People come to the UK for various purposes on temporary or long term visas and mostly have to return to their countries of origin upon completion of their job / study / visit. There are however some family / work / business related immigration categories which lead to settlement (ILR) in the UK.

Whoever has got Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or Indefinite leave to enter (ILE) or permanent residence in the UK, that means he has no time limit on his stay in the UK which includes no work restrictions and eligibility to recourse of public funds. ILR is also a prerequisite of naturalization application.

From 06^th of April 2011, the UKBA has introduced more stringent rule of being free of any unspent convictions for all the applicants who wish to apply for permanent settlement / ILR in the UK, bringing the criteria in line with the naturalization application. It has also been made mandatory for the main applicants to pass life in the UK test unless they have enrolled onto an ESOL course on or before 23^rd of Nov. 2010.

We will briefly discuss the work / business related immigration categories [PBS] that lead to settlement / ILR in the UK i.e.

1. Tier 1 (Investor): An investor migrant having leave under the point based system who has completed his five years of residence in the UK, may make his application for ILR upon completion of five years in the UK in compliance with the relevant rules. Any time spent under Investor visa will also be counted towards the five years` time period. The time period may also be reduced to 3 years or 2 years, if he maintains an investment of £5 million or £10 million throughout the relevant time period.
2. Tier 1 (Entrepreneur): An Entrepreneur migrant having leave under the point based system who has completed his five years of residence in the UK, may make his application for ILR upon completion of five years in the UK in compliance with the relevant rules. Any time spent under Business Person visa will also be counted towards the five years` time period. The time period may also be reduced to 3 years, if is able to generate at least £ 5 million turn over or create 10 jobs for resident workers for 12 months` period.
3. Tier 1 (General): A Tier 1 (G) migrant becomes eligible to apply for ILR in the UK upon completion of 5 years of residence in the UK which can be in a combination of leaves under HSMP, Tier 2 or Work permit or self employed lawyer, innovator or writer, composer or an artist. All Tier 1 migrants need to re-qualify under the point based system to obtain ILR.
4. Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent): This is a newly introduced category and individuals having leave under Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) will also be able to apply for ILR upon completing five years of residence in accordance with the relevant rules.
5. Tier 2 (General): A Tier 2 (G) migrant may also make his application for ILR once he completes his five years of residence in the UK. These five years can be a combination of leave obtained under HSMP, Tier 1 (except PSW), Innovator, Representative of overseas business, minister of religion, member of operational ground staff of overseas airlines and any Tier 2 category (except leave granted under Tier 2 ICT after 06^th of April 29010).
6. Tier 2 (Intra company Transfer): A Tier 2 (ICT) migrant may also make his application for ILR once he completes his five years of residence in the UK provided that his present leave was granted to him under the rules in existence on or before 06^th of April 2010.
7. Tier 2 (Religious Minister): A Tier 2 (Religious Minister) migrant may also make his application for ILR once he completes his five years of residence in the UK. These five years can be a combination of leave obtained under HSMP, Tier 1 (except PSW), Innovator, Representative of overseas business, minister of religion, member of operational ground staff of overseas airlines and any Tier 2 category (except leave granted under Tier 2 ICT after 06^th of April 29010).
8. Tier 2 (Sportsperson): A Tier 2 (Sportsperson) migrant may also make his application for ILR once he completes his five years of residence in the UK. These five years can be a combination of leave obtained under HSMP, Tier 1 (except PSW), Innovator, Representative of overseas business, minister of religion, member of operational ground staff of overseas airlines and any Tier 2 category (except leave granted under Tier 2 ICT after 06^th of April 29010).

Whichever basis you wish to make your application for ILR, you need to provide evidences of compliance of immigration rules throughout your residence in the UK and meet specific requirements of the immigration category you are applying under.

At Nasim and Co Solicitors, we offer our expertise of advising and representing our clients in making their applications for ILR. We offer quality services at competitive rates and can also submit your ILR applications using Premium Service at PEO in Croydon.

You can contact us at 02085528612 or info@nasimandcosolicitors.com and one of team members will be in touch with you shortly.

 (Updated on 12th of May 2011)