Indefinite Leave to Remain: Routes, Rules and Fees Explained

Settlement is the moment a visa stops having an end date. It's also the step most people take before they can apply for British citizenship, so the timing matters. I've pulled everything below from GOV.UK's settlement pages, and where a rule depends on your exact visa, I'll point you to the page that decides it.

Which routes lead to settlement

GOV.UK's Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain page groups the routes by circumstance. How you apply depends on which visa you hold and, on the family routes, how your relative settled. Here are the time rules it gives for the main ones.

Your situation	Time in the UK GOV.UK asks for
Work visa, for example Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker	Usually 5 years of living and working in the UK
Tier 1 visa	Can be 2 or 3 years
Innovator Founder or Global Talent visa	Can be 3 years
Partner on a family visa	5, 2 or 10 continuous years, depending on your route
Long residence	10 years or more in the UK
Commonwealth citizen on a UK Ancestry visa	5 years in the UK
British National (Overseas) visa	5 years in the UK

GOV.UK also lists routes for refugees, people returning with previous indefinite leave, armed forces veterans and stateless people. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their families may use the EU Settlement Scheme instead.

The Skilled Worker route in detail

The work route covers Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker and Tier 2 (General) visas, plus the Minister of Religion and Sportsperson visas. GOV.UK says T2 visas have replaced Tier 2 visas, and you can still settle on a Tier 2 visa if you meet the requirements. To qualify you must:

• have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years
• meet the salary requirements
• still be needed for your job after you settle, which your employer confirms in a document you include with the application
• book and pass the Life in the UK Test if you're 18 to 64

You don't need to prove your English again on this route. GOV.UK says that's because you already did it when you applied for your visa.

What counts towards your 5 years

You can't have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months. Time in the UK as a partner or child on someone else's visa (a dependant) doesn't count. Time on a mix of visas can count, including any Tier 1 visa except Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur), Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Scale-up Worker, Innovator Founder, Global Talent and Representative of an Overseas Business. If you're close to the 180 day line, the Home Office has guidance on working out your continuous residence.

Salary thresholds for workers

This is where most people get caught out. On the usual rule you need to be paid whichever is higher: 41,700 pounds a year or the standard going rate for your occupation code. Each code has its own annual going rate, published in the going rates table.

If this applies to you	Minimum pay GOV.UK lists
The usual Skilled Worker rule	41,700 pounds a year or the standard going rate, whichever is higher
Some healthcare or education jobs paid on national pay scales	25,000 pounds a year or the going rate from the national pay scales, whichever is higher
Health and Care Worker in an occupation code with different salary requirements	31,300 pounds a year (25,000 pounds if the job is on the Immigration Salary List) or the lower going rate, whichever is higher
Skilled Worker job on the Immigration Salary List	At least 33,400 pounds a year or the standard going rate
First Skilled Worker (or equivalent) visa certificate assigned before 4 April, 2024, with Skilled Worker visas held ever since	31,300 pounds a year (25,000 pounds on the Immigration Salary List) or the lower going rate, whichever is higher
International Sportsperson, T2 Sportsperson or Tier 2 (Sportsperson)	35,800 pounds or more a year
Minister of Religion visas	At least the same as UK workers in the same role, and national minimum wage

GOV.UK's own example makes the point: a salary of 42,000 pounds a year doesn't meet the usual rule if the standard going rate for the job is 45,000 pounds. The higher number always wins, so look up the going rate for your code before you start counting days. On the Sportsperson route, GOV.UK says you can only count earnings from your main job, and only up to 48 hours a week if you're paid hourly.

Settling through a partner, parent or child

You may be able to settle if a partner, parent, child or other relative is settled in the UK, either as a British citizen or with indefinite leave to remain. You apply the same way as the family member who's settled or applying to settle. GOV.UK lists partner, parent, child and adult dependent relative applications, plus dependants on a work visa or an Innovator Founder visa.

Partners on a family visa

Your visa must be based on your relationship, as a husband, wife or civil partner, or in a relationship like a marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years. You must have lived together since you last renewed your visa and intend to stay together. After that, it depends on your route, which you'll find in the Home Office letter you got when your leave was last approved.

