The UK’s 10-Year Long Residence route allows some migrants to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 10 years of lawful and continuous residence. The route remains open, but the Government’s “Earned Settlement” proposals, published on 20 November 2025, would abolish the dedicated Long Residence route and fold settlement into a wider framework based on residence, contribution, integration and compliance.
Who can apply under the current Long Residence route
A person may be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the 10-Year Long Residence route if they have lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years.
Applicants must also meet the relevant:
- validity requirements;
- suitability requirements;
- continuous residence requirements;
- English language requirement, unless exempt;
- Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement, unless exempt.
Time spent in the UK with permission under most immigration categories can count, and the 10-year period can be made up of a combination of different immigration routes.
However, some categories do not count towards Long Residence ILR, including time spent in the UK:
- as a visitor, either on a Standard Visitor visa or as a non-visa visitor;
- as a Short-term Student English language applicant;
- as a Seasonal Worker;
- under Appendix Ukraine Scheme;
- on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release;
- in prison, a young offender institution or secure hospital.
No period of overstaying counts towards the 10-year qualifying period, even where that overstaying is disregarded under the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability.
Section 3C leave
If an applicant made an in-time application before their previous permission expired, and the underlying route can count towards Long Residence, their permission may have been extended under Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 until the pending application was decided.
If that pending application was later granted, the Section 3C period does not break continuous residence and can be relied on.
However, if Section 3C leave extends permission on an excluded route, that period is also excluded for Long Residence purposes.
Leaving and re-entering the UK
Continuous residence is not automatically broken by leaving the UK. Under paragraph 4.1 of Appendix Continuous Residence, a person does not break continuous residence if they leave the UK with valid permission and return with valid permission, either on the same route or another route, provided they remain within the permitted absence limits.
For example, a student who leaves the UK during summer holidays before their permission expires, applies for a new visa from outside the UK, and returns at the start of the academic year may preserve continuous residence, even if they had no valid UK visa during the absence.
Time spent with permission in the Republic of Ireland does not count towards Long Residence. Time spent lawfully in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man on a route equivalent to a permissible UK route can count as time spent in the UK, provided the applicant’s most recent grant of permission was in the UK.
Absence limits
The absence rules changed on 11 April 2024.
For periods on or after 11 April 2024, an applicant can be outside the UK for up to 180 days in any rolling 12-month period without breaking continuous residence. This is not assessed by calendar year; any 12-month period can be relevant.
For Long Residence applications where the qualifying period includes time before 11 April 2024, transitional rules apply. Continuous residence will normally be broken if, before 11 April 2024, the applicant had:
- more than 548 days outside the UK in total during the relevant part of the qualifying period; or
- a single absence of more than 184 days where that absence started before 11 April 2024.
For an absence that began before 11 April 2024 and ended on or after that date, the 184-day single-absence limit continues to apply to that absence. The 180-day rolling 12-month assessment starts from the next absence.
Excess absences and exceptions
Some excess absences may be treated as permitted absences. Examples include:
- travel disruption caused by natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic;
- compelling and compassionate personal circumstances, such as the life-threatening illness of the applicant;
- life-threatening illness or death of a close family member.
The burden is on the applicant to prove that the circumstances fall within an exception. The threshold is high because the absence limits are treated as already providing flexibility for ordinary life events, including family emergencies, holidays and overseas work commitments.
If excess absences do not qualify as permitted absences, an applicant may be able to wait until those absences fall outside the relevant 10-year qualifying period. To do this, they must continue to hold valid leave to remain and apply once the preceding 10-year period falls within the applicable limits.
Visitor status can break continuous residence
Time spent in the UK as a visitor does not count towards Long Residence. It can also break continuous residence.
Re-entering the UK as a visitor between two grants of leave to remain will break the continuous residence period. The same applies to time spent under Appendix Ukraine Scheme, as a Short-term Student English language applicant, or as a Seasonal Worker.
In those cases, the Long Residence clock may restart from the next valid qualifying permission.
When the 10-year period can start
The 10-year period does not necessarily have to start on the date of first physical entry to the UK.
Appendix Long Residence LR 11.2 excludes certain periods from the qualifying period, including:
- time on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release;
- overstaying before 24 November 2016, even if a further application was made within 28 days of the previous permission expiring;
- overstaying on or after 24 November 2016, even if the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies;
- any current period of overstaying where the Exceptions for overstayers section applies.
The guidance says the time between the grant of entry clearance and the date of arrival is a period during which the person had permission on that route and should be treated as lawful residence. The time before arrival is treated as an absence and counts towards total absences.
There is no rule preventing an application where the applicant was outside the UK at the start date of the qualifying period, or preventing that initial absence from being included.
When to apply
A Long Residence ILR application can be made up to 28 days before completing the 10-year qualifying period, but not earlier. Applications made more than 28 days before completion will be refused.
When calculating the qualifying period, the decision maker must count backwards from whichever date is most beneficial to the applicant:
- the date of application;
- any date up to 28 days after the date of application;
- the date of decision.
This can matter where absences near the start of the period may fall outside the 10-year window by the time of decision.
Standard applications usually receive a decision within six months, although complex cases may take longer. A faster decision is not always helpful where the applicant benefits from time passing before a decision.
Long Residence ILR can no longer be based on a historic 10-year period. The 10-year period must continue up to one of the relevant calculation dates.
If the applicant’s current permission was granted on or after 11 April 2024, they must also have held permission on their current immigration route for at least 12 months by the date of application. This does not apply where current permission was granted before 11 April 2024.
Evidence needed
Applicants should prepare evidence showing their immigration history and absences across the relevant 10-year period. This may include:
- current and previous passports;
- travel documents;
- records of immigration history;
- Home Office decision letters;
- biometric residence permits, where applicable;
- UKVI account records confirming immigration status;
- evidence of in-time applications and decision dates where relying on Section 3C leave;
- a clear schedule of all absences from the UK;
- passport stamps, travel records, boarding passes or other available travel evidence;
- medical evidence, official disruption notices or other documents where relying on a permitted absence exception.
Strong documentation can reduce delays and avoid avoidable Home Office queries.
Common refusal risks
Long Residence ILR applications are often refused because of technical problems rather than because the applicant has not lived in the UK for 10 years.
Common issues include:
- incorrect absence calculations;
- failure to apply the transitional rules for periods before and after 11 April 2024;
- exceeding the 184-day single-absence limit for absences that started before 11 April 2024;
- exceeding the 548-day total absence limit for the pre-11 April 2024 period;
- gaps in lawful residence;
- periods of overstaying;
- relying on excluded immigration routes;
- re-entering the UK as a visitor between grants of permission;
- insufficient evidence for a permitted absence exception;
- missing documents or inconsistencies in evidence;
- suitability issues, including criminality, deception, adverse immigration history or other concerns.
COVID-19-related absences may be scrutinised. Although pandemic-related travel disruption can qualify as a permitted absence, the Home Office may examine whether the continued absence was genuinely outside the applicant’s control. If restrictions had eased or the applicant spent further time overseas later in the pandemic, the Home Office may view the absence as personal choice rather than unavoidable disruption.
English language and Life in the UK requirements
Unless exempt, applicants aged 18 or over and under 65 must pass the Life in the UK Test and meet the English language requirement.
For applications made before 26 March 2027, the required English level is CEFR B1 or above in speaking and listening.
For applications made on or after 26 March 2027, the required level will be CEFR B2 or above, unless an exemption applies.
Fees and processing times
The standard Long Residence ILR decision time is usually within six months.
Super priority service is available for settlement applications at £1,000 per applicant. This normally gives a decision by the end of the next working day after biometrics if the appointment is on a weekday, or within two working days if the appointment is on a weekend or bank holiday. Complex cases may still take longer, so super priority is not always advisable.
The ILR application fee is currently £3,226.
Applicants must provide biometrics, including fingerprints and a photograph. There is no fee for biometrics themselves, but UKVCAS appointment or optional service costs may apply depending on the service point and selected services.
Successful applicants receive an eVisa as a digital record of immigration status and need access to a UKVI account.
What ILR gives you
Indefinite Leave to Remain allows a person to live in the UK indefinitely without time restrictions.
It also allows the holder to:
- work in the UK without separate work permission;
- work without restrictions on job type, hours or salary;
- start a business or become self-employed;
- access free NHS healthcare if settled and ordinarily resident;
- apply for benefits and public services if eligibility criteria are met;
- study in the UK, subject to separate student finance and eligibility rules.
A child born in the UK while a parent holds ILR will normally be a British citizen automatically. Children born before the parent obtained ILR may be eligible to be registered as British.
Dependants cannot be included in a Long Residence ILR application. Non-British family members may need to apply separately if eligible, or under a family route if the requirements are met.
ILR holders can travel in and out of the UK, but should ensure their eVisa is linked to their current passport or travel document. If they remain outside the UK, Ireland or the Crown Dependencies for two or more years at a time, ILR will lapse. They would then need a Returning Resident visa before returning to the UK to regain ILR status.
ILR is also a key step towards British citizenship. Most applicants must usually hold ILR for 12 months before applying for naturalisation, unless they are married to a British citizen, in which case the 12-month waiting period does not usually apply.
Future of the route
The Government’s Earned Settlement consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026.
The proposal would move most routes to a baseline 10-year qualifying period for ILR, replacing the five-year pathway available on many current routes. Settlement would no longer be treated as a predictable endpoint after completing a fixed period. Instead, residence would start the clock, but eligibility would depend on contribution, integration and compliance.
Under the proposal, the separate Long Residence route would be abolished in its current form. Long residence would be absorbed into the wider settlement framework.
Changes are not expected to take effect until Autumn 2026. It remains unclear what transitional arrangements, if any, will apply to people already in the UK on routes to settlement.
If transitional protections are narrow, some migrants could see their route lengthened while already on the path to settlement. Evidence of contribution and integration is likely to become more important under the proposed framework.
Source article: immigrationbarrister.co.uk
