Does maternity leave affect my ILR application?

Maternity leave can affect your ILR application in two ways: your salary may drop below the required threshold during statutory maternity pay, and if you take extended leave abroad, it could affect your absence calculation. However, the Home Office does make allowances for maternity and parental leave when assessing salary requirements.

Do I meet the salary threshold on statutory maternity pay?

Statutory maternity pay is lower than most people's normal salary. The Home Office guidance states that absences from work due to maternity or parental leave should not count against you for salary threshold purposes, provided you were meeting the threshold before and will return to a salary that meets it.

Can I take maternity leave abroad and still qualify for ILR?

You can take some maternity leave abroad, but you must stay within the absence limits for your ILR route. On most 5-year routes, you cannot be absent for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. Plan your time abroad carefully to avoid breaching this limit.

Does shared parental leave count the same as maternity leave for ILR?

Yes. The Home Office treats shared parental leave, adoption leave, and paternity leave the same as maternity leave for ILR purposes. The same protections and considerations apply regardless of which type of parental leave you take.

ILR and Maternity or Parental Leave: What You Need to Know

Maternity and parental leave can affect your ILR application through reduced salary and potential absences. The Home Office makes allowances for statutory maternity and parental leave when assessing salary thresholds on the Skilled Worker route. Your continuous residence is not broken by parental leave taken in the UK. However, extended trips abroad during parental leave must stay within the absence limits.

How Maternity Leave Affects the Salary Threshold

On the Skilled Worker route to ILR, you must demonstrate that you have been paid at least the relevant salary threshold throughout your qualifying period. When you take maternity leave, your pay typically drops to statutory maternity pay (SMP) or employer-enhanced maternity pay.

The Home Office guidance recognises that statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, shared parental pay, and statutory adoption pay are not full salary. Their published guidance states that periods of maternity or parental leave should be treated sympathetically when assessing whether the salary requirement is met.

In practice, this means you should:

Document everything: Get a letter from your employer confirming the dates of your leave, your normal salary, and the pay you received during leave.
Show your salary before and after leave: Payslips from before your leave started and after you returned to work demonstrate that you meet the threshold when working normally.
Include your employment contract: This shows your contracted salary, which should meet the threshold.

Continuous Employment

Taking maternity or parental leave does not break your continuous employment for ILR purposes. You remain employed throughout your leave, even if you are receiving statutory pay or no pay. Your employment relationship is protected under UK employment law.

If you are on the Skilled Worker route, your certificate of sponsorship remains valid during maternity and parental leave. Your sponsor should not withdraw your sponsorship because you are on leave. If they do, this would be a serious breach of their sponsor duties.

Absences During Parental Leave

Many people choose to spend part of their parental leave visiting family abroad. This is perfectly understandable, but you must be careful about absence limits. On the Skilled Worker route, the limit is 180 days in any 12-month rolling period.

If you are planning a longer trip abroad to be with family during your maternity leave, calculate your absences carefully. See our detailed guide on ILR travel and absence rules for how to calculate this.

The Home Office does not automatically grant extra absence allowance for maternity leave. The 180-day limit applies regardless of the reason for your absence. However, if you exceed the limit by a small amount due to maternity-related travel, some caseworkers may exercise discretion. Do not rely on this.

Unpaid Parental Leave

If you take unpaid parental leave (as opposed to statutory paid leave), the considerations are slightly different:

Salary: During unpaid leave, you receive no salary at all. The Home Office should still treat this sympathetically if it is a recognised form of parental leave under UK employment law.
NI contributions: You may have gaps in your National Insurance contributions during unpaid leave. This does not directly affect ILR but may matter for your state pension record.
Sponsorship: Check with your employer that your sponsorship remains active during unpaid leave.

Timing Your ILR Application

If possible, time your ILR application strategically around your parental leave:

Apply before leave starts: If you have completed your qualifying period, submit your ILR application before your maternity or parental leave begins. This way, your most recent payslips will show your full salary.
Apply after returning to work: If you cannot apply before leave, wait until you have been back at work for at least 2 to 3 months. This gives you recent payslips showing your full salary again.
During leave: You can apply during leave, but be prepared to provide additional evidence explaining the reduced pay.

For more on when your qualifying period starts and ends, see our qualifying period guide.

Spouse Visa and Parental Leave

If you are on the spouse visa route to ILR, maternity leave affects you differently. The financial requirement on the spouse route is based on household income, and you may be relying on your British or settled partner's income rather than your own. In this case, your maternity leave may have less impact.

However, if you are the primary earner meeting the financial threshold, the same principles apply as on the Skilled Worker route. Document everything and show that you meet the income requirement when not on leave.

Your Employment Rights During Leave

Visa holders have the same employment rights as British workers when it comes to maternity and parental leave. This is protected under UK employment law. See the GOV.UK maternity pay and leave page for your statutory entitlements, and the shared parental leave page for information on sharing leave with your partner.

For a broader overview of what you are entitled to after receiving ILR, see our guide on ILR rights and benefits.