The UK issued 537,698 grants of indefinite leave in the year ending June 2026, an increase of 8% compared with the previous year, according to the latest Home Office immigration statistics.
The total covers different forms of permanent immigration status. It includes 336,229 grants of settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), 199,628 settlement grants through other immigration routes, and 1,841 immediate settlement grants under family routes.
The sharpest change came in the non-EUSS settlement category, often known as Indefinite Leave to Remain or ILR. These grants rose by 24% in one year and reached their highest level since 2011. The increase was led by people who had previously held work visas and by the first large groups of British National (Overseas), or BN(O), visa holders completing the residence period needed for settlement.
UK Indefinite Leave Figures at a Glance
| Category | Year ending June 2026 | Annual change |
| Total grants of indefinite leave | 537,698 | Up 8% |
| EUSS settled status | 336,229 | Broadly stable |
| Settlement through other immigration routes | 199,628 | Up 24% |
| Immediate settlement under family routes | 1,841 | Down 34% |
| Settlement following a work route | 80,409 | Up 36% |
| Settlement following refugee or protection-based leave | 22,799 | Down 40% |
Settlement Grants Reach Their Highest Level in 16 Years
The Home Office recorded 199,628 settlement grants in the 12 months from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. This was 38,043 more than the 161,585 grants issued in the previous year.
Settlement allows a person to live, work and study in the UK without a time limit. It may also provide a route to British citizenship for those who later meet the relevant rules.
Annual settlement numbers are shaped by earlier migration. Most people must first spend a qualifying period on an eligible visa before they can apply. The latest rise therefore reflects groups who arrived in earlier years and have now reached the point at which settlement becomes possible.
Work Visa Holders Remain the Largest Group
Work was the most common type of leave held immediately before settlement. A total of 80,409 people moved from a work route to settlement, 36% more than a year earlier.
This continues a trend visible since 2017. As the number of people entering the UK through work routes increased, a larger pool of long-term residents gradually became eligible for ILR.
Indian nationals were the largest nationality group granted settlement in the latest reporting year. Their total rose by 51% to 35,384. The Home Office said this mainly reflected the growing number of Indian nationals who had entered on work routes and completed the required period of continuous residence.
BN(O) Visa Holders Drive a Major Increase
The most striking movement came within the Home Office’s “Other” category, which includes long residence, private life, discretionary cases and the BN(O) route.
Settlement grants in this category more than tripled, rising from 18,183 to 57,433. The main reason was a steep increase in grants to BN(O) visa holders—from only 587 in the previous year to 38,373 in the year ending June 2026.
The BN(O) immigration route opened in January 2021. Many people from its earliest groups have now completed the continuous residence period required to apply for settlement.
This change can also be seen in the nationality figures. Hong Kong nationals became the second-largest group receiving settlement, with 22,593 grants. Grants to Chinese nationals rose from 5,570 to 21,300, almost four times the previous year’s number.
Fewer Settlement Grants Follow Refugee Status
Not every category increased. Settlement grants to people whose previous status was refugee or another form of protection fell by 40% to 22,799.
The Home Office linked this fall to the lower number of protection grants made in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted immigration decision-making. Because settlement usually follows several years after an earlier grant of leave, changes from that period are now appearing in the latest figures.
EU Settled Status Remains the Largest Part of the Total
The EU Settlement Scheme accounted for 63% of all indefinite leave grants in the year ending June 2026. There were 336,229 settled status grants during the year, while the total issued since the scheme began in 2018 stood at just under 4.6 million.
Most recent EUSS grants went to people who had previously received pre-settled status and later completed the qualifying period, usually five years. Since the original application deadline of 30 June 2021, more than 1.5 million grants of settled status have been issued.
The latest EUSS total included:
- 214,038 grants to repeat applicants, mainly people moving from pre-settled to settled status, down 17%;
- an estimated 78,210 automatic grants, issued without a new application to eligible pre-settled status holders;
- 18,596 grants to joining family members, more than twice the previous year’s figure;
- 23,057 grants resulting from late applications, down 13%; and
- 2,328 grants involving derivative rights, up 61%.
Automatic conversion is becoming an important part of the scheme. It began in January 2025, and an estimated 115,770 people had received settled status automatically by the end of June 2026.
Around 1.2 Million People Still Hold Pre-Settled Status
An estimated 1.5 million people have moved from pre-settled to settled status since the EUSS began. However, about 1.2 million people still held pre-settled status on 30 June 2026.
That figure should be treated with care. It does not necessarily mean all 1.2 million people are currently living in Britain. Some may have left the country while continuing to appear in the administrative records.
The Home Office also warns that EUSS figures count decisions and grants rather than providing a direct measure of the UK’s resident population. Repeat applications and eligible people living outside the country can be included.
Immediate Family Settlement Falls
The UK granted immediate settlement to 1,841 people under family routes, a fall of 34% from the previous year. This status is generally issued to eligible applicants entering the UK because of their relationship with a British citizen or a person already settled in the country.
Children received 84% of these grants.
What the Latest UK Settlement Figures Show
The year ending June 2026 marks a clear change in the composition of permanent immigration status in Britain. EUSS settled status remains the largest part of the overall total, but it is no longer the main source of growth.
The increase is now being driven by people moving from work visas to ILR and by BN(O) residents reaching settlement eligibility. At the same time, protection-based and immediate family-settlement grants have declined.
For applicants, the figures underline a simple point: settlement statistics do not only describe what is happening today. They reveal the long-term effects of immigration routes opened, expanded or disrupted several years earlier.