Tier 1 Entrepreneur ILR Application

You can apply for settlement also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain or ILR under Tier 1 Entrepreneur once you have reached five years continuous leave in the United Kingdom under the route.

You cannot combine Tier 1 Entrepreneur leave with leave in any other category to meet the continuous leave requirement. Your qualifying period can include time from the date of your initial application was approved.

You can apply for settlement up to 28 days before you will reach the end of the qualifying period. If you apply earlier than that, your application may be refused. Your qualifying period will be the 3 or 5 years immediately before the date you apply for settlement or the 3 or 5 years immediately before the date your settlement application is decided, depending on which is most beneficial for you. If you have spent more than the required time in the United Kingdom, we will only consider the most recent 3 or 5 years as applicable.

Absences – settlement

You cannot have had more than 180 days’ absence from the United Kingdom during any consecutive 12 months of the qualifying period.

You will need to list details of your absences from the United Kingdom, including the reasons for those absences, on the form but you will not need to provide any specified evidence to support this.

Whatever the reason for absences from the United Kingdom, they will still be counted towards the maximum 180 days ( but see delayed entry to the UK below). This includes any absences for work reasons or serious and compelling reasons. The only exception is where you have been absent from the United Kingdom assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, such as the Ebola crisis which began in West Africa in 2014 and you can provide evidence that this was the purpose of the absence.

You can include the time between your entry clearance being granted and you entering the United Kingdom as part of your continuous period.

Knowledge of Life and Language – settlement

When you apply for the settlement under Tier 1 Entrepreneur, you are required to show that you have knowledge of life and language in the United Kingdom before you can be granted (unless you fall under an exemption). You can demonstrate this by passing both the Life in the UK Test and holding an English speaking and listening qualification at level B1 or above (please note: both Academic and General training are acceptable).

Further information, help, and advice

As one of the leading immigration lawyers in Holborn London, we also work on a broad range of other immigration application with an experienced in-house team of solicitors to represent applicants who have grounds to apply visas that involve marriage, civil partnership, asylum, human rights and the European Union free movement.

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