UK Residence Permit: Types and Requirements (2026)

“UK residence permit” is a commonly used term for permission to live in the UK, although the official terminology depends on your immigration route. Your immigration status and its conditions are now generally recorded digitally through an eVisa. Work, family, study, and business routes each have different eligibility rules, costs, and conditions.

At a glance

UK immigration status is now generally recorded digitally through an eVisa rather than a physical BRP card.
The right route depends on why you are moving to the UK, such as work, family, study, or starting an innovative business.
Fees and financial requirements vary by route. Many applicants also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
After approval, keep your UKVI account details up to date and use the official view-and-prove service when you need to share your status.

What Is a UK Residence Permit?

A UK residence permit is an informal way of referring to immigration permission that lets you live in the UK beyond a visit. A visa can itself grant permission to enter and remain, while an eVisa is the digital record of your identity and immigration status. GOV.UK confirms that all BRPs have now expired and been replaced by eVisas.

If you still have an expired BRP and valid permission to stay, GOV.UK says you may be able to use the card for up to 24 months after its printed expiry date, or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first, but only to create or sign in to a UKVI account, view your eVisa, and get a share code. Your eVisa is now the main way to access and prove your immigration status.

Types of UK Residence Permit Available in 2026

UK residence permits fall into four broad categories: work, family, study, and business. Each has its own eligibility rules, so it’s worth understanding which route actually fits your circumstances before you start gathering documents.

Work-Based Permits

The Skilled Worker visa is the main route for people coming to the UK for an eligible job. Your employer needs a sponsor licence and must issue you a certificate of sponsorship before you can apply. The standard salary requirement is usually at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for your occupation code, whichever is higher, although lower thresholds apply in some circumstances. Read more in our guide to the Skilled Worker visa process.

Before you accept a job offer, you can check whether the employer holds a valid sponsor licence through the GOV.UK register of licensed sponsors. This can help you confirm that the organisation is authorised to sponsor workers before you rely on the offer for your application.

The Global Talent visa is for leaders or potential leaders in academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology. Depending on your field and route, endorsement is handled through Arts Council England, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society, Tech Nation, or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Some eligible prize winners can apply without an endorsement. Check the official Global Talent visa guidance for the route that applies to your field.

The Senior or Specialist Worker visa, under the Global Business Mobility route, covers eligible employees transferring to a UK branch of their overseas employer. You usually need to be paid at least £52,500 a year or the going rate for your occupation, whichever is higher. If you earn less than £73,900, you will normally also need to have worked for the overseas employer for at least 12 months. The maximum stay is generally five years in any six-year period, rising to nine years in any ten-year period for people earning £73,900 or more.

Family-Based Permits

If you’re applying to join a spouse or partner who’s settled in the UK, you’ll typically need to show a combined income of at least £29,000 a year, along with proof of your relationship and the English-language evidence required for your route. If you’re extending a visa that was originally granted before 11 April 2024 with the same partner, a lower transitional threshold of £18,600 can still apply, with additional amounts for relevant children. See our step-by-step spouse visa application guide for more detail.

Children joining a parent in the UK need their own dependant visa, tied to the parent’s status and route. Parent visas are narrower: you’ll usually need to show either ‘sole responsibility’ for the child’s upbringing, or that there are ‘serious and compelling’ family or other considerations that mean the child should be allowed to join you: both are specific legal tests, so it’s worth getting tailored advice if either might apply to your situation.

If you’re an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen who missed the original EU Settlement Scheme deadline of 30 June 2021, the scheme hasn’t fully closed to late applicants: you may still be able to apply if you have reasonable grounds for missing it, so it’s worth checking your options rather than assuming the door is shut.

The Student visa covers most people coming to the UK for a longer course. Alongside your course fees, you may need to show that you have £1,529 per month for up to nine months if you’re studying in London, or £1,171 per month outside London. Some applicants are exempt from providing this financial evidence, including those who have already been in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months. Check the current GOV.UK Student visa financial requirements. Our UK Student visa guide walks through the full process.

If your course is in a subject covered by the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), you may need an ATAS certificate before you can study or conduct research in the UK. The requirement depends on your course, subject, and nationality. GOV.UK advises allowing at least 30 working days for an ATAS application, with longer processing possible between April and September. You can check the official ATAS guidance before applying.

