negotiation with the immigration authorities. The passport of a person who is
granted indefinite leave to remain will be endorsed to that effect so as to
make the position clear to UK immigration officers.
5. Settled status is granted as a matter of course in accordance with the Immigration Rules after four years, provided that the person concerned is genuinely based in the UK and that his business activities in the UK continue. The normal expectation is that a person applying for settled status will have been resident in the UK continuously during the preceding period, save for
holidays, etc. However, this is a matter on which the Home Secretary can exercise considerable discretion. So also is the standard 4-year period. In
the exercise of his discretion, the Home Secretary will have regard to the
extent of the person's investment in the UK, the extent to which he needs to
travel on business and all other relevant factors.
ó. Those who have established themselves in business in the UK should find no
difficulty in achieving settled status, which gives security with maximum
flexibility as to travel, after a reasonable period.
Families
7. Up to the point when settled status is achieved, the wives of businessmen
and their children under 18 are free to enter and re-enter the UK, together or
separately, on the same terms as the businessman himself. When he obtains
settled status, his wife and minor children will be able to do so as well.
British Citizenship
8.
Settled status opens the way for an application for British citizenship. An applicant for British citizenship must by law have been in the United
Kingdom on the exact date five (or, if he or she is married to a British
citizen, three) years before the date of the application, and must on the date
of the application be free of any restriction of his stay under the immigration
laws. There is no flexibility on either of these two requirements.