Indefinite Leave to Remain
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK is also known as Permanent Residency. ILR is the last step for any non UK national/citizen to fulfil before becoming eligible to apply for a British Passport.
The main requirement under any category to apply for ILR is to have spent 5 years lawfully in the UK.
You can apply for ILR only 28 days before your visa expiry, but in some cases you may be eligible earlier, please check with one of our advisers.
Other mandatory requirements consist of completing the Life in the UK test for the applicant. However dependents can apply for ILR with ESOL citizenship test result.
The ILR is only granted if you meet the requirements of the visa category that you are applying under. Further, an applicant must not have been outside of UK for more than the time permitted by the UK Visas and Immigration. Where an applicant has, then his application will be refused.
At SSC Legal Direct, we are experts in ILR and we can advice you the chances of a successful ILR application.
British Nationality
The subject of British Nationality can be complicated in certain circumstances, with a number of different ways in which a person may be, or may become a British Citizen.
A person can become a British Citizen either by naturalisation, or by registration. The naturalisation provisions are less complex than those for registration and the most common ways of naturalising as a British Citizen are set out below.
Naturalisation through five years residency
After holding indefinite leave to remain for 12 months a person can apply for British Citizenship providing that they can satisfy the five year residency requirements, namely that
You were in the UK on the date 5 years prior to the date the application is received by the UK Border Agency; and
Your are aged 18 or over
You not been absent from UK for more than the permitted days
Registration
Children under 18 are not naturalised as British Citizens, but depending on circumstances they can often become registered as such. For example, where a child was born in the UK to parents who held limited leave to remain at the time of the birth and subsequently obtained indefinite leave to remain, an application can then be made for the child to be registered as a British Citizen. Additionally, children who are born in the UK to parents who hold indefinite leave to remain are British Citizens by birth and can apply for British passports immediately.
