You must have been continuously resident in the UK for 5 years with either:

(a) refugee status; or

(b) humanitarian protection.

The Home Office will review your personal circumstances and the situation in your home country to see if they think you still need protection in the UK.

If your status has been revoked or renounced since it was first granted, then you cannot get ILR.

The Immigration Rules say:

STP 2.1. An application for settlement on a protection route must be refused where the applicant:

(a) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of four years or more; or

(b) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months but less than four years, unless a period of 15 years has passed since the end of their sentence; or

(c) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, unless a period of seven years has passed since the end of their sentence; or

(d) within the 24 months before the date on which the application for settlement is decided, has been convicted of, or admitted to an offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a non-custodial sentence, or received an out-of-court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record; or

(e) is a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law; or

(f) has committed a criminal offence, or offences, which caused serious harm; or

(g) where a grant of settlement is not conducive to the public good because of their conduct, character, associations or other reasons (including convictions which do not fall within the criminality grounds) or because they represent a threat to national security.

So, for example:

• If you were sentenced to 4 years or more in prison, you will never get settlement.

• If you were sentenced to between 12 months and 4 years, you have to wait for 15 years from the end of the sentence to get permanent stay. This is 15 years from the date and time the period you were sentenced to has finished and not 15 years from the time you were released from prison or the date you were sentenced.  

• If you were sentenced to less than 12 months, you have to wait for 2 years.

• If you fall into one of these categories, settlement will be refused, but you will be granted a further 30 months refugee status. You will have to renew this by applying for settlement every 30 months until the period that applies to you has passed. 

Instead of 5 years in the UK, partners must show that either:

(a) their partner has refugee status or humanitarian protection and is, at the same time as the applicant, being granted settlement; or

(b) their partner has refugee status or humanitarian protection, is settled on the protection route and the applicant had permission to stay as their partner when the partner settled.

Partners also need to show that they are both over 18; not closely related; any previous relationship has broken down; any marriage/civil partnership is valid; they have met; and the relationship is genuine and subsisting.

So if the relationship has broken down, even if they are still married, partners cannot benefit from this.

Age requirement

Children must either:

(a)    Still be under 18 at the date of application; or

(b)   Hold valid leave as a dependant at the date of application (or 14 days before)

Care Requirement

There must be suitable arrangements for the child’s care and accommodation in the UK which must comply with relevant UK law.

Relationship Requirement

1. The applicant must be the child of a parent where one of the following applies:

(a) the parent is, at the same time, being granted settlement on the same route; or

(b) the parent is settled or has become a British citizen, providing they previously had permission on the same route the applicant is applying for

2. The applicant must:

(a) have last been granted permission as a dependent child of the relevant parent; or

(b) have been born in the UK and be applying as a child of the relevant parent

3. The applicant’s other parent must be being granted settlement at the same time, or be settled or a British citizen, unless:

(a) the relevant parent is the applicant’s sole surviving parent or has sole responsibility for the applicant’s upbringing; or

(b) the decision maker is satisfied that there are serious and compelling reasons to grant the applicant settlement;

4. If the applicant was born in the UK and is the child of a person with permission, or their partner, the applicant must provide a full UK birth certificate showing the names of their parent(s).

Applications should be made in the last month of an individual’s permission to stay. It is important that you complete and submit your application before your current visa expires. Make sure you use the correct form linked below. Once the application has been submitted before your previous leave expires (and biometrics enrolled), then your immigration status is automatically extended, and you carry on being entitled to work and claim benefits.

If you apply after your previous grant of leave expires, then you lose the rights associated with your grant of leave and will not get them back until you receive a positive decision on your application.

To apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, you need to complete an online form: https://www.gov.uk/settlement-refugee-or-humanitarian-protection/apply

On that page, click the link that says, “Apply as someone with protection status.” This will take you directly to the application form. You can save and return to the form as many times as needed before submitting it.

There is no fee for this application.

To submit the application, click the ‘Save and continue’ button on the final page titled ‘No payment required’.

Once submitted, you will receive a checklist of the documents you need to provide. It is important to provide these documents

The next step is to book an appointment to provide your biometric information and upload your supporting documents. This is done by clicking the ‘Book appointment’ button on the ‘Next steps’ page. That button takes you to a separate website managed by TLS, a company contracted by the government to collect biometrics and manage document uploads.

On the TLS website, you will be asked to enter your postcode and select a local centre for your appointment. Free appointments are available, but you will usually need to scroll to the end of the appointment list to find them.

These go quickly, so it’s recommended to check the website at around 9:00 in the morning when new appointments are typically released. You may need to try several times before securing a slot.

You can upload your documents at any time but have to do it before the date of the biometric appointment. You can only upload the documents once so make sure that you have them all ready. You can return to the TLS website at any time by going back into your application through the confirmation email you received after submitting it.

You can also access the TLS site again by clicking the ‘Book appointment’ button on the ‘Next steps’ page of the application and then clicking the upload button on the TLS webpage.

There are certain situations where the Home Office may refuse to grant Indefinite Leave to Remain or extend your refugee status.

These typically include:

• Significant and lasting changes in your home country, meaning the original reasons for granting refugee protection no longer apply.

• Changes in your personal circumstances. For example, you were granted refugee status as a Christian convert, but the Home Office later finds out you have not been attending church since your status was granted.

• You returned to your home country — the country from which you are a refugee.

• You applied for or used your national passport after being granted refugee status.

If the Home Office is considering refusing your settlement or continued refugee status, you will be contacted before a final decision is made. You will be given the opportunity to explain why you should still be granted refugee status or another form of leave.

Where the applicant still has refugee status or humanitarian protection, but settlement is refused and further permission to stay is granted, there is no right of appeal. Typically, this is due to criminal convictions, and you will need to keep making applications for ILR until the relevant time period has passed.

If the settlement application is refused because the applicant’s protection status has been revoked, the applicant has a right of appeal against the decision to revoke protection status. This right of appeal against the revocation of protection status exists even if another form of permission to stay is granted.