After you finish, the Graduate visa lets you stay and work for two years (three for a PhD) if you apply on or before 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, that standard period drops to 18 months, so timing matters if you’re close to graduating.

Business and Investment Permits

The Innovator Founder visa is for people setting up an innovative business in the UK. For new applications, the current authorised business endorsing bodies are UK Endorsing Services, Innovator International, and Envestors Limited. The Global Entrepreneurs Programme can also endorse applicants already invited to participate in its programme. The business is assessed for innovation, viability, and scalability. GOV.UK maintains the current list of authorised endorsing bodies.

There’s no standalone self-employed visa in the UK. Some people explore Skilled Worker sponsorship through their own company, but this route is heavily scrutinised by the Home Office and comes with real practical complexity, so it’s rarely a straightforward option for someone starting out on their own.

UK Residence Permit Eligibility Requirements

Each UK immigration route has its own eligibility rules. Depending on the visa you’re applying for, requirements can include:

Being old enough for the route (usually 18 or over, though Student visas can apply from 16)
A negative tuberculosis test result, if you’re applying from a country on the Home Office’s list
Disclosure of any criminal convictions
Evidence that you can support yourself financially, in the form the route requires
English language ability, where your route requires it, unless you qualify for an exemption

Many routes have an English-language requirement, but the required level and available exemptions depend on the visa. Where a Secure English Language Test (SELT) is required, use a provider on the Home Office list of approved English-language tests. Some applicants can instead rely on nationality, an eligible qualification, or another permitted form of evidence. You will also generally need a valid passport or other document that proves your identity and nationality when you apply; if your passport later changes, update the details in your UKVI account.

How to Apply for a UK Residence Permit: Step by Step

Every UK residence permit follows roughly the same eight-step path, though the detail changes depending on your route:

Work out which category actually fits your situation: work, family, study, or business, since the eligibility rules and evidence you’ll need are quite different between them.
Check the specific requirements for that route on GOV.UK, including the salary or income thresholds, financial evidence, and any qualifications you’ll need.
Gather your supporting documents well ahead of time: passport, financial evidence, a certificate of sponsorship or course offer, and relationship evidence for family routes. Official English translations are needed for anything not already in English.
Complete your application through the official GOV.UK service. It’s the only channel you need: be cautious of third-party sites that charge extra to do the same thing.
Pay the visa application fee and, if it applies to your route, the Immigration Health Surcharge. The current annual rate is £776 for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme applicants, and applicants under 18, and £1,035 for most other applicants. GOV.UK explains how much the Immigration Health Surcharge costs and when it applies.
Prove your identity, usually through the UK Immigration: ID Check app, or in person at a visa application centre if your route requires biometric enrolment.
Wait for a decision. Processing times vary by visa route and where you apply. Some applicants may be offered a priority or super priority service for an additional fee, depending on the application and location.
Once you’re approved, access your eVisa through your UKVI account rather than waiting for a card. Use the official view and prove service to generate a share code when an employer, landlord, or another organisation needs to check your status. Check the record as soon as you can, and use the official UKVI service to report an error if your personal details or immigration status are wrong. Our UK eVisa guide covers this in more detail.

Common Reasons UK Residence Permit Applications Are Refused — and How to Avoid Them

Incomplete or inconsistent documents. Missing pages, expired paperwork, or details that don’t match across different documents are among the most common reasons for delay or refusal: double-check everything against the official checklist for your route before you submit.
Insufficient financial evidence. Bank statements that don’t cover the full required period, or that come from an account that hasn’t been held long enough, often fall short. Follow the specific format GOV.UK asks for, not just what looks reasonable to you.
Weak relationship evidence for family visas. Caseworkers look for evidence that spans your relationship over time: joint bills, tenancy agreements, messages, and photos together, rather than a handful of recent documents.
Unexplained gaps in employment or study history. If there’s a gap of several months or more, a short explanatory letter with any supporting evidence can help avoid unnecessary questions.
Errors on an approved eVisa. An approval doesn’t guarantee your digital record is correct. Check your eVisa as soon as you get access, and query anything wrong: a mismatched date or category, through your UKVI account rather than assuming it’ll sort itself out.
Paying for unregulated advice. Giving immigration advice for a fee in the UK is legally restricted to people authorised to do so. Before you pay anyone to help with your application, it’s worth checking they’re a regulated immigration adviser or a qualified solicitor, rather than an unregulated intermediary.

