Is ILR compulsory pre-requisite for Naturalisation?

My lawyer explained it to me, and it was something like this -

Biometric Residence Permit for those with ILR will expire either after 5 years or 10 years (more normal). If you are still on ILR (e.g. you haven't been naturalised), then you must get it renewed. This is in line with requirements for UK passport and driving licence photocard.

New photo. That sort of thing. Not a new ILR application with approval needed.

I wonder why there is an end date on the ILR visa in my passport then. It gives the impression that something must be renewed.

It may be that they are required to put an expiry date on it because they cannot issue the visa without one - and it would normally be the same as the passport expiry date (this was the case for ILE anyway, not sure about ILR issued in the UK - perhaps they did things a bit differently when they were issuing ILR back in 2003).

However, ILR is indefinite and never expires - the only way you can lose it is if you move away from the UK and do not return to live here within 2 years, or if you are stripped of it due to committing a serious offence or terrorism or something.

I can't find anything specifically about ILR visa expiry dates, but from the guidance on Entry Clearance vignettes on the UKBA website, the guidance for ILE (issued outside the UK before the rules changed) is as follows (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/ecg/ecb/ecb9/#header8):

ECB9.6 Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) and Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)

Applicants who are granted Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) at a visa issuing Post should have no time restrictions on their stay in the UK, that is, they can stay indefinitely. ILE carries the same entitlement as 'Indefinite Leave to Remain' (ILR) which is issued by the UK Border Agency to those who have already travelled to the UK. Anyone who has ILE does not have to apply for ILR when in the UK.

Although indefinite leave, by definition, will not expire, the ECO is unable to issue a visa to those who meet the criteria for ILE without putting a 'validity date' on the visa. In cases of ILE the 'validity date' on the visa should match the expiry date on the passport. When the applicant gets a new passport, they can apply to UK Border Agency for a transfer of conditions into their new passport. They do not need to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

My lawyer explained it to me, and it was something like this -

Biometric Residence Permit for those with ILR will expire either after 5 years or 10 years (more normal). If you are still on ILR (e.g. you haven't been naturalised), then you must get it renewed. This is in line with requirements for UK passport and driving licence photocard.

New photo. That sort of thing. Not a new ILR application with approval needed.

While that is true for BRPs because they are only valid for 10 years, it is irrelevant to caligirl's question because her ILR was issued in 2003, several years before BRPs were introduced, and so her visa is a sticker in her passport... and it is indefinite, so there is no need to renew anything at all.

Thanks KSand.

So, for me, who is about to apply for ILR, will it be like that because I will get a BRP rather than a sticker in my passport?
My Spouse visa is a sticker in my passport.

So, for me, who is about to apply for ILR, will it be like that because I will get a BRP rather than a sticker in my passport?

Yes, you will get a BRP valid for 10 years. Although your ILR will be indefinite, your BRP will need to be renewed with an updated photo/biometrics details after 10 years.

However, if you apply for citizenship before this, you won't need your BRP anymore anyway, so there will be no need to renew it. You will be a UK citizen, not a permanent resident on ILR, so the BRP won't be relevant anymore.

My Spouse visa is a sticker in my passport.

- All visas issued outside the UK are stickers in your passport as they do not issue BRPs outside the UK.

- All visas issued inside the UK are now BRPs, as they do not issue sticker visas from inside the UK anymore  (although ILR has only been issued as a BRP instead of a sticker since February 2012, so biometrics have only been required for ILR since Feb 2012).

Thank you Ksand24.

I'm doing my ILR stuff right now. I was just getting the mail 'proof of address' stuff ready. You should have seen us trying to put all the mail in piles by date, with two crazy black siamese cats running in, and sliding across the piles, while we are also stopping smoking... It is a nuthouse around here today!

 

Thanks Ksands, that's great! I have even longer to sit on the fence before I make up my mind about citizenship