10-Year Long Residence Route to ILR: What You Need to Know

What Is the Long Residence Route?

The 10-year Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain is an alternative pathway for people who have lived continuously and lawfully in the UK for 10 years. Unlike the standard 5-year indefinite leave to remain routes (such as Skilled Worker or Spouse), the Long Residence route does not depend on a single visa category. Instead, it recognises the total duration of your lawful residence, regardless of which visa types you held.

This route is governed by paragraph 276B of the Immigration Rules and uses the SET(LR) application form. The current fee is £3,226.

The Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain is particularly useful for applicants who have switched between visa categories over the years. For example, starting on a Student visa, moving to a Graduate visa, and then transitioning to a Skilled Worker visa. As long as the total continuous lawful residence adds up to 10 years, you may qualify for indefinite leave to remain via this route.

Who Qualifies?

To qualify for the 10-year Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain, you must meet the following core requirements:

• 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK, ending on the date of your application
• No breaks in lawful residence: you must have held valid immigration permission (or a pending application) throughout the entire period
• Compliance with absence limits: you must not have spent too long outside the UK during the qualifying period
• Good character: no serious criminal convictions or immigration offences
• Knowledge of English and Life in the UK: pass the Life in the UK test and meet the English language requirement (B1 or above)

The route is available to most visa holders, but time spent on certain visa types does not count toward the 10-year period. See the excluded visa types section below for the full list.

Unlike many other indefinite leave to remain routes, the Long Residence route has no minimum salary requirement. You do not need to be earning above a certain threshold to qualify. This makes the route accessible to people in lower-paid or part-time roles, as well as those who are not currently working, provided they meet all the other eligibility criteria.

Continuous Residence Requirement

“Continuous residence” means you must have had lawful immigration permission to be in the UK for the entire 10-year period. This does not mean you cannot leave the UK: it means you must have held valid leave (or had a pending in-time application) at all times.

If your immigration permission lapsed at any point, even briefly, and you did not have a pending in-time application, your continuous residence chain may be broken. A broken chain means the 10-year clock restarts from the date you next obtained valid leave, pushing back your indefinite leave to remain eligibility date significantly.

The key distinction is between short administrative gaps (such as a few days between visa grants) and genuine breaks in lawful status. See the gaps between visas section for the specific thresholds.

What “Continuous Lawful Residence” Really Means

The phrase “continuous lawful residence” is the cornerstone of the Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain. It has a specific legal meaning under the Immigration Rules, and understanding it precisely is essential before you apply.

Lawful residence means being present in the UK with valid leave to remain. This includes:

• Time spent on a valid visa (Student, Skilled Worker, Graduate, family visa, etc.)
• Time spent on Section 3C leave: the statutory extension that protects you while an in-time application is being decided
• Time spent as a child under your parent's leave in some circumstances

Lawful residence does not include:

• Time spent in the UK without any valid leave (overstaying after a visa expired)
• Time spent on leave that has been declared void or obtained by deception
• Time spent on the excluded visa types listed below

Continuity means there must be no gap between the end of one period of lawful leave and the start of the next. Even a single day without lawful leave can technically break the chain, though the Home Office applies a tolerance of up to 14 days for short administrative gaps. Any gap longer than 14 days breaks continuity and resets the 10-year clock entirely.

It is also worth noting that continuous lawful residence does not require you to be physically present in the UK at all times. You can travel abroad while maintaining your lawful residence status, as long as you comply with the absence limits. Being abroad does not break continuity of lawful residence, provided you have valid leave to remain and have not overstayed.

Which Visas Count and Which Don't

A key feature of the Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain is that it allows time on multiple different visa types to be combined. Not all visa types count equally, however. Some visa categories are completely excluded from the 10-year qualifying period.

Visa types that count toward the 10-year qualifying period

• Student visa (and former Tier 4)
• Graduate visa
• Skilled Worker visa (and former Tier 2 General)
• Global Talent visa (and former Tier 1 Exceptional Talent)
• Innovator Founder visa
• Scale-up Worker visa
• Intra-company Transfer visa
• Sportsperson visa
• Minister of Religion visa
• Spouse, partner, and civil partner visas
• Parent visa
• Dependent child leave
• Leave outside the Rules (in some circumstances, with caveats)

Visa types that do NOT count

• Standard Visitor visa (including business visitor and tourism visits)
• Short-term student visa (under 6 months)
• Seasonal Worker visa
• Temporary Worker visas in some categories
• Ukraine Schemes (Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Extension Scheme)
• Transit visas

If you held an excluded visa type during part of your residence, that time is subtracted from your qualifying total. You cannot use Visitor visa time to fill a gap in your qualifying period. For example, if you spent 2 years on a Visitor visa and 8 years on qualifying visas, only the 8 years count toward your indefinite leave to remain application via the Long Residence route.

