Expert UK settlement and British citizenship solicitors advising on ILR, long residence, Skilled Worker settlement, spouse ILR, naturalisation, registration and settled status.
Expert legal advice on Indefinite Leave to Remain, settlement, British citizenship, naturalisation and permanent status in the UK
Securing permanent status in the United Kingdom is one of the most important stages of an individual’s immigration journey. For many applicants, settlement removes the need to continually extend temporary immigration permission and can provide the foundation for a future application for British citizenship.
At Knights & Shah Solicitors, our immigration solicitors advise individuals and families on applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), long residence, settlement following work or family visas, settled status, naturalisation, registration as a British citizen and returning to the UK after settlement has lapsed.
Settlement and citizenship applications require more than simply completing an online form. The Home Office may examine an applicant’s immigration history, qualifying residence, absences from the UK, immigration compliance, English language ability, Life in the UK requirements and, in citizenship cases, good character.
We assess the immigration history before an application is submitted, identify potential problems and prepare the application and supporting evidence with the aim of presenting the applicant’s position clearly and comprehensively to the Home Office.
“Settlement” generally means having permission to live in the United Kingdom without a time limit.
For many migrants, this takes the form of Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Others may hold settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or another form of indefinite permission.
A person with ILR can generally live, work and study in the UK without the time restrictions attached to temporary immigration permission and may access public funds where otherwise eligible. Settlement can also provide a route towards British citizenship.
However, settlement is not the same as British citizenship.
A settled person remains subject to immigration status and, depending upon the type of settlement held and the length of absence from the UK, indefinite status can potentially lapse.
British citizenship is a separate legal status and requires a separate application where citizenship is not acquired automatically.
There is no single route to settlement. The correct application depends upon the applicant’s present immigration status, immigration history and personal circumstances.
Our solicitors advise on a wide range of settlement and citizenship routes.
Indefinite Leave to Remain allows an eligible person to settle permanently in the UK.
Different immigration routes have different qualifying periods and requirements. Some work and family routes commonly lead to settlement after five years, while other categories can have shorter or longer qualifying periods.
Eligibility may depend upon matters including:
Internal link: Indefinite Leave to Remain Solicitors
A person who has lived lawfully and continuously in the UK for 10 years may be able to qualify for settlement under the Long Residence route.
Time spent under different eligible immigration categories can potentially be combined when calculating the qualifying period. The current rules also contain detailed requirements concerning continuous residence and absences from the UK.
Long residence applications can become complicated where an applicant has:
We can reconstruct the immigration history and assess whether the qualifying period and continuous residence requirements are satisfied before an application is submitted.
Internal link: Long Residence ILR Solicitors
Many people who have lived and worked in the UK under an eligible work route may eventually qualify for settlement.
The requirements depend upon the particular immigration route and can include qualifying residence, continuous residence, sponsorship/employment requirements, salary requirements and other eligibility conditions.
Dependants do not necessarily qualify for settlement simply because the main visa holder does. Their own eligibility and qualifying residence should be considered separately. For example, an eligible partner of a Skilled Worker generally needs five continuous years in the UK as a dependant before qualifying for ILR on that basis.
We can review the applicant’s work and immigration history before the settlement application is made.
Internal link: Skilled Worker ILR Solicitors
Individuals living in the UK on a qualifying spouse or partner family route may be able to apply for settlement once they satisfy the requirements of their particular route.
Applicants should not assume that simply holding a spouse or partner visa for a particular period automatically guarantees settlement.
The Home Office may need to be satisfied about matters including the applicant’s qualifying route, relationship, residence and applicable financial, language and immigration requirements. The requirements also differ between the different family settlement routes.
We can review the applicant’s previous grants of leave and establish the correct settlement route before preparing the application.
Internal link: Spouse & Partner ILR Solicitors
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and qualifying family members may hold pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Although the principal application deadline was 30 June 2021, applications can still be possible in certain circumstances after that date.
Settled status is a form of indefinite immigration permission and can also be relevant to a later application for British citizenship.
We advise on:
Internal link: EU Settlement Scheme Solicitors
Indefinite Leave to Remain does not necessarily remain protected regardless of how long a person lives outside the UK.
Under the current rules, ordinary ILR can lapse following more than two continuous years outside the UK. Different periods apply to certain people holding settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
A person whose settlement has lapsed may need to apply as a Returning Resident before returning to the UK for the purpose of settlement.
These applications can require careful evidence of the applicant’s previous residence and continuing connections with the United Kingdom.
Internal link: Returning Resident Visa Solicitors
Settlement and citizenship are separate stages.
For many adults who are not married to a British citizen, naturalisation will usually require the applicant to have lived in the UK for at least five years and to have held ILR, settled status or indefinite leave to enter for at least 12 months before applying.
