Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), otherwise known as permanent residency, is a UK visa facilitating permanent immigration to the UK. It can be made by people who have previously been successful in applying for a UK visa in Britain in a category leading to settlement.
Benefits
There are no time or work restrictions imposed upon ILR whereas a Work Permit would depend upon a specific offer of employment. Neither are there any limitations whatsoever as to the type of work that a visitor is able to undertake once ILR has been granted.
The Duration of Indefinite Leave to Remain
As the name suggests ILR is indefinite, however it is important that holders should not spend consecutive periods of more than two years outside of the UK. A successful applicant should consider the UK as home in the same way as a native of the country would and spending only short periods of time in Britain may in extreme circumstances lead to ILR being withdrawn.
A successful applicant for ILR is free to apply for naturalisation as a UK citizen, provided of course they meet all the statutory requirements for British citizenship.
Eligibility
In is necessary for the success of a permanent UK residency application for the applicant to have settled status in Britain. This usually means that the candidate has lived in the country on the same UK visa type for a minimum of four years (excluding student visas). The one exception is for applicants on Marriage Visas or de Facto Visas who only require two.
Categories that may lead to a successful application for permanent residency in the UK include:
- HSMP / Work Permit (after 5 years or 4 if the applicant was granted HSMP prior to 3 April 2006)
- EU Nationals and their dependants (after 5 years)
- Marriage / Unmarried Visa (after 2 years)
- Ancestry (after 5 years)
- Long Residency (either after ten consecutive years as a legal UK resident or after fourteen years as a combination of illegal and legal residency in the UK)
ILR and Marriage
A successful applicant for ILR will be able to apply for public benefits where eligible. In order to qualify as a permanent resident one must be able to demonstrate permission to enter or remain within the UK on a Marriage Visa, as a spouse or civil partner of somebody already settled in the country and that the period of the visa for spouse immigration has been spent.
The marriage must still be in place and both parties must fully intend to continue the marriage.
A range of documentation such as a passport and also some evidence of co-habitation is required as part of a permanent residence application.
Since April 2007 there has been an additional requirement for applicants to demonstrate an adequate understanding of the English language in both spoken and written form.
