Guides / ILR and settlement

ILR and settlement applications

What indefinite leave to remain applications ask for on the main routes, where firms lose time preparing them, and how Aion fills them from the client's documents. Written for immigration solicitors and IAA-registered advisers.

Last updated: 15 October 2026

The main routes at a glance

• Partner of a British or settled person: after 5 continuous years on a partner visa, by the online SET(M) application. There are also 2-year and 10-year routes. The 10-year route uses a different online form (gov.uk).
• Skilled Worker: after 5 years living and working in the UK, with a sponsor still needing the applicant and a salary that meets the requirement now and after settlement (gov.uk).
• Long residence: after 10 continuous years of lawful residence. For absences that started on or after 11 April 2024, the limit is 180 days in any 12-month period. Time as a visitor, short-term student or seasonal worker does not count (gov.uk).
• Life in the UK and English: applicants aged 18 to 64 usually need to pass the Life in the UK Test. Partners also need English at B1 for speaking and listening, or a degree taught in English.
• Timing: applicants can usually apply up to 28 days before they reach the qualifying period. Long residence applications made more than 28 days early are refused.

Earned settlement

The Home Office consulted on "earned settlement" between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The proposal would make 10 years the default qualifying period for routes such as Skilled Worker, with reductions for contribution and integration. As of 15 October 2026 the government has not published its response, and no Statement of Changes has brought earned settlement in. The current qualifying periods still apply. Check the latest Statement of Changes before advising a client on timing.

What the application asks for

The Home Office does not publish every question in the online settlement forms, but the evidence gov.uk asks for shows what has to be gathered:

• Identity and status: passport, previous passports, eVisa or BRP details, and the history of every grant of leave that makes up the qualifying period.
• Continuous residence: the dates of every trip out of the UK during the qualifying period.
• Partner route: proof that the couple have lived together since the last grant, proof the relationship is genuine and continuing, and evidence of income and address. The income threshold is £29,000 for partners who first applied on or after 11 April 2024. Partners already on the route under the earlier rules stay on the £18,600 threshold plus any child amounts.
• Skilled Worker route: employment and salary details for the qualifying period, and a document from the sponsor confirming they still need the applicant.
• Knowledge of life and language: the Life in the UK Test pass and, where needed, the English evidence.
• Character and history: criminal convictions and other conduct questions, and previous immigration applications.
• Family: details of the partner and children, including anyone applying at the same time.

Where firms lose time

Counting absences

Every trip abroad over five or ten years has to be listed with dates, and the total checked against the route's limit. The dates usually come from the client's own records, checked against the entry and exit stamps in current and previous passports. One missed trip or a transposed date can change the answer on continuous residence.

Rebuilding the immigration history

Settlement forms want the whole route, not just the current visa. That means collecting old BRPs, grant letters and eVisa records, and getting the start and end dates of each period of leave right.

Five years of work and income

For Skilled Worker and partner applications, employment and income details must match payslips, P60s and bank statements. Each employer, start date and salary figure is cross-checked by hand.

Rules in transition

Transitional thresholds for partners, the change to absence rules in April 2024 and the earned settlement proposals mean firms have to check which version of the rules applies to each client before filling anything in.

How Aion handles a settlement application

1. Start an application in Aion, choose the settlement route, and add your firm's representative details.
2. Upload the client's documents: passports, BRPs or eVisa records, grant letters, payslips, P60s, relationship evidence and your own questionnaire or travel schedule.
3. Aion extracts names, dates, reference numbers, addresses, employment, income and travel history into one summary.
4. Your caseworker checks and edits that summary, including the list of absences, before anything is filled. The original documents are deleted as soon as extraction succeeds.
5. Aion fills the gov.uk application in a live browser your team can watch, and stops at the Declaration page with a report of anything missing or uncertain.
6. Your team reviews the whole application and submits it. Aion never submits.

What stays with your firm

• Deciding which route and which version of the rules applies, and whether the client meets it.
• Judgements on continuous residence, character and any discretion.
• Submitting the application, paying the fee and booking biometrics.

Worried about putting client data into an AI tool? Read Is it safe to use AI for UK visa applications? and our security summary.

Sources: gov.uk: ILR as a partner · gov.uk: ILR on a Skilled Worker visa · gov.uk: Long residence · gov.uk: Settle in the UK · gov.uk: Earned settlement consultation. Requirements change. Check gov.uk before relying on any figure here.