The UK Long Residence route may let someone apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after 10 years of continuous lawful residence, including time across a combination of many immigration routes. The route has detailed exceptions: some lawful visa time does not count, absences can break continuity, and most applicants must have held their current immigration route for 12 months before applying. Ten years of physical presence alone does not establish eligibility.
Build a date-by-date permission history
Check both absence tests and route history
Plan around the application date
How Long Residence differs from other settlement routes
Long Residence is a separate ILR route from a route-specific five-year settlement application. If you still qualify for settlement on a route such as Skilled Worker or Global Talent, compare that route's own requirements rather than assuming the ten-year rules are better. Our Skilled Worker settlement guide and Global Talent settlement guide explain those route-specific tests.
The Home Office rules say a Long Residence applicant cannot include dependants in the application. Each eligible partner or child must qualify and apply separately. If your family members need another route, GOV.UK explains those separate options. People from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein who started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 may also need to check the EU Settlement Scheme rather than relying only on Long Residence.
Map the ten-year qualifying period
The route requires a continuous ten-year qualifying period in which the applicant had qualifying permission, was exempt from immigration control, or falls within a specific historic EEA-rights or British-citizenship provision in the rules. Permission on most immigration routes can count, including time across different routes, but the records and dates must meet the rules throughout the period.
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| Time or route | General Long Residence treatment | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Most permission routes | Can count toward the ten years | Check the exact permission type and dates of each grant |
| Standard Visitor or visitor without a visa | Does not count and can break the qualifying period | Do not include visitor time simply because it was lawful |
| Short-term Student (English language) | Does not count | Distinguish it from other Student-route permission, which may count |
| Seasonal Worker | Does not count | Check the route name and grant dates |
| Appendix Ukraine Scheme permission | Does not count | Check whether any other route might apply to the period |
| Immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release | Does not count | Do not treat reporting or residence conditions as immigration permission |
| Overstaying | Overstay periods do not count toward the ten-year qualifying period | A disregarded overstay may affect whether continuity breaks, but it does not turn that time into qualifying time |
| Historic EEA-rights period before 31 December 2020 | May count under the specified historic conditions | Check the treaty-rights dates and any Appendix EU application transition |
Time spent with permission in the Republic of Ireland does not count toward this UK ten-year qualifying period. Certain qualifying periods in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man may count under the rules; the relevant route and permission must match the official criteria.
There is also a current-route requirement. Unless an exception applies, the applicant must have held permission on their current immigration route for at least 12 months on the application date, or have been exempt from immigration control in the previous 12 months. The rule does not apply if the current permission was granted before 11 April 2024. Check when the permission was granted and whether it is the same route; do not treat the expiry date of a short grant as the only test.
Check continuous residence and absences
For current absences, the usual continuous-residence limit is no more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period. The rule can treat certain travel disruption, humanitarian activity, compelling compassionate circumstances or approved research absences differently, but each exception has conditions. Record every departure and return date, keep evidence, and compare the dates with the applicable rule rather than adding up only calendar-year totals.
There is a separate transitional rule for some absences that started before 11 April 2024: the applicant must not have spent more than 548 days in total outside the UK during the qualifying period, where that total was reached before that date, and must not have had any one such absence longer than 184 days. These historic limits do not replace the current rolling 180-day test for later absences. A period that spans the change date, an exception or a changing permission route needs a date-by-date review.
The rules also specify events that break continuity, including some periods without permission, removal or deportation circumstances and certain sentences. The exceptions are technical and depend on route, application timing and the exact dates. Do not infer that a successful later application makes every earlier period count; in some cases an earlier gap is disregarded for continuity but the gap itself is excluded from the qualifying period.
When to apply and what the English rule will be
GOV.UK says an applicant can submit once all requirements are met and does not need to wait for the current visa to expire. Home Office guidance says an application can be considered up to 28 days before the ten-year qualifying period is complete; an application earlier than that is too early and can be refused. Work out the qualifying date from the actual permission and absence history, then check the current online application guidance before choosing a filing date.
