Long Residence ILR (10 Years)

The route is governed by Appendix Long Residence, which replaced paragraph 276B of the Immigration Rules on 11 April 2024. It grants settlement directly, not citizenship.

Recent and Upcoming Changes

Long Residence has changed significantly over the last two years, and more reform is on the horizon.

Appendix Long Residence replaced paragraph 276B on 11 April 2024. It now governs every Long Residence ILR application, regardless of when the qualifying residence was built. The ten-year core test stays the same, but non-qualifying permissions are now set out on the face of the rule.

The absence rule changed on the same date. Time spent outside the UK on or after 11 April 2024 is tested on a rolling 180-day per 12-month basis. Absences that began before that date are assessed under the older 548-day total with no single trip over 184 days. Most applicants have travel on both sides of the cut-off, so both tests must be satisfied for the periods they cover.

The May 2025 Immigration White Paper, “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, proposed a new “earned settlement” framework. If enacted as drafted, the standard qualifying period for most ILR routes would double from five years to ten. Long Residence would narrow rather than disappear, because sponsored settlement would move closer to the ten-year mark. The White Paper is policy, not law. Treat current Appendix Long Residence as the operative rule and watch the draft legislation as it moves through Parliament.

Who Can Apply

Long Residence ILR is for people approaching ten years of continuous lawful residence in the UK across any combination of qualifying visas. It is aimed at applicants whose history does not fit a single five-year settlement route.

Typical applicants include:

• long-term students who moved onto the Graduate route and then short periods of sponsored work;
• dependants who spent years on visas linked to a main applicant;
• people who switched between Tier 1, Tier 2, Student and Dependant permissions in the 2010s and early 2020s;
• applicants on legacy categories that never led to settlement in their own right.

The route is not available if your decade was built on excluded categories. You will usually need to complete a qualifying period on a different route before Long Residence becomes realistic.

Long Residence ILR Requirements

You must meet every requirement below on the date you apply.

• Ten years of continuous lawful residence in the UK, evidenced across the whole period.
• Valid immigration permission on the date of application, or section 3C leave covering an in-time extension.
• Absences within the applicable limits: no more than 180 days in any rolling 12-month period on or after 11 April 2024; and no single absence over 184 days or total over 548 days before that date.
• English at CEFR level B1 in speaking, listening, reading and writing (rising to B2 for some routes from 26 March 2027 under the earned settlement reforms).
• A pass of the Life in the UK test, unless exempt on age or medical grounds.
• Suitability: no unspent convictions or other conduct that triggers mandatory refusal under Part 9 of the Immigration Rules, and full disclosure of criminal and immigration history.
• No time on excluded categories counted towards the ten years. These include:

• Visitor leave (in any form);
• Seasonal Worker permissions under Appendix Temporary Work;
• Short-Term Student (English language) leave;
• the Ukraine Scheme;
• immigration bail.

• Continuity preserved by section 3C leave where an in-country application was pending during the qualifying period.

If you would like us to map your ten-year history against Appendix Long Residence, call +44 (0)208 757 5751 or book a consultation.

Continuous Lawful Residence

Continuous lawful residence means valid UK immigration permission for every day of the ten-year period ending on your application date. The clock runs from the start of your most recent qualifying period. Earlier spells in the UK with a break in between are not aggregated.

Qualifying permission includes:

• entry clearance and leave to enter granted at the border;
• leave to remain granted in country;
• time covered by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 while an in-time application, administrative review or in-time appeal is pending;
• grants of leave outside the Rules, temporary protection, and limited leave as a refugee or under humanitarian protection.

A break resets the clock. Common causes of a break include:

• submitting an earlier application out of time;
• a refusal without a right of appeal or out-of-time review;
• overstaying after leave expired;
• illegal entry or absconding;
• time after a removal decision;
• a custodial sentence.

Assemble a full timeline before applying. Home Office records are not always complete, and you are expected to evidence your status for every day across the decade. Long Residence ILR is the end of the immigration route, and naturalisation as a British citizen follows twelve months later for most applicants.

Absences: the 180-Day and 548-Day Rules

Two absence rules run in parallel, and your travel history is measured against both.

Absences on or after 11 April 2024 are tested on a rolling basis. The Home Office can pick any 12-month window within your ten years and check that you were not outside the UK for more than 180 days inside it. A 200-day trip split across two calendar years will still fail if any rolling window catches it.

Absences that began before 11 April 2024 are measured under the older test, carried over from paragraph 276A. That test caps travel at:

• 548 days in total across the ten-year period;
• 184 days in any single absence.

The older rule is more forgiving on rolling patterns but stricter on long single trips. Where an absence straddles 11 April 2024, both rules apply to the corresponding days.

Limited exceptions apply for compelling and exceptional reasons beyond your control, but the bar is high and must be evidenced. To prepare for an application, gather:

• boarding passes and tickets for every trip;
• passport stamps and entry and exit records;
• employer letters for work-related travel;
• overseas bank or medical records where relevant.

English Language and Life in the UK

You must show English at CEFR level B1 or above in speaking, listening, reading and writing, unless you are exempt. You can meet the requirement by:

• passing an approved Secure English Language Test at B1 or higher at a UKVI-approved centre;
• holding an academic qualification taught in English and confirmed by UK ENIC as equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD;
• being a national of a majority English-speaking country listed in Appendix KoLL;
• relying on a previous successful UK application where the same or higher level was evidenced.

The B1 threshold is expected to rise to B2 for some settlement routes from 26 March 2027.

You must also pass the Life in the UK test before you apply. Key facts:

• 45-minute computer-based test at an official centre;
• 24 multiple-choice questions drawn from the official handbook;
• pass mark is 18 out of 24;
• result and Unique Reference Number emailed on the day;
• a previous pass in any UK settlement or citizenship application remains valid.

Exemption from both the English and Life in the UK tests applies if you are aged 65 or over on the date of application, or if a long-term physical or mental condition prevents you meeting the requirement. A supporting medical letter is needed for a medical exemption.

How Whytecroft Ford Can Help

Long Residence ILR is a documentation exercise stretched across a decade. The refusals we see most often turn on continuity: a forgotten gap between visas, an out-of-time application years earlier, an unnoticed period on an excluded category, or absences that tip over the 180-day rolling threshold when modelled carefully. Refusals are expensive to reverse.

Our immigration team, regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority under registration F201900075, supports you with:

• a full ten-year residence audit against Appendix Long Residence and paragraph 276B history;
• absence modelling across pre- and post-11 April 2024 travel;
• English and Life in the UK evidence review;
• application preparation with a structured covering letter addressing continuity and any suitability concerns;
• onward planning for British citizenship by naturalisation, available twelve months after ILR for most applicants and immediately for spouses and civil partners of British citizens.

If you are weighing Long Residence against a five-year work route, see our Skilled Worker Visa guide. If a partner-route alternative is in play, our Civil Partner Visa guide sets out that test.

To discuss your application, call +44 (0)208 757 5751, email info@whytecroftford.com, or book a consultation.

Sources 

• Indefinite leave to remain if you’ve been in the UK for 10 years (printable), GOV.UK
• Long residence: overview, GOV.UK
• Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence, GOV.UK
• Long residence: caseworker guidance, GOV.UK
• Life in the UK Test, GOV.UK
• Prove your English language abilities for a visa, GOV.UK
• Indefinite leave to remain: overview, GOV.UK

Disclaimer

This guide is published by Whytecroft Ford Ltd for general information only. It is not legal advice and does not create an adviser-client relationship. Immigration law is complex and changes frequently; the rules and figures stated here reflect the position at the publication date and are subject to change.