), you may be eligible to apply for settled status once you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years in a row. It’s free to apply.

Children (under 21) of people with settled status under the EUSS can usually apply for settled status without having to wait 5 years. Children born in the UK to a parent with settled status are British citizens by birth.

If you don’t have EUSS status but think you are eligible, read the government’s EUSS guidance carefully. The deadline for most people to apply to the EUSS was 30 June 2021, but some people can still apply.

There are many ways to settle in the UK, including some less common routes we have not covered here. To understand the options, we encourage you to read the government guidance, and find an accredited immigration adviser to discuss your options.