Applicants aged 18 to 65 normally need to pass the Life in the UK Test and meet the English-language requirement unless an exemption applies. Under Appendix Long Residence checked on 28 October 2026:
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| Application date | English level in speaking and listening |
|---|---|
| Before 26 March 2027 | At least CEFR B1, unless exempt |
| On or after 26 March 2027 | At least CEFR B2, unless exempt |
The date is the application date, not the date you receive a decision. If you plan to apply near the change, verify the live Immigration Rules and accepted evidence. Meeting the English and Life in the UK requirements does not replace the qualifying-period, absence or suitability tests.
If the qualifying and suitability conditions are met but the applicant cannot yet meet the English or Life in the UK test, GOV.UK describes a separate application to extend stay on the Long Residence route. That is not ILR; it has its own requirements, fee and Immigration Health Charge. Check that route directly rather than assuming an ILR application will automatically be converted to it in every case.
Prepare the application and evidence
The settlement form is submitted online from inside the UK. GOV.UK currently lists a £3,226 ILR application fee and says a decision usually takes up to six months after biometrics. Fee and processing figures can change, so confirm them on the live application pages. Applicants provide biometrics when required and must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while the application is pending; travel outside that area withdraws the application and the fee is not refunded.
GOV.UK asks for a current passport or other valid travel ID and all passports held during the UK residence period. If you have an eVisa, provide online proof of immigration status using a share code; an expired BRP may be provided if you have one. Documents not in English or Welsh need a certified translation. The Home Office may request more evidence depending on the case.
Before filing, make one timeline that connects each passport, permission grant, route switch, application and decision, travel absence and any period without permission. Retain copies of passports and official correspondence. If an absence date or historic permission is uncertain, request the relevant records before relying on a guessed date.
After a decision
If settlement is granted, GOV.UK says the successful applicant receives an eVisa and instructions for accessing it through a UKVI account. ILR is not British citizenship. Citizenship has its own residence and evidence rules; see our UK naturalisation residence guide for the separate next-stage process.
Long Residence is not the only settlement-related route that can involve an extended UK history. The UK Private Life visa and settlement guide explains its age-specific permission tests and separate settlement rules; time without permission that may be relevant to a Private Life permission application does not become qualifying Long Residence time.
If the application is refused or varied to another route, read the decision notice and deadlines carefully. The Immigration Rules provide for some applications to be varied to a permission-to-stay application under Long Residence, Appendix FM or Private Life in specified circumstances. Whether that happens depends on the decision-maker's assessment; it is not a guaranteed fallback and may involve an Immigration Health Charge.
Practical checklist
- 1List every grant and route — Build a ten-year timeline from official permission records; mark excluded routes and any time without permission.
- 2Log every absence — Record departure and return dates, purpose, evidence and the rule period that applies, including any pre-11 April 2024 transitional calculation.
- 3Check the current-route condition — Confirm whether the 12-month current-route rule applies and whether the pre-11 April 2024 permission exception is relevant.
- 4Confirm the filing and test dates — Check the 28-day early-application boundary, Life in the UK requirement, any exemption and the B1/B2 rule on your application date.
- 5Gather identity and immigration records — Prepare all passports, current identity/status evidence, certified translations and any documents requested for your circumstances.
- 6Submit from the UK and plan for the pending period — Use the current online form, complete biometrics and avoid travel outside the permitted area until a decision.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK Long Residence route?
Can I combine different visa routes?
Does a Visitor visa count toward ten years?
Does time in Ireland count toward UK Long Residence?
How many days can I spend outside the UK?
Do I need to stay on my current visa route for 12 months?
How early can I apply before the ten years are complete?
What English level is required?
Do I need to pass the Life in the UK Test?
Can my partner or child be included in my application?
Which documents should I gather?
How much does Long Residence ILR cost and how long does it take?
Can I travel while my ILR application is pending?
What if I meet the ten years but not the English or Life in the UK test?
Official sources
- GOV.UK: Long Residence settlement overview
- GOV.UK: Long Residence eligibility
- GOV.UK: Long Residence documents
- GOV.UK: apply for Long Residence settlement
- GOV.UK: Long Residence family members
- Home Office: Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence
- Home Office: Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence
- Home Office: Long residence caseworker guidance