Indefinite leave to remain meaning

Original news Makhlouf v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Northern Ireland) [2016] UKSC 59, [2016] All ER (D) 93 (Nov) The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a deportation order made against a foreign offender, notwithstanding that his children are British citizens living in the UK. While the appellant argued that removal would violate his and his children’s rights under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the court decided that, on the evidence, he had no relationship with either child and their lives had been completely unaffected by his being their father. The court also determined that the Secretary of State was not required to undertake further enquiries concerning the appellant and his children beyond those already conducted. What was the background to the case? The appellant, a Tunisian national, married a British citizen in Tunisia in 1996. In 1997, his wife returned to Northern Ireland for the birth of their daughter, and he subsequently joined her. He was granted indefinite leave...

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Sponsored work Students Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement LexTalk®Immigration: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Note that our Immigration calendar outlines key forthcoming developments for business immigration advisers. Home Office announces contribution-based settlement model The Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, has issued an update on proposals to amend the rules for settlement (indefinite leave to remain), first set out in the May 2025 Immigration White Paper. She confirmed a ‘contribution-based settlement model’ will be introduced, intended to cut net migration, enhance integration, and reduce strain on public services. Under the plan, the qualifying period for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) will move from five to ten years of lawful residence in the UK. The model would permit applicants to shorten this ten‑year route if they meet specified...

In this issue: Judicial review Education Environmental law and climate change Public procurement Children's social care Social care Governance Licensing Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Judicial review High Court rules it has no jurisdiction to reconsider refusal of judicial review (R (Karim) v Upper Tribunal) The High Court has delivered its judgment on a judicial review brought against an Upper Tribunal decision dated 6 October 2022, by which permission to appeal from a First-tier Tribunal ruling of 26 June 2022 was refused. The June 2022 ruling had dismissed the Claimant’s appeal against the Home Secretary’s decision of 26 March 2021 refusing indefinite leave to remain. The proceedings turned on the procedural consequences of a statutory ouster of judicial review, drawing a fundamental distinction between what a claimant must establish to succeed and which judge, or judges, are tasked with determining the matter. In this claim, the court was asked...

This Practice Note considers the eligibility criteria for indefinite leave to remain under the Tier 1 (Investor) category. The Tier 1 (Investor) category closed to fresh applications, without notice, from 16.00 on 17 February 2022 through Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules CP 632. Holders of existing leave on this route may still prolong their permission, including applying for entry clearance from outside the UK where they have held Tier 1 (Investor) leave at any point in the 12-month period before the application date, and may pursue settlement. Requests to extend, whether made inside or outside the UK, must be filed by 17 February 2026. Applications for indefinite leave to remain must be submitted before 17 February 2028. Specific timings for each cohort are outlined below. In line with other pre-simplification ‘legacy’ routes—and particularly as this route was partly closed due to concerns it enabled the movement of illicitly obtained wealth—both extension and settlement applications are expected to attract rigorous scrutiny. For more on the closure, see: LNB News...

ARCHIVED : The Tier 1 (Investor) category was closed to initial applications, without warning, from 16:00 on 17 February 2022 through Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules CP 632. Applicants with existing permission in this route can still seek to extend their leave, and may apply for entry clearance from outside the UK if they have held Tier 1 (Investor) leave within the 12 months before the date of application, as well as apply for settlement. Extension applications, whether made in the UK or abroad, must be lodged by 17 February 2026. Applications for indefinite leave to remain must be submitted by 17 February 2028. For additional details, see: LNB News 17/02/2022 76. This Practice Note—last updated before the post-Brexit work and study routes introduced in December 2020 via Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 617—has been kept in archived form for historical interest. Anti-money laundering duties and other client due diligence processes, together with advisers’ own regulatory compliance...

