You apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) online on GOV.UK. The fee is £3,226 per person, and a normal decision takes up to 6 months. Before you fill in anything, you need three things sorted: the right date, a Life in the UK Test pass, and a clean record of your trips abroad.
Below is the order most people follow when they apply from inside the UK.
1. Find your apply date
You can send your ILR application up to 28 days before you finish your 5 years (or 10 years on the long residence route). Not earlier. If you apply too soon, the Home Office can refuse it and you lose the fee.
Your 5 years normally start from the date your first visa on the route began, or the date you entered the UK on it if that came later. Put your dates into the ILR calculator and it will show your first possible apply date.
One more thing. Your current visa has to still be valid on the day you apply. If it ends before your 28 day window opens, extend it first.
2. Count your days outside the UK
On most 5 year routes you can’t be out of the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 months. It’s any 12 months in a row, not January to December. So a long trip in November and another in March can land in the same window.
Write down every trip: the day you flew out and the day you came back. Then check them in the absence calculator. If you are over 180 in any window, talk to an adviser before you apply.
3. Book the Life in the UK Test
Everyone aged 18 to 64 needs to pass it before applying. You book on GOV.UK, it costs £50, and you have to book at least 3 days in advance.
There are 24 questions. You get 45 minutes and need 18 right to pass. After you pass you get a reference number. Save it. The ILR form asks for it.
What about English? Skilled Worker visa holders already showed their English when they got the visa, so GOV.UK says they don’t need to do it again. If you’re on the partner route or another route, check your own route page, as you may still need a B1 test or an English-taught degree.
This changes for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. From then, the level goes up to B2 on Skilled Worker and many other routes, and Skilled Workers will have to meet it again at the ILR stage. Details are in our ILR rule changes tracker.
4. Make sure you meet your route’s rules
Each route has its own conditions. A short version:
- Skilled Worker / Health and Care Worker: 5 years, a salary that meets the rules, and a letter from your employer saying they still need you. See ILR salary requirement for the numbers.
- Partner of a British or settled person: usually 5 years on the partner route, plus proof you still live together.
- Partner or child of a Skilled Worker: can usually apply on the same form as the main applicant.
- Long residence: 10 years of lawful stay with no big gaps.
Global Talent, Innovator Founder, UK Ancestry and BN(O) have their own pages on GOV.UK.
5. Get your papers ready
The form lists what it wants once you start. For a Skilled Worker it’s usually:
- current passport, plus old ones that cover the 5 years
- your eVisa share details, or your BRP if you still have it
- Life in the UK Test reference number
- employer letter confirming your job and pay
- payslips from the last few months, and your P60
- bank statements showing the salary coming in
- your list of trips abroad
A partner adds things like a joint tenancy, council tax bill or utility bills with both names. If you have a child aged over 16 on the form, their documents can’t be more than a month old on the day you apply.
6. Fill in the form and pay
The form saves as you go, so you don’t have to finish it in one sitting. Add your partner and children if they qualify.
At the end you pay £3,226 for each person. There’s no health surcharge on ILR. You can see family totals and the priority prices on our ILR fee page.
Stuck with the computer side of it? GOV.UK runs a free assisted digital service for people in the UK. They help you fill in the form but they won’t give advice on your case.
7. Give your fingerprints and photo
Next you either book a UKVCAS appointment or use the UK Immigration: ID Check app, depending on what the form offers you. At UKVCAS they take fingerprints and a photo. The standard appointment is free. Children aged 6 and up go too.
You can upload documents yourself beforehand or let them scan them at the appointment.
8. Wait, and don’t travel
GOV.UK says you’ll usually get a decision within 6 months of your appointment. Our processing times page shows what people are seeing right now.
Want it quicker? Priority costs £500 more and gives a decision in 5 working days. Super priority is £1,000 more, with a decision by the end of the next working day after a weekday appointment. Slots for both run out, so you only get them if they’re offered when you apply.
While you wait, stay in the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. If you leave, the application counts as withdrawn.
What gets ILR applications refused
Most refusals we hear about come down to a small list:
- applied more than 28 days early
- more than 180 days abroad in one 12 month stretch
- pay under the required level, or an employer letter that doesn’t say it
- no Life in the UK Test pass yet
- a gap between two visas
- a trip abroad before the decision came
Once you have it
Your ILR shows up as an eVisa in your UKVI account. Most people can go for British citizenship 12 months later. If your husband or wife is British, you can usually apply for citizenship straight after getting ILR.
Is the 5 year rule ending?
Not yet. The government wants an “earned settlement” system with a 10 year starting point for many people. On 11 October 2026 none of that is law. The consultation closed in February 2026 and the Home Secretary has said a fuller plan will come out before the end of the year.
One rule is already fixed: from 26 March 2027, ILR applicants will need English at B2 level. So check which side of that date your apply date falls on. The earned settlement calculator shows how the proposed rules might change your date.
Questions people ask
Can I keep working while I wait?
Yes. If you applied while your visa was still valid, you keep the same rights until the decision.
Does my child pay the full fee?
Yes, £3,226 each, same as adults.
Do I need a solicitor?
Plenty of people do it themselves. If you have long trips abroad, a past refusal or a gap in your visas, get advice from a solicitor or a regulated adviser first.
Info checked against GOV.UK on 11 October 2026: ILR for Skilled Worker visa holders, Home Office fees from 8 April 2026, faster decisions, Life in the UK Test and Settle in the UK. This is general information, not legal advice.