Settled status is also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). It allows you to live in the UK forever and you do not need to re-apply.

Once you have ILR, you enjoy the same rights as UK citizens to live and work while receiving welfare as well as healthcare from the NHS without paying the Immigration Health Surcharge.

This visa usually comes either as a stamp in your passport, a letter from the Home Office, a ‘vignette’ (sticker), or a biometric residence permit.

The current fee for settlement is £2,389. 

To qualify for ILR, you also have pay a £19.20 biometric enrolment fee.

You also have to prove your knowledge of the English language when you apply for ILR/citizenship. 

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ILR or citizenship? ⦁ 永久居留權定係入籍好

ILR status gives you permanent residency, but if you then live outside UK for more than 2 years your ILR status can be lost. If you know you will be outside UK for a lengthy period, it is a safer bet to get citizenship. 

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British citizenship ⦁ 點做英國公民

To apply for British citizenship you need to have held ILR status for at least 1 year.

The cost now is £1,330 for adult applications (it was £1,206 just in July 2020).

On application you have to prove you were in the UK exactly five years before the day the Home Office receives your application.  

You must also pass the Life in the UK Test. It is a multiple-choice test based on an official textbook and demands a good level of English reading and comprehension.

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This post is part of a series  ⦁ 移民英國四部曲 Step 1: Apply for the Hong Kong BNO Visa  Step 2: Limited leave to remain for 5 years Step 3 and Step 4: Settled status/British citizenship  Coming here on “Leave Outside the Rules”

_{Image: Daniel Schludi on Unsplash}