Parent Visa UK: When You Can Apply for ILR
Once you have held the parent visa for five continuous years, you can apply to settle. The 10-year route instead takes ten years.
Which parent route are you on?
The form can be submitted 28 days before you reach the years.
Parent Visa ILR on the 5-Year Route
At least 5 continuous years on your parent family visa in the UK are required. You cannot include time on any other visa, such as fiancé, fiancée, or proposed civil partner status.
On the application date, your child must usually be under 18, and you need to pay for your own living costs and housing without public funds.
The absence rules by route table lists each route’s absence rule and the rule it comes from.
Parent Visa ILR on the 10-Year Route
You must have at least 10 continuous years living in the UK, and stays on other visas that lead to ILR are included. This route has no financial requirement.
Parental Responsibility and Your Child
The child needs to be settled in the UK (a British citizen or holding indefinite leave to remain) or applying alongside you. Sole responsibility for the child is needed, or shared responsibility when the other parent is British or settled.
When your partner is settled and you meet the partner criteria, the partner route takes priority: check the ILR spouse visa page.
The Fee, the Life in the UK Test, and English
For those aged 18 to 64, passing the Life in the UK Test is required, along with showing English at B1 level in speaking and listening. The fee is £3,226 per person, and a decision normally arrives within 6 months.