Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR): Which UK Visas Lead to Settlement?

By Eve Loveman - Legal Associate

11 Jul 2024

This post explains which visas are routes to settlement in the UK, the length of time you need to spend on each visa before you qualify for settlement, and whether you can combine this with time spent on other visas. (Please note, this post focuses on the rules for main applicants, rather than dependants. It does not cover settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.)

What Is ‘Settlement’?

As explained in our earlier post, Indefinite Leave to Remain ILR: A Complete Guide, settlement, or indefinite leave to remain (ILR), is an immigration status that allows the person who holds it to live and work in the UK for an unlimited time, without any need to apply for a visa extension. 

Note that, ILR can, however, lapse or be revoked in certain circumstances – for instance, ILR lapses if you leave the UK for a continuous period of 2 years (or 5 years if you have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme).  If your ILR lapses, you may consider making an application as a returning resident. 

How Long Do I Need to Stay in the UK to Qualify for ILR?

Settlement Based on 10 Years’ Continuous Lawful Residence

There are different ways to get ILR in the UK. If you have lived in the UK lawfully for 10 years or more, you may qualify for indefinite leave to remain based on 10 years’ continuous residence, under Appendix Long Residence. (See our post, Big Changes to the 10 Year Long Residence ILR Rules, on recent changes to the meaning of ‘continuous’ residence in long residence applications.) Unless an exemption applies, you would also need to meet an English language requirement and pass the Life in the UK test. 

UK Visas Offering Routes to Settlement

If you have been living in the UK on certain types of visa, you may be able to get ILR more quickly than this. These visas provide ‘routes to settlement’. Only certain UK visas put you on a route to settlement, and the length of time you need to be in the UK before you can apply for ILR varies depending on the type of visa you are on. When considering the length of time spent in the UK, you will need to check whether you meet any continuous residence requirements for the relevant route – you are recommended to seek legal advice, particularly if you have any significant absences from the UK.  In each case, you will also need to check the additional requirements for being granted Indefinite Leave to Remain on the relevant route, for example, related to English language requirements, and passing the Life in the UK test. It is best to seek legal advice early to ensure you are able to plan ahead. If you are unable to meet the requirements for settlement, you may be able to extend your leave instead.  

Even when you are on a route to settlement in the UK, you will usually need to apply to extend your visa at least once before you will have spent enough time in the UK to apply for ILR. For instance, a partner visa where all the requirements of the Immigration Rules are met puts you on a five year route to settlement. However, a first application for entry as a partner gets you a visa valid for 33 months, after which you would need to apply to extend your permission for a further 30 months. After spending 60 months (5 years) in the UK as a partner, you can then apply for settlement. 

You may see the term ‘settlement visa’ being used.  The websites for the UK’s visa application centres (operated by VFS Global and TLS contact) use ‘settlement visa’ as the name for some visas for those joining family members in the UK. However, these are not the only types of visa that lead to ILR. Certain visas that grant ILR immediately might also be called ‘settlement visas’. Examples are the bereaved partner visa or the visa for victims of domestic violence or abuse who meet certain criteria. 

In some cases, but not all, you can combine time spent on different visas in order to qualify for ILR. 

Check the list below to see whether your visa gives you a route to settlement, and whether time spent on this visa can be combined with time spent on other visas:

Spouse/civil partner/unmarried partner visa (5 year route)

• If you have a spouse/civil partner/unmarried partner visa and are on the five year route, you can apply for settlement in the UK once you have been in the UK for 60 months continuously with leave on this route. You should check the letter granting your leave to see whether you are on the five year route to settlement. Time spent in the UK with leave as a fiancé or proposed civil partner does not count towards the 60 months;
• You cannot combine time spent on any other visa to reach the 60 months, and your leave as a partner has to have been based on your relationship with the same person throughout the period. 

Spouse/civil partner/unmarried partner visa (10 year route)

• You can apply for settlement after 10 years in the UK under Appendix Settlement Family Life;
• You can combine time spent on this route with time spent in the UK as a family member under routes set out at paragraph SETF 3.1 of Appendix Settlement Family Life;
• You can also combine time spent on this route with time spent on any other route to settlement, as long as you did not enter the UK illegally and you have had permission as a partner (if applying as a partner) or parent (if applying as a parent) under Appendix FM for at least one year;
• You may also be eligible under the general 10 years’ continuous residence route under Appendix Long Residence discussed above, although this route involves stricter suitability requirements (e.g. criteria relating to criminal convictions).

Parent of a Child Visa 

• You can apply for settlement after 60 continuous months in the UK on a parent of a child visa, (unless the relevant child’s leave is pre-settled status under Appendix EU);
• You cannot combine this with time spent on any other visa.

Adult Dependent Relative Visa

• Adult Dependent Relatives are usually granted settlement straight away, as long as the Sponsor is settled and they meet the suitability and eligibility requirements of Appendix Adult Dependent Relative of the Immigration Rules;
• Sometimes, an Adult Dependent Relative will be granted leave for 2.5 years and will then be able to apply for settlement after 10 years, for example, if their Sponsor only has temporary permission to stay in the UK. 

UK Ancestry Visa

• You can apply for settlement after spending 5 years in the UK with permission on a UK Ancestry visa continuously;
• You cannot combine time spent on this visa with time spent on other routes.

Skilled Worker Visa 

• You can apply for settlement after spending a continuous period of 5 years on a skilled worker visa;
• You can combine this with time spent on the following visas: Global Talent,  Innovator Founder, T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business , Tier 1 Migrant (other than as a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Migrant) or Scale-up;
• If you applied for a skilled worker visa between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2021, whilst you were in the UK with leave to remain (on any other route), you can also include the time you spent waiting on the outcome of your skilled worker application (as long as you had a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor on the date of application and the application was later granted).

