Settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain

After you have lived legally in the UK for a certain length of time, you may be able to apply for permission to settle in the UK. A settlement is also known as ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’. If you are currently in the UK, your right to apply for settlement will depend on your current immigration category whereas if you are applying to enter the UK as the child of a British citizen or a person who is settled here, you may obtain immediate permission to settle here permanently.

How we can help with settlement visa / indefinite leave to remain (ILR) application?

If you wish to apply for settlement visa / indefinite leave to remain (ILR) we can help you with your application and queries. Our expert team of lawyers can assist you with the preparation of your ILR visa application and ensure that you meet with all the requirements of the relevant Immigration Rules. We will ensure that all key points are substantiated with documentary evidence thereby leading to a successful indefinite leave to remain (ILR) application and avoiding the unnecessary expense of resubmitting your application to the Home Office.

What is Indefinite Leave to Remain?

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR), or Permanent Residence, grant an applicant the right to live and work in the UK without any immigration restrictions and entitles them to apply for naturalisation.

Qualifying criteria for Settlement/Indefinite Leave to Remain

To meet the requirements of Settlement Visas/Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR):

You must spend a number of years in the UK, depending on your immigration status, before you can apply for permanent residence.
You will need to show that you will continue to meet the requirements of your current visa to be eligible for ILR.
You need to have stayed in the UK for most of the time that you have held your Visa.
You must also plan to remain present and settled in the UK.
You will need to pass the ‘Life in the UK’ test and have a speaking and listening qualification in English.

The following are examples of how many years you must have spent in the UK on the different types of Visas for ILR

You can secure Settlement Visas / Indefinite Leave to remain (ILR) after:

Ancestry- 5 years.
Work permit, HSMP, Tier 1 General, Investors, Tier 1 Investor, Artists, Composers, Writers, Sole representatives, Business Person, Tier 1 Entrepreneur- 5 years.
An unmarried partner of a UK national or a person settled in the UK, Marriage to a UK national or a person settled in the UK- 2 years.
Marriage to EEA national, EEA national and family members- 5 years.
Any combination of unlawful or lawful stay- 20 years.
Any combination of lawful stay- 10 years.

What we can do for you to ensure your Settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain case is successful

A detailed assessment of your personal circumstances.
We can ensure that we have the correct documents to support and strengthen your case.
We can complete and submit your Settlement/ ILR application.
Keep you updated in regards to your application.

What happens once you have obtained Settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain

Once you have Settlement / Indefinite Leave to remain (ILR) you will have following benefits:

You will have unrestricted entry to the UK.
You will be free to work within the UK with no restrictions.
There is no time limit with a UK Settlement Visa; however, it is always recommended that if you have settled status in the UK you should not spend more than two years outside of the United Kingdom (Living outside of the UK for an extended period may result in your ILR being cancelled.)
If you are away from the United Kingdom, you should maintain personal and financial ties to the UK. Staying in the UK for a short period of time each year for a number of years may also lead to ILR being withdrawn.

Why we provide the best legal advice in relation to your Settlement/ Indefinite Leave to Remain application

We are a UK Solicitors law firm and are fully authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority(link is external) (SRA) and as a professional law firm are completely exempt from requiring authorisation by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner(link is external) (OISC). Many businesses offering immigration services are only OISC regulated and as such are not professional legal organisations such as Solicitors firms or Barristers’ chambers. OISC businesses are not allowed to do legal work before the Courts such as Judicial Review or statutory challenges of Home Office decisions. Also as a professional organisation, our policy is not to employ sales staff to give you “advice” (all our telephone consultations are handled by lawyers). We are often instructed at immigration appeal stages in cases that ‘immigration businesses’ have dealt with and which were clearly hopeless applications at the outset. When you instruct us, qualified immigration solicitors or immigration barristers work on your case from the outset when it matters the most in order to ensure no time and money is wasted and more importantly that no mistakes are made.

Expert Immigration

As a law firm with a track record of success, you can be assured your immigration matter is in safe hands and that the best strategy for your case will be adopted. It is crucial that you seek specialist legal advice at the outset and prior to making any type of immigration application. We can assist you with your applications for any type of Visa or permit including indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and any form of leave to remain (or for entry clearance) under the points-based system. We ensure our clients comply with the Immigration Rules and the strict requirements of the UKBA prior to making an indefinite leave to remain (ILR) application, thereby eliminating much of the stress of the application process.

Contact us for a successful Settlement / Indefinite Leave to Remain application

Our team of experienced and professionally qualified solicitors and barristers will be able to guide you through the ILR application process step by step and limit the possibility of failure by complying with the strict letter of the law. Please always call us for a telephone consultation even if you wish to consider other advisers.

Our Immigration Experts are able to give specialist legal information and advice in this area of law. To contact one of our Immigration Solicitors or Immigration Barristers please complete our online Enquiry form and we will get in touch or call us now on 01206500181.