Skilled Worker ILR: Requirements & the 5-Year Route to Settlement

Researched and maintained by the ILR Calculator UK editorial team · Reviewed against Appendix Skilled Worker and the Immigration Rules in force on 24 June 2026 · General information about UK settlement, not regulated immigration advice. For advice on your own case, use an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or a solicitor.

Skilled Worker visa holders can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years of continuous lawful residence, provided they are still sponsored and are paid at least £41,700 a year — or the going rate for their occupation, whichever is higher — at the date of the ILR application. You must also keep absences within 180 days in any rolling 12-month period, pass the Life in the UK test and meet English at CEFR B1. Crucially, the salary test uses the threshold in force at settlement, with no new-entrant, PhD or transitional discount.

The Skilled Worker route to ILR

The Skilled Worker route (formerly Tier 2 General) is the UK’s main sponsored work visa, and after 5 years it leads to settlement. ILR removes the time limit on your stay, ends your dependence on a sponsor, and opens the door to British citizenship. The settlement rules sit in Appendix Skilled Worker and Appendix Continuous Residence, and they are assessed strictly at the date you apply — there is no grace period by year five. Check your timing with the ILR eligibility calculator.

The 5-year qualifying period and what counts

You need 5 years (60 months) of continuous lawful residence on the Skilled Worker route. Time on certain predecessor and related sponsored routes counts; time on study or post-study routes does not.

Source: UK Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker and Appendix Continuous Residence. If your time is spread across study and work routes, the continuous residence calculator can help you map it.

The £41,700 settlement salary test

This is the requirement that catches most Skilled Worker applicants out, because the salary is reassessed at the ILR stage. In most standard cases you must be paid at least £41,700 a year, or 100% of the going rate for your SOC occupation code, whichever is higher, on the date you apply. The general threshold has climbed steeply, and there are no settlement-stage discounts.

Source: Home Office Statements of Changes and Skilled Worker going rates. At ILR the higher of £41,700 or the going rate applies; lower thresholds can apply to Health & Care, Immigration Salary List and some historic cases.

Ongoing sponsorship and the employer letter

Unlike some routes, Skilled Worker settlement requires you to still be sponsored when you apply. You must be employed by a licensed sponsor in your sponsored role, and your employer must provide a letter confirming your current salary, job title and SOC code, and that they still need you in the role. If your sponsor has lost its licence, you have changed employer without updating your visa, or you are between jobs, your ILR application is at risk — take advice before applying.

Other ILR requirements

Alongside time, salary and sponsorship, you must satisfy:

• The 180-day absence rule. No more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period across the 5 years. Model your travel with the absence calculator.
• English language. CEFR B1 for settlement — the ILR standard stayed at B1 even though first-time Skilled Worker applications moved to B2 in January 2026. Exemptions apply for majority English-speaking nationals, a degree taught in English, or age 65+.
• Life in the UK test, valid indefinitely and reused for citizenship.
• Good character and suitability under Part 9 — declare convictions, cautions and any unpaid tax or NHS debt.

Dependants

Your partner and children can usually apply for ILR at the same time if they have also completed 5 years of continuous residence as your dependants and meet the absence rules in their own right. Dependants’ absences are assessed separately from yours, so a partner who travelled more than you did can fail even where you pass. Children born in the UK during your stay may have different options. After settlement, the route to citizenship opens — use the naturalisation calculator to find your date.

Earned settlement reform

The Skilled Worker route is the one most affected by the proposed settlement reforms. The 2025 White Paper, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, set out an “earned settlement” model that would extend the standard qualifying period to 10 years for many work routes, while letting very high earners (for example £125,140+ for three years) settle faster, and awarding points for salary, National Insurance contributions, public-service roles and community contribution.