Applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain After UK Entry on a Skilled Worker Visa
With the changes to the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa, most Work Visa holders and their employers are keen for the Work Visa to be converted to UK settlement as soon as the qualifying residence period is met.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors look at how to go about applying for indefinite leave to remain if you applied to enter the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and ILR Lawyers
For indefinite leave to remain and immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
When can you apply to settle in the UK?
If you entered the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa the likelihood is that you were sponsored for 5 years. At the end of the 5-year visa, you have several options:
- Apply to extend the Skilled Worker Visa – there is no limit to the number of Skilled Worker Visa extension applications you can submit but you will continue to need a sponsoring employer to sponsor you
- Switch to a different type of visa, such as the Family Visa
- Settle and apply for indefinite leave to remain
- Leave the UK
The one thing you should not do is allow your Work Visa to lapse whilst remaining in the UK. That’s because you are then classed as an overstayer. This will affect your immigration record and ability to get another visa or indefinite leave to remain.
If you apply to extend your Skilled Worker Visa you will need a sponsoring employer to continue to sponsor your employment. You will also need to pay the visa extension application fee as well as the immigration health surcharge. Your employer will need to pay for a certificate of sponsorship and pay the immigration skills charge. These fees mean most employers and employees prefer the option of the visa holder applying to settle as soon as possible.
With UK settlement, you gain the freedom of choice of employment as you are not limited to employment with a sponsor licence holder whilst it is in your employers and your interests to no longer pay visa application and associated fees.
What you gain from indefinite leave to remain status
There are many advantages of indefinite leave to remain status For example, no longer having to pay visa application fees or no longer being worried that if your sponsoring employer decides to let you go your Work Visa will be curtailed and you will have to leave the UK unless you can find employment with another sponsoring employer.
Once you have held indefinite leave to remain status for 12 months or more you can apply for British citizenship or, in some cases, for dual citizenship.
Applying for indefinite leave to remain as a Skilled Worker Visa holder
The primary criteria for settlement are that you must meet the residence requirement for your indefinite leave to remain application. When converting from Skilled Worker Visa status to indefinite leave to remain the residence requirement is 5 years.
The residence requirement is only met if your 5 years in the UK is both lawful and continuous.
The 5-year rule does not mean that you cannot have left the UK for 5 years. Holidays and overseas trips are permitted under the immigration rules but you need to keep a careful eye on the amount of time spent outside the UK.
In addition to the 5 years continuous and lawful residence requirement you also need to:
- Be in sponsored employment with an employer who holds a sponsor licence
- Meet the minimum salary threshold for an indefinite leave to remain application based on your Work Visa
- Pass the knowledge of life in the UK test
- Meet the general immigration and settlement requirements. For example, settlement may be ruled out because of a criminal conviction or if you are deemed by the Home Office to not be of good character
The continuous and lawful residence requirement
To meet the 5-year residence requirement your 5 years in the UK does not have to have been spent fully on the Skilled Worker Visa provided that at the date of your ILR application (based on your Skilled Worker Visa) you hold a Skilled Worker Visa.
Our Indefinite Leave to Remain Lawyers can guide you through the fairly complex rules on the continuous residence requirement but a combination of time spent in the UK on visas such as the Innovator Founder Visa or the Scale-up Visa will count toward your 5-year residence requirement. Time spent on other visas, such as the Graduate Visa or the Fiance Visa, will not do so.
The rules say that you cannot spend more than 180 days in any 12 months out of the UK during your 5-year residence requirement. You may have been out of the UK for exceptional circumstances relating to the pandemic or family situation so if you are concerned about meeting this requirement it is best to speak to Immigration Solicitors about whether you qualify or if your better option is to apply to extend your current Skilled Worker Visa and then apply for indefinite leave to remain at a later date. Where circumstances warrant, Immigration Solicitors should normally make a case to say you meet the exceptional criteria so you can apply for your ILR without having to continue to pay additional visa fees or face continued immigration controls.