Practice Note Throughout this Practice Note, the expressions ‘leave to enter/remain’ and ‘permission to enter/stay’ are treated as equivalent. The Immigration Rules now use ‘permission’ for streamlined routes, although ‘leave’ continues to appear in other stay categories and in the governing statutes. An individual who holds permission to enter or remain in the UK, and who intends and is allowed to seek further residence beyond the expiry of their present leave, or who plans to move to a different immigration route, will usually need to submit an in‑country application to the Home Office to vary their permission. Permission can be varied: by limiting, extending, or removing the cap on its duration, or by imposing, changing, or cancelling conditions attached to it. See Practice Note: Conditions of permission to enter or stay in the UK for more detail. This Practice Note addresses the following UK‑submitted applications: extensions of stay, e.g. prolonging permission within the applicant’s current immigration route ...

A. Documents for main applicant Evidence of the sponsor parent(s)' income and funds: Examples of suitable evidence are set out below. While a six-month span is not mandated by the Immigration Rules, it is recommended as a reasonable timeframe for demonstrating income and savings. Payslips for the previous six months (for employed persons). And/or proof of business or self-employment income for at least the last six months, such as: (a) Letter from a registered accountant for the business confirming the sponsor parent(s)’ income during that period. (b) Invoices. (c) Business accounts. Personal bank or building society statements or passbooks covering the past six months. Any accountant providing a supporting letter must be registered with an appropriate professional regulatory body. Bank or building society statements should show what has been paid in and out of the accounts for the past six months...

I am pleased to confirm you have been granted indefinite leave to [enter OR remain in] the UK, and you are now considered to hold settled status. Please note that the details below are correct today, though UK immigration law is frequently updated. Indefinite leave to enter (settlement): you have been given a short-term entry clearance valid for 90 days from [insert date] to facilitate travel to the UK. Contact us urgently if anything arises that prevents you from travelling within this timeframe. Indefinite leave to remain (settlement): this confirms you are settled in the UK. Accessing your eVisa Your indefinite leave to [enter OR remain in] the UK is provided in digital form (an ‘eVisa’). To set up a UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) online account, go to the Home Office’s Get access to your eVisa page on GOV.UK...

[ Provide your current residential address ] [ Provide the Home Office address to which the application is being submitted ] [ Provide date ] Dear [ enter organisation name ] Letter in support of [ extension of stay OR indefinite leave to remain ] application of [ insert name of applicant, nationality and date of birth ] I can confirm that I [ am a British national OR have indefinite leave to remain in the UK OR have protection status in the UK OR have pre-settled status under Appendix EU other than as a ‘joining family member’ or as a family member of a qualifying British citizen ], and that I am the [ spouse ] [ civil partner or unmarried partner ] of [ insert...

Long residence and private life resources—overview The ten-year long residence route set out in the Immigration Rules, Part 7, does not allow dependants to submit applications alongside the principal applicant. This means joint filing is not available under this route. Dependants may, however, apply independently where they satisfy the criteria of the relevant rule. By way of illustration, if a husband and wife have each been lawfully present in the UK for ten continuous years, they must each file their own separate applications under the long residence provisions. See Immigration Rules, Part 7, para 276B–276C. When a Tier 2 (General) migrant secures indefinite leave to remain (ILR) through the long residence rules, their spouse may have scope to seek leave to remain as the spouse of a settled person under Immigration Rules, Appendix FM (see Practice Note: Partners applying for limited leave to remain under Appendix FM: eligibility tables)...

A Tier 2 (General) migrant (the applicant) must observe any conditions attached to their leave. Examples include no recourse to public funds and a requirement to work mainly for the Tier 2 (General) sponsor named on their Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Supplementary employment is allowed, but only in limited circumstances in practice. See Practice Notes: Applying under the Skilled Worker route and Conditions of permission to enter or stay in the UK. If the applicant will no longer work for the sponsor listed on their CoS, they will not continue to meet the requirements of a Tier 2 (General) visa. This is a frequent basis for mandatory curtailment under the Immigration Rules, Part 9, para 323A(i)(2). Curtailment is the process by which the Secretary of State for the Home Department shortens the existing leave of persons already in the UK. Leave is either curtailed with immediate effect or the remaining period of leave is shortened, usually to a period of 60 days. See Practice Notes: Changes of circumstances and...