Your route to settling in the UK, in plain English.

Guides

• The 180-day absence rule for ILR, with worked examples

  How the rolling 12-month absence limit actually works, what counts as a permitted absence, and three worked examples showing how close trips can get you to the limit.

• The 28-day early ILR application window, explained

  When exactly you can apply for ILR before completing five years, how to calculate your earliest date, and the mistakes that get applications refused.

• ILR application step-by-step (Skilled Worker route)

  What actually happens when you apply for settlement on the Skilled Worker route, from eligibility checks to your UKVCAS appointment and the wait for a decision.

• MN1 child citizenship registration alongside a parent's ILR

  How registering a UK-born child as British connects to (and depends on) a parent's own settlement — including the route that has nothing to do with the parents at all.

• What happens at the UKVCAS biometrics appointment

  How to book, what to bring, whether you can skip the appointment with the ID Check app, and what actually happens once you're in the room.