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Which Visas Lead to Permanent Residency?

There are several visas that allow foreign nationals to receive permanent residence permits in the UK, most of which are work permits.

The visas that can lead to permanent residency are:

  1. International Sportsperson visa
  2. Exceptional Talent visa
  3. Skilled Worker visa
  4. Scale-up Worker visa
  5. Scale-up Worker visa
  6. Global Talent visa
  7. Entrepreneur or Investor visa
  8. Innovator Founder visa
  9. Turkish Worker or Businessperson visa
  10. International Agreement visa
  11. UK Ancestry visa
  12. Returning Resident visa (if you’ve already had ILR but left the country)

To apply for permanent residency with most of the above visas, you need to have lived in the UK for at least 5 years, with no more than 6 months a year spent outside of the UK. However, there are exceptions to how many years you have to be in the UK on some visas, and some require you to have remained permanently in the UK for the duration of your whole visa i.e. have not travelled outside of the UK, even for a holiday.

You can also apply for permanent residency if you have protection status and have lived in the UK for at least 5 years. Protection status is the term used for a permit for refugees or people under humanitarian protection. However, you can have your ILR revoked if you travel back to the country you have fled from. A different length of time applies to asylum seekers.

What Visas Take Less Than 5 Years for Permanent Residency?

While you already have to be in the UK on a valid visa to apply for permanent residency, the following visas permit you to apply after less than five years:

  • Exceptional Talent visa – you can apply for ILR after 2 years in the UK
  • Innovator Founder visa – you can apply for ILR after 3 years in the UK
  • Global Talent visa – you can apply for ILR after 3 years in the UK

If you have Discretionary Leave to Remain (DLR), you can apply for residency after 6 years in the UK if you were granted your DLR permit before or on 8 July 2012, or 10 years if you were granted DLR after 9 July 2012.

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