Sponsored employment
To qualify for ILR on the Skilled Worker Visa route you still need to be employed by a sponsoring employer when your ILR application is decided by the Home Office.
The ILR rules mean that you should not resign and give your notice to your sponsoring employer in anticipation of finding a job after you have got your ILR without the need for job sponsorship or a job that does not have a standard occupational classification code and therefore would not qualify for a Skilled Worker Visa.
The ILR rules on sponsored employment require your sponsoring employer to confirm that you have employment on your salary for the foreseeable future. The salary must meet the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa.
The minimum salary threshold when applying for indefinite leave to remain
When you are moving from a Skilled Worker Visa to ILR status your employer needs to confirm you will continue to be paid the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa. This requirement has led to uncertainty and worry for some Skilled Worker Visa holders who feared that they would not qualify for ILR because of the increase in the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa.
There are transitional rules on the minimum salary threshold if you were assigned a certificate of sponsorship before 4 April 2024. These arrangements should remain in place until 2030. To take advantage of the transitional rules applicants need to apply for ILR before 4 April 2030.
Under the transitional arrangements, a Skilled Worker Visa holder applying for indefinite leave to remain needs to be paid the higher sum of the going rate for their standard occupational classification coded job or £29,000 gross.
For Skilled Worker Visa holders assigned a certificate of sponsorship after 4 April 2024 the new minimum salary threshold will apply when asking the Home Office to consider your ILR application. That means you need a minimum salary of £38,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever figure is higher. In some scenarios, the figure will be lower. For example, if you are in the UK on a Health and Care Worker Visa where the minimum salary threshold is set lower or if you are in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa but your job is on the immigration salary list and qualifies for a lower salary (despite the going rate no longer attracting a 20% discount if the job is on the immigration salary list).
Indefinite Leave to Remain Lawyers anticipate increasing numbers of questions about meeting the minimum salary threshold when applying for indefinite leave to remain. If you have questions about whether you meet current eligibility criteria then give our specialists a call on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The knowledge test
To secure indefinite leave to remain most applicants need to pass the Knowledge of Life in the UK test. The only applicants exempt from having to sit the test are those 65 or over or who suffer from a disability that affects their ability to sit the test. Medical evidence is needed if you claim a physical or mental health condition affects your ability to sit the test and makes you exempt from sitting it.
Whilst most applicants dread the test it comprises 24 questions on British life with a pass if you get 75% of the questions right. Preparation is the key to success as there is an official handbook that can be used for study purposes. A good memory should help you pass the test but there is always the option to resit the test if you do not pass it the first time around. Each time you take the test you have to pay a £50 test fee.
The timing of your ILR application
The immigration rules say a Skilled Worker Visa holder can apply for ILR no sooner than 28 days before their Skilled Worker Visa is due to end. The application is made online and supported by evidence. The evidence will include how you meet the continuous and lawful residence requirement as well as a code to show that you passed the life in the UK test, evidence about your employment and income, as well as your passport. Our Indefinite Leave to Remain Lawyers can support you through the ILR application process and identify what evidence you need to support your ILR application.
If your Skilled Worker Visa expires whilst the Home Office is deciding your ILR application then you are not classed as an overstayer as you are given protection to remain and continue in your employment as you have a pending application.
Your dependants applying for indefinite leave to remain
If you came to the UK with family members who accompanied you on Dependant Visas then they should be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain at the same time as you provided they meet the continuous and lawful 5-year residence requirement and other eligibility criteria. If you are concerned that your dependant family members may not meet the eligibility criteria then our ILR Lawyers can look at their circumstances and advise on visa or settlement options.
At OTS Solicitors we have a team of expert immigration lawyers who specialise in individual immigration applications and settlement applications. We provide expert legal advice quickly and efficiently so you can focus on your settlement in the UK and make England your home.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and ILR Lawyers
For indefinite leave to remain and immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
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