Hello

My Thai wife plans to apply for ILR a year from now.

After that, we are not sure how long we would like to stay in England for. Maybe 6 months in every year, maybe 1 year out of every 2, or maybe just a short visit every year.

The question is, what does ILR entitle you to? Are you free to leave and enter without a visa, or do you need to spend a certain amount of time in the UK to keep the ILR valid?

Thanks in advance for your help

Once indefinite leave is held, absences of up to 2 years are allowed but each time the ILR holder returns, they should be able to satisfy the immigration officer that they are returning to settle in the UK rather than simply "top up" the indefinite leave. It is unlikely that an IO would ask, but should he not be so satisfied, he could effectively cancel the indefinite leave either by landing the individual as a visitor or, at worst, by refusing entry.

If you can hang on another year or so, your wife could naturalise as a British citizen and once she has that, she'll be free to stay as long as she wishes outside of the UK without any concerns about re-admittance.

Scouse.