Making Your UK Visa Permanent

If you have held your UK Visa for a long period of time (dependent on your type of Visa) you may be entitled to apply for settlement in the UK. ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’ or ‘Permanent Residence’ entitles you to stay in the UK indefinitely as long as you can pass the ‘Life in the UK’ test and show that your are financially independent and have the means of supporting yourself in the future.  You will also have to have been in the UK continuously without any lengthy absences. 

Unlike an actual UK Visa an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain is not made using the Points based system, instead you have to meet new criteria dependent on the type of visa you are staying under.  If you are in the UK under Tier 1 you must be able to show that you continue to score the same earnings points that you had to show when you last applied for leave to remain. If you want to remain in the UK after being under a Tier 2 Visa you must provide a letter from your sponsor confirming your employment is still required and that your pay is in accordance with the relevant Code of Practice.

The time you have to have spent on your UK Visas to be able to apply for ILR is as follows:

•  Partner or Spouse visa holders may apply after 5 years
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa holders may apply after three or five years depending on the number of business income or new jobs created.
  
• Tier 1 (Investor) visa holders may apply after two, three or five years depending on their investment extent.
  
• Tier 1 or Tier 2 visa holders may apply after 5 years
• Those on Ancestry visas, artists, composers and writers visa may apply after 5 years
• Turkish family member or business person may apply after 4 years
• HSMP visa holders (who applied before 2006, April 3rd) may apply after 4 years
• Legally here under any visa without interruption may apply after 10 years
• Those here unlawfully at any time may apply after 14 years

You will not be able to apply for ILR if you have been found guilty of a crime and not enough time has passed for the conviction to be void. This is a lawful phrase that indicates that your indictment can’t be held against you in range with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This does not apply for those in situations of parking tickets or fines.

To make your UK visa permanent you will have to confirm that you are able to speak and understand the English language up to the stage of a B1 level qualification.