indefinite leave
Open-ended departure permit
Indefinite leave is an authorized absence from work or duty with no set end date.
Unlike temporary leave, which specifies when someone will return, indefinite leave remains open-ended: She took indefinite leave to care for her mother.
The term appears in employment, military, and immigration contexts—British "indefinite leave to remain" grants permanent residency.
Indefinite leave may eventually become permanent separation, or end when circumstances change.
- hiatusBreak in activity
- career breakPause in employment
- furloughGranted absence from work
- time offScheduled absence from duties
- taking a breakTemporary cessation of activity
absence · departure · in limbo · limbo · suspended · on hold · waiting · uncertain · visa · immigration · work permit · paperwork · bureaucracy · pending · extended · prolonged · unpaid · career
- UK ImmigrationBritish citizenship, British passport, Home Office, immigration law, immigration officer
- immigrationimmigrant, immigrants, visa, refugee, citizenship
indefinite leaveactive duty
Current military employment status
full-time employment · active service · on the job · daily attendance · on-the-job
indefinite, leave, definite, define, defined, defining, definition, definitions, definitive