Indefinite leave to remain and British citizenship: residence, absences and tax residence

Eligibility requirements

• Completion of the qualifying period on an eligible route: five years for Skilled Worker and Scale-up Worker, three years for Innovator Founder and for Global Talent (research endorsements, prize holders and exceptional talent), and five years for most partners and dependants. Time on Global Business Mobility and High Potential Individual permission does not count. The period is counted back from the application date, a date up to 28 days later, or the decision date, whichever is most favourable (CR 1.1).
• Continuous residence under Appendix Continuous Residence: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period (CR 3.1), subject to disregards for overseas crises, travel disruption, compelling compassionate circumstances, approved research absences on Skilled Worker and Global Talent, and accompanying a partner on Crown service (CR 3.4). Absences that exceed the limit without an exception break continuity (CR 4.1).
• Knowledge of language and life: a pass in the Life in the UK test and English at the level in force on the application date (speaking and listening at B1 until 25 March 2027, B2 from 26 March 2027), unless exempt by age or disability.
• Route-specific conditions at settlement: for Skilled Worker, continued sponsorship in a job meeting the salary rules; for Innovator Founder, an endorsement confirming two growth criteria; for Scale-up, PAYE earnings at the threshold. Dependants have their own requirements.
• For naturalisation: ILR held for at least 12 months (not required where married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen); presence in the UK exactly five years before the Home Office receives the application; no more than 450 days' absence in those five years and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months; good character; an intention to continue living in the UK; Life in the UK and English.
• Tax residence is a separate question decided under the Statutory Residence Test for each tax year (6 April to 5 April), not by immigration status.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Passports covering the qualifying period and a travel schedule listing every absence with dates and reasons, reconciled to stamps, boarding passes or employer records.
• Evidence for any absence relied on under a disregard: employer confirmation of research or Crown service, medical or death certificates, or evidence of travel disruption.
• Life in the UK test pass notification and English evidence at the level in force on the application date.
• Route-specific evidence: sponsor letter and payslips (Skilled Worker), endorsement letter with growth-criteria evidence (Innovator Founder), 36 months of PAYE records (Scale-up).
• For naturalisation: evidence of ILR date, the five-year absence schedule, referees, and good-character disclosures including tax compliance and any civil or criminal matters.
• For tax: a day-count record (midnight presence), work-day log and home records sufficient to apply the Statutory Residence Test and any split-year claim.

How to apply

1. 01

   Build the absence ledger early

   From the first grant, record every day outside the UK. The immigration test uses 180 days in any rolling 12 months, the naturalisation test uses 450 days in five years and 90 in the final year, and the tax test counts midnights in the UK per tax year. One ledger serves all three.

2. 02

   Confirm the qualifying period and route conditions

   Check that only qualifying permission counts (GBM and HPI time do not), that any gaps between permissions fall within the exceptions in CR 4.1(d), and that the route-specific settlement conditions will be met on the application date.

3. 03

   Pass Life in the UK and the English test

   Book the Life in the UK test at an approved centre and, where no exemption applies, sit an approved English test at the level required on the application date. Results are valid as the Rules provide.

4. 04

   Apply for ILR

   Apply online before the current permission expires, enrol biometrics or use the identity app, and keep the right to work and travel under section 3C while the application is pending. ILR is granted as digital status (eVisa).

5. 05

   Hold ILR without lapsing, then naturalise

   ILR lapses after two continuous years outside the UK (five for EU Settlement Scheme settled status). After 12 months with ILR, where the residence and absence tests are met, apply for naturalisation; GOV.UK quotes a total of £1,839 including the ceremony fee. Children may be registered rather than naturalised.

6. 06

   Review tax residence at each transition

   Apply the Statutory Residence Test to the year of arrival, each year of absence-heavy work and the year of any departure, and claim split-year treatment where available. Immigration permanence does not make a person tax resident, and tax residence does not protect immigration status.

After approval & family planning

• Dependants settle on their own timetable: a partner usually needs five years as a dependant and must meet the same absence, Life in the UK and English tests; a child under 18 may settle with the parents and may later be registered as British.
• ILR is maintained by residence. Absence of more than two continuous years normally causes it to lapse, with a Returning Resident application as the remedy. Serious criminality can lead to deportation and loss of ILR.
• Naturalisation confers British citizenship and a right of abode; many countries, including several in Asia, do not permit dual nationality, so the effect on existing nationality must be checked before applying.
• Citizenship removes the immigration day-count, but UK tax residence continues to be assessed yearly under the Statutory Residence Test, and the remittance basis was replaced from 6 April 2025 by a residence-based regime for foreign income and gains; take tax advice before relocating assets.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant has completed a qualifying period on a settlement route through genuine work for a UK affiliate, this status may be assessed; the absence record of a participant who has moved between affiliates is the usual point of difficulty. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• An executive travelling for the business is the typical case where immigration and tax day-counts diverge. Set the travel policy to the stricter of the two tests and document the reason for each absence.
• Dual-nationality and succession consequences of naturalising should be assessed before the application, not after the ceremony.