Absence Rules

The absence rules for the Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain have changed over time. Which rules apply to your trips depends on when you left the UK:

Modern rules (trips departing on or after 11 April 2024)

Since 11 April 2024, the Long Residence route follows the same 180-day rolling 12-month window rule as other indefinite leave to remain routes. You must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period during your qualifying period.

This is identical to the absence limit for standard 5-year indefinite leave to remain routes. For a detailed explanation of how rolling 12-month windows work, see our ILR Absence Rules guide.

Historic rules (trips departing before 11 April 2024)

Before the rule change, Long Residence applicants were subject to a different set of absence limits:

• Single absence limit: No single trip outside the UK could exceed 184 days (approximately 6 months)
• Total absence limit: Total absences across the entire 10-year qualifying period could not exceed 548 days (approximately 18 months)

The departure date of each trip determines which rule set applies. A trip that began before 11 April 2024 is assessed under the historic rules, even if the return date was after the cutoff.

If you have trips spanning both periods, both sets of rules are checked: historic rules for pre-April 2024 departures, and the 180-day rolling window for post-April 2024 departures. You must comply with both.

Many long-term residents applying via this route will have absences going back 10 years or more. It is important to check every trip, not just recent ones. Absences that exceeded the historic limits, even on trips taken many years ago, can cause a refusal. Thorough record-keeping of your travel history is essential before submitting your indefinite leave to remain application. The ILR absence calculator supports both the historic single-trip and total-absence rules and the modern rolling 180-day window, making it easier to check compliance across the full 10-year period. For a step-by-step explanation of how individual absence days are counted, see the guide to counting absence days.

Absence Calculation: Examples

Working out whether you comply with the absence rules for the Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain can be complex, especially over a 10-year period. The following examples illustrate how the calculations work in practice.

Example 1: Compliant under historic rules (pre-April 2024)

An applicant has the following absences during their 10-year qualifying period (all trips departing before April 2024):

• Trip 1: 45 days
• Trip 2: 60 days
• Trip 3: 120 days
• Trip 4: 30 days
• Trip 5: 90 days
• Total: 345 days

No single trip exceeds 184 days. The total across all trips is 345 days, well under the 548-day limit. This applicant complies with the historic absence rules and their qualifying period is not interrupted.

Example 2: Breach of single-trip limit

The same applicant had an additional trip of 200 days departing in 2022. A single trip of 200 days exceeds the 184-day single-trip limit under the historic rules. Even if the total across all trips is under 548 days, this single trip alone disqualifies the absences as compliant. The applicant's 10-year qualifying period is broken at the point of that trip, and their clock would restart from the date they returned to the UK.

Example 3: Checking the modern 180-day rolling window

An applicant has trips departing after April 2024. In a 12-month window from June 2024 to June 2025, they were absent for 90 days in summer 2024 and 100 days over winter 2024 to 2025. The total absence in that 12-month window is 190 days, which exceeds the 180-day limit. Even though neither trip alone exceeds 180 days, the combined absences within that rolling 12-month window breach the rule. This would disrupt the applicant's qualifying period.

Excluded Visa Types

Not all time spent in the UK counts toward the 10-year qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain via the Long Residence route. The following visa types are excluded:

If you held an excluded visa type during part of your residence, that period is subtracted from your qualifying time. For example, if you spent 2 years on a Visitor visa followed by 8 years on work visas, only the 8 years count: you would not yet qualify for indefinite leave to remain via this route.

Gaps Between Visas

It is common to have short gaps between visa grants, especially when switching visa categories. The Home Office treats these gaps differently depending on their length:

To avoid gaps, always submit your next visa application before your current visa expires. An in-time pending application preserves your continuous residence even if there is a delay in processing.

The 10-Year Calculation Method

Calculating your 10-year qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain via the Long Residence route requires more care than the standard 5-year routes. Here is a step-by-step method to work out whether you qualify and when your earliest application date is.

