Residence permit – official document confirming the permission to stay and legally work in the UK

There are 2 types of residence permit:

• Temporary – granted for up to 5 years
• Permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain – you can get this one after 5 years of legal work in the UK. For the EU members, the time is counted only from the moment they have joined the European Union

Who can get a residence permit?

Persons applying for temporary residence permit have to work in the UK for at least 12 months and have a valid registration with the home office ( Workers Registration Scheme). In case of unemployment period longer that 30 days, the time is counted from the beginning.

If you apply for the permanent residence permit, the minimum stay in the UK is 5 years ( from the moment of your country joined the UK). During this time the applicant have had to be employed, self-employed, full time student or live in the country without the Government support ( eg. Benefits)

During the mentioned 5 years the applicant should not have stayed out of the UK for the period longer than 6 months each year. There are some exceptions from this rule as: birth of a child, serious medical problems, studying, work experience or military service in your own country

Alhough the members of EU have the rights of residents in the UK, and they are not obliged to have the residence permit documents there is a number of advantages of having one:

• opens the way to the British passport and later on the citizenship
• Helps to get cheaper credits, mortgages and different kind of insurance
• Gives the right to receive the same benefits from the Government ( eg. Housing benefit of jobseekers allowance) as the British citizens
• It is said that it enlarges the chances of EU citizens of getting a Visa to a number of countries like for example USA, Canada or Australia