PETITIONOpenPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Allow international travel while an ILR application is pending
Allow people with valid leave to remain who apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) to travel outside the UK and the Common Travel Area while their application is pending without it being treated as withdrawn. With eVisas, their valid immigration status and leave period can be easily verified
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
1,853
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 1,853/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 1,853/100,000
Background
Under current rules, leaving the Common Travel Area while an ILR application is pending leads to the application being automatically withdrawn. As standard processing times can be up to 6 months and priority services are not available for some visa categories, this restriction can last many months. It can cause financial loss if people cannot travel for work or create significant hardship by preventing them from responding to family emergencies or attending funerals, births and weddings abroad.