Settlement in the UK

If you are a non-EU citizen, you should not notice any difference in the way your settlement application is processed after Brexit. The same Immigration Rules will continue to apply to you.

Fees for settlement visas have increased steadily over the years and currently stand at over £2300 for standard postal processing. You may wish to consider using a UKVI priority service, which is available for some types of applications and will increase government fees by £500 or £800 depending on whether a 5 working day or 24 hour turnaround service is chosen. Your dependants all pay the same fees – there are no discounts for children, for example. One positive of applying to settle is that you no longer have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Every applicant for settlement aged between 18-65 must pass the Life in the UK test; exemptions are awarded on serious health grounds, but are rare. English language testing is required, to level B1 CEFR, for every applicant who is not from a majority English-speaking country, or who does not hold a recognised degree taught in English.

This is a requirement that applies across most UK immigration categories. In general, you must ensure that you have been outside the UK for less than 180 days in any 12-month period. The way this is calculated by UKVI can be confusing; if in doubt, we recommend you seek specialist advice from a member or our legal team.

If you are approaching 5 years in the UK as a recognised refugee or person with humanitarian protection, you will be considering submitting an application for settlement, which you can make up to 28 days before your visa is due to expire. So long as you haven’t travelled back to your home country, obtained a new passport, committed any serious criminal offences, or been involved in other behaviour likely to call your good character into question, your application will normally be approved without further enquiry by UKVI. However, you must remember that such settlement applications are subject to “active review”, which means you can be refused if the Home Office believes you are no longer in need of protection.

By the time you apply for settlement, your family will usually already have joined you in the UK. Their cases will have been considered under the dependant rules for your category of residence, for example, PBS. If you are granted ILR, things can change, in ways which can be complicated. You are strongly advised, before applying for settlement yourself, to get expert advice on the implications for your partner and children. This is especially true if you are applying to settle on long residence grounds after 10 years in the UK. Taking that step can harm your family’s cases, since they are not permitted to apply for ILR as your dependants. Children who are over 18 by the time you apply are particularly vulnerable in such cases, so think twice before you submit your own application.

Anyone granted settlement in the UK will usually retain that status so long as they don’t live abroad for more than 2 years. If you do leave for that length of time, for example because you start a job overseas, you can retain your ILR by returning to the UK for the purpose of settlement within 2 years, or after more than 2 years abroad if you have good reasons why you’ve been away so long. The Immigration Rules for returning residents are complicated, so if you are planning to live abroad for an extended period after being granted ILR, seek expert advice on how this will affect your UK immigration status. Note it is not usually a good idea to simply travel back to the UK if you’ve been away more than 2 years, and try to deal with things at the airport. You run the risk of being landed as a visitor, which can cause you problems when seeking to re-assert your settled status.

You will need to provide the usual documents when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain; English language and Life in the UK papers are required by most applicants. Thereafter it depends on the category in which you seek ILR. If you’re applying on long residence grounds, proof of your continuous lawful residence is required. If applying as a Skilled Worker, confirmation of your salary and that your employer still requires your services are essential. You are best advised to seek specific legal advice to ensure that your settlement application is processed successfully.

Standard processing times are up to 6 months. If you are eligible, you may be able to purchase a priority service which reduces the processing times to 5 working days or 24 hours. You will keep your passport and BRP during the processing of your application, however you are not allowed to travel outside the UK or Common Travel Area until your application has been decided and you have a new BRP.

If you haven’t yet passed a specified English test, or the Life in the UK test, your particular category may permit you to simply extend your leave further, to give you more time to do gain these results. If your issues are more serious – for example, you’re a Skilled Worker and your salary is below the settlement threshold, you need to secure legal advice on your options well in advance of your leave expiring.