In order to live in the United Kingdom for more than six months at a time, you will need a residence permit.
A residence permit is an immigration authorization that allows foreigners to live, work, utilize public funds, and settle in the country. Here are some of the most common UK residence permits.
UK Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)
Obtaining a UK biometric residence permit is proof that you are legally living, working, or studying in the UK. You can get a UK biometric residence permit if you:
- Apply to come to the UK for longer than six months.
- Extend your visa for longer than six months.
- Apply to settle in the UK.
- Transfer your visa to a new passport.
- Apply for certain Home Office travel documents.
The BRP has a chip that prevents it from being forged or misappropriated, with dimensions of 86mm x 54mm, and is made of polycarbonate.
How Do I Apply for a Biometric Residence Permit?
A biometric residence permit does not need to be applied for separately if you are applying for a UK visa or settlement. If you are applying within the UK or outside the UK, you will have to schedule an appointment with the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services.
You will be required to provide certain information for your biometric residence permit at this appointment. The process takes about five to ten minutes. Upon approval of your visa application, you will receive a BRP that can be collected once you are in the UK.
How Long Is a UK Biometric Residence Permit Valid?
The biometric residence permit is valid for ten years, but if you were granted indefinite leave to remain within the last few years, then your BRP may expire on the 31st of December, 2024.
In addition, those granted a five-year indefinite leave to remain are also eligible for BRPs with an expiration date of December 31st, 2024.
How Long Does It Take To Get a UK Biometric Residence Permit?
Once the Home Office sends you a decision letter stating that you are permitted to remain in the UK, you will receive your BRP within ten days.
However, if you apply from the Isle Man, Isles of Scilly, and Scottish Highlands and islands, it might take longer.
UK Residence Card
A UK residence card, also known as an EEA biometric residence card (BRC), is no longer available. As an EU citizen, to continue living in the UK, you need another type of permission to stay, such as settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
EU Settlement Scheme
The EU Settlement Scheme was introduced to allow EU citizens to settle in the UK following Brexit. The deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme for most people was 30 June 2021. If you or a family member were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, and you are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, you can still apply. In addition, you must either:
- Meet one of the criteria for a later deadline application.
- Have valid reasons for not applying by 30 June 2021.
Pre-Settled Status
The pre-settled status is granted to the EU settlement scheme applicants who cannot demonstrate that they lived in the UK for five uninterrupted years.
You must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 to be eligible to apply. After being given pre-settled status, you will be given five years to remain in the UK.
You are allowed to stay for two years outside of the UK and not lose the pre-settled status. However, you will not be able to apply for the settled status. In order to qualify for pre-settled status, you need to prove:
- You are an EEA citizen, or
- You are a family member of an EEA citizen, or
- You are a family that gained the right of residence through a relationship with an EEA citizen, or
- You are a person with a derivative right to reside, or
- You are a person with a Zambrano right to reside, or
- You have started to live in the UK on 31 December 2020, and
- You are not eligible for settled status because you have not completed the qualifying five-year period of residence.
There are no fees for a pre-settled status application. It usually takes five working days for an application to be processed.
Settled Status
Those who apply for the EU Settlement Scheme and can show proof of five years of continuous residency in the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man are given settled status. You must have moved into the UK by December 31, 2020, unless you are a new family member.
The settled status is commonly known as the indefinite leave to remain.
The Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
The indefinite leave to remain is also known as a UK permanent residence permit. If you stay for a qualifying period in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain. As an ILR holder, you are no longer subject to any conditions on your stay in the UK, and you can work, study, and engage in business indefinitely.
Routes to Indefinite Leave to Remain
Visas that provide a route to ILR include the following:
- ILR based on a work visa.
- Skilled Worker Visa.
- Scale-up Worker visa.
- Global Talent visa.
- Investor visa.
- Innovator visa.
- Representative of an overseas business.
- Private servant in a diplomatic household with an International Agreement visa or a domestic visa.
- ILR based on family.
- Spouse visa (partner visa).
- Parent visa.
- Child dependent visa.
- Adult dependent relative visa.
- Private life route.
- If your partner is deceased.
- If your relationship has ended due to domestic violence.
- ILR based on nationality.
- Ancestry visa.
- Other routes include:
- Discretionary leave.
- Status as a refugee or humanitarian protection.
- Returning residents who have previously held ILR and are a refugee or have humanitarian protection or Discretionary leave.
- Personnel of armed forces.
What Are the Requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain?
To be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain, you must reside in the UK for a certain period that depends on the categories of immigration:
| Current Category | Qualifying ILR Period |
| Spouse or civil partner of a British Citizen or person settled in the UK visa | After five years |
| Unmarried partner | After five years |
| EEA Family Permit | After five years |
| UK Ancestry visa | After five years |
| Tier 1 (Investor) visa | After two, three or five years depending on the level of investment |
| Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) | After three or five years depending on the business activity |
| Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa | After three years |
| Tier 2, T2, International Sportsperson or Skilled Worker visa | After five years |
| Scale Up visa | After five years |
| Innovator visa | After three years |
| Global Talent visa | After three or five years |
| PBS visa dependants | After five years |
| Representative of overseas business visa | After five years |
| Turkish Worker of Businessperson visa | After five years |
| Retired Person visa | After five years |
| Discretionary Leave to Remain | After six years |
| Long residence | After ten continuous years |
| Returning resident | If settled in the UK prior to departure and returning to the UK within three years of departure, they may be able to apply immediately on return |
| Turkish worker or businessperson | After five years |
Except for completing your period of staying in the UK, you will also need to submit:
- Proof that in any 12 months of the qualifying period, you are not absent from the UK for more than 180 days.
- Proof that you have passed a Life in the UK Test.
- English proficiency evidence.
- Provide evidence that your application meets the General Grounds for Refusal.
How Long Can I Stay in the UK With a Indefinite Leave to Remain?
The validity of indefinite leave to remain is indefinite, but it may expire if you stay away from the UK for two years, regardless of the expiration date of the BRP or passport stamp.
UK Residence Permit for Commonwealth Citizens
Commonwealth citizens can get a UK residence permit through:
- UK Ancestry Visa.
- Certificate of Entitlement for the Right of Abode, and
- Residence permits under the Windrush Scheme.
UK Ancestry Visa
As a commonwealth citizen, you can apply for a UK ancestry visa if one of your grandparents was born in the UK and you intend to work there. A UK ancestry visa is valid for five years. To be eligible for a UK ancestry visa, you must:
- Be 17 years or older.
- Have enough money to support yourself or any other dependents without help from public funds.
- Prove that you can and plan to work in the UK.
- Prove that you have a grandparent born:
- In the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man.
- Before the 31st of March 1922 in what is known now as Ireland.
- On a ship or aircraft registered in the UK or belonging to the UK government.
Certificate of Entitlement for the Right of Abode
A certificate of entitlement for the right of abode is a vignette inside your passport or any travel documents proving that you have the right of abode in the UK. Commonwealth citizens have the right of abode because of their parents or spouse.
Residence Permits Under the Windrush Scheme
The Windrush Scheme enables Commonwealth citizens and their children of the UK to obtain documentation confirming their status free of charge. You can apply for the Windrush scheme within and outside of the UK. You can apply to prove you can live and work in the UK if:
- Before the year 1973, you came to the UK from a Commonwealth country.
- Your parents came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973.
- You came to the UK before the 31st of December 1988 from any country and now live in the UK.