Table Of Contents
- What if you were away from the UK for less than 2 years
- What is lapsed ILR or settled status
- What is a Returning Resident Visa
- Eligibility for a Returning Resident Visa
- Documents required for a UK Returning Resident Visa
- How to apply
- What is the application fee and processing time for a Returning Resident Visa
- Rules for the Armed Forces
- Rules for UK government and British Council employees
- Summary
If you hold an ILR (indefinite leave to remain – also known as ‘settlement’) or ‘settled’ status under the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme), you may lose your settled status if you remain absent from the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for more than
5 years continuously – if you have settled status under the EUSS (unless you are a Swiss citizen or their family member)
4 years continuously – if you have settled status under the EUSS and you are a Swiss citizen or their family member,
2 years continuously – for anyone else
If you want to re-enter the UK and get your ILR status back after losing it, you may apply for a Returning Resident visa.
When applying as a returning resident, you will be required to fulfill the Returning Resident visa eligibility requirements, provide supporting documents, and apply correctly.
What if you were away from the UK for less than 2 years?
If you were away from the UK for less than 2 years, you still have your ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain).
You can re-enter the UK as long as you had ILR when you last left the country and did not receive financial support from the Home Office to leave the UK.
When you travel back to the UK, you will be required to show proof of your immigration status.
What is lapsed ILR or settled status?
If your ILR status has lapsed because you have been away from the UK for too long, you automatically lose the permission to live, work, and study indefinitely in the UK; in other words, you have lost your right to:
• Live in the UK permanently.
• Work here without immigration restrictions.
• Access NHS (National Health Service) healthcare as you were able to do previously
• Rent property without additional immigration permission.
• Claim benefits (if otherwise eligible).
Importantly, it is different from having your status cancelled (revoked) by the Home Office.
What is a Returning Resident Visa?
This is a UK visa that allows you to return and settle in the UK permanently if your ILR, ILE, or, in some cases, settled status under the EUSS has lapsed because you were absent from the UK for too long.
The visa allows you to re-enter the UK, regain your permanent residence status, live, work and study in the UK without time restrictions, and access public services provided you meet the relevant eligibility requirements.
Eligibility for a Returning Resident Visa?
You must give enough evidence to show the UK Home Office:
• Your strong ties to the UK. You must show that you have maintained significant and ongoing connections with the UK. The stronger your ties to the UK, the more likely the Home Office is to accept that the UK remains your permanent home. For example, you can show that you or your family have lived here most of your life
• Your current circumstances and why you have lived away from the UK with a clear and honest explanation supported by evidence where possible. For example, you accepted a temporary overseas work assignment, your employer transferred you abroad, or you had caring responsibilities for an ill parent, spouse or child overseas.
If you fail to meet the requirements to enter the UK as a Returning Resident, but you have previously spent 10 continuous years lawfully in the UK, you may be able to enter the UK on another basis and then submit an application on the basis of Long Residence in the UK.
Your dependants (partner and children), if eligible, need to apply separately for a Returning Resident visa.
Documents required for a UK Returning Resident Visa
Along with your application, you will be required to submit:
• a current passport or other valid travel identification
• previous passports
• a colour photograph of passport size
• documents showing you have ties to the UK, for example evidence you have earned income, or owned or rented property, in the UK
You may be required to submit more documents depending on your circumstances.
How to apply?
For a Returning Resident Visa, you must apply online from outside the UK.
As part of your application, you will be required to attend a visa application centre (VAC) to enrol your biometrics (your fingerprints).
What is the application fee and processing time for a Returning Resident Visa?
It costs you £726 to apply. Currently, it takes 3 weeks to process your Returning Resident visa application.
You may be able to get your Returning Resident visa faster depending on what country you are in. You can check this with your visa application centre.
If the Home Office approves your Returning Resident Visa, you will be granted entry clearance to the UK for settlement. This means you can re-enter the UK as a permanent resident. Your previous settled status is effectively restored through a grant of ILE (Indefinite Leave to Enter).
However, your dependents (partner and children) do not automatically get permission to return to the UK with you. If they are eligible, they must apply separately and qualify in their own right.
Rules for the Armed Forces
You will still have your ILR even after 2 continuous years outside the UK if either:
• You are a member of the British armed forces (British Army, Royal Navy, or Royal Air Force) and have been posted overseas; or
• Your partner is a member of the British armed forces, and you have accompanied them while they were posted overseas
This means you do not need a UK Returning Resident visa.
Rules for UK government and British Council employees
You will still have your ILR even after 2 continuous years outside the UK if:
• your partner is either a British citizen or settled in the UK; and
• they or you work for certain UK government departments (such as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) or other UK government departments that post staff abroad) or the British Council (itis the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities)
You or your partner must be:
• a Diplomatic Service’s permanent member
• a UK-based British Council employee who works overseas
• a FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) employee
• a Home Office employee
If you or your partner has one of these jobs, you do not need a UK Returning Resident visa.
Summary
A Returning Resident Visa after your settled status has lapsed gives you the opportunity to regain permanent residence in the UK. You must demonstrate that you have maintained strong ties to the UK (For example, you can show that you or your family have lived here most of your life), explain your prolonged absence with clear evidence (For example, you accepted a temporary overseas work assignment, your employer transferred you abroad, or you had caring responsibilities for an ill parent, spouse or child overseas), and show that you genuinely intend to make the UK your permanent home again.