Indefinite Leave to Remain (Permanent Residence)

In order to qualify for indefinite leave to remain, you must have spent a certain amount of time in any of the categories leading to settlement. Your dependants will qualify at the same time as you, regardless of the time they've actually been in the UK.

People who do not fall into one of these categories, may only benefit from the long-residence policy (10 and 14 years, see below). Example: students.

Unfortunately, with the exception of the long-residence policy and HSMP, time spent under different categories is not combinable; the whole period must be spent in one category only before qualifying for ILR.

A few examples of qualifying times are as follows:

Highly Skilled Migrants 5 years

Illegal stay (long residence policy) 14 years

Legal stay (long residence policy) 10 years

Marriage / Civil Partners 2 years

Same-sex Partners 2 years

Students (long residence policy) 10 years

Unmarried Partners 2 years

Work Permit 5 years

You can find out the requirements for a specific category through the Immigration Rules; the information you'll need is generally in a section entitled "Settlement" or "Indefinite leave to remain".

Despite any time left in your permit or visa, you may apply for ILR since 4 weeks before the period in the table above is completed. Your immigration status will continue automatically thus there's no need to renew any permits or visas even if they expire while awaiting ILR.

Official Links

Home Office - Long Residence Policy