The five-year route
A Skilled Worker, and a Health and Care Worker, can apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years on the route. It used to be called Tier 2 (General) settlement. The route is the most common path to permanent residence for people who came to the UK to work.
The conditions
- Five years’ qualifying residence on a work route. Time on the Skilled Worker visa counts, and so does time on some earlier work routes. Time on a Student or Graduate visa does not.
- You are still in the sponsored job, or one that meets the requirements, and your sponsor still holds a licence and has confirmed that the job continues and is genuine.
- The salary meets the requirement that applies at the date of the settlement application.
- Absences within the limit. Generally no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. See our absence calculator.
- The Life in the UK test and English. See the Life in the UK test and English language requirements.
- Suitability. No serious criminality or earlier breaches of immigration law.
Evidence
You will need a letter from your sponsor confirming the job, the salary and your continued employment, payslips and bank statements for the period the rules specify, your passport and eVisa details, and your test results. Gaps in employment or periods on unpaid leave need explaining, because the Home Office looks at the whole of the five years.
Cost
The Home Office fee for indefinite leave to remain is £3,226. There is no immigration health surcharge. See our fees page.
Common problems
- A change of employer shortly before applying, which can reset the evidence you need.
- Redundancy or a sponsor losing its licence during the five years, which can break continuity. See sponsor licence suspension and revocation.
- Absences above 180 days in a 12-month period, including long trips for family reasons.
- A salary that has fallen below the threshold, or maternity leave that reduces pay without being treated correctly.
The proposed changes
The Government has proposed lengthening the usual qualifying period, with shorter periods for some and longer for others, and raising the English standard for settlement. At the time of review the five-year rule still applies. Because the date of application may matter, take advice if you are close to five years. See earned settlement: what is proposed, what is law and indefinite leave to remain.
After settlement
You can apply for British citizenship, usually after a further twelve months. See naturalisation.
How we help
We test your five years against the rules before you apply, prepare the evidence with your sponsor, and advise on timing. Book a consultation below.
