UK Announces Criteria for Foreign Nationals Who Want to Settle Permanently
- The UK government has outlined primary routes through which foreign nationals can obtain permanent residency in the country
- Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) gives holders the right to live, work, and study in the UK for as long as they wish
- Foreign nationals living in the United Kingdom have pathways available to secure permanent residency, according to information published on the UK government's official immigration portal
Details were published on how people could live permanently in the United Kingdom if they desire to do so.
The information appeared under the official UK immigration website and set out options for settlement and for moving on to citizenship.
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Settling permanently in UK
According to the published guidance, indefinite leave to remain was a way to settle in the UK. It was also called settlement.
The status gave the right to live, work and study for as long as someone wished, and allowed people to apply for benefits if they were eligible. It could also be used as a basis to apply for British citizenship.
The material set out that there were different ways to apply for indefinite leave to remain depending on circumstances.
It noted that EU, EEA or Swiss citizens and their family members might be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme instead.
One area covered people who worked in the UK. It stated that eligibility could depend on holding a work visa and on having lived and worked in the country for a period of time.
It mentioned that the required period was usually five years. It added that for some categories it could be two or three years, and for others it could be three years.
The publication also said salary or financial requirements might need to be met, depending on the visa.
It listed that how someone applied would depend on the specific visa they held, and gave examples including skilled worker visas, scale-up worker visas, global talent visas, innovator founder visas, and others.
Another area covered people with family in the UK. It said people might be able to apply if they had a partner, parent, child or other relative who was settled in the UK as a British citizen or as someone with indefinite leave to remain.
Living in UK for over 10 years
The guidance also mentioned people who had lived in the UK for ten years or more. It said there was a different way to apply if someone had a visa on the basis of private life.
For Commonwealth citizens, it stated that people could apply if they had been living in the UK for five years on a UK Ancestry visa.
The published pages also set out information on British citizenship, stating that there were different ways to apply for naturalisation based on circumstances.
If someone was eligible in more than one way they could choose which way to apply.
It was also noted that people who had applied for citizenship would need permission to stay in the UK until after their citizenship ceremony. It said indefinite leave to remain or settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme counted as permission to stay.
For spouses and civil partners of British citizens, it said residence in the UK for the last three years was required, along with either indefinite leave to remain or settled status, and that with those people could apply for citizenship immediately.
For people with indefinite leave, it said they could usually apply after living in the UK for five years, and that they must usually have lived in the UK for twelve months after getting it before applying for citizenship.
Documents to apply for UK student visa
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that UK Visas and Immigration urged students who just received exam results to begin their student visa application immediately.
Applicants need three key items before they can start the online process, including a CAS reference number from their institution.
Source: Legit.ng
