Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

A person who has been granted open ended leave without any conditions is said to have 'indefinite leave to remain' (or, if granted to a person who makes their application from outside the UK, 'indefinite leave to enter'). A person with indefinite leave is also sometimes referred to as having 'settled status' because they have permanent residence. Indefinite leave to remain is usually granted after periods of limited leave totaling five or ten years. For example, a wife or husband of a British citizen is usually granted indefinite leave after two periods of limited leave of 30 months each; a refugee is granted indefinite leave after a five year grant of limited leave, etc.