British Citizenship Through Long Residence: 10-Year Route

The Route, and Which Rules Govern It

The 10-year long residence route leads to settlement (indefinite leave to remain) for people who have lived lawfully in the UK for a decade without qualifying through a shorter route such as Skilled Worker or the partner route.

The governing rules are Appendix Long Residence and Appendix Continuous Residence. Paragraph 276B, which a great deal of writing on this subject still cites, was replaced on 11 April 2024. The old continuous residence test — a single absence of no more than 184 days and 548 days in total — went with it. If a source you are reading gives those numbers, it is describing rules that no longer apply.

The Home Office also publishes caseworker guidance on long residence.

What Counts Towards the 10 Years

The requirement is 10 years spent lawfully in the UK with qualifying permission. Appendix Long Residence names what does not count:

• time as a Visitor
• time as a Short-term Student on an English language course
• time as a Seasonal Worker
• time on immigration bail or temporary admission
• any period of overstaying

Time on a Student visa, a work visa, or a family route does count. So does time on section 3C leave, the statutory extension that keeps your permission alive while an in-time application is decided — which is one reason understanding 3C matters on this route.

Continuous Residence

Continuous residence is now assessed under Appendix Continuous Residence for the whole qualifying period, and the test is no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. Our continuous residence guide covers how the rolling 12 months are measured, which is not the same as counting per calendar year.

The Other Settlement Requirements

• 12 months on your current route. You must have had permission on your current immigration route for at least 12 months on the date of application. This does not apply where the permission was granted before 11 April 2024.
• English. B1 in speaking and listening for applications before 26 March 2027, and B2 for applications from that date, unless exempt. Appendix Long Residence names this route specifically in the increase, so it is not a possibility to watch — it is in the Rules with a date.
• Life in the UK test, unless exempt.
• Suitability. You must not fall for refusal under Part 9 of the Rules, must not be in breach of immigration laws, and must not be on immigration bail apart from limited exceptions.

Settlement costs £3,226 and a decision usually takes 6 months from the date you give your biometrics.

From Settlement to Citizenship

Nothing about naturalisation changes because settlement came from long residence. The requirements are the ordinary ones:

• free of any immigration time restriction for the 12 months ending with the date of application — in practice, 12 months holding settlement
• in the UK on the day exactly 5 years before the application, no more than 450 days outside the UK in those 5 years, and no more than 90 in the final 12 months
• the knowledge of language and life requirements — English at B1, and the Life in the UK test, which does not need retaking if it was passed for settlement
• the good character requirement

Naturalisation costs £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee and usually takes 6 months, sometimes longer. Our guide on how 10-year settlement affects citizenship covers the points specific to this route.

The Arithmetic

• Years 1 to 10 — 10 years of continuous lawful residence with qualifying permission.
• Year 10 — apply for settlement. A decision usually takes 6 months.
• Year 11 — 12 months free of immigration time restrictions have passed, and you can apply to naturalise. A decision usually takes 6 months.
• After the grant — the citizenship ceremony, which must be attended within 3 months of the invitation.

So the shortest run is 11 years of residence plus the two decision periods. GOV.UK publishes no figure for the total, and any single number for it would be an estimate rather than a service standard.

Good Character on a Long Route

A decade of permissions is a decade of opportunities for a gap. The published good character guidance treats immigration breaches that are not about lawful residence — working in breach of conditions, for instance — as always considered, while breaches about lawful residence such as overstaying may be disregarded where the applicant already holds settlement and nothing has since arisen to cast doubt on that grant. Our guide to immigration breaches and citizenship sets out how that works.

Only a solicitor or a person regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority may advise on a particular history. Our guide to immigration solicitor costs explains what that involves.

What Is Proposed but Not Law

A change extending the ordinary settlement qualifying period from 5 years to 10 has been proposed. It is not in the Immigration Rules and no commencement date has been set for it, so nothing about it currently applies to anybody. Our guide to the proposed change sets out what has and has not been announced.

The B2 English requirement from 26 March 2027 is a different thing: that one is enacted, dated, and names this route.

Related guides:

• The 10-year qualifying period
• Continuous residence for settlement
• Citizenship by naturalisation
• Settlement to citizenship timeline

Questions and answers