The Long Residence indefinite leave to remain route is for a person who has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years or more.
You may be eligible to apply to settle in the UK if you have lived in the country lawfully for a period of 10 continuous years. This is known as ‘long residence’. The rules on long residence are designed to recognise the ties that a person may form with the UK having lived in the country over such a lengthy period of time.
If granted ILR, you will be permitted to stay in the UK indefinitely, and free from immigration restrictions.
The eligibility requirements for settlement on the basis of long residence are set out under Appendix Long Residence. To apply for settlement on this basis, you must satisfy all of the following requirements:
Your qualifying period of 10 years continuous lawful residence in the UK can be in any immigration category or a combination of different categories.
However, any time spent in either the Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man will not count as residence in the UK for the purposes of the long residence rules even though these places form part of the common travel area.
‘Lawful residence’ includes a period of continuous residence in which a person has had:
There are, however, limited circumstances in which short breaks in lawful residence can be disregarded. These include gaps of no more than 28 calendar days through making previous applications out of time where those gaps ended before 24 November 2016, or short gaps in lawful residence on or after that date but leave was granted in accordance with paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules.
Paragraph 39E provides limited scenarios as to when short periods of overstaying can be disregarded for the purposes of continuous lawful residence, including a COVID-19 pandemic grace period of between 24 January and 31 August 2020, provided the applicant made a subsequent application to regularise their stay in the UK.
In respect of continuous residence, the 10-year qualifying period shall not be considered to have been broken where you have been absent from the UK for a period of 6 months or less at any one time, provided you had existing limited leave to enter or remain upon your departure and return.
However, continuous residence will be broken if:
On 11 April 2024, significant changes were introduced by the UK Home Office to the rules governing long residence ILR applications. Confusion resulted from these changes, as many believed that the 548-day limit had been removed due to ambiguous language in the new caseworker guidance, which stated that there was “no 548-day limit.” In response, on 9 July 2024, the Home Office issued clarification confirming that the 548-day limit remains in effect for any part of the long residence ILR period prior to 11 April 2024.
Your period of continuous residence may also be broken if:
Time spent on immigration bail, as a visitor, short-term student and on the seasonal worker routes do not count towards long residence.
A person who has spent a period of time on immigration bail or as a visitor (or other temporary permission) who is later granted permission on another basis will still be able to qualify for long residence settlement, but they will need to wait longer to do so.
The requirement is to show you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and knowledge about life in the UK. You must meet both parts of this requirement as set out under Appendix KOLL (Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK), unless you are exempt.
This means you will usually be required to have either a recognised speaking and listening English test qualification at level B1 or above from an approved test centre, or an academic degree that was taught or researched in English. You will also need to prove you have passed the Life in the UK test with an approved test provider.
If your passport shows you are a national of a majority English-speaking country, you will be considered to meet the English language part of the ‘KoLL’ requirement. You will also be exempt from proving both knowledge of language and life in the UK if you are aged 65 or over, or have a long-term illness or disability which prevents you from meeting these requirements.
The long-residence route offers many migrants who have been living in the UK for ten or more years the ability to secure ILR. Our team will be happy to have a chat with you to discuss the long residence pathway with you and whether this is the best approach for you and your family.
We can assist with all aspects of long residence ILR applications, including:
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@ Privity Legal 2024
