Accelerated Settlement and Indefinite Leave to Remain
If you want to settle in the UK then your time in the UK on a visa can feel as if it is time spent in limbo. That is because whilst you are in the UK and subject to immigration control it can seem as if your visa creates restrictions on what you can do. Indefinite leave to remain lawyers understand your impatience to get your indefinite leave to remain status and to achieve your settlement goal. In some situations, you may be able to speed up the process of obtaining indefinite leave to remain through applying for accelerated settlement.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Indefinite Leave to Remain Lawyers
For advice on applying for indefinite leave to remain or help with any aspect of immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Applying for indefinite leave to remain
You can apply for indefinite leave to remain once you have met the qualifying period of continuous residence. The length of the continuous residence requirement depends on your visa.
If you are keen to secure your indefinite leave to remain status you can submit your ILR application to the Home Office up to twenty-eight days before you meet the continuous residence requirement. It is vital to take specialist legal advice from indefinite leave to remain lawyers on the best way to quickly secure ILR as you don’t want to find yourself in the position where you don’t meet the ILR eligibility criteria. You must not let your visa lapse without either applying for settlement or applying to switch visa or to extend your visa. If you let your visa end without applying for ILR or making another visa application you could be classed as an overstayer. That overstayer classification will affect your immigration record.
Continuous residence and indefinite leave to remain
Most visa holders have to continuously and lawfully lived in the UK for at least five years to meet the eligibility criteria to apply for indefinite leave to remain. In some cases, an applicant won't be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain until they have been in the UK for ten or twenty years.
Accelerated settlement is commonly referred to as an indefinite leave to remain application made before you have been continuously resident in the UK for five or more years. Accelerated settlement is only available for certain types of visa. Therefore, if getting indefinite leave to remain quickly is your main goal it is best to get expert legal advice from indefinite leave to remain lawyers before you make your first UK visa application. That way you can ensure that you make the best visa application to allow you to apply for accelerated settlement.
Accelerated indefinite leave to remain settlement options
You can apply for accelerated indefinite leave to remain if you are in the UK on a:
- Family visa or spouse visa and your partner has either died or the relationship has ended because of domestic violence.
- Innovator visa.
- Investor visa.
- Global talent visa.
The spouse visa and accelerated settlement
With the spouse visa or family visa there are two special concessions that mean you could have only been in the UK for a relatively short period before being eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain. That is because the five-year continuous residence requirement does not apply to you if your relationship has ended by the death of your partner or because you experienced domestic violence during the relationship and the relationship ended because of it.
The innovator visa accelerated settlement
If you are in the UK on an innovator visa you can apply for indefinite leave to remain after three years of continuous residence in the UK. As the innovator visa is a relatively new business visa route, the first accelerated settlement applications for ILR on the innovator visa route can be made in March 2022.
Now is the time to take legal advice from indefinite leave to remain lawyers on your planned innovator visa ILR application so you can get all the right paperwork together to support your application and to ensure the application is submitted up to twenty-eight days before you meet the three-year residence requirement.
The investor visa accelerated settlement
The route to accelerated settlement on the investor visa depends on the amount of your UK investment. Provided you meet the immigration rules on the invested funds, you could apply for indefinite leave to remain after two years if you invested ten million or after three years if you invested five million.
If your investment under the investor visa was limited to two million then you will need to wait and meet the standard five years of continuous and lawful residence in the UK before you are eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
The key to obtaining accelerated settlement on an investor visa is to ensure that you invest your funds in accordance with the immigration rules and that you don’t spend too long out of the UK during your two or three year wait on the investor visa.
The global talent visa accelerated settlement
If you are in the UK on a global talent visa you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain after three years, depending on the nature of your talent and your endorsing body. That is why it is best to understand the immigration rules on indefinite leave to remain before applying for your global talent visa as the opportunity for accelerated settlement may affect the type of visa application you make.
Indefinite leave to remain priority service
If you want your indefinite leave to remain status to come through quickly your indefinite leave to remain lawyers can look at whether you can use the Home Office priority service to get a quick decision.
Continuous residence and accelerated settlement
Indefinite leave to remain lawyers say that the most common reason for refusal of indefinite leave to remain applications is that the applicant has not met the continuous residence requirement. That is the case whether the relevant continuous residence period is two, three or five years to get your indefinite leave to remain status. Therefore, having an understanding of the continuous and lawful residence requirement rules is crucial so you know the rules you have to follow if you are to achieve indefinite leave to remain accelerated settlement.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Indefinite Leave to Remain Lawyers
For advice on accelerated settlement or an indefinite leave to remain application call the indefinite leave to remain lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.