Continuous 10 Years of lawful residence

Generally, if you are not British and have legally lived in the UK for 10 continuous years, you may be able to apply for ILR. Time spent in the UK as a visitor or as a short-term worker or student cannot count toward the required 10 years.For your 10 years in the UK to be considered continuous, you must not have left the UK for more than 6 months at a time, or for more than 18 months total. Home Office caseworkers might consider applications where you were outside the UK for longer, but they will need compelling or compassionate evidence that your absence was unavoidable.

A key update in the latest Long Residence guidance is that time spent in the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man) may now be counted toward the qualifying period for a long residence ILR application, provided your most recent permission was granted in the UK and your stay in the Crown Dependencies was on a route equivalent to a UK visa.

To assess whether you meet the 10-year long residence ILR requirement, you should:

• Calculate the total time you have spent in the UK on long-term visas
• Ensure there are no gaps between periods of permission
• Review your absences (see below for further details)

Your period of continuous residence will be broken if you are convicted of an offence, deported, or if you overstay your permitted time in the UK.

Absence limits requirement

To qualify for ILR long residence, you must not have spent excessive time outside the UK during your residence. The rules governing absences have recently been updated and now distinguish between periods before and after 11 April 2024.Absences before 11 April 2024 (previous rules)
For absences that began before this date:

• No single absence can exceed 184 days. Any absence longer than this will break your continuous residence.
• The total number of days spent outside the UK during the qualifying period must not be more than 548 days.

Examples:

• If you were outside the UK for 200 days in one trip in 2022, this exceeds the 184-day limit for a single absence. Your continuous residence would therefore be broken, even if your overall absences were under 548 days.
• If you travelled abroad for 150 days in 2018, 160 days in 2019, and 170 days in 2023, each trip falls within the 184-day limit and the combined total is 480 days. This would still meet the requirement.
• If your absences were 100 days in 2015, 150 days in 2017, and 310 days in 2020, each individual trip is under 184 days, but the total of 560 days exceeds the 548-day limit, breaking continuous residence.

Absences on or after 11 April 2024 (current rules)
Under the revised rules:

• The overall 548-day cap no longer applies to absences occurring after this date.
• Instead, you must not spend more than 180 days outside the UK within any rolling 12-month period.

If your 10-year qualifying period spans both before and after 11 April 2024, the previous 548-day total limit will not apply. In such cases, the key requirement is compliance with the 180-day rolling limit.It is advisable to carefully review your travel history before applying to ensure you meet these requirements. Where your residence covers both timeframes, both sets of rules must be considered.When assessing an ILR application under the long residence route, the Home Office will check that your absences fall within the permitted limits and that your lawful residence has been continuous. Even a brief gap between visas may disrupt continuity.

No breach of immigration laws requirement

You must demonstrate that you have complied with UK immigration laws. This means you must not have:

• Remained in the UK beyond your visa expiry without a valid exception
• Breached the conditions of your visa, such as by working or studying without permission
• Submitted false information or documentation in any application

A short period of overstaying may be overlooked if you submitted a new application within 14 days of your visa expiring and had valid reasons beyond your control (for example, serious illness). This 14-day concession can also apply following a refusal, provided you reapply within that timeframe.

Requirement to hold your current visa for 12 months

If your current visa was granted on or after 11 April 2024, you must have held it for at least 12 months before applying for ILR under the long residence route. This is a newly introduced requirement.

For instance, if you switched to a Skilled Worker visa on 1 May 2024, you would not be eligible to apply until at least 1 May 2025, even if you have already completed 10 years of qualifying residence.

English language requirement

To meet the English language requirement for ILR under the long residence route, you can do so in several ways, including:

• Passing an approved English language test at CEFR level B1, B2, C1, or C2
• Holding a degree that was taught or researched in English
• Being a national of a majority English-speaking country

Applicants aged under 18 or over 65 are exempt. Exemptions may also apply where a physical or mental health condition, or exceptional circumstances, prevent compliance with this requirement.Top of FormBottom of Form

What can I do once I have ILR?

While on ILR, you have the right to work without any restrictions regarding salary, type of work, or hours. You can be self-employed, work long or short hours, and switch jobs at any time. If you previously had to request permission to engage in any kind of business in the UK, this is no longer the case.

You have access to public funds if you have ILR, even if your previous visa did not allow it. This means you can usually receive healthcare through the NHS and claim job seekers’ allowance if you are searching for work.

Studying in the UK also becomes an option once you have ILR.  Not only this, but you are eligible to pay home fees for UK universities and apply for student finance just like British students.

Lastly, having ILR means you no longer have to worry about restrictions for leaving and re-entering the UK. While ILR can lapse if you have been outside the UK for more than 2 years, you no longer have to tally up every little trip outside the UK to ensure you are following the immigration rules.

By nature, your leave is indefinite if you have ILR, so you never need to extend or reapply to retain these rights. 

Can I sponsor my family if I have ILR?

It may be possible to bring non-British family members once you have ILR. However, there are different guidelines depending on whether they are your partner, child, or parent, for example, so it may be helpful to explore the different options available for your family members [insert family visas link].  

When can I apply for British citizenship?

Usually, once you have had ILR for 12 months, you can apply for British citizenship.

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