I Have A Skilled Worker Visa, When And How Do I Qualify For Indefinite Leave To Remain?

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR – also called permanent residence or settlement) gives the holder the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they wish without any immigration requirements or restrictions. ILR is required in order to become a British citizen.

Eligibility

As a Skilled Worker visa holder, in order to qualify for ILR, you must:

• Have lived and worked in the UK continuously for a period of 5 years;
• meet the salary requirements; and
• continue to be required in your job and meet the salary requirements after obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Each of these eligibility requirements comes with a number of sub-points, which the applicant has to satisfy.

When to apply

The earliest that you can apply for ILR is 28 days before you have accumulated 5 qualifying continuous years in the UK. If in those 5 years you have been in the UK while holding another visa type, you will need to check if your time on that visa type can be counted towards your ILR eligibility.

As always, you should submit the ILR application before your current Skilled Worker visa expires to avoid becoming an overstayer.

Dependants

If you have a partner who is in the UK with you as a dependant on your Skilled Worker visa, they can apply for ILR with you provided they have also spent 5 continuous years in a qualifying visa category in the UK. If they have not, they will have to extend their dependant visa.

When and how children can apply for ILR will depend on the immigration status of both parents.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s General Immigration Team has extensive experience in all aspects of UK immigration law. If you have any queries relating to the blogs published or are interested in talking to us about your specific circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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