ILR Processing Time: How Long a Decision Takes
After you attend the appointment to give your fingerprints and photo, a standard ILR processing time is normally no longer than six months. Indefinite leave to remain, known as ILR or settlement, allows you to live and work in the UK on a permanent basis. Need a quicker answer? On most settlement routes you can pay an extra charge to speed up the decision.
Delays and the Indefinite Leave to Remain Processing Time
After you prove your identity, the wait begins: either at the appointment for your fingerprints and photo (biometrics), or once you complete the upload in the UK Immigration: ID Check app. Submitting the form and paying the application fees alone does not begin the wait.
If a decision on your application will take longer because the case is complex, the Home Office will tell you, for example when:
- your supporting documents require a check
- an interview is required
- a criminal conviction or another personal matter is being looked at
Services for Priority and Super Priority ILR
For a faster decision you can pay an added fee, though places are limited.
| Service Option | Extra Fee | Official Decision Time |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | None | Within 6 months |
| Priority | £500 | Usually 30 working days for settlement |
| Super priority | £1,000 | By the end of the working day after your weekday appointment |
If you pay £500 for priority, plan for about 30 working days. The faster decision guide lists that time for settlement forms; in some route guides you may see 5 working days, which applies to most other visa applications.
Some routes do not offer the two paid options together. On a long residence application, the only faster choice alongside standard processing is the £1,000 super priority option.
Those settling through a UK Ancestry visa can also upgrade only to super priority at £1,000, not to priority at £500.
Rules for Travel While You Wait for a Decision
While your application is open, you must remain within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man. If you leave this area before a decision is reached, your settlement application is withdrawn automatically.
Spouse Visa Processing Time Compared With Settlement
A partner visa wait is counted separately from settlement because a visa grants only temporary permission to live here. Once your qualifying time as a partner is over and you apply to stay permanently, the spouse visa settlement rules take over instead.
ILR Processing Times: Common Questions
While I wait for a decision, can I remain in the UK after my visa ends?
You can remain in the country if your current visa ends while you wait for a settlement decision. Under the official processing rules, you may remain in the UK until a decision comes, provided your application was made before the old visa ran out.
Does the SET(O) Form Have a Different Wait?
Work and business routes use the official SET(O) form to apply for settlement, and this includes the Skilled Worker route. After your fingerprints and photo, you usually wait up to six months, the same wait as for other settlement forms. The form shows if you can use a quicker service.
Is the Day of My Fingerprint Appointment Important?
For a super priority appointment booked on a weekday, the Home Office tries to reach a decision by the close of the next working day. If you book your fingerprints and photo early in the week, no weekend falls between the appointment and the decision.
Why Does a Spouse Visa Get a Separate Decision From ILR?
A partner visa application deals with temporary permission to enter or remain, which the Home Office queues separately from permanent settlement. The only application that counts as an ILR application is the final one for permanent status after you finish your partner route.