• Quick facts about the test
• ‘Knowledge of language and life’ requirement for skilled workers
• Who needs to take the test - Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
• Who needs to take the test - Citizenship
• Spouses and partners
• Are there new books for 2012?
• What to study for the test
• I’ve passed my test. What are the next steps?
• Citizenship applications summary

 

 

• Your choices for studying for the Life in the UK test
• 7 top tips from people who have passed the Life in the UK test
• Study Techniques and Tips
• Difficult Chapters
• Life in the UK Study Checklist

 

 

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• Applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
• Absences during your qualifying residence period for ILR
• Fees for settlement (ILR) applications
• Using the Settlement Checking Service (SCS)
• Applying for citizenship
• Absences during your qualifying residence period for citizenship
• Fees for citizenship applications
• Using the Nationality Checking Service (NCS)
• About your Citizenship ceremony
• Applying for your passport

Absences during your qualifying residence period for ILR

It is not always clear how many days absence from the country are allowed when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and what happens if you go over the limit. Whilst information about residence requirements for citizenship is easy to find, this is not the case for ILR. To help you we have compiled a summary of what the requirements and restrictions mean for you and your application.

The UKBA do not make it clear that there are stricter limits on absences for applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) than for citizenship. If you are not aware of this and have been absent for 90 days every year then your ILR application could be refused.

The below summary provides clear information about the residence requirements for the different categories applying for ILR, as well as guidance on how discretion is decided.

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

The residence requirement for ILR is more strict than that for citizenship. You should be aware of this before you apply to save your application being refused unnecessarily. For normal ILR applications - made using form SET(O) - you must confirm in Question D2 of Section 9 that, in your five year qualifying period:

• you have not had one or more absences which total over 180 days
• You have not had one single absence over three months

The reason for this strict limit is that applicants are expected to show their continuous residence in the UK and their intention to continue this residence. This means significant absences will need to be explained. For instance, if journeys outside the UK are made for compassionate reasons, or were to do with the applicants business/employment, this should be made clear in the application.

Discretion

Some brief information is given by the UKBA about cases where broken residence or absences over the limits will be overlooked. This can be found in their document, Indefinite leave to remain – calculating continuous period in UK (pdf, 108KB).

This document says that separate periods of broken residence may be counted together if:

• There have been no absences abroad, see calculation of the five year period for settlement, and authorised employment or business in the UK has not been broken by any interruptions of more than three months or amounting to more than six months in total for the whole five year period
• There have been longer absences abroad, provided the absences were for compelling grounds either of a compassionate nature or for reasons related to the applicant’s employment or business in the UK. No single absence abroad must be for more than three months at a time and they must not total more than six months

It is very important to be clear that this exceptions only apply to broken periods of residence totalling five years. The document makes no reference to discretion for absences over the limits.

For ILR applications discretion will also only be considered when the residence period was broken due to allowed absences. If at any point an applicant has overstayed on a visa or otherwise entered or remained in the UK unlawfully then the residence is considered broken.

Spouses, fiances and partners

If you are applying for ILR as the spouse or partner of someone permanently settled in the UK then the rules are different. The Immigration Rules do not say that you must have been resident in the UK for your qualifying residence period.

The official advice is that ‘Your application to settle here will be judged on its merits, taking into account your reasons for travel, the length of your absences, and whether you and your partner travelled and lived together while you were outside the UK. If you have spent a limited time abroad in connection with your job, for example, this should not count against you.’

This does not mean that you have an unlimited allowance of absence, however! Spouses and partners are also expected to live permanently with your partner. As your partner is either settled here or a British citizen they are expected to live in the UK on an ongoing basis.

If you are absent from the UK for long periods of time then this may bring your relationship or your partner’s residence into question and indirectly affect your application.

You should also note that if you go on to apply for citizenship then the normal residence requirements will apply, as explained below.

Entrepreneurs and investors

The new categories under Tier 1 for entrepreneurs and investors have less strict residence requirements.  People applying for ILR in these categories are allowed 180 days absence from the UK in any 12 months. Depending on their investment in the UK they also qualify for ILR sooner.

Reduced qualifying periods for Entrepreneurs

Depending on your level of investment or business activity you qualify for ILR after between three to five years. The residence period is reduced to three years if:

• your business has created at least 10 new full-time jobs for settled people
• you have established a new UK business that has had an income from business activity of at least £5 million during a 3-year period while you have been in the UK under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
• you have taken over or invested in an existing UK business, which has resulted in a net increase of £5 million in that business’s income from business activity during your qualifying residence period under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), compared to the immediately preceding 3-year period

In all other cases the qualifying residence period is five years.

Reduced qualifying periods for Investors

Depending on your level of investment or business activity you qualify for ILR after between two to five years. The residence period is reduced to two years if:

• you have money of your own under your control in the UK amounting to at least £10 million
• you own personal assets with a value (once any liabilities are taken into account) of at least £20 million, and you have at least £10 million under your control and disposable in the UK which has been loaned to you by a UK regulated financial institution

The residence period is reduced to three years if:

• you have money of your own under your control in the UK amounting to at least £5 million
• you own personal assets with a value (once any liabilities are taken into account) of at least £10 million, and you have at least £5 million under your control and disposable in the UK which has been loaned to you by a UK regulated financial institution

The residence period is reduced to five years if:

• you have money of your own under your control in the UK amounting to at least £1 million
• you own personal assets with a value (once any liabilities are taken into account) of at least £2 million, and you have at least £1 million under your control and disposable in the UK which has been loaned to you by a UK regulated financial institution

These extra flexibilities has been given because investors and entrepreneurs are expected to need to travel outside of the UK to fulfil business and investment obligations.