Scale-up Visa 

You can apply for settlement after spending a continuous period of 5 years on a Scale-up visa;

• You can combine time spent on this visa with time spent on the following visas: Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator, T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business, as a Tier 1 Migrant, other than Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur).

International Sportsperson Visa 

• The International Sportsperson Visa leads to settlement after 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK;
• You can combine this with time spent on the following visas: Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, T2 Minister of Religion, Representative of an Overseas Business; Tier 1 Migrant (other than Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)Migrant and Scale-up;
• If you applied for an international sportsperson visa between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2021, whilst you were in the UK with leave to remain (on any other route), you can also include the time you spent waiting on the outcome of your international sportsperson application (as long as you had a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor on the date of application and the application was granted).

Minister of Religion Visa

• The T2 Minister of Religion Visa also leads to settlement after 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK;
• You can combine time spent on a T2 Minister of Religion visa with time spent on the following visas: International Sportsperson, Skilled Worker, Tier 1 (other than Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur), Sole Representative of an Overseas Business, Innovator Founder; Global Talent and Scale-up.

Sole Representative of an Overseas Business

• The Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa can lead to settlement after 5 years’ continuous residence;
• If you are on the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa at the time you apply for settlement, you cannot combine this with time spent on other visas in order to meet the five year requirement (but you can use time spent on this visa to meet the five year requirement for other routes, as set out above).

Global Talent 

• If you hold a Global Talent visa, the required period of continuous residence is 3 years if any of the following apply:
  • You were endorsed by the Royal Society, British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering or UKRI;
  • You were endorsed under the exceptional talent criteria by Arts Council England or Tech Nation;
  • You were granted your initial application using a prize listed in Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes (e.g. an Academy Award, a Nobel Prize).
• The required period of continuous residence in order to apply for settlement is 5 years if:
  • You were endorsed under the exceptional promise criteria by Arts Council England or Tech Nation.
• The continuous period can include a combination of time spent on any of the following routes: Innovator Founder, Skilled Worker; T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Tier 1 Migrant (other than Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur), Scale-up, Representative of an Overseas Business. 

Innovator Founder

• The Innovator Founder visa leads to settlement after 3 years’ continuous residence;
• You cannot use time spent on other visas to count towards these three years (but can use time on the Innovator Founder visa to count towards five years’ continuous residence on some other work visas, as set out above).

Tier 1 Entrepreneur

• If you hold a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, you can make an application for settlement until 05 April 2025;
• You can apply for settlement after 3 years’ continuous residence if you have:
  •  Established a new UK business with an income from business activity of at least £5 million during a 3 year period in which you had leave as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur; or
  • You have taken over or invested in an existing UK business and this resulted in a net increase in income from business activity of £5 million during a 3 year period in which you had leave as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur; or
  • You have created at least 10 full-time jobs in the UK;
• In all other cases, the relevant period of continuous residence is 5 years;
• If you are on a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa at the time of your application for settlement, you cannot rely on time spent on other routes to meet the relevant period of residence.

Hong Kong BN(O) Status Holder Visa 

• Holders of the Hong Kong BN(O) visa can apply for settlement after 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK;
• The 5-year period can include time spent on any visa that is a route to settlement (any of the above visas), as long as the most recent grant of leave was on the Hong Kong BN(O) route. 

Visas That Do Not Offer Routes to Settlement But Can Can Count Towards ILR Based on 10 Years’ Continuous Lawful Residence)

The following visas are not routes to settlement in the UK. However, you can count time spent on these routes in an application for ILR based on 10 years’ continuous lawful residence in the UK:

• Intra-Company Transfer visa;
• High Potential Individual visa;
• Youth Mobility Scheme visa;
• Student visa (with the exception of short-term study visas for English language courses, which do not count towards 10 years’ continuous residence, as set out below) ;
• Graduate visa;
• Start-up visa;
• Global Business Mobility visas (Senior or Specialist Worker visa; Graduate Trainee visa; UK Expansion worker visa; UK Secondment Worker visa; UK Service Supplier visa) 
• Temporary Work – Creative Worker visa;
• Temporary Work – Charity Worker visa;
• Temporary Work – Religious Worker visa;
• Temporary Work – International Agreement visa;
• Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange visa;
• Overseas Domestic Worker visa.

Visas That Are Not Routes to Settlement And Cannot Count Towards ILR Based on 10 Years’ Continuous Lawful Residence

Seasonal Worker visa

• The Seasonal Worker visa is not a route to settlement in the UK and time spent on this visa does not count towards ILR based on 10 years continuous lawful residence under Appendix Long Residence. 

Visit Visa

• A visit visa is not a route to settlement and you cannot count time spent in the UK as a visitor towards the 10 years’ continuous lawful residence under the general Appendix Long Residence route. When in the UK as a visitor, you must not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK your main home. 

Short-term study visa 

• The short-term study visa for English language courses of between 6 and 11 months is not a route to settlement and does not count towards ILR based on 10 years’ continuous lawful residence under Appendix Long Residence. 

How Our Immigration Barristers Can Help

This post has outlined the UK visas that are routes to settlement in the UK, and the situations in which you can combine time spent in the UK on different visas in order to qualify for ILR. It is recommended that you seek legal advice before making an application for ILR. 

For expert advice and assistance in relation to a UK visa application or immigration appeal, contact our immigration barristers on 0203 617 9173 or complete the online enquiry form below.