A person married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen does not normally have to wait the additional 12 months after becoming settled, although the other citizenship requirements still have to be satisfied.
Obtaining ILR therefore does not automatically make someone a British citizen.
A separate citizenship application is required.
Naturalisation is one of the principal routes through which an adult can become a British citizen.
Depending upon the route, the Home Office can consider:
For the standard five-year naturalisation route, an applicant must ordinarily have been physically present in the UK exactly five years before the Home Office receives the application.
That apparently simple requirement can cause problems where an application is submitted on the wrong date.
We therefore assess the qualifying period and travel history before submission rather than treating naturalisation as a form-filling exercise.
Internal link: British Citizenship Solicitors
Internal link: Naturalisation Solicitors
Marriage to a British citizen does not automatically confer British citizenship.
However, an eligible spouse or civil partner of a British citizen can use the three-year residence route for naturalisation and does not normally have to hold settled status for an additional 12 months before applying.
The applicant must nevertheless hold the required settled immigration status and satisfy the other applicable citizenship requirements.
Our solicitors can assess both the applicant’s settlement position and citizenship eligibility before an application is submitted.
Not every citizenship application is an application for naturalisation.
Some people — particularly children and certain adults with a specific connection to the UK or British nationality — may be entitled, or eligible, to register as British citizens.
Whether registration is available depends heavily upon the person’s individual circumstances, including matters such as:
Being born in the UK does not, by itself, mean that every person automatically acquired British citizenship. Citizenship can depend upon the date of birth and the parents’ circumstances at that time.
Internal link: Registration as a British Citizen
The distinction is important.
Naturalisation is generally the route used by eligible adults who have acquired settled status and satisfy the relevant residence and citizenship requirements.
Registration applies to particular categories of people who qualify under specific provisions of British nationality law.
An applicant should therefore establish the correct legal route before submitting an application rather than assuming that every citizenship application is a naturalisation application.
Absence calculations are an important part of both settlement and citizenship applications.
The relevant rules are not identical across every immigration route.
For settlement, the permitted absence rules depend upon the immigration category and qualifying period.
Long Residence, for example, currently applies a continuous-residence framework that generally permits absences of up to 180 days in any 12-month period, with different provisions relevant to certain absences beginning before 11 April 2024.
Citizenship applications have their own residence and absence requirements.
Applicants with substantial travel histories should therefore have their absences calculated against the specific route being used, rather than relying on a generic online absence calculator.
Many settlement and naturalisation applications require applicants to demonstrate knowledge of life in the UK and sufficient knowledge of English, subject to the particular route and any applicable exemptions.
For example, applicants aged 18 to 65 applying under the current Long Residence settlement route generally need to pass the Life in the UK Test and satisfy the English-language requirement.
The precise requirements should be checked against the application being made.
British citizenship applications can involve a Home Office assessment of good character.
Applicants should therefore disclose relevant matters accurately and obtain advice where their history includes potential complications.
Issues can arise from matters such as criminal convictions, immigration breaches, dishonesty, deception or other conduct relevant under the applicable Home Office guidance.
A historical problem does not necessarily mean that an application can never succeed, but its relevance should be assessed before an application is submitted.
Settlement and citizenship applications frequently require examination of many years of immigration history.
Problems can arise where an applicant has previously:
Where the history is complicated, we can review the chronology before advising whether the application should proceed and what evidence or representations may be required.
The documents required depend upon the route and the applicant’s individual circumstances.
They may include:
For example, the current Long Residence guidance requires a current passport or other valid travel ID, previous passports held during the period in the UK, and evidence of immigration status, with further evidence depending upon the circumstances.
The correct evidence should be determined by the specific application, rather than using the same checklist for every client.
Timing can be critical.
Applying before the relevant qualifying requirements are met can result in refusal, while unnecessary delay may mean continuing to hold temporary immigration permission longer than required.
The correct application date depends upon the immigration route, qualifying period and applicant’s circumstances.
Our solicitors can review the immigration timeline and advise on the appropriate application window before the application is submitted.
A refusal does not necessarily mean the end of the matter.
The appropriate response depends upon the application, the reason for refusal and whether the Home Office has made a legal or factual error.
Depending upon the circumstances, options may include:
The refusal decision should be reviewed before deciding the next step.
Internal link: Appeals, Refusals & Home Office Challenges
Settlement and citizenship applications often represent the culmination of many years of living, working and building a family life in the United Kingdom.
We understand the importance of getting the application right.
Our immigration team provides:
Our objective is to identify potential problems before the application reaches the Home Office and to present the application as clearly and comprehensively as the circumstances require.
If you require advice contact Knights & Shah Solicitors.
We provide clear, solicitor led advice, strategic case planning and robust court representation to protect our clients.
