Getting Permanent Residence in the United Kingdom: An Expat’s Guide

If you have been living and working in the United Kingdom, or UK, for a while then chances are pretty good that you are interested in gaining permanent residency in the United Kingdom. When you get permanent residence, which is sometimes referred to as settlement, you get the right to stay in the United Kingdom indefinitely and can move about and work without restriction anywhere in the entire United Kingdom.

Anyone can become eligible to become a permanent resident in the United Kingdom. To be eligible for permanent residence, you will need to have been a legal resident in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of 5 years. The same requirement also applies to family members. Note that time spent as a resident of the Isle of Man or Channel Islands do not count towards fulfilling this 5 year consecutive residency requirement. You can also obtain a permanent residence permit by marriage simply by having been married to a British citizen for a minimum of one year.

When you submit your application for permanent residence in the United Kingdom you will also have to submit some supporting documentation along with it. You will need to have a valid passport. You will also need to have proof of your continuous residence of 5 years within the United Kingdom. For this, you can supply things such as rental agreement and paycheck stubs to show that you were indeed in the country at the time you said that you were. Any family members that are submitting an application with you will also need to attach documentation showing their relationship to you. This can be a marriage certificate for your spouse and birth certificates for your children. It is important that you submit the required documentation and do not forge any of the papers. All supporting documents are reviewed and verified, and submitting false papers can result in the refusal of permanent residence even if you otherwise qualify for permanent residence.

Once you obtain permanent residence in the United Kingdom, you can only lose it if you leave the United Kingdom for a period greater than 2 consecutive years. However, continuity of your residence is not affected in any way by temporary absences from the country, assuming that they do not exceed 6 months per year.

If you are hoping to eventually become a British citizen, then you will need to have first gained permanent residency. Permanent residence of at least one year is required in order to be eligible for citizenship in the United Kingdom.

If you have any questions on obtaining permanent residency, you can contact the Home Office Border and Immigration Agency.