Settlement after ten years
The long residence route lets someone who has lived lawfully in the UK for 10 continuous years apply for settlement — indefinite leave to remain — whatever permission they held along the way. On 2 November 2026 the government announced that the route will close. This guide sets out the rules in force today, the absence limit, and what has been announced.
- Section
- ILR & Settlement
- Reading time
- 11 min
- Last checked
- 3 November 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.
- Absences before that date are measured by the older test: a single absence of more than 184 days that began before 11 April 2024, or more than 548 days in total reached before that date.
- English at B1 now, B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027.
- You must have held your current permission for at least 12 months, unless it was granted before 11 April 2024.
- The government announced on 2 November 2026 that this route will close. No closure date and no arrangement for people part-way through have been published.
The 10-year long residence route is open to anyone who has lived continuously and lawfully in the UK for 10 years, combining time on different permissions. It has been in Appendix Long Residence since 11 April 2024, when it left paragraph 276B. The absence limit moved with it: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months, the same test the work routes use. English is at B1 until 26 March 2027 and B2 from that date, and the Life in the UK test applies if you are 18 to 64. On 2 November 2026 the government announced that the route will close under its earned settlement plans. That is not yet in the Immigration Rules, and no closure date has been published.
Announced on 2 November 2026: This Route Is to Close
In its response to the earned settlement consultation (CP 1707), published on 2 November 2026, the government said: "Under Earned Settlement, the Long Residence route will close. Time spent on temporary routes will no longer build towards settlement simply because an individual subsequently reaches 10 years of lawful residence" (page 19). It adds that time on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate "will not count towards the qualifying residence period for settlement" (page 20).
What this means today, and what is still unknown:
- It is announced policy, not law. No change has been made to the Immigration Rules, so the route described on this page is open under the rules in force today.
- No closure date has been published. The Home Secretary told the House of Commons on 2 November 2026 that the changes "will begin to be laid from the December immigration rules" and "will be implemented over the course of 2027".
- No arrangement for people part-way through has been published. The response says only that, "unless transitional provisions are made, applications are ordinarily considered under the Immigration Rules in force at the date of settlement decision" (page 37).
Our earned settlement guide covers the whole decision, and our guide to which visas count towards settlement lists the routes that the response says will count.
Who Can Use the Long Residence Route
The long residence route is designed for people who have built their lives in the UK over a decade but do not reach settlement through another route. It fits people who:
- Have held several different permissions — a Student visa followed by a work visa, say — that together total 10 years.
- Hold a permission with no settlement route of its own.
- Have been on the private life route and have accumulated 10 years of lawful residence.
The route lives in Appendix Long Residence of the Immigration Rules. It moved there on 11 April 2024, from paragraph 276B of Part 7. Older writing about the route — a good deal of it still online — describes the paragraph 276B rules, and the absence test is not the same.
The Continuous Residence Requirement
The most critical requirement is 10 years of continuous lawful residence. This means:
- Lawful at all times: You must have had valid immigration leave throughout the entire 10-year period. Any gaps where you had no valid leave (even briefly) can break continuity. However, if you applied for a new visa before your old one expired, section 3C leave may cover the gap.
- 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. See our guide on immigration breaches.
- 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 that permission was granted before 11 April 2024.
Absence Limits
This is the part of the route most often described wrongly. Since 11 April 2024 the long residence route has used the same absence test as the work routes, set out in Appendix Continuous Residence:
- Now: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period, counted as a rolling window.
- For an absence that began before 11 April 2024: GOV.UK says the older test still applies. Under it, continuous residence is broken by a single absence of more than 184 days that began before 11 April 2024, or more than 548 days in total reached before that date.
The same appendix lists absences that do not count towards the limit at all — 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. See our guide to travel and absences.
Calculating Your Qualifying Period
The qualifying period is the 10 years of lawful residence ending on the date you apply, so it moves as the application date moves. See our qualifying period start date guide.
Because the window moves, an absence or a gap in permission that falls inside it on one date may fall outside it on a later one. Rowan cannot tell you what that means for your own case; only an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor or barrister, may do that for a fee.
English Language and Life in the UK Test
Paragraph LR 13.1 sets the English requirement at CEFR level B1 in speaking and listening for an application made before 26 March 2027, and at B2 for one made on or after that date. Paragraph LR 14.1 requires the knowledge of life in the UK requirement in Appendix KoL UK, which is the Life in the UK test for anyone aged 18 to 64. A degree taught in English, from a majority English-speaking country or confirmed by UK ENIC, can meet the English requirement instead of a test.
For information on accepted English tests, see our guide on English language requirements for settlement.
Documents You Need
GOV.UK asks for a current passport or other valid travel document, every passport you have held during your time in the UK, and proof of your immigration status. That is a share code from your UKVI account, which lasts 90 days; GOV.UK's own 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. Beyond that, the application covers a decade, and the records that carry it are:
- Evidence of continuous residence for each year (such as bank statements, payslips, council tax bills, GP records, or utility bills)
- Evidence of all visa grants and extensions
- Travel history showing all absences from the UK
- Life in the UK test pass certificate
- English language evidence
See our settlement documents checklist.
Changes to the 10-Year Route: What Is Law and What Is Announced
Two things are often run together, and they are not the same.
One is already law. Paragraph LR 13.1 raises the English requirement on this route from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. That was laid in HC 1691 on 5 March 2026.
The other is announced but not yet law. The 2025 immigration white paper proposed a longer qualifying period for settlement, the government consulted on it between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026, and on 2 November 2026 it published its decision. That decision closes this route, as set out at the top of this page. It takes effect only when a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules is laid with a date on it.
Statements of changes are published in the GOV.UK immigration rules changes collection.
Costs and Processing Times
Settlement costs £3,226 for each person applying, and there is no fee for giving your fingerprints and photo. The healthcare surcharge is not charged on a settlement application. GOV.UK says you will usually get a decision within 6 months of giving your fingerprints and photo, and that you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get it. See our cost breakdown and processing times guide.
Questions and answers
What counts as long residence for ILR?
Appendix Long Residence, at paragraph LR 3.1, asks for a qualifying period of 10 years spent lawfully in the UK. The 10 years must be unbroken, and you must have had permission (or section 3C leave) throughout. Time on immigration bail, on temporary admission, and any period of overstaying do not count.
Can I include time on a student visa in the 10 years?
Yes. Time on a Student visa, a Skilled Worker visa, a family visa or most other permission counts towards the 10 years, as does time as an EEA national exercising rights of residence and time as a British citizen. What matters is that the permission was continuous and lawful.
How many days can I be absent on the 10-year route?
Since 11 April 2024 the long residence route uses the same test as the work routes: 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, and under it continuous residence is broken by a single absence of more than 184 days that began before 11 April 2024, or more than 548 days in total reached before that date. The rules are in Appendix Continuous Residence.
Is the 10-year long residence route closing?
The government has announced that it will. Its response to the earned settlement consultation, published on 2 November 2026, says the Long Residence route will close and that time on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate will no longer build towards settlement. That is announced policy, not yet a change to the Immigration Rules, so the route is open today. The response gives no closure date and no arrangement for people part-way through their 10 years.
Is anything about the route already changing in the rules?
Yes, the English level. Under paragraph LR 13.1 of Appendix Long Residence, the requirement rises from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. That was laid on 5 March 2026 and is separate from the announced closure.
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.