Tracking your settlement application

There is no published queue position for a settlement application. This guide sets out what GOV.UK does publish: the 6-month service standard, the contact tool and the limits on what its staff can say, and the rules that run while the decision is awaited.

Checked 26 February 20267 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: ILR & Settlement
Reading time: 7 min
Last checked: 26 February 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

GOV.UK: a decision usually follows within 6 months of providing fingerprints and a photograph.
GOV.UK: contact centre staff “cannot give you advice about your personal circumstances” and cannot say when a decision will come.
GOV.UK: you will be contacted if the application is complex and will take longer — for example if documents need verifying or an interview is needed.
Priority £500 for 5 working days; super priority £1,000 for the next working day, or 2 working days if the appointment is at a weekend.
The application is withdrawn if the applicant travels outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before the decision.

GOV.UK publishes a service standard for settlement applications rather than a status tracker: a decision usually within 6 months of the fingerprints and photograph, with contact made if the application is complex and will take longer. Its contact tool routes an enquiry to the right UK Visas and Immigration team, but states plainly that contact centre staff cannot say when a decision will come. This guide sets out those published positions and the two rules that apply while an application is undecided.

What GOV.UK Publishes, and What It Does Not

There is no published queue position or progress tracker for a settlement application made inside the UK. What GOV.UK publishes is a contact route and a service standard.

The contact tool. The Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help page asks a series of questions and returns contact details for the relevant team, along with online guides and services.
What contact centre staff cannot do. The same page states: “Contact centre staff cannot give you advice about your personal circumstances.” Its examples include that they cannot tell you which visas you can apply for, whether an application will be successful, or when you will get a decision.
A representative. An adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor, can correspond with the Home Office on someone’s behalf.
An MP. Members of Parliament have an established route for raising constituents’ immigration cases with the Home Office. See our guide to MP enquiries.

The Points at Which the Home Office Makes Contact

Rather than a running status, GOV.UK names the occasions on which an applicant hears from the Home Office:

Acknowledgement. The online application is acknowledged when it is submitted, and the fingerprints and photograph appointment is booked from there.
If the application is complex. GOV.UK states: “You’ll be contacted if your application is complex and will take longer”, giving as examples supporting documents that need to be verified, and an interview needed because of personal circumstances such as a criminal conviction.
The decision. GOV.UK says you will be told whether the application has been successful within 6 months of the fingerprints and photograph, or of submitting the application where the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app was used instead.

Expected Timelines

See our guide to settlement processing times. The published standards are:

Standard service: usually a decision within 6 months of providing fingerprints and a photograph.
Priority service, £500: a decision within 5 working days.
Super priority service, £1,000: a decision by the end of the next working day where the appointment is on a weekday, or 2 working days where it is at a weekend. Not available to people applying with refugee status, humanitarian protection or section 67 leave.

Working days are Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. These are standards for the usual case, not guarantees: GOV.UK says separately that contact will be made where an application is complex and will take longer.

Routes Published for a Case Beyond the Service Standard

Where an application has passed the published standard, these are the channels that exist:

Contact UKVI: Submit a formal enquiry through the Home Office contact channels.
Contact your MP: Your MP can raise enquiries directly with the Home Office.
Regulated advice: only an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor, may advise on an individual case. See our comparison of using a solicitor and applying alone.
Pre-action protocol. The Civil Procedure Rules set out a pre-action protocol for judicial review, which a solicitor uses before any claim about delay. See our guide to judicial review.

The Rules That Run While the Application Is Undecided

Section 3C continues permission. Where the application was made before the existing permission expired, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 continues that permission, on the same conditions, until the application is decided.
Right to work checks. GOV.UK publishes an Employer Checking Service for use where an employee cannot show documents or an online immigration status, and names an outstanding application with the Home Office as one such case. The employer asks the Home Office to check the person’s status.
Travel withdraws the application. GOV.UK states: “You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.” Section 3C(3) separately provides that continued permission lapses on leaving the United Kingdom.

After the Decision

Where settlement is granted, GOV.UK says the holder can work, run a business, study, use public services such as healthcare and schools, apply for public funds and pensions, and apply for British citizenship, usually after a minimum of 12 months. See our guide to what settlement allows. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, so the grant is recorded online in a UK Visas and Immigration account rather than on a card. Status is viewed and shared through the GOV.UK immigration status service.

A share code generated there lasts 90 days and can be used as many times as needed before it expires. See also our guide to the online record of status and our guide to UK visa fees.

Questions and answers

How can the progress of a settlement application be checked?

GOV.UK publishes a contact tool that routes an enquiry to the right UK Visas and Immigration team. It sets a clear limit on what that team can do: “Contact centre staff cannot give you advice about your personal circumstances”, and among the examples it gives is that they cannot tell you when you will get a decision. There is no published queue position for a settlement application. What GOV.UK does publish is the service standard — usually a decision within 6 months of the fingerprints and photograph — and a commitment to make contact if the application is complex and will take longer.

What is the published waiting time?

GOV.UK states that a decision on a settlement application usually follows within 6 months of providing fingerprints and a photograph. The priority service costs £500 for a decision within 5 working days, and the super priority service £1,000 for a decision by the end of the next working day, or 2 working days if the biometrics appointment is at a weekend. Working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays. Super priority is not available to people applying with refugee status, humanitarian protection or section 67 leave.

When does the Home Office say it will make contact?

GOV.UK states that you will be contacted if the application is complex and will take longer, and gives two examples: if supporting documents need to be verified, or if an interview is needed because of personal circumstances, for example a criminal conviction.

What rules apply while the decision is awaited?

Two. Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 continues the applicant's existing permission, on the same conditions, where the application was made before that permission expired; section 3C(3) provides that this lapses if the applicant leaves the United Kingdom. Separately, GOV.UK states that the application is withdrawn if the applicant travels outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before a decision.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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