U.K. Settlement Approval Rate Has Improved

On average, settlement applications of 128,446 people were approved by the U.K. Home Office each year between 2004 and 2022, according to most recent data.

While there is a great deal of talk in the United Kingdom about discouraging immigration, government data shows that the success rate of applications for settlement, or indefinite leave to remain, has steadily improved over the years.

Most recent figures from the U.K. Home Office show that on average 95.3 percent of indefinite leave to remain applications were approved each year by the government from 2004 to 2022. The approval rate has varied, dipping to 90.3 percent in 2007 but has steadily climbed since 2016 to reach a high of 98.8 percent in 2022.

Perhaps, the settlement application process has become clearer over a period of time as well as the criteria for allowing settlement.

The Home Office figures show that an average of 134,790 people applied to settle in the U.K. annually from 2004 to 2022. The number of applications reached a high of 252,326 in 2010 and were the lowest at 66,024 in 2016.

Family members joining their relatives in the U.K. were the largest category of people granted settlement, according to the data. These include children, wives, husbands, parents, grandparents and other family members.

People with work visas were the next biggest category. They were followed by an “others” group which includes people granted indefinite leave outside the immigration rules under measures aimed at clearing the backlog of cases from before March 2007 involving unsuccessful asylum applicants and includes dependents.

The smallest category was asylum seekers.

On average, the U.K. Home Office approved settlement applications of 128,446 people each year between 2004 and 2022, the data shows.