ILR Fee and Rules: Indefinite Leave to Remain UK Explained

It costs £3,226 for each person applying, and having your fingerprints and photo taken is free. You can pay more for a faster decision.

These fees come from the GOV.UK pages for the Skilled Worker and long residence routes and the Returning Resident visa. Check the page for your own route before you pay. If you have been refused, our guide to visa refusals sets out what you can do.

It depends on your route. Each route has its own rules, so this table is a starting point.

There are other ways to apply if your partner has died, your relationship ended because of domestic violence, you are a refugee or have humanitarian protection, or you served in the armed forces. Our guide to spouse visas when a relationship ends covers the partner routes.

Requirements vary by route. On a Skilled Worker visa, you must have lived and worked in the UK for 5 years, meet the salary requirements, and still be needed for your job. You need a document from your employer to confirm that.

On that route, you need to pass the Life in the UK Test if you are 18 to 64, but do not need to prove your English again because you did that when you applied for your visa. On long residence, if you are 18 to 65, you must pass the test and prove you have sufficient English language skills.

Up to 180 days in any 12 month period on both the Skilled Worker and long residence routes. On long residence, there are different rules for time abroad that started before 11 April 2024: you will not have continuous residence if you were abroad for more than 184 days in a row or 548 days in total.

On long residence, some time does not count, including time spent on a Standard Visitor visa, on a Short-term study visa, on immigration bail, in prison, or after your permission ran out.

The earliest you can apply on a Skilled Worker visa or a family visa is 28 days before you meet the time requirement, and your application may be refused if you apply earlier. Do not wait until your current visa expires, because you would need to renew it first.

You will usually get a decision within 6 months of providing your fingerprints and photo. If you are successful on long residence, you get an eVisa, and our guide to eVisas explains how to access it.

There is no longer any time limit on your stay. You are free to work in any business, profession or employment, including self-employment, and free to study. Generally, healthcare is free for a person who is settled in the UK.

To apply for citizenship, you must usually have lived in the UK for at least 12 months after being granted indefinite leave. A child you have in the UK while settled will normally be a British citizen automatically at birth.

You can lose it in these ways:

The Home Office describes it as ILR (settled status) granted under the EU Settlement Scheme, and the routes differ. If you or your family member are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you may be able to apply for settled status instead. It has a longer absence limit, and you can use our EU Settlement Scheme guide to check how it works.

It is a proposed change. The 2025 white paper said the government would increase the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years, and let people reduce it based on their contributions. A consultation published on 20 November 2025 said settlement will no longer be granted automatically after a fixed period.

On 2 November 2026 the government published its response to the consultation. It said the starting point for settlement will increase from 5 to 10 years, and that people will be able to qualify sooner where they make a sustained contribution to the UK. It also set out transitional protections for people already in the UK, including care workers and certain health and education workers. The next step is to turn the framework into detailed rules, and before it takes effect the government will publish further technical guidance and a full impact assessment.

We read the statements of changes to the Immigration Rules of 5 March, 9 July and 3 September 2026, and none sets a ten year period for the work routes. One change has been made: refugees and others granted 5 years' leave from a claim made by 1 March 2026 remain eligible to apply after 5 years, under new rules for later claims. Our immigration guides cover the other routes.