ILR Calculator: When Can You Apply to Settle in the UK?
Settlement is another common name for ILR, which stands for indefinite leave to remain.
What visa do you hold?
- Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker
- Spouse or partner
- Global Talent
- Innovator Founder
- UK Ancestry
- The UK long-residence path: 10 years
- Hong Kong BN(O)
- Scale-up Worker
- Refugee status or humanitarian protection
- Partner of someone on a Skilled Worker or other work visa
- Parent of a child in the UK
- Child of a visa holder
- Adult dependent relative
A refugee, dependant, parent, BN(O) or another visa category
How were you endorsed?
Which parent route are you on?
Which partner route are you on?
Dates you type are kept in this browser. We never see what you enter in the calculator.
- 5 years
- for most visas, Skilled Worker among them
- 3 years
- for Innovator Founder visas, and for some Global Talent visas
- 10 years
- for long residence, plus the 10-year routes for partners and parents
- 180 days
- On most visas, you may spend up to this many days abroad during any 12 months
Source: GOV.UK guidance
Time Before ILR on Each Visa Route
Find the visa that applies to you below. It shows the years of UK residence you need, plus the days you may spend abroad during that period.
| Years in the UK | Visa | Days abroad allowed |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Up to 180 days in any 12 months | |
| 5 years | Up to 180 days in any 12 months | |
| 5 years | No set number of days | |
| 10 years | Up to 180 days in any 12 months | |
| 10 years | No set number of days |
English at B1 level is also required for most visas, and that level means you can hold an everyday conversation. Most visa holders will need B2 from 26 March 2027, one level higher. Holders of Skilled Worker and Scale-up Worker visas already proved B1 for their visa, so they do not need a new test before then. Visas for Hong Kong and for parents stay at B1. Refugees and Innovator Founders do not need an English test. You also do not need a test if a long-term illness or disability prevents you from taking one, or if you are 65 or over (who does not need a test).
Partners using the 5-year route do not have a fixed limit on days, but they must show that they lived together in the UK. The 180-day limit does apply to a partner who arrived in the UK with a Skilled Worker.
Trips Abroad Can Move Your ILR Date
List every trip you have made. The checker finds the 12 months with the most time away, so you can check whether you passed the limit.
ILR Meaning: Settlement and UK Permanent Residence
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) | You may live in the UK as long as you want. Here you can live, work and study, and claim benefits if you qualify. You can also apply for British citizenship at a later stage. GOV.UK also uses the word settlement. |
| UK permanent residence | Many people call ILR by this name. A similar status, called settled status, usually applies instead to people from EU countries and people from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, along with their families. |
| Leave to remain | This means you may remain in the UK for a fixed time, for example on a visa or a visa extension. Keep it current until you are able to apply for ILR. |
| Refugee status | People receive this status if they cannot safely go home because they would be persecuted there. Humanitarian protection may be given to people who fail that test yet cannot safely return. Each of these may lead to ILR for refugees. |
| NTL application | NTL is short for no time limit. When an old passport has a stamp or sticker as your only proof of ILR, you can use this free application to receive an eVisa. It records your status online. See the UKVI account and eVisa details. |
| Losing ILR | Living outside the UK for more than 2 consecutive years can cause you to lose ILR. |
Not sure when you are able to apply? The calculator at the top of the page gives you the earliest date for your visa. Although this is not a GOV.UK service, it follows the same published rules.
Applying 28 Days Early for Indefinite Leave to Remain
Your qualifying period is how long you must live in the UK before applying. You need not wait for the last day. The Home Office runs the visa system and accepts applications up to 28 days before the period ends (Home Office time rules).
Applying before that point means you have not lived here long enough, so your application could be refused. The fee is £3,226 for each person, so getting the date right first is worth it.
When Does Your ILR Qualifying Time Start?
For an application made outside the UK, your time usually begins on the day the visa was granted. Arriving a few weeks later does not change this. The Home Office counts that short gap toward your time (its guide to counting time).
Coming to the UK more than 180 days after the grant means your time starts on your arrival day instead. If you switch to this visa while in the UK, your time starts when the new visa is granted.
Visitor Visas and Other Stays: Time That Does Not Count Toward UK Settlement
Time you spend on a visitor visa does not count.
Only the time you spend on a partner visa counts on the 5-year partner visa route. A fiancé visa, used to come to the UK to marry, does not count. On the 10-year partner route, time is counted differently.
Some people first arrive as the partner or child of someone who holds a Skilled Worker visa. Later, they receive a Skilled Worker visa of their own. Just their own Skilled Worker visa time is counted. The 3-year Innovator Founder route counts only time on an Innovator Founder or older Innovator visa.
You might have held several visas, and none of them was long enough on its own. Legal residence in the UK for 10 years in a row may still let you settle. The term for this is long residence.
Make Sure Your Visa Is Still Valid When You Apply
Check when your current visa ends. On the day you apply, it must still be valid. If it ends before you are able to submit an ILR application, extend it first.
Applications made before your visa expires allow you to stay in the UK while waiting for a decision, including after the end date passes. Before applying, you must also pass the Life in the UK Test if you are 18 to 64. It is a short multiple-choice test on daily life and British history.
Under earned settlement, will the qualifying period become 10 years?
The government has sought the public's views on the earned settlement plan. Under that plan, most people would wait 10 years to apply, not five.