Immigration Corner | Ways of applying for indefinite leave to remain

Dear Mr Bassie,

Please tell me what is needed to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

Thanks in advance.

– VF

Dear VF,

Persons should first check if they are eligible for indefinite leave to remain. Indefinite leave to remain is how persons can settle in the United Kingdom (UK), and it is also called ‘settlement’. It gives persons the right to live, work and study there for as long as they like and apply for benefits, if they are eligible. Persons can also use it to apply for British citizenship.

There are different ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain based on the applicants’ circumstances. If persons or their family members are an European Union (EU), European Economic Area or Swiss citizen, they may be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme instead.

PERSONS WORKING IN THE UK

Persons may be able to apply if they already have a work visa. Those persons must usually have lived and worked in the UK for five years. If they have a tier 1 visa, it can be two or three years. If they have an Innovator or Global Talent visa, it can be three years.

Persons may also need to meet the salary or financial requirements, and this will depend on the type of visa that they hold.

How they apply will depend on whether they:

• Have a tier 2, T2, International Sportsperson or Skilled Worker visa;

• Have a Global Talent, Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Investor visa;

• Have an Innovator visa;

• Represent an overseas business;

• Have a Turkish Worker or Businessperson visa;

• Are private servants in a diplomatic household with an International Agreement visa, or domestic workers.

PERSONS WITH FAMILY IN THE UK

Persons may be able to apply if they have a partner, parent or child or other relative settled in the United Kingdom – either as a British citizen or a person with indefinite leave to remain. How they apply depends on which visa they have and how their family member settled.

There are other ways to apply if:

• A partner has died;

• A relationship ended because of domestic violence.

PERSONS WHO HAVE LIVED IN THE UK FOR 10 YEARS

Persons may be able to apply if they have been living in the United Kingdom for 10 years or longer. Applicants should be aware that there is a different way to apply if they have a visa that is on the basis of their private life. Please note that these applications open in June 2022.

COMMONWEALTH CITIZENS

Commonwealth citizens can apply if they have been living in the UK for five years on a UK Ancestry visa.

Please note that some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the United Kingdom. This means they can live or work in the United Kingdom without immigration restrictions. Persons should check if they can apply to prove that they have right of abode in the United Kingdom.

Please be aware that persons may be eligible for citizenship instead of right of abode, for example, by applying under the Windrush scheme.

OTHER WAYS TO APPLY

Persons may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain if they:

• Are a refugee or have humanitarian protection or Discretionary Leave;

• Are returning to the UK, having previously had indefinite leave to remain;

• Served in the armed forces.

They can also get advice about staying in the United Kingdom on the Citizens Advice website.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, deputy global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com