Step 1: Identify your start date

Your qualifying period starts on the date your first period of qualifying lawful leave began. This is typically the start date of your first qualifying visa (Student, work, family, etc.). If you were on a Visitor visa before that, those days do not count and your qualifying period starts when you first obtained a qualifying visa.

Step 2: Check every visa in your history

List every visa you have held since your qualifying start date. For each visa, record: the visa type, the start date, and the end date. Check whether each visa type qualifies (see the excluded visa types list). Remove any excluded periods from your count.

Step 3: Check for gaps

Look for any gaps between the end of one visa and the start of the next. Any gap of more than 14 days breaks the chain and resets the clock. If you find such a gap, your qualifying period starts again from the date of your next valid leave.

Step 4: Add your qualifying days

Add up the qualifying days across all periods of valid leave. You need 3,650 days (10 years) of qualifying continuous lawful residence, minus any days in gaps of up to 14 days (those days do not count but do not break the chain). You can apply up to 28 days before reaching the 3,650-day mark.

Step 5: Check your absences

Apply the relevant absence rules to each trip you have taken during the qualifying period. Use the historic rules for trips departing before 11 April 2024 and the 180-day rolling window for trips departing after that date. Any trip or rolling-window period that exceeds the limits disrupts your qualifying period.

Example calculation

An applicant arrived in the UK on a Student visa on 1 September 2013. They held the following visas:

• Student visa: 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2018 (5 years)
• Graduate visa: 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2020 (2 years)
• Skilled Worker visa: 1 September 2020 to present

There are no gaps between any of the visas. All three visa types qualify. Assuming absences are within limits, this applicant reaches 10 years of qualifying continuous lawful residence on 1 September 2023 and can apply for indefinite leave to remain via the Long Residence route from that date.

Good Character Requirement

All indefinite leave to remain applications, including those made via the Long Residence route, require the applicant to meet a “good character” standard. This requirement is assessed by the Home Office as part of the caseworking process and is not simply a self-declaration. For a full explanation of what good character means and what can affect it, see the ILR good character guide.

The good character requirement covers a broad range of conduct. The following can lead to a finding that you do not meet the good character standard:

• Criminal convictions: Any criminal conviction in the UK or overseas may be relevant. Serious convictions, particularly those resulting in a custodial sentence, will typically result in a refusal. Minor convictions with small fines may be assessed differently, depending on the nature of the offence and how long ago it occurred.
• Immigration offences: Overstaying a visa, working in breach of visa conditions, or providing false information in a previous immigration application can all be relevant to good character. Even historical immigration breaches that were not formally prosecuted may be taken into account.
• Financial matters: Unpaid debts to the Home Office, such as outstanding NHS debt or civil penalties for immigration offences, may affect the good character assessment.
• Deception: Any past use of deception in dealings with the Home Office or any government department may result in a refusal on good character grounds.

You must disclose any criminal convictions or cautions when you apply for indefinite leave to remain. Failing to disclose relevant information is itself a ground for refusal and can affect future applications. If you have any convictions or cautions in your history, seek specialist immigration advice before applying.

The good character requirement has no minimum threshold that automatically results in approval. Each case is assessed on its specific facts. A spent conviction for a minor offence many years ago is treated very differently from a recent conviction for a serious crime.

Salary and Financial Requirements

One of the most important features of the Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain is that there is no minimum salary requirement. Unlike the Skilled Worker route to indefinite leave to remain, which requires you to be earning above certain salary thresholds to qualify, the Long Residence route has no such test.

You do not need to be employed, earning a particular amount, or sponsored by an employer to apply for indefinite leave to remain via the Long Residence route. This makes the route genuinely open to a wider range of applicants, including:

• People in lower-paid jobs who would not meet the salary threshold for the work-based indefinite leave to remain routes
• People who are self-employed or work in the creative industries
• People who are not currently working, such as carers or those on extended leave
• Students who have been in the UK for 10 years across multiple visa categories
• People who have changed jobs or employers multiple times during their 10-year period

There is no financial solvency test and no requirement to demonstrate a minimum savings level. The Long Residence route is purely about the duration and continuity of your lawful residence in the UK, combined with the good character and knowledge requirements.

