| What it is | permanent residence (settlement) |
| Qualifying period | 5 years; Innovator Founder and Global Talent 3 years; long residence 10 years |
| Absences | no more than 180 days in any 12-month period |
| Fee | £3,226 per person, no health surcharge |
| English | B2 on most work routes from 26 March 2027 |
| As of | November 2026; earned settlement is only a proposal |
What indefinite leave to remain means
Indefinite leave to remain, ILR for short, is permanent residence in the UK. GOV.UK also calls it settlement. With it you can live, work and study in the UK for as long as you like, and you may be able to claim benefits. EU citizens who arrived before 2021 have their own equivalent: settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. If you hold pre-settled status, since 9 April 2026 the Home Office has been moving more people to settled status without an application: it checks whether tax and benefit records show 30 of the last 60 months in the UK. Children under 18, non-EEA family members, joining family members and anyone without those records are among those left out; they apply themselves, and their pre-settled status is extended by five years. A second, separate change: since April 2026 the Home Office has been removing pre-settled status from people who have clearly stopped living in the UK.
ILR is also the stepping stone to British citizenship. As a rule you can apply to naturalise twelve months after getting ILR.
When you can apply for ILR
| Visa | Qualifying period today | Points to note |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | 5 years | salary must still meet the threshold, employer confirms the job |
| Scale-up | 5 years | income over the past years counts |
| Innovator Founder | 3 years | the business must meet two success criteria |
| Global Talent | 3 or 5 years | depends on field and route |
| Partner of a British or settled person | 5 years | on the family visa as a partner |
| Long residence | 10 years | lawful residence on any mix of visas |
| Global Business Mobility, HPI | no ILR | time does not count |
GOV.UK, as of November 2026
Where applications fail
Absences are the most common trap. On the work routes you must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. If you travel a lot or have a second home elsewhere, count your days as you go, not just before you apply.
Second, only time on the right visas counts. Time as the partner or child of another visa holder does not count towards your own settlement as a main applicant. Third, you can apply no earlier than 28 days before you reach the five years. Apply sooner and you risk a refusal.
If you are between 18 and 64 you must pass the Life in the UK Test: 24 questions in 45 minutes, a pass mark of 75 per cent and a fee of £50. On the Skilled Worker route you do not currently need to prove your English again for settlement, because you did so for the visa. That is about to change.
With the statement of changes HC 1691, the Home Office raises the English requirement for settlement to level B2 on the routes that used to require B1, among them Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Scale-up, Innovator Founder and long residence. The rule applies from 26 March 2027, and expressly also to people who are already on the path to settlement today.
Long residence: ten years on any visas
If you have lived lawfully in the UK for ten unbroken years, you can settle through long residence, even if none of your individual visas led to settlement. Continuity has its own absence limits. One important change: for the overall limit of 548 days, only absences that began before 11 April 2024 count.
The earned settlement proposal would scrap the long residence route altogether. So far that is only a proposal.
What may change: earned settlement
In November 2025 the government proposed doubling the standard qualifying period for settlement from 5 to 10 years, with reductions for high earners, better English and certain routes. The consultation closed in February 2026. The Home Office has published no outcome so far, and no statement of changes puts the proposal into effect. The latest statement of changes is HC 584 of 3 September 2026. Everything else is on our earned settlement page.
Keeping ILR
ILR is permanent, but it can be lost. If you live outside the UK for more than two years in a row, it usually lapses, and you need a returning resident visa to come back. Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme has more generous limits; how you keep it, and when pre-settled status can be removed, is on our EU Settlement Scheme page.
A right to live in the UK and tax residence are two separate things. Whether you are UK tax resident is decided year by year by the statutory residence test, not by your visa or your status. How they fit together is explained in status and tax, in our overview of the UK tax system and, for the first years after arrival, under the FIG regime.
Cost and processing
The application costs £3,226 per person. No health surcharge is due on ILR applications. For £500 the priority service gives you a decision within five working days; for £1,000 there is the super priority service.
Frequently asked questions
Can my family settle with me?
Your partner and children can be included in the same application if they meet the requirements themselves. Their own qualifying period depends on their visa; on Global Talent, for example, family members settle after five years.
I spent 200 days abroad. Is it all over?
Not necessarily, but the 180-day limit is strict and the exceptions are narrow. Have your case checked before you apply.
Do I have to pay UK tax once I have ILR?
ILR itself triggers no tax. You become taxable in the UK through tax residence under the statutory residence test.
What if earned settlement arrives before I apply?
As proposed, it would apply to everyone who does not yet hold ILR. Whether there will be transitional rules is open. One more reason to plan early.
Sources: GOV.UK: Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain; GOV.UK: Indefinite leave to remain with a Skilled Worker visa; GOV.UK: Long residence; GOV.UK: Life in the UK Test; GOV.UK: Statement of changes HC 1691, explanatory memorandum; GOV.UK: Earned settlement (consultation); GOV.UK: Immigration Rules, statements of changes; GOV.UK: EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) status automation update (9 April 2026)