Life After Your UK Residence Permit: Settlement and Citizenship

Many work and family routes can lead towards Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after five years of qualifying residence, although the qualifying period varies by route and some routes, such as Innovator Founder, can lead to settlement sooner. Our guide to applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain covers the process in full.

Continuous residence rules depend on the settlement route you’re using, including which absences are permitted and how they are calculated. If you’ve switched visa categories, don’t assume all of your previous time in the UK will count towards settlement: which periods can be combined depends on the ILR route you’re applying under. Check the current continuous residence rules for your route before making extended travel plans.

Most people applying for ILR or citizenship also need to pass the Life in the UK Test, which currently costs £50 to book.

Once you have ILR, you’ll usually need to hold it for 12 months before you can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation. If you’re married to, or in a civil partnership with, a British citizen and already hold ILR, you can apply straight away, without that waiting period.

Criminal convictions, even relatively minor ones, can affect a settlement or citizenship decision, so it’s worth getting specific advice if this applies to you rather than assuming it won’t come up.

The UK allows dual citizenship, so taking British citizenship doesn’t automatically mean giving up your existing nationality, though it’s worth checking your country of origin’s own rules, since not every country allows this in return.

Frequently Asked Questions About UK Residence Permits

What’s the difference between a UK visa and a residence permit?

A UK visa can give you permission to enter and remain in the UK for a particular purpose and period. “Residence permit” is a commonly used general term rather than the name of one single UK immigration document. Your current immigration status and its conditions are now generally recorded digitally through an eVisa.

How long does a UK residence permit last?

It depends entirely on your route. Student and Skilled Worker permits typically run for the length of your course or job, Graduate visas last two or three years, and Indefinite Leave to Remain, once granted, has no time limit at all.

How much does a UK residence permit cost in 2026?

Costs vary by route and length of stay. Many applicants pay a visa application fee plus the Immigration Health Surcharge. The current annual IHS rate is £776 for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme applicants, and applicants under 18, and £1,035 for most other applicants.

Can I work in the UK on a residence permit?

It depends on your visa conditions. Work routes like the Skilled Worker visa allow employment with your sponsoring employer, while some family and study permits allow work with certain restrictions on hours or type. Always check your own conditions before starting any job.

Can my family join me on my UK residence permit?

Many work and study routes let a partner and children apply as dependants alongside you, provided you meet the relevant financial and relationship requirements. The rules on who counts as a dependant, and what they need to show, vary by route.

What happens if my UK residence permit application is refused?

You’ll receive a decision letter explaining the reasons. Depending on your route, you may have the right to an administrative review or appeal, or you may need to address the issue and reapply. The letter itself tells you which options are open to you.

How do I prove my UK immigration status without a BRP card?

You usually prove your status through your eVisa. You can view your record through your UKVI account and generate a share code when an employer, landlord, or another organisation needs to check your status. Keep the passport or travel document linked to your UKVI account up to date, particularly before travelling.

Key Takeaways

UK immigration status is now generally recorded through an eVisa. Physical BRPs have expired, although an expired card can still be used for limited UKVI-account purposes during the current transition period.
Work, family, study, and business routes each carry different salary, income, or endorsement requirements, so the right route depends entirely on your circumstances.
Many work and family routes can lead to ILR after five years, but qualifying periods and continuous-residence rules vary by route. British citizenship usually has additional residence and eligibility requirements after ILR.
Errors on an approved eVisa are worth checking for immediately: an approval doesn’t guarantee your digital record is correct.

Moving to a new country brings a lot to plan for at once, and your visa application is only one part of it. If you’re also getting to grips with UK banking and everyday costs, our guide to budgeting for the cost of living in the UK is a good next stop, and Remitly can help you send money home once you’re settled.

Last reviewed: September 2026