Partner route	Time on the visa	Money you need to show
5 year route	5 continuous years as a partner on your family visa	A combined income of at least 29,000 pounds a year if you first applied on or after 11 April, 2024, or at least 18,600 pounds if you applied before then
2 year route	2 continuous years as a partner on your family visa	Enough to house and support yourselves and your children without public funds
10 year route	10 continuous years, with at least one year on this relationship	No financial requirements

On the older 5 year rules, you add 3,800 pounds a year for your first child and 2,400 pounds a year for each child after that, but you never need to show more than 29,000 pounds. If your partner gets Personal Independence Payment, Carer's Allowance, Attendance Allowance or certain other disability benefits, you meet the adequate maintenance requirement instead, which means showing you can house and support yourselves without extra public funds. If you're 18 to 64, you'll also need the Life in the UK Test and English at level B1 in speaking and listening, or a degree taught or researched in English.

Fees, decision times and faster options

GOV.UK lists the same fee on the work and family routes: 3,226 pounds for each person applying, as of Nov 2026. Your fingerprints and photo (your biometric information) are taken for free, and you'll usually get a decision within 6 months of giving them. You can pay for speed on the work route:

Service	Extra fee	When you'll hear
Standard	None	Usually within 6 months
Priority	500 pounds	Within 5 working days
Super priority	1,000 pounds	By the end of the next working day after a weekday appointment, or 2 working days after a weekend one

Two timing rules matter more than the fee. The earliest you can apply is 28 days before you reach your 5 years on a qualifying visa, and GOV.UK warns that an earlier application may be refused. And don't let your current visa run out while you wait for the date: if it expires first, you'll need to renew it.

What happens once you've applied

1. Book a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) appointment to give your fingerprints and photo. Any children aged 6 or over on your form give theirs too.
2. Upload your supporting documents to the online service, or have them scanned at the appointment.
3. Stay in the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. If you travel outside them, your application is withdrawn.
4. Wait for the decision. You'll be contacted if your case is complex, for example if documents need verifying or you're asked to an interview.

Once you're approved, you can work, run a business, study, use public services such as healthcare and schools, and apply for public funds and pensions. You can usually apply for British citizenship after a minimum of 12 months. GOV.UK's rights guidance adds that a child born in the UK while you're settled will normally be a British citizen automatically at birth.

The absence rule that can end settlement

Here's the part people don't expect: indefinite doesn't mean unconditional. UK Visas and Immigration's guidance, Indefinite leave to remain in the UK: your rights and status, says your leave automatically ends if you stay outside the UK, Ireland or the Crown Dependencies for 2 or more years at a time. For settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme the limit is 5 or more years, and Swiss citizens with settled status can spend up to 4 years in a row away. If it lapses, you'd need to apply for entry clearance as a returning resident before coming back.

The same guidance says biometric residence permits are being replaced by an eVisa, a digital record you reach through a UKVI account. Indefinite leave can also be taken away, for example if it was obtained by deception.

If you'll run a business once you've settled, my guide to employment law situations for UK small business owners covers the basics, and if you've got Italian family roots, here's how to qualify for Italian citizenship.

My advice before you apply for settlement

Count your days before you count anything else. GOV.UK's Check if you can get indefinite leave to remain page confirms your route, and the Skilled Worker overview gives the earliest date you can apply. If your salary sits near a threshold or you've had long spells abroad, get advice first, because an early or borderline application risks a refusal. GOV.UK points people to Citizens Advice for advice about staying in the UK.

Frequently asked questions

How long do you need to live in the UK for indefinite leave to remain?

Usually 5 years on a work visa or the 5 year partner route, 2 or 3 years on some Tier 1, Innovator Founder or Global Talent visas, and 10 years on the long residence route, according to GOV.UK.

How much does indefinite leave to remain cost?

GOV.UK lists 3,226 pounds for each person applying on the work and family routes, as of Nov 2026, plus 500 pounds for priority or 1,000 pounds for super priority if you want a faster decision.

Do I need the Life in the UK Test for ILR?

Yes, if you're 18 to 64 on the work and family routes. On the Skilled Worker route you don't need to prove your English again.

Can I travel while my ILR application is being decided?

No. GOV.UK says you mustn't travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision, or your application will be withdrawn.

Can you lose indefinite leave to remain?

Yes. It lapses if you stay outside the UK for 2 or more years at a time, and it can be revoked in some cases, such as leave obtained by deception.

When can I apply for British citizenship after ILR?

Usually after holding it for at least 12 months. GOV.UK says spouses and civil partners of British citizens can apply straight away once they have it.