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Settlement after 10 years of residence

The 10-year long residence route lets someone who has lived continuously and lawfully in the UK for a decade apply for settlement — indefinite leave to remain — whatever permission they held. This guide explains how it works.

Checked 18 February 202610 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team
Section
ILR & Settlement
Reading time
10 min
Last checked
18 February 2026
Source
The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not
Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

  • 10 years of continuous lawful residence, whatever permission you held.
  • No more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months, since 11 April 2024.
  • Most permission counts; visitor, short-term study, Seasonal Worker, Ukraine scheme, immigration bail and overstaying do not.
  • The Life in the UK test if you are 18 to 64, and English at B1 — B2 from 26 March 2027.
  • This route is not the proposed 5-to-10-year change, which is not law.

The 10-year long residence route is open to anyone who has lived continuously and lawfully in the UK for 10 years. The permission you held does not matter, as long as it was lawful and continuous. Since 11 April 2024 the rules sit in Appendix Long Residence, and the absence limit is the same 180 days in any 12 months that the work routes use — not the 548-day total the old paragraph 276B set. English is at B1 until 26 March 2027 and B2 from that date.

How the 10-Year Route Works

The route is set out in Appendix Long Residence, where it has lived since 11 April 2024; before that it was paragraph 276B. It reaches settlement for anyone with 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK, whatever permission they held.

This route is particularly useful for people who have switched between different visa categories (for example, student to work visa) and have accumulated 10 years without qualifying through a specific 5-year route.

This is not the same thing as the government's proposal to lengthen the standard settlement qualifying period from 5 years to 10. That proposal is not law — the consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 and the responses are being analysed. See our guide to the proposal.

Eligibility Requirements

  • 10 years' continuous lawful residence: paragraph LR 3.1. Time as an EEA national exercising rights of residence, and time as a British citizen, count towards it.
  • Absence limit: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period, under Appendix Continuous Residence. For an absence that began before 11 April 2024, the older test applies: 184 days in a row, or 548 days in total.
  • No breaks in leave: Any gap between visas (even one day of overstaying) can break continuous residence. Section 3C leave protects you if you applied for an extension before your current visa expired.
  • Suitability: paragraphs LR 10.1 and LR 10.2 say you must not fall for refusal under the suitability part of the rules, must not be in breach of immigration laws and must not be on immigration bail. The separate good character requirement belongs to citizenship, not settlement.
  • Current permission: paragraphs LR 11.3 and LR 11.4 say you must have held permission on your current route for at least 12 months, unless it was granted before 11 April 2024.
  • English language: paragraph LR 13.1 sets B1 in speaking and listening for applications made before 26 March 2027, and B2 for those made on or after it. See our guide to English for settlement.
  • Life in the UK test: paragraph LR 14.1 applies the knowledge of life in the UK requirement in Appendix KoL UK, for anyone aged 18 to 64. See our Life in the UK test guide.

What Counts as Lawful Residence

Time on these counts towards the 10 years:

  • Student visas, including the old Tier 4.
  • Work visas, including Skilled Worker and the old Tier 2.
  • Family visas as a partner, spouse or parent.
  • Section 3C leave, which continues your old permission while an in-time application is undecided.
  • Time as an EEA national exercising rights of residence, and time as a British citizen.

These do not:

  • Time as a visitor.
  • A short-term study visa.
  • A Seasonal Worker visa.
  • The Ukraine schemes.
  • Immigration bail and temporary admission.
  • Any period of overstaying.
  • Time in detention, and time after a British citizen is deprived of citizenship.

Calculating Your Qualifying Date

The qualifying period is the 10 years of lawful residence that ends on the date you apply, so it moves with the application date. What the count involves:

  1. List every trip outside the UK, counting the day you left and the day you came back.
  2. Check every rolling 12-month window inside the 10 years for more than 180 days.
  3. For an absence that began before 11 April 2024, check it against the older test instead: 184 days in a row, or 548 in total.
  4. Check for any gap in permission during the period.

For help tracking absences, see our evidence of residence guide.

Application Process

You apply online through GOV.UK's long residence pages. GOV.UK does not name a paper form for this route.

It asks for a current passport or travel document, every passport you have held during your time in the UK, and proof of your immigration status, which is a share code from your UKVI account and lasts 90 days. GOV.UK's document list still mentions a biometric residence permit, but it now says all of those have expired and been replaced by eVisas. Anything not in English or Welsh needs a certified translation. Records covering the 10 years, such as visa grant letters, bank statements and payslips, are what evidence the residence itself. See our settlement documents checklist.

It costs £3,226 for each person applying, with no fee for fingerprints and photo, and no healthcare surcharge on a settlement application. A decision usually arrives within 6 months of your biometrics; the super priority service costs £1,000 more and gives a decision by the end of the next working day, or within 2 working days for a weekend appointment. You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get the decision. See our cost guide and processing time guide.

Common Issues

  • Gaps in leave: Even a few days of overstaying can break continuous residence. See our gap in leave guide.
  • Absences: Appendix Continuous Residence lists the absences left out of the 180-day count — a life-threatening illness of your own, or the life-threatening illness or death of a close family member; travel prevented by a natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic; assisting with a humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas.
  • The old figures: a lot of writing about this route still quotes paragraph 276B's 548-day total and 184-day single absence. Those apply only to an absence that began before 11 April 2024.

Questions and answers

Can I get ILR after 10 years in the UK?

Yes. Someone who has lived continuously and lawfully in the UK for 10 years can apply for settlement under the long residence rules, which have been in Appendix Long Residence since 11 April 2024 (they used to be at paragraph 276B). Continuous residence is measured by Appendix Continuous Residence: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period.

Does any type of visa count towards the 10-year rule?

Most permission counts, including Student visas, work visas and family visas, as does time as an EEA national exercising rights of residence and time as a British citizen. Paragraph LR 3.2 excludes immigration bail, temporary admission and any period of overstaying. GOV.UK also excludes time as a visitor, on a short-term study visa, as a Seasonal Worker and on a Ukraine scheme.

How many days can I be absent under the 10-year rule?

Since 11 April 2024, no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. GOV.UK says the older test still applies to an absence that started before that date: under it you broke continuous residence by being away for more than 184 days in a row, or more than 548 days in total.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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