ILR, if the 10-year permanent residency requirement is not met, can I first obtain a 2-year residence permit?

Ten years of residence, just distinguishing between "residence" and "permanent residence" is already complicated enough.

Holding the same ten-year visa record, applying for settlement and applying for a two-year temporary residency may face two different outcomes. As of September 27, 2026, the current Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence still retains these two routes: if all the conditions for settlement are met, you can apply for ILR; if you have met the requirements for ten years of lawful residence, continuous residence, and suitability, but lack the required English or knowledge of life in the UK, you may be eligible for a temporary permission assessment. The term "suitability" includes whether you have triggered any grounds for refusal under the immigration rules. Just looking at the number "ten years" is not enough to determine the application. This also determines whether you need to pay the healthcare surcharge later, and when to arrange the settlement application again.

My judgment is clear: those who have been confirmed to temporarily not meet the conditions for permanent residency, but are eligible for long-term temporary permits, should directly assess the latter, which is more cost-effective. There is no need to pay the permanent residency fee first and then convert.

Ten years qualified: ILR lack English or life knowledge

The premise of this category is very specific: a full ten years has met the provisions, the identity and other relevant conditions are also met, and the lack is on the English certificate or Life in the UK (Knowledge of Life in the UK). Home Office "Long residence" edition dated August 3, 2026, section 1 clearly retains this temporary residence route. If one of the two knowledge requirements is not met, it may be necessary to consider it, but it is not required that both are not met; those who have already met the applicable exemptions should submit proof according to the exemption.

The approved period is 24 months. It has an expiration date, and still belongs to limited-term residence.

Looking at the difference through a hypothetical situation: For an applicant whose ten-year residency condition and other conditions have been verified, the current permit is about to expire, the life knowledge test has not been passed, and there is no exemption. He can compare the original renewal route with the temporary residence permit for long-term stay, and choose according to respective qualifications, fees, and family arrangements. If the current permit is still sufficient to prepare for the test, it should be assessed whether the permanent residency conditions can be met within the validity period of the permit, and there is no need to immediately switch routes just because of one failed test. This judgment will affect whether an additional application fee and medical surcharge are paid.

Two years is the term for the approved permit. Whether to choose it depends on whether the current status needs to be continued.

The impact of this permit on living arrangements should also be taken into account. According to the approval conditions stated in the Long Stay Guidance, the holder is allowed to work, including self-employment and voluntary work, and to study, but the applicable courses must meet the ATAS academic technology approval requirements; the permit is subject to a restriction that it cannot be used to claim public funds (designated public benefits). Those who are currently working can verify their work rights with their employers after approval; those with family members need to confirm each person's application basis individually.

Calculate separately before applying: temporary license usually requires payment of IHS (medical surcharge), while directly applying for ILR does not require payment.

According to the 2026 fee schedule of Home Office, the application fee for a long-term temporary visa is £1,407, and ILR is £3,226. For adult applicants without IHS exemption or reduction, the two-year health surcharge is calculated at £1,035 per year, totaling £2,070. Applying directly for a two-year visa, the total is £3,477. This calculation is based on a full 24 months and does not include optional service fees; the exact amount due should be determined based on your individual application.

Those who have submitted ILR also have a prescribed conversion procedure.

The current "Immigration Rules" Appendix Long Residence LR15.2 to 15.4 states: When the decision maker considers that the applicant may be eligible for a specified route such as the long residence temporary permission, the application will be changed and the applicant will be notified. There is no need to pay an additional temporary permission application fee, and the original permanent residency application fee will not be refunded, and the required IHS still needs to be paid. , according to the above situation of an adult for two years, the cost becomes £5,296, which is £1,819 more than applying directly for a temporary permission. After the change, the applicant still needs to undergo the corresponding eligibility review, and receiving the notice does not mean that the application has been approved.

The notice of back payment needs to be handled promptly; the unpaid IHS has not been applied for and approved for exemption, and the application after the change will be deemed invalid.

If you receive a notice of change, I suggest reading out the four contents item by item: what category the original application has been changed to, which route is considered, what documents need to be submitted additionally, and the deadline for payment or response. The reply can use the application number on the notice, respond item by item, and keep the submission confirmation. After paying the IHS, keep the payment records for verification; if applying for IHS exemption, confirm the applicability of the application, required evidence, and whether it has already been approved. The following are the checking methods for handling notices; the specific deadlines shall be based on the official notice received.

The application fee for permanent residency has already been paid, and this cannot be used to skip the medical surcharge notice.

The permanent residency application still needs to verify all conditions at that time. The current LR11.3 usually requires that the applicant has been in the current pathway for 12 months on the day of application; LR11.4 exempts those who obtained their current permit before April 11, 2024. According to LR13.1, for applications submitted before March 26, 2027, non-exempt applicants need to have at least B1 level in English speaking and listening; for applications submitted on that day and later, at least B2 level is required. Those preparing to transition to a temporary long-term residency permit should consider the start date of the new pathway, the date when the English requirement changes, and the expected ILR application date together, and cannot directly take the day they passed the test as the submission date.

The budget should also separately reserve for the future permanent residency application fees, calculated according to the standards at that time.

Ten years itself is not enough: two years of license cannot make up for it.

Another situation is when the applicant has not yet met the ten-year qualification period, or still cannot meet the continuous residence requirement according to applicable rules. The current LR3.1 and LR4.1 include these two requirements in the conditions for temporary permits, so a two-year permit cannot be used to make up for the remaining years. Even if the English and life knowledge requirements have been met, they cannot replace these two requirements. If the current dispute is whether a certain experience can be counted, a more useful question during consultation is: which rule applies to this experience, and after processing, can it meet the threshold for the temporary permit itself.

"The statement 'Permanent residency is temporarily not eligible' needs to be broken down into specific items to be useful."

For those who indeed do not meet the criteria for long-term temporary permission, the current LR6.2 provides an alternative consideration of Appendix FM (Family Life) or Appendix Private Life (Private Life), and whether it can be approved depends on the respective rules. The amended document HC584 published on September 3, 2026, will take effect on October 8, 2026, modifying this procedure: when case officers consider that the applicant may meet the above routes, they will change the application and notify the applicant; no additional application fee is required, but the required IHS must be paid. This change targets applications for temporary permission to switch to other routes, without removing the ten-year long-term residency threshold, nor changing all ineligible applications to two-year permits.

As of the date of this verification, the changes made in October have not yet taken effect; the basis for ILR's application remains the aforementioned LR15.

When preparing materials, I condense the questions for professionals into one page: what kind of permit is being applied for this time, which thresholds have been met so far, what proof is still missing, and what additional documents are needed if it is transferred to another route. For family or private life grounds, I organize relevant evidence about relationships, children, and living conditions according to actual reasons, instead of replacing it with a simple statement like "please consider granting a residence permit." This kind of organization is suitable for people whose visa is about to expire and need to arrange time between exams and renewal, focusing the consultation on the real issues affecting the outcome.

In the consultation, the original license expiration date should be placed on the first page of the documents. Any alternative arrangements must be evaluated in conjunction with this date.

[Data Source] Home Office Long-term Residence Appendix and Case Handling Guidelines; HC584 Amendment Document; UK Government Application Fees and Medical Surcharge Notes.

This article is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

The UK government's long-term residency guide states the conditions for a two-year extension: "
You need to have already been in the UK legally for 10 years without gaps."
Chinese translation: The applicant must have legally and continuously resided in the UK for ten years.

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