Returning residents
Eligibility
This page explains whether you can return to live in the United Kingdom if you had previously been allowed to stay here permanently but decided to leave.
If this page does not answer all your questions, you can contact us.
A resident is someone who has been given permission to stay in the United Kingdom without time limit. A returning resident is one who left the United Kingdom and wants to come back to live here again.
If you were settled in the United Kingdom when you last left, you have not been away for more than two years, and are returning to live here permanently, you may return as a resident unless you were given public funds to pay the costs of leaving the United Kingdom.
If you have been away for more than two years, you may still qualify to return to live in the United Kingdom if, for example, you have strong family ties here or have lived here most of your life.
If you have been away for more than two years, you must apply for permission to return, known as entry clearance. You should do this at the British diplomatic post in the country where you live now. The entry clearance will be in the form of a visa or entry clearance certificate. For information about visas, see the visa services website.
If the stamp that originally gave you permission to stay permanently in the United Kingdom (known as 'indefinite leave to remain') is in an old passport, you should carry both your old passport and your new passport when you travel here, as evidence of your settled status. If you cannot produce your original stamp, you may not be allowed to enter the United Kingdom.
You do not need to have your stamp transferred to your new passport (provided you also carry your old passport) but you can do this if you wish.
The transfer cannot be done at passport control when you enter the United Kingdom. If you can prove that you are entitled to return to settle here, the immigration officer at your port of entry will put an open date stamp in your new passport. You must then apply to the UK Border Agency for a residence permit to be placed in your new passport. See Transfer your visa to a new passport for details of how to do this.
Indefinite leave to remain (often known as ILR) is permission to stay permanently (settle) in the United Kingdom, free from immigration control.A British diplomatic post is a United Kingdom embassy, high commission or consulate.You are normally resident in the United Kingdom with no immigration restriction on the length of your stay. To be free of immigration restriction you must have the right of abode or indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom.
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