Can Indefinite Leave to Remain Be Revoked or Expire?

Can ILR be revoked?

ILR can be revoked in certain circumstances. Under section 76 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the Home Office can revoke ILR in three main situations, including if:

1. You become liable to deportation but cannot be deported for legal reasons – If you have committed a serious criminal offence and become ‘liable to deportation’, but the Home Office cannot deport you because of a legal barrier, the Home Office may revoke your ILR. This may happen, for example, under the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or the Refugee Convention. 
2. You obtained your ILR by deception – Deception includes using forged or fraudulent documents, providing false information in your application, or concealing information that would have led to a refusal. The deception must have been material to the grant of ILR, meaning that if the truth had been known, ILR would not have been granted.
3. You obtained ILR as a refugee and your refugee status ends – If you were granted ILR as a refugee and your refugee status is later revoked, the Home Office may also revoke your ILR. This may happen, for example, if you voluntarily return to the country you claimed to fear, voluntarily re-acquire a lost nationality, or acquire the nationality of another country and avail yourself of its protection.

Before revoking your ILR, the Home Office must give you prior notice, explain its reasoning, and give you 28 days to respond. What happens after revocation depends on the reason. In deportation-barrier cases, the Home Office will normally grant you a period of limited leave to remain simply because you cannot currently be removed. In deception and refugee cessation cases, you may become liable to administrative removal. However, if removal would breach your human rights or protection obligations, you may be eligible for limited leave rather than removal.

Can you get ILR again after your ILR is revoked?

It may be possible to obtain ILR again after revocation, but this depends on the reason for the revocation and whether you can meet the requirements for ILR in the future.

If your ILR was revoked because you became liable to deportation or because it was obtained through deception or fraud, obtaining ILR again is likely to be difficult. Any future immigration application will be assessed against the suitability requirements in the Immigration Rules. A previous liability to deportation or a finding of deception is likely to be a reason for refusal of any future application.

If your ILR was revoked because your refugee status ended, you may still be able to obtain ILR again if you later qualify under a different UK immigration route, such as a work visa or family visa.

Does ILR expire?

In most cases, ILR does not have an expiry date. However, it will lapse automatically if you spend too long outside the UK, Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies. ILR lapses if you are absent for:

• More than 2 years for most ILR holders
• More than 5 years for those with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• More than 4 years for Swiss citizens with EUSS settled status and their family members

If your ILR has lapsed, you cannot return to the UK using your previous ILR status. You must apply from outside the UK for a returning resident visa. To be granted a returning resident visa, you must show that:

• you previously held settlement in the UK,
• your settlement has lapsed due to your absence, and
• you genuinely intend to return to the UK to settle.

The Home Office will also consider whether you have strong ties to the UK, such as family, property, employment, and the length of your original residence compared to the time spent abroad. There is no right of appeal if a returning resident visa is refused, but you may be able to apply for an administrative review.

Reform party’s immigration policy towards ILR

As you may be aware from media reports, Reform UK’s current published immigration policy proposes abolishing ILR as a form of immigration status and rescinding existing ILR grants. The policy does not use the legal term “revocation” for existing ILR holders, but the practical effect of the proposal is that existing ILR holders may lose their status and instead move onto a renewable visa system if the policy were ever implemented.

However, according to Reform’s published policy, two groups may not be affected:

• EU nationals with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme would not lose that status, although Reform says it would change their access to welfare benefits.
• Spouses of British citizens who are eligible for British citizenship would not lose their ability to remain.

It is important to understand that there is no general power under current law to revoke ILR simply because a political party wishes to replace the settlement system with a different immigration policy. Implementing Reform’s proposal would therefore require primary legislation passed by Parliament and would almost certainly face significant legal scrutiny, including issues relating to legitimate expectation, human rights, and retrospective interference with settled immigration status. Those legal questions are not addressed in Reform’s published policy. Reform UK is not in government and does not currently have the power to change the law.

References:

GOV.UK: Revocation of indefinite leave

GOV.UK: Lapsing leave and returning residents

Reform UK: Policy FAQs