However, if you are relying on the Long Residence route precisely because you cannot meet the salary threshold on another route, you should be aware that you still need to maintain your immigration status throughout the qualifying period. If you are on a work visa and your employer sponsor withdraws sponsorship, your visa may be curtailed. If this creates a gap in your lawful residence, it could break your qualifying chain. Staying on a qualifying visa for the full 10 years requires ongoing attention to your immigration status, even in the absence of a salary requirement for the indefinite leave to remain application itself.

Application Process and Fees

Long Residence indefinite leave to remain applications are made using form SET(LR). The current fees are:

You can apply up to 28 days before completing the 10-year qualifying period. The application is made online through the GOV.UK settlement page, followed by a biometric appointment at a UKVCAS centre.

Documents You Need

The Long Residence route requires more extensive documentation than standard indefinite leave to remain routes because you need to demonstrate 10 years of continuous lawful residence. Key documents include:

• Valid passport (current and any expired passports covering the 10-year period)
• Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) for each visa held
• Visa grant letters / Home Office correspondence for every visa during the period
• Proof of address covering the full 10 years (utility bills, council tax bills, bank statements)
• P60s / SA302s / payslips as evidence of UK presence and employment
• Travel history: stamps, boarding passes, or other evidence of UK entries and exits
• Life in the UK test pass certificate
• English language test certificate (B1 level or above, unless exempt)

The caseworker will scrutinise your entire 10-year history, so ensure there are no unaccounted gaps. Our Application Planner can help you track which documents you have collected and which are still outstanding.

Common Reasons for Refusal

The Long Residence route to indefinite leave to remain has a higher refusal rate than standard indefinite leave to remain routes, often due to avoidable mistakes. Understanding the most common reasons for refusal gives you the best chance of submitting a strong, complete application.

Gaps in lawful residence

Even a single day without valid leave (or an in-time pending application) can break the chain and reset the 10-year clock. The most frequent cause of gaps is failing to apply for a visa extension before the current visa expires. Always apply for your next visa at least 28 days before your current visa ends.

Exceeding historic absence limits

Many applicants are unaware that the pre-April 2024 rules for the Long Residence route allowed a maximum of 184 days for any single trip and 548 days total across the 10-year qualifying period. Exceeding either limit for trips departing before April 2024 is a ground for refusal. Because the qualifying period spans 10 years, absences from many years ago can still be relevant.

Including excluded visa time

Visitor visa periods, Seasonal Worker periods, and Ukraine Scheme periods do not count toward the 10-year qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. Applicants sometimes assume all lawful residence in the UK qualifies. If excluded periods have been included in your calculation, you may not actually have reached the 10-year threshold when you apply.

Insufficient documentation

Unlike 5-year routes where your current sponsor can provide much of the evidence, the Long Residence route requires you to independently document 10 years of residence, employment, and address history. Caseworkers reviewing indefinite leave to remain applications via this route expect comprehensive evidence covering the entire period. Missing documents, particularly for early years in the UK, are a common cause of delays and refusals.

Confusing the application form

The SET(LR) form is specifically for Long Residence indefinite leave to remain applications. Using SET(O) or another form will result in your application being rejected or assessed on the wrong criteria. Always confirm you are using SET(LR) before submitting.

Failing the good character requirement

Undisclosed criminal convictions, previous immigration offences, or a history of deception in dealings with the Home Office can result in refusal on good character grounds. Being honest and comprehensive in your application is essential. If you have any doubt about how a past issue will be treated, seek specialist immigration advice before applying for indefinite leave to remain.

Applying before the 10-year threshold is reached

You can apply up to 28 days before completing your 10-year qualifying period. Applying earlier than this will result in a refusal. Double-check your qualifying start date and your calculation of the 10-year mark before submitting your indefinite leave to remain application.

Tracking Your Progress

Monitoring your eligibility for indefinite leave to remain via the Long Residence route requires tracking both your qualifying period and your absences across potentially many years and visa types. This is more complex than standard indefinite leave to remain routes because of the extended 10-year window. Our ILR Eligibility Calculator supports 10-year qualifying periods, and if you create an account, the Dashboard automatically calculates your progress based on your visa history and recorded trips.

To get started, set your ILR route to “10-Year Long Residence” in your Visa Settings and add your previous visa history. The system will automatically adjust all calculations, including your qualifying period, absence tracking, and financial planning, to reflect the Long Residence route.

Once you have indefinite leave to remain via this route, you may be eligible to apply for British citizenship after 12 months. See our guide to citizenship after ILR for the requirements, timeline, and costs involved.