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Long residence · Appendix Long Residence
ILR after 10 years: long residence rules for 2026
How the ten-year route works, where the absence limits actually bite, and the evidence that carries a long residence application through.
The short answer
You can apply for ILR after 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK. Absences must not exceed 180 days in any 12-month period. Where your total had already reached 548 days before 11 April 2024, transitional limits apply instead, including a 184-day cap on any single absence that began before that date. The fee is £3,226 and standard decisions usually take up to 6 months.
Who the ten-year route is for
The long residence route exists for people who have built ten years of lawful life in the UK across several different visas: student, work, family, or a mixture. It does not require a sponsor, a particular salary, or a British partner. What it requires is an unbroken record.
You can apply under Appendix Long Residence if, at the date of application, you:
- have lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years
- have held leave to remain throughout, with no period of overstaying that breaks the record
- meet the continuous residence requirement, including the absence limits below
- pass the Life in the UK test and hold English at B1 (speaking and listening) unless exempt
- are not within a period of immigration bail and do not fall for refusal on general grounds
There is no salary threshold and no minimum savings requirement. That is why this route often suits people whose careers or family arrangements never fitted a single sponsored route for five uninterrupted years.
The 180-day rule, and the 548-day transitional limit
Continuous residence is the part of long residence that refuses the most applications. The test is not the total time you have been away; it is how much time you spent away in any rolling 12-month period.
| Rule | Limit | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Days abroad in any 12 months | 180 days | All absences, whichever date they began |
| Total absences across the 10 years | 548 days | Where that total was reached before 11 April 2024 |
| Single absence | 184 days | Where the absence began before 11 April 2024 |
Two details decide most borderline cases. First, the 12-month window is rolling, not a calendar year: ten months abroad from September to June can breach the limit even if it straddles two tax years. Second, the day you leave and the day you return both count as days in the UK for some purposes, so the caseworker applies the Home Office's counting rules rather than your flight itinerary.
Compelling circumstances
Absences over the limit can sometimes be disregarded for serious illness, a close family bereavement, or travel disruption you could not control. The threshold is high and the evidence must be specific: dates, documents, and an explanation of why the trip could not be shortened.
What counts as lawful residence
Lawful residence means leave granted under the Immigration Rules, or a period of leave that the Home Office later regularised. In practice:
| Status | Counts? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Student and Graduate leave | Yes | Time as a student counts in full, provided the leave was valid throughout. |
| Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator | Yes | Changing sponsor does not break the record. |
| Partner and family leave | Yes | Includes the probationary period before settlement. |
| Visitor, seasonal worker, transit | No | Visitor time is not residence for this route. |
| Overstaying | Usually no | Breaks continuity unless covered by a concession or a late application accepted by the Home Office. |
| Immigration bail | No | Time on bail is not lawful residence. |
Applications submitted shortly before leave expired, and decided after it did, do not create a gap: section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 continues your leave while the application is pending. A refusal followed by a late application does create one. If your history includes a refusal, a gap, or a period without documents, it is worth having the timeline reconstructed before you pay the fee.
Documents that prove ten years
The Home Office already holds your application history, but it does not hold proof of where you were living. That is what you are supplying. Build the file year by year.
- Identity and status: every passport you have held during the period, all decision letters, biometric residence permits, and your eVisa record.
- Address evidence: tenancy agreements, council tax bills, mortgage statements, utility bills, or letters from a landlord.
- Presence evidence: payslips, P60s, employer letters, university transcripts, school or GP registration letters, bank statements.
- Travel evidence: a table of every trip with dates, destination and purpose, cross-checked against passport stamps and booking records.
- Tests: Life in the UK test pass notification and the B1 certificate or exemption evidence.
Two or three documents per year is normally enough; a gap of two years is not. Statements printed from online banking are accepted, but they must show your name, address and the full period.
What our long residence service covers
We act on a fixed fee for the legal work, with the Home Office fee paid separately by you. The scope is deliberately narrow: ILR under the ten-year route, and the refusal work that follows if it goes wrong.
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| Full review of your immigration history and absence record | Applications under other routes, such as spouse or work settlement |
| Written eligibility opinion before you pay the Home Office fee | Home Office fees, tests, translations or courier costs |
| Document schedule, review of every item, and drafting of representations | Appeals or judicial review, which are quoted separately |
| Completion and submission of the online application, and biometric booking | Applications for dependants who do not qualify with you |
| Managing requests for further information until a decision | Citizenship applications after ILR |
Our fixed fees are published on the fees page; the current Home Office fee is on our fees and processing guide.
Earned settlement: proposed, not in force
The Home Office consulted on an “earned settlement” model that would tie settlement to economic contribution and could lengthen the standard qualifying period. The consultation closed on 28 November 2025 and the responses are still being analysed. No earned settlement framework has been commenced in the Immigration Rules.
What that means practically: applications are decided under Appendix Long Residence as it stands today. Build the file on the current rules, and do not delay a qualifying application on the assumption that a future scheme will be more generous. If the Rules change before your decision, the date of application normally governs which version applies — another reason not to submit speculatively.
Check the position on the date you apply
The Home Office has also announced a higher English language requirement for settlement, due to take effect in March 2027. If your application will be decided around that date, confirm the transitional arrangements before booking a test.
Frequently asked questions
What absences break continuous residence for ILR?
More than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period. Where your total had already reached 548 days before 11 April 2024, the transitional limits apply instead, with no single absence over 184 days if it began before that date.
Does time spent as a student count towards 10 years for ILR?
Yes. Student leave counts as lawful residence for the full period, as long as it was valid and the absence rules were met. Many long residence applicants have a decade made up of student, Graduate and work leave.
What is earned settlement and does it affect my application?
It is a proposed framework linking settlement to contribution. The consultation closed in November 2025 and nothing has been commenced, so the current long residence rules apply. Our summary of what is in force and what is only proposed covers the same question for the family route.
Can I get ILR after 10 years if I had a gap in my visa?
Sometimes. A gap normally breaks continuity, but a late application accepted by the Home Office, or a short delay outside your control, may not. Gaps of 14 days or fewer are sometimes disregarded for good reason. The outcome depends on documents rather than argument, so have the timeline reviewed first.
Which documents prove 10 years of residence?
Passports for the whole period, every Home Office decision, and two or three documents per year showing your address and presence: council tax, tenancy agreements, payslips, P60s, bank statements, school or GP letters.
When can I apply before the ten years are complete?
Up to 28 days before you complete the period, provided the decision is made on or after the qualifying date. See the application process for how that interacts with biometric appointments.
Free eligibility check
Ten years is a long time to guess
Send us your visa dates and a rough absence log. We will tell you whether the record holds, and what to gather if it does.
No commitment. SRA-regulated solicitors.
Before you pay £3,226
A refusal is expensive and it sits on your record. A twenty-minute review is not.
- Every trip checked against the 180-day and 548-day limits
- Gaps and refusals assessed, not glossed over
- Year-by-year document schedule
No commitment. Reply within one business day. SRA